I plan to download the AFCAD files for each airport I fly to, on the day of the flight.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/36121.jpgAthlon 3000512Mb PC3200 DDR RAM (400MHz)256MB nVIDIA GeForce FX 5600seFS9, running fine :-)

You might want to keep an eye on the PAI AFCAD site. The files are checked and tested before release :-)http://afcad.projectai.comhttp://fsgateway.com/frank/fs9paibeta.jpg

I have to agree with dark moment, i figured I would create a seperate directory for afcad files and put it high in the scenery load list to keep it orginized but even with this concept where looking at alot of files. That could be a major selling point for UT afcad files for all airports.

>>>I plan to download the AFCAD files for each airport I fly to, on the day of the flight.<<

Slightly off topic but to do with AFCAD so you guys may be able to help this newbie, having never used AFCAD before.Problem.I like to do a flight video of my approach and landing so that I can play back and capture screen shots from different viewpoints, including tower.In FS2k2 this wasn't a problem, just used FSNav to drag the tower view to the correct 'scenery' location by slewing the a/c to the visual tower and then setting tower view to that position, this isn't possible in FS9, nor can you drag the tower in FS map view, or so it seems.If you play the video back, in tower view, the tower is somewhere near but always seems at ground level. If you open up FS map view there is no tower symbol.So, is it possible, using AFCAD, to set a tower view at an airport using the coordinates from the slewed a/c and have that location 'stick' from FS session to session?TIA

>In FS2k2 this wasn't a problem, just used FSNav to drag the>tower view to the correct 'scenery' location by slewing the>a/c to the visual tower and then setting tower view to that>position, this isn't possible in FS9, nor can you drag the>tower in FS map view, or so it seems.>>If you play the video back, in tower view, the tower is>somewhere near but always seems at ground level. If you open>up FS map view there is no tower symbol.Try going to FS map view right after you've loaded your flight, and you should see your "draggable" tower. The reason you may not see the tower symbol at your destination airport is that it is still back at your departure airport. Try zooming way out until you can see your departure airport and dragging the tower to your destination airport before you begin your flight. It should still be there when you arrive.I don't have much experience with recording flight videos (as opposed to instant replays), but I would imagine that the video would respect the tower placement in effect during the flight that was recorded, so my above suggestion "should" still work (have not tested this) during the playback of a video as well.BTW, if you use a registered copy of Active Camera and activate flybys, the tower travels right with you throughout the journey.>So, is it possible, using AFCAD, to set a tower view at an>airport using the coordinates from the slewed a/c and have>that location 'stick' from FS session to session?If you set the tower coordinates and elevation for an airport in AFCAD and have your saved AFCAD file (.bgl) at a high enough priority, FS should place your starting tower location at that spot from then on.Maybe you can give this a whirl. After you've placed the tower location for your destination airport where you want it using AFCAD, start the flight at your destination airport and then move your aircraft to your departure airport using the FS map view and then slew to the gate. If you select Go To Airport, the tower view will move with you to the new departure airport at the default or AFCAD-designated tower location for that airport. Granted, you could go to the trouble of locating KLAX's tower at your destination (say, KDEN) in AFCAD, but that would likely be a time-consuming pain to keep switching and might affect traffic flow (used to in AFCAD 1.4 overlays, need more time to experiment with that).Hope this helps,Kevin

Hi guysAlthough I have been F/Simming for several years, I did not get involved with afcad before. I understand that an 'afcad' airport contains details of all the taxi routes and 'gates' for a/craft based on specific airlines ie replicating real life. I have d/l a few of the newly converted a/ports and my question is....What is the easiest way to get the real airlines/aircraft into the sim? Are the AI planes different to the ones that are flyable?

>I have d/l a few of the newly converted a/ports and my>question is....What is the easiest way to get the real>airlines/aircraft into the sim?Many folks would say the easiest way to put realistic air traffic at your FS airports is to purchase a program that does it for you. Here are a couple of those programs with links to their authors' websites:Ultimate Traffic (to be made compatible with FS2004 soon)http://ultimatetraffic.flight1.net/MyTraffichttp://www.mytraffic2004.com/You can also opt to go with what I consider to be the easiest freeware route at Project AI with their official installers and packages.http://projectai.flight1.net/>Are the AI planes different to the ones that are flyable?In most cases, yes. The default flyable planes are harder on frame rates than the models created by the payware and freeware authors cited above due to how hard it is for FS to render the default planes on the screen (number of polygons). The flyables that come with FS by default are the ones that are used for AI when you first install it. However, whether you purchase UT or MT or you use PAI, you'll likely want to use the utility they provide to remove the default commercial traffic and then use the planes they provide with their packages.Good luck,Kevin

Thanks Kevin for your very helpful post. I will hold fire for a while until I can see how UT (FS9) is received.

".... which is, given say 8 hours a day doing this exercise without having a pee, about 36 days."I can help, Mark. Used to be a dab hand at inserting catheters :)Haven't laughed as much since the heady days of Capt'n Slarty!Mike

FYI the patch is in beta, eta is sometime this weekend hopefully (if no showstoppers pop up that is)http://fsgateway.com/frank/fs9paibeta.jpg

Where can I download AFCAD 2 ? I have not been successful in finding AFCAD 2 at AVSIM.thanks,David

You can search the library for this file: afcad204_127259.zipor click here:http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?DLID=38112Kevin

Kevin,Thank you very much for the link to AFCAD 2!David

Sorry for the late reply Kevin, been doing some testing.It would appear that the FS twoer view overrides any tower view set by AFCAD which, if true, is a real bummer :-(I set tower view in AFCAD2 to coincide with the scenic tower in UK2000 London Airports for London City.I saved the AFCAD BGL to addon sceneryscenery and that directory is active by default in the scenery library.I did a flight into EGLC and started a flight video on approach. When I play back that video the tower view is from the other side of the airport and is in fact the tower placement shown in FS map view.I have just moved addon sceneryscenery to the top of the list in the scenery library, exited FS and then restarted FS, gone back to EGLC and tower view is still where FS places the tower, not where I placed it with AFCAD.Unfortunately I don't think there is an AFCAD forum so I have to air my frustrations here.I agree I can get what I want by dragging the the FS tower view to the destination airport before I start a flight but that is a $%^* way of doing it, and what happens if I want a tower view on departure and approach? The tower view is saved along with the flight so I would appear you can only have one tower view per flight. Or, after completing the flight, you have to go to the saved flight and change the tower coordinates in the saved flight.To me none of those work arounds are acceptable espcially when tower view worked correctly in FS2k2.Sorry for the rant but I am so frustrated with this, but thanks for the suggestions Kevin.Rgds