hi, i have looked in the forums but have not found the answer that i am looking for. i realise that it is not easy to add AI helicopters to airports but is it possible to add a static chopper to a helipad? i have added a medical helipad to an airport that i am altering and it would be nice to have a helo sitting there even if it doesnt move, of course if anyone knows of a way to make it do so then that would be better! thanks for the help, James

Hey James, we got AI Helo's on our NEMAI package available here.What you need to do is in AFCAD make the helo pad a parking spot and then just make flight plans weekly this way it will sit there most of the time.If you want static only you need to somehow make a separate BGL which I don't know how to do.My opinion is they look better when they fly around like it real live ;)This is part of our packagehttp://www.x-plane.org/users/topgun/NEANGB...USCG%20Otis.jpghttp://www.x-plane.org/users/topgun/NEANGB...escue%20One.jpg

Dave, nice shots. Question, in FS2002 you needed to trick FS into thinking the helis are fixed with so they would show as AI as helis were not supported as AI. Now I have a ton of helis going thru the sky in FS9, but I just used the old models I had setup for FS2002 with the altered aifile. Did you guys do this or are your helis showing up stock as regular AI just by adding them to the aircraft list?As far as statics, it's better (and easier) to use AI models instead, but you can use an older program called M98toBGL which converts older, outdated, less detailed FS98 models into scenery macros and then you just place them as objects in the scenery. Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpgCalVirAir International VACougar Mountain Helicopters & Aviation[link:www.cgrmthelos.com]Cougar Mountain Helicopters

hi, thanks for that, they look very good, i searched for your file but couldnt find it, i searched for NEMAI but to no avail, is that the correct name? cheers, James

Hi James:The New England AI files are named nemai1.zip to nemai4.zipAlso, search for my name (Holger Sandmann) and you'll find seven "Starter Kits" for setting up AI choppers. These kits are for FS2002 and the AFCAD files won't work. However, the various chopper models and their tweaked flight dynamics files (FDEs) seem to be working just fine in FS9 (the NEMAI choppers are based on my FDEs). I won't have the time to provide complete updates of the starter kits myself but might zip up one or two models with a few AFCAD2s and flightplans to demo how it works out in FS9. First, though, I'm going to finish up my AI floatplane and ships package for FS9 ;-)The M982BGL utility can be found here: http://www.flightsimnetwork.com/webads/design.htmCheers, Holger

thanks for that Holger, i am downloading them now! James

Woooow!I thought it was impossible within the constraints of FS2002 & FS9 to have helos as AI, I mean, how does the program know how to fly them??On another note, WOE did MS not include AI choppers by default????James

holger, i have installed several of the a/c that your association had modified and they had no sound so i added the sound folder and on the whole it worked exceptt for the HH-65 which still remains silent, do you know how to change this? i just prefer to hear the ai go past you know? cheers, Jamesp.s. the c-5 sinks through the scenery and crashes :-s :(

Hi James:Adding the sound folder should not make a difference because any AI aircraft uses a completely different sound set, the AI*.wav and XAI*.wav files in the FS9Sound folder. The problem with the AI choppers is that there's no preset helicopter sound for AI so they all sound like small props (unless you change the small-prop sounds to a chopper sound file but then all your small props sound like choppers...)Not sure about the HH-65. Check the engine type in the aircraft.cfg file and compare it with one of the models for which the sound is working.C-5 as in Galaxy C-5? I installed the AI version from the NEMAI package and haven't had any problems.Cheers, Holger

Hi James:before you get too excited - AI choppers as I implemented them don't quite behave like real choppers. It's a work-around based on motor glider flight dynamics (by Al Kaiser), heavily tweaked to make the helicopters take off and land at very short distances and approach at very low speeds, i.e. VSTOL behavior. Not perfect but not bad either; and it's definitely cool to see them zip around in the air!The helicopter starter kits I mentioned include a long list of what works and what doesn't - check it out.Cheers, Holger

re: c-5, yeah its probably my fault but its sad because shes a beaut! Anyway,thanks for the advice on the engine type that did the trick, Would you mind just telling me quickly; do the choppers use a separate (invisible?) runway from the fixed wings? and do they have normal taxiways?cheers,James

Hi James:yup, the idea is to have the AI helicopters take off and land on an invisible overlay of an existing airfield or somewhere "out in the woods". In FS2002 the AFCADs were all invisble wheras with AFCAD2 in FS9 it's possible to make some elements visible, if desired.The choppers are bound by the basic requirements of the AI engine: parking "gate", taxiway, hold-short nodes, runway, traffic pattern, etc. The trick is to minimize ground movements, which is why I use separate overlays. However, the minimum ground area required is about 500x300 feet, so oil rigs and other small landing pads don't work.Cheers, Holger

Hi there,I've been trying to get AI helos to work ages but never seem to get a result. Now that I consider myself experienced with AI I thought I'd have another crack at it. But still no joy.I noticed you mentioned a modified AIR file. Does it have to modified to allow the helo to be used as AI. Even replacing an aircraft in an existing and operational flightplan doesn't seem to work. The aircraft just doesn't appear.What's the story here? I don't imagine the aircraft.cfg file has anything to do with it so I'm assuming the key is the AIR file??ThanksGreg

i just had to format my hard disk and so lost all of my FS files :( my performance is now up though so im going to give Helos a try, would be nice to see AI ones flying with me :)

Hi Greg,actually, it's both the .air and the aircraft.cfg file, and more the latter than the former (with any parameter defined in both files, and there are many, the value in the .cfg file will take precedence).If you download one of my FS2002 AI Helicopter Starter Kits or the New England Military AI package and then look at the .cfg and .air files you'll quickly notice the changes (we commented each line/parameter that was changed). The NEMAI choppers are ready to use in FS9. If you're interested in using other models, all the .air/.cfg files of my FS2002 packages seem to be working fine in FS9; you just have to write your own flightplans and create AFCAD2 files (for the latter, the general tips and tricks described in my documentation also apply for FS9).Cheers, Holger