Hello,This is a follow on to my post about a week or so back regarding adding GA traffic to airports. A couple of people recommended a program available from the AVSIM library called "GA Traffic Maker", and others wanted an update on how it worked out.Sooo... in a nutshell, its a great little program that does exactly what it says it will do- allows you to add tons of GA traffic to your favorite airport(s) with just a few clicks. It also works seamlessly with my Ultimate Traffic installation, but you have to manually edit the aircraft file it creates to make sure the planes are GA rather than Ultimate Traffic downloads.While it is designed for FS2002 it works fine in 2004 (but an update is apparently in the works). Also there is a small update file you need to download in addition to the original program, bith available in Avsim library. Lastly, you also need TTools, which I'd never used before but was easy to learn in just a few minutes.Overall highly recommended to anyone looking for more GA traffic, especially at airports that look like ghostowns otherwise.Best,Joel

Interesting, as I am a GA nut, what aircraft does it use? I am interested in new GA models. I wish someone would design some AI GA that have tie downs and covers, etc when parked, kinda like the Jon Murchison AI aircraft with the built in scenery, that would be sweet!Thanks for the followup!Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpgCalVirAir International VACougar Mountain Helicopters & Aviation[link:www.cgrmthelos.com]Cougar Mountain Helicopters

Uses the default MS2004 GA aircraft, and comes with some additional options that I haven't tried due to FPS concerns (I know the defaults are very framerate friendly).Best,Joel

Not as frame-rate-friendly as you might think. Some of the included models may perform better - much smaller textures.

Sounds like a great little program. Some airports, especially outside the US, are empty in the sim, even though they are quite busy GA fields in reality.Does the FS2004 AI engine support Touch and Go's? I know it was possible to "trick" FS2002 aircraft into doing that by placing a big hill on the approach path :D but does FS2004 natively support it? I'd love to have a couple of C152's and Piper Warriors remaining in the pattern rather than leaving for some distant airfield hundreds of miles away.Also, does this program generate callsigns based on country? It's a bit unrealstic to have only American aircraft over Europe. In FS2002, I used the great AI Shuffler program to quickly mix 3rd party GA aircraft with the defaults and to get the callsings correct.

I agree, GA flying patterns is a great option and yes it does support it. Both Yroute and AITM have a TNG option to allow for touch and gos. I have quite a few bush planes flying around AK with some doing TNGs at many of the airports.I wish more designers would include an AI,low poly version of their aircraft when uplaoded like a few have done lately. Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpgCalVirAir International VACougar Mountain Helicopters & Aviation[link:www.cgrmthelos.com]Cougar Mountain Helicopters

The registrations are indeed accurate for airport location, a very nice detail the author covered! I believe that TTools allows the creation of flightplans for pattern flying, or perhaps GA Traffic Maker does this- I forget as I read both manuals at the same time:-)Best,Joel

Hi folks. I'm the programmer of the original program in question. An update for FS2004 is in the works, although real-life commitments (including a wife and our first baby on the way) have kept me from having more time to invest in the update. The update (when it ever comes into being) will have all the capabilities of the last version (including creating flight plans for third-party aircraft, localized registration numbers, and mixed IFR/VFR plans) but in a streamlined Windows interface. It will also be able to create "touch and go" plans now supported by FS2004. FS2004 is also no longer limited to the "AI traffic at towered airports only" method, which means GA Traffic Maker will be even more useful for populating those "out of way" or at least "neglected by Microsoft" airports.The biggest hurdle right now is that I'm having to learn how to port all my old-fashioned BASIC knowledge into the Windows Visual Basic environment. So because of this and the afore-mentioned real-life commitments, GATM 2004 is still stuck in the concept stages. I will post further updates on my website once the real work has begun. And believe me, I'm as eager to see this update as all of you are. I apologize that it's taking this long.- Caphollandhttp://caphollands.fsgateway.com

Mike,That you are moving forward is good news. If you need more than mere encouragement, let us all know. Otherwise, we shall all stand on the sidelines cheering you on!Best,Mike MacKuen