A340/B777? ATC: "Taxi to GA Parking"!

[John Hinson 22]

I use PFE for ATC, but I don't think that has anything to do with this issue, does it?

PFE has everything to do with it! You have two choices with PFE - be directed to the nearest parking spot after leaving the runway, or be directed to a pre-chosen gate, which could well be occupied. PFE is just not as clever as the default ATC system.

 

This is most definitely not a FS2004 issue. Revert to standard FS2004 ATC and if your aircraft is defined to go to a "GATE", ATC will send you to a vacant one if they are not all full.

 

John

[martinlest2 58]

Sadly not true John, at least in my experience. This problem didn't by any means start with my installing PFE - I was quite often sent to odd parking places with the default FS9 ATC, even when more appropriate spaces were free - though admittedly it seems more consistent now I use PFE. It's almost as if a GA spot is chosen in preference to a commercial gate!

 

Not quite sure what you mean John by there being 'two choices with PFE - be directed to the nearest parking spot after leaving the runway, or be directed to a pre-chosen gate'. You saying PFE simply choses the nearest free spot?? There's no option to be directed to a chosen gate, is there? I haven't tried the 'warp mode' (Ctr;l+Shift+W) to select a parking place. Wouldn't make much sense even if possible (I must try next time I fly) - it could still be full, as you say. Might as well just taxi there and see.

 

As you say, if you chose a particular gate (in AES) or just ignore ATC and park where you like, spaces may well be full. I tend to go somewhere where there are plenty of small/medium/large gates and park in any I find free. If they are full, that's where one has to look the other way and 'zap' the a/c in the way.

 

Of course, making a parking spot so small that no AI a/c can be placed there would work fine - it's just whether I can be bothered to do that for hundreds of airports (I'd need gates for small, medium and large a/c too). Maybe give it a go with the airports I use most regularly..

 

I'll give your suggestion a go too, Tom - if you say it works for you, can't do any harm to try!

 

Thanks again for the suggestions,

 

Martin

[John Hinson 22]

Sadly not true John, at least in my experience. This problem didn't by any means start with my installing PFE - I was quite often sent to odd parking places with the default FS9 ATC, even when more appropriate spaces were free - though admittedly it seems more consistent now I use PFE. It's almost as if a GA spot is chosen in preference to a commercial gate!

 

Not quite sure what you mean John by there being 'two choices with PFE - be directed to the nearest parking spot after leaving the runway, or be directed to a pre-chosen gate'. You saying PFE simply choses the nearest free spot?? There's no option to be directed to a chosen gate, is there? I haven't tried the 'warp mode' (Ctr;l+Shift+W) to select a parking place. Wouldn't make much sense even if possible (I must try next time I fly) - it could still be full, as you say. Might as well just taxi there and see.

Well, what I said was true - if you take in all I wrote, including the reference to aircraft being assigned as "GATE". If there is an available gate, FS2004's ATC system will direct you to it. It is as simple as that.

 

If you are not pre-defining your arrival gate prior to starting your flight, PFE will take you to the nearest parking space (GA, gate or whatever) whatever size. PFE is not integrated enough with FS2004 to do better than that. If you pre-define it, you will be taken to that gate whether occupied or not. PFE is not integrated enough with FS2004 to do better than that either.

 

I recommend you study the documentation or use the Oncourse Software forum at http://www.ocs-support.co.uk/forums/index.php%C2'> to understand how it works. It has many good features, but ground handling is definitely not one of them.

 

John

[tf51d 284]

I'll give your suggestion a go too, Tom - if you say it works for you, can't do any harm to try!

 

I some how missed the part that you were using PFE (As I do now) John is right, that is the problem. PFE does not read AFCAD parking codes, so it usually sends you to GA parking, if that is closer to a gate. That is why it has it's own assigned parking editor. Once you assign a parking spot for the airport, it will always send you there, but because it doesn't track AI an aircraft may already be parked there. So you still need to set a fictitious  parking code (or radius as the other solution)  to that gate in the AFCAD to insure no AI will park there.

[N60JBravo 27]

So you still need to set a fictitious parking code (or radius as the other solution)

Again, codes will not stop AI from parking there, only the radius will.

 

Codes might work some places [edit] without a lot of traffic[/edit] and will slow down AI populating that spot, they will not prevent it.

 

If you don't believe me, scroll up to post #11 and follow WingZ's link. Maybe you will believe Reggie Fields, widely regarded as an AI expert, and Jim Vile, who knows more about the inner workings of FS (in regards to afcad related subjects) than most anyone.

 

regards,

Joe

[tf51d 284]

Again, codes will not stop AI from parking there, only the radius will.

 

Codes might work some places [edit] without a lot of traffic[/edit] and will slow down AI populating that spot, they will not prevent it.

 

If you don't believe me, scroll up to post #11 and follow WingZ's link. Maybe you will believe Reggie Fields, widely regarded as an AI expert, and Jim Vile, who knows more about the inner workings of FS (in regards to afcad related subjects) than most anyone.

 

regards,

Joe

As I say, you do it your way and I'll do it mine!

[martinlest2 58]

"PFE will take you to the nearest parking space (GA, gate or whatever) whatever size".. that, I didn't know.

"I recommend you study the documentation or use the Oncourse Software forum at to understand how it works".. and that, I have done (installation DVD comes with printed booklets too), but I am never going to recall everything I have read!

 

I am now flying EGLC-ESSA and have set one of the gates at ESSA with a parking code corresponding to my initials; then set the parking code in the aircraft.cfg as the same. One says it works, the other it doesnt. As I said, I have not found this to be much good for me in the past - but if PFE in any case sends me to the nearest free gate anyway, it sounds like it was pointless. If it works OK for you Tom, great, but that's with the default FS9 ATC, you say.

 

So I also made the same gate 1m in radius: it should be free if I just head there when I arrive, in spite of PFE/ATC instructions.

 

Must say, PFE has been disappointing on some levels (not Oncourse software's fault - they clearly did the best they could with the FS2000 software they inherited), but all considered, especially run alongside FDC, it's SO much more realistic than the default ATC (all those great ATC accents for one!) that I am definitely not complaining!

[tf51d 284]

 

 

If it works OK for you Tom, great, but that's with the default FS9 ATC, you say.

 

Yeah, I missed that the OP was using PFE, but you still need to take care of the gate in the AFCAD(One way or the other) so AI won't park there, then use the PFE parking editor to to force it to assign that spot for your aircraft.

[pschlute 37]

Martin

 

Option 2 in PFE...Designated Parking Control will mean that you will be sent to a specific gate of your choosing. You need to set this up before starting your flight. As others have said you may well find an AI a/c already there, but apart from "radius editing" there is little you can do about this.

 

I find this the best option, as If I fly as British Airways I want to be directed to T5 on arrival at EGLL. If there is an interloper in your spot then zap him with FSUIPC !

[tf51d 284]

Martin

 

Option 2 in PFE...Designated Parking Control will mean that you will be sent to a specific gate of your choosing. You need to set this up before starting your flight. As others have said you may well find an AI a/c already there, but apart from "radius editing" there is little you can do about this.

 

I find this the best option, as If I fly as British Airways I want to be directed to T5 on arrival at EGLL. If there is an interloper in your spot then zap him with FSUIPC !

The problem with setting up the AFCAD this way (Either way) is that if you fly into this airport a lot, and you don't use the same gate each time, if you don't remember to put the gate back to it's original settings each time, pretty soon you are going to find AI running out of available gates, for them to use, and you really will have a problem with AI parking.

[pschlute 37]

As I say, you do it your way and I'll do it mine!

I , and I am sure others are happy for you that your system works for you. But for the benefit of less fortunate simmers who wish to understand how FS9 parking actually works, it is always best to understand what will definitely work, and what will not.

 

The use of ADE to edit parking codes can help enormously in getting your AI aircraft to park where you wish, leaving free space for you, but at an airport that is full to capacity it will not guarantee it.

The problem with setting up the AFCAD this way (Either way) is that if you fly into this airport a lot, and you don't use the same gate each time, if you don't remember to put the gate back to it's original settings each time, pretty soon you are going to find AI running out of available gates, for them to use, and you really will have a problem with AI parking.

My advice to Martin was about using PFE to to designate his gat'e. I dont recommend changing the radius (even though that is the only way to guarante the space will be free)

[martinlest2 58]

To be honest, I have so many addons that need to be set up before I fly these days that starting changing parking spots in AFCAD2 before I begin is not a very attractive proposition!

 

I'd forgotten that in PFE I can designate a parking gate - I have never tried it, so could give it a go, but the main drawback there is, for example, flying into Heathrow, one flight I'll be in a Qantas 747, another time an Air France A321, and another in a BA Embraer 145: being sent to the same gate each time is not really what I want. Possible to set this up in Options #2 before each flight, I suppose, but even then you'd either have to know exactly which gate you want to end up at, or open up AFCAD2 to investigate. At smaller airports, where the choices of gates are much simpler, it might well be worth doing this though, I agree. And thinking about it, at those big international airports, I could make a note of suitable gates for different a/c (small, medium, large; taking airline into account - for instance make sure British Airways parks at terminal 5 at Heathrow). Armed with a list of which gate to choose, it's very quick to enter into PFE, so that could work I guess...

 

Otherwise, I may stick to turning a blind eye and zapping a/c at gates where I need to park. Not ideal, but quick - and effective thanks to FSUIPC! Will have to do that in addition to the PFE designated parking if the gate is occupied in any case of course..

 

Thanks for the input..

 

Martin

[tf51d 284]

I agree messing around with the AFCAD each time isn't very appealing. What I usually do in PFE is assign an appropriate gate in the parking editor, either by looking (Not changing) the afcad, or if it's a US flight, I can usually get one from actual flights with Flightaware.com. Then let the TGS guide you to the gate, if that gate is occupied, I would just park at the nearest available gate. I use UT2 for traffic, so there usually is one close by, but I can see a problem if you use Traffic X, or MyTraffic, and allow it to fill up the gates. The only recommendation I would have then is to reduce the traffic density, so there are available gates.

[martinlest2 58]

In the end, I thought I may as well bite the bullet and do what I can do fix this - so started with a flight from EBBR to EGLL. I first found six gates at Heathrow to use as 'mine': small, medium & large and then the same for Terminal 5 (for BA flights). Changed those gates to 10ms in the AFCAD... Then selected which gate I wanted to use on landing in PFE and flew the flight. At Heathrow, I set my AES and was directed, then lead to my chosen gate, which was of course free in spite of heavy traffic.

 

I think it will be worthwhile doing this, bit by bit, for all airports I fly into!

 

M

[tf51d 284]

In the end, I thought I may as well bite the bullet and do what I can do fix this - so started with a flight from EBBR to EGLL. I first found six gates at Heathrow to use as 'mine': small, medium & large and then the same for Terminal 5 (for BA flights). Changed those gates to 10ms in the AFCAD... Then selected which gate I wanted to use on landing in PFE and flew the flight. At Heathrow, I set my AES and was directed, then lead to my chosen gate, which was of course free in spite of heavy traffic.

 

I think it will be worthwhile doing this, bit by bit, for all airports I fly into!

 

M

Just remember, unless you fly into that gate each time you fly into the airport, you need to remember to put the gate back the way it was after each flight, or you'll accumulate gates, that AI won't be able to park, then you'll have a bigger problem then you have now.