A solution to buffer this delay, it may be to roll up their sleeves and start to change something. A little at a time ... an FIR here, a FIR there you can have for example the airspaces updated.

 

Flying with the knowledge that you are simulating the reality is very rewarding.  B)

 

 

 

 

 

Annulla modifiche

 

In order for any solution to be practical, it would have to be coded such that it could be easily updated at least quarterly, if not every cycle. In addition, it would have to be a complete update of all relevant data, not just a piecemeal approach.

 

In other words, a native update program that would take an input file and then spend however long it takes to update the entire sim's database...

 

I don't remember the specifics, but I seem to recall one of the ACE's team mentioning that it took several days for them to build their initial set of .bgl files, and even after that many hours hand correcting only some of the most glaring errors...

Yep a definitive solution would involve an updatable database and a new system. Could it be done by a third party dev?

Yep a definitive solution would involve an updatable database and a new system. Could it be done by a third party dev?

Honestly, I cannot see how it would be possible. The current "system," such as it is and what there is of it, is deeply embedded into the foundational structure of the world model.

Back to ground zero. The current/ same old system. I cant think of the last time I used the default navdata for anything. 6 or 7 yrs perhaps. Thata a way I dont have to worry about updating the default navdata. Navagraph and addon aircraft or ISG guage sets. If I find an airport out of alignment I just update its afcad.

The scenery files work well and there's no reason why their contents can't be updated, even on a monthly basis. It's just a very big job of compiling all the world airport, navaid, boundaries etc. data into a format, so that a program can read the compiled data and produce a new set of scenery files. Making a program to do that is not too much of an issue.

 

 

I don't remember the specifics, but I seem to recall one of the ACE's team mentioning that it took several days for them to build their initial set of .bgl files, and even after that many hours hand correcting only some of the most glaring errors...

 

When one thinks of how many months and years it takes to develop a flight simulator, several days doesn't sound so bad.  I wish they would update this stuff too.  I encounter this limitation every time I fly when I look at my chart and realize that I have to dial in an ils course that is almost always 2 or 3 degrees off, assuming that I happen to know what the difference between the chart says, and what FSX actually is.  It's just one of those annoying things that I had originally hoped that P3D would have addressed, and was kind of dissapointed about when I found out otherwise.

The scenery files work well and there's no reason why their contents can't be updated, even on a monthly basis. It's just a very big job of compiling all the world airport, navaid, boundaries etc. data into a format, so that a program can read the compiled data and produce a new set of scenery files. Making a program to do that is not too much of an issue.

As a developer, why not do it?

Making a program to do that is not too much of an issue.

The program already exists. It was used to compile the original .bgl files. The problem isn't even the time required to update those files.

 

The chief problems are manifold: first the size of these files and the costs of distribution, secondly there is the cost of licensing the raw data, and thirdly, what's in it for L-M? Who's going to pay for all this extra effort?

 Who's going to pay for all this extra effort?

 

The customers, or course.  Certainly if I were a commercial entity purchasing P3D licenses for training purposes, I wouldn't want my students flying with 2004 era alignments. 

Bill. Is the default navdata copywrite protected? Im  asking because as if it took a few day and hours to update, why couldnt a person update the navdata and charge for them. Seems there may be a market for such? May be a silly question as there are people updating the default navdata but not charging.

 

http://www.aero.sors.fr/navaids.html

 

 King has a good point there. But i suppose traing would be using a more professional addon that uses external navdata.

Bill. Is the default navdata copywrite protected? Im  asking because as if it took a few day and hours to update, why couldnt a person update the navdata and charge for them. Seems there may be a market for such?

 

 King has a good point there. But i suppose traing would be using a more professional addon that uses external navdata.

 

Yeah, but even if you buy a 3rd party airport addon, you're still likely to have a mismatch between the magnetic declination of the sim, the alignment of the addon, the data in the airac cycle you're using, and the current chart, right? 

The program already exists...

 

Yes of course, but Gerry and I were probably thinking of something more glamorous, perhaps something the clients could use to update the simulator in whatever region they require. Behind it would be a very big effort to obtain, license, collate, and align all the data ready for selection - that's quite a problem as you say.

All of the navigation data in FS9/FSX/Prepar3D was licensed for use. Part of the requirement for that license is that the raw data be protected. Companies like Jeppesen don't like it when people take their data without paying.

 

Also... mag dec isn't enough to 'fix' some of the approach alignment issues in the sim. That's a horribly complex beast that is mind boggling when you get involved in it. Suffice to say that the data that's used to create an approach plate is a bit more involved and not very obvious about it.

Gosh...what I'm starting to feel is that we're permanently stuck in 2006.  No amount of separate third party add-ons can fix this.  If you used an aircraft with its own data or a GNS with its own data you're still potentially trapped by the flight planner you use and, if not that, by the ATC program you use, etc.  God help you if you change any software because it may not line up either!  There's no way they'll all sync up.  Where will it all be in another eight years??