GSX - Parking the NGX 737

[Nick Dobda 24]

I've done my due diligence searching for the solution to this problem, but I cannot find it. I registered over at FS Dream Team but have to wait for them to authorize the account. In the mean time I'll ask the question here because you folks seem to be the most knowledgeable people out there.

FSX SE - everything default, no add on scenery or airports. GSX is parking (as I've read it should be) the center of the NGX at the "T" of the parking gate. Unfortunately, the center of the NGX is between the rear landing gear, and not the nose gear. Therefore, the jetways are having difficulty accessing the front door, and the plane is getting parked too far forward because it is parking the rear gear where the front gear should be.

This seems to be very common, and I understand why it is doing what it is doing, but I can't figure out why they haven't came up with a fix... I mean the program works great with the PMDG NGX, why couldn't they just internal to GSX set some sort of offset so it parks correctly?

Is there a simple fix... or would I have to edit every single airport AFCAD for every single parking spot (In other words, just deal with the problem cause Im not going to do that). 

[Bobsk8 12,584]

I've done my due diligence searching for the solution to this problem, but I cannot find it. I registered over at FS Dream Team but have to wait for them to authorize the account. In the mean time I'll ask the question here because you folks seem to be the most knowledgeable people out there.

 

FSX SE - everything default, no add on scenery or airports. GSX is parking (as I've read it should be) the center of the NGX at the "T" of the parking gate. Unfortunately, the center of the NGX is between the rear landing gear, and not the nose gear. Therefore, the jetways are having difficulty accessing the front door, and the plane is getting parked too far forward because it is parking the rear gear where the front gear should be.

 

This seems to be very common, and I understand why it is doing what it is doing, but I can't figure out why they haven't came up with a fix... I mean the program works great with the PMDG NGX, why couldn't they just internal to GSX set some sort of offset so it parks correctly?

 

Is there a simple fix... or would I have to edit every single airport AFCAD for every single parking spot (In other words, just deal with the problem cause Im not going to do that). 

 

You can edit the distance in GSX, and you would do that for each ramp. That being said, I have had very little problem parking the 737, I just follow the marshals instructions. 

[Nick Dobda 24]

Bob,

 

I saw you could edit the gates in GSX, I was hoping there was an easier way to do it. Is there a universal offset that works? Subtract "x" feet from each gate and it will line up?

[downscc 1,327]

Bob,

 

I saw you could edit the gates in GSX, I was hoping there was an easier way to do it. Is there a universal offset that works? Subtract "x" feet from each gate and it will line up?

Nope, each scenery is different.  Usually I see the add-on payware sceneries having a slight difference between their surface textures (such as yellow lines) and the underlying AFCAD used by GSX to spot things. I've only ran into your example, where I am many feet away from desired distance for gate, one time and that was a poor quality addon scenery. 

 

You can play with it as much as you want.  I prefer things like the eye candy at gates to work but it's not something that is very important to me. Sometimes I'll prefer to use the PMDG FMC options for pushback instead of playing with GSX.. it can get pedantic.

[Nick Dobda 24]

I've only had the chance to park in two spots to this point, but both were centered left and right, and the rear gear centered at the "T". Either I've had really bad luck, or thats just the way it is. I don't use any addon scenery, and have never messed with the underlying afcad files. I don't think the afcad file is bad, i know the NGX isn't bad, and GSX doesn't seem to be bad... its doing what its designed to do I think. The solution must be too complicated I guess otherwise I think they would have fixed it already.

[pcubine 143]

When you can post on the FSDT Forum Umberto will have you squared away in an hour. See if you can use there forum now.

[Nick Dobda 24]

Thanks for the advice, I figured they would get me straight, as of now Im still waiting to be authorized. If the solution were simple I thought I might get it here. Must be deeper then that.

 

I did notice the AI is parked too far forward too, I never looked at them before, but this might have always been the case.

[downscc 1,327]

 

 

I figured they would get me straight, as of now Im still waiting to be authorized.

 

I recall that I had to send an email because I never received the authorization. They said oops and got me logged in after resetting their board. You might try same.

[Nick Dobda 24]

I got the confirmation this morning and I'm currently in a forum with Umberto.

 

There is some confusion between him and I as far as my understanding of the problem. He is defending GSX saying that it positions the plane based off the underlying AFCAD file, and if the AFCAD file is off that's not GSX's problem.

I agree, it's not GSX's fault, it is doing what it was programmed to do. Unfortunately the way its programmed there is this issue, and it appears that there isn't a simple fix to the problem.

Admittedly, I haven't read the fine print, but if its not in already, there should be a disclaimer that GSX, FSX, and the PMDG 737 will not park you at the T unless the underlying AFCAD file is programmed a certain way... and that by default the underlying AFCAD files of FSX are not programmed that way, and that by default you're probably going to be directed to park somewhere off the "T", which might cause issues with the Jetway lining up with the doors. Perhaps its in there somewhere, but I guess the way it is now wouldn't have deterred me from buying the product anyway.
 

Still a great product though. I will have to download and learn how to use some sort of an AFCAD editor to fix a few of the gates myself so that it parks correctly - problem is I let FSX assign me the gate upon exiting the runway. Hopefully the assign me the same gate at each particular airport every time (I think this is the case most of the time).

 

Have to wonder though, if I could go in and change the X,Y coordinate of the parking, how that will effect the pushbacks.. and alignment of all the AI vehicles that come with GSX. I do not like having to go in and make changes to files without fully understanding the ramifications to the changes in these underlying files. Might be better to have them figure it out, however it seems that historically this topic (in searching their forums) there is a denial that the problem exists.. or that the problem is FSX's, not GSX's, so the solution will never come about.

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

Admittedly, I haven't read the fine print, but if its not in already, there should be a disclaimer that GSX, FSX, and the PMDG 737 will not park you at the T unless the underlying AFCAD file is programmed a certain way...

 

No offense, but that's the responsibility of the scenery dev. They should be matching their bitmaps up with the AFCAD. If they're not, then let them know or update the AFCAD to move it up/back/left/right as appropriate. There are multiple freeware programs out there to help you to that end. Additionally, if they're not using a bitmap and are using the default FSX T, then that's simply a function of the sim, which none of us can help. Finally, GSX is notorious for putting you in bad spots, even if you turn left/right and stop when it tells you to. If I stop where the marshal tells me to, it has always followed it with "that was not a very good parking." Now, I just don't use it at all (luckily, it was just the built in GSX implementation in FlightBeam products). In their defense, though, it's tough to figure out where the specific aircraft should go, exactly. Why? See below.

 

Unfortunately, to a certain degree, I don't think it's anything that anyone could help, exactly. I might need to be corrected by a scenery person directly, but FSX uses aircraft center points to determine parking spaces. In other words, if a plane is 200 feet long, then the center point is at the 0 foot mark with 100 feet ahead and behind it. The landing gear would be up near the +100 foot mark, but that isn't a certain value. Look at the nose of the 737, versus the 777, versus the MD-11. The sim doesn't really pay much attention to where the nose gear is in relation to the radius of the spot. As such, the T bar may not match up with the gear location, exactly. With that, the base spot location can't be read with the specificity that's required for GSX, but it gets you close enough. Gate planning, itself, is actually pretty complex, and would be very tough to get fully accurately in the sim.

[downscc 1,327]

 

 

As such, the T bar may not match up with the gear location, exactly. With that, the base spot location can't be read with the specificity that's required for GSX, but it gets you close enough.

 

Yup, the scenery design needs to customize where the Tee bar is placed for each aircraft, a B736 is different from a B739 etc.  When I did my KHOU scenery I used B737 and B738 PMDG models to locate the position of the Tees because it's a SWA hub and SWA flies those variants.  GSX does the best job it can but it is only as good as the match between the AFCAD, the surface textures if different from AFCAD, and the match to the specific type/variant aircraft you are using.

 

As I implied earlier, GSX will get me close enough for the moving gate to work in all 50+ airports I have added except for one, and that one was just a poor quality addon. Agree with Kyle, the marshaller usually doesnt agree with the surface textures and that is because of the variation between scenery surface textures (what you see) and AFCAD (what GSX sees). It's trivial and not worth the bother in my opinion.

[Nick Dobda 24]

Thanks for the input Kyle. I figured the problem isn't easy to fix, otherwise it would have been done. The more I think about it, and considering your points, there couldn't possibly be a universal fix for the problem. In my case, I would need all AFCAD's for all airports in the default FSX game, custom reprogrammed for the NGX 737-800. For anyone with aftermarket or updated airports, or someone using an aircraft other then the NGX, you wouldn't want that update, and instead need an entirely different update.

 

Tip of the cap to PMDG and their NGX though, for all they got right with their plane... and considering that it is probably hands down the biggest and best improvement to FSX - the fact that it cost not that much more then GSX... well either GSX is overpriced or the NGX is underpriced. And I don't think GSX is that overpriced, its pretty cool to have what it has added to the program.

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

Thanks for the input Kyle. I figured the problem isn't easy to fix, otherwise it would have been done. The more I think about it, and considering your points, there couldn't possibly be a universal fix for the problem. In my case, I would need all AFCAD's for all airports in the default FSX game, custom reprogrammed for the NGX 737-800. For anyone with aftermarket or updated airports, or someone using an aircraft other then the NGX, you wouldn't want that update, and instead need an entirely different update.

 

Welcome. For what it's worth, I usually just make it a habit to look for a simple AFCAD in the AVSIM library if I know it's the first time I'm flying there (or haven't for a while). Ray Smith has a bunch of basic AFCADs/upgrades that are usually a vast improvement over stock.

 

 

 

Tip of the cap to PMDG and their NGX though, for all they got right with their plane... and considering that it is probably hands down the biggest and best improvement to FSX - the fact that it cost not that much more then GSX... well either GSX is overpriced or the NGX is underpriced. And I don't think GSX is that overpriced, its pretty cool to have what it has added to the program.

 

It's good for its ability to handle the vast majority of what's out there - airports and aircraft.