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tjrush

AI for VOXATC

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I'm almost 73 years old and I'm coming to the conclusion that UTBridge may not be available in my lifetime.  So, I thought I'd create my own AI.  In another thread Jay suggested AIFP and starting simple with Southwest Airlines.

I downloaded and installed AIFP and downloaded the AIG Southwest Summer 2017 schedule. The video Jay referenced says to load the schedule in AIFP, double-click on any red aircraft in the aircraft section, download the aircraft model to the AIFP\Repaints folder and click install. DONE

Is this correct for this one aircraft? If I look into the model download it has both a FSX and FS9 version and also says it requires a download of the basepack for installation.  Does AIFP handle all this automatically?

Any help would be appreciated.  I really don't want to screw up my P3D installation.

Tom


Tom

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51 minutes ago, tjrush said:

Does AIFP handle all this automatically?

Tom,

Unfortunately the answer is no it doesn't. It matches repaints to the flight plan which is most tedious part of the process. If you want to experiment with Southwest, it only uses the outstanding FAIB B737 models which can be downloaded here:

http://fsxaibureau.com/manufacturing/

You might as well download all B737 models, even though the most recent flightplan for SWA doesn't need all of them. I'll give you a bit more detailed instructions on installing these models and ask questions if you have any:

1. Download the B737 models.

2. Unzip the FSX version of each model to your main P3d folder. Note, I install all my FAIB AI aircraft and flight plans to a separate main folder <drive>:/AIG/FAIB, but since you are just doing a test, I'm giving you the simplest option. You can always move the AI model folders at a later date and edit simobject.cfg to add the new main model folders.

3. Download the SWA Summer 2017 flight plan zipped installation file from AIG. It's located here:http://www.alpha-india.net/aigfiles/browse.php

Browse to Summer 2017 flight plans and use ctrl-F to search for the correct zip file and download it. 

4. Run AIFP and open the zip file.

5. In the far right pane of AIFP, all the repaints used in the flight plan should be red, indicating that they are missing. Right click any one and then click Install Repaint. This will open a popup window. If a repaint exists anywhere online it will show in this popup window as blue. Mark  the first blue entry and then click the Download button. Download the file to:

<drive>:\Program Files (x86)\AI Flight Planner\Repaints

The color of that entry in the popup window will turn green. Now click the Install button. There are sometimes radio buttons for selecting mipped and non-mipped textures so pick which one you want.

6. Repeat until all the repaints have been installed. 

7. Run the sim to confirm that the repaints show up correctly. In FSX, an AI aircraft with a missing texture shows up black. In P3d4 they show up as a reflective mirrored texture.

That's the gist of it. Most people find this approach too tedious, but it does  IMO yield the best results. Consult the previously posted AIFP video tutorial if you get stuck.

Jay

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Tom,

Im just starting this addictive behavior myself per Jays suggestion. Once you get past the first one, it’s really pretty easy. The hardest part is finding the base models for some aircraft. Southwest is a good start since the base models are readily available at FAIB.  I’ve done Southwest and Alaska in just a few hours.  I mostly fly in the PNW so started on Air Canada Express and looking at some GA stuff next.

dont forget to run the Vox Indexer after you compile your traffic file. 

Have fun!


Kent

i7 4790k @4.7Ghz 32Gb DDR3 1333 RTX 2070 GPU Win10 Pro

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Jay: 

Let's take one step at a time.

I downloaded the FAIB Boeing 737-300 Basepack.  I don't understand the installation instructions.  How would I install it to C:\AIG\FAIB ?

Tom


Tom

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Don't bother with creating an AIG folder for now, since you are just trying to learn how this all works. Follow what I said above. For example, download the FAIB B737-700 zip file. Open it with either WinZip, WinRAR or even with the Windows File Explorer and extract the files to your main sim folder. If you click on the FSX folder in the zip archive, you will see four entries. One says "PLACE INSIDE YOUR FSX MAIN TEXTURE FOLDER". extract that to:

<drive>:\Program Files\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\Texture

One says "EXTRA" which you can ignore. The other two are the folders for the winglets and non-winglets B737-700 models. Extract those to your sim's SimObjects\Airplanes folder. For example, for P3dV4 it's

<drive>:\Program Files\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\SimObjects\Airplanes

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I believe that I successfully installed the 737-700 basepack.  Now let's see if I understand the next step .

I go back to FAIB and download the Southwest airlines repaints for the 737-700. There appears to be four of them and all seem to be for the winglets version.  Now, for each repaint  I put the texture folders in with the 700_w aircraft and add the fltsim.x entries to the aircraft.cfg file remembering to number the sections. I then repeat this process for each of the aircraft included in the AIG Southwest flight plans.

Does this sound right?

Tom

 

 

 


Tom

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As you may already know, AVSim was having problems with its forum all day today, so I couldn't respond. You don't have to edit aircraft.cfg, although that will certainly work. Take a look at the tutorial here on how to use AI Flight Planner (AIFP). AIFP automates the process of finding repaints:

 

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I think I got Southwest under control.  I thought that I'd move on to Delta.  I went to FAIB to download the Delta schedule. Two questions. 1) Is there a way to know which is the latest schedule. I found Summer 2017 by searching backwards.  2)There are two schedules AIG_DeltaAirLines_Summer_2017_FSP.zip and AIG_DeltaAirLines_Summer_2017_TFS.zip  What is the difference between a FSP and a TFS file?

Tom


Tom

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There actually is a utility at the Alpha India Group website which checks which flight plans you have installed and advises you of newer versions

http://www.alpha-india.net/forums/index.php?topic=24614.0

The FPS schedules are for FSPainter's payware AI aircraft, which are as good in quality as the FAIB models. Google FSPainter for more information. The TFS schedules are for the legacy Fruit Stand AI models, which are freeware. All the models can be found here:

http://www.alpha-india.net/forums/index.php?topic=23926.0

The only tricky thing about the links on that page, is one often has to download the FS9 version first and then overwrite it with the FSX/P3d version. The FAIB models are all compatible with FSX and P3d so one doesn't have to worry about the Airbus and Boeing FAIB models. I would stick to those until you get the hang of AIFP.

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**DELETED**

Edited by jabloomf1230
Duplicate Post ??

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Here is a complete list of the FSPainter models, some of which are freeware:

Airbus:

  • A330-200, -200F
  • A330-300
  • A340-200, -300, -500, -600
  • A350-900
  • A380

Boeing:

  • B737MAX
  • B777-200, -200LRF, -300, -300ER
  • B787-8, -9

Bombardier:

  • CS100
  • CS300

McDonnell-Douglas:

  • MD11

Fokker

  • Fokker 50

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I think I'm getting in over my head.  Would you post a link to where I would find the latest Delta schedule?

 


Tom

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I was trying to keep it simple and only download the FAIB models and associated repaints.  I started with the 767-300 and -400.  Unless I'm looking at the wrong thing, the only models in the above schedule  are the 767-300ER and -400ER and they don't seem to match the FAIB repaints. Is there a Delta schedule somewhere that would include the FAIB models?

 


Tom

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https://kyles-ai-works.com/2017/11/13/delta-air-lines-3/

The FAIB B767 models are newer than the AIG Delta summer 2017 flight plan. The problem that you are running into explains why the payware AI packages such as UTL are always missing key repaints. The commercial developers can't obtain permission to use all the myriad of freeware models and repaints. Thus, the AIG approach is more accurate and up to date but it requires far more work on the part of the user. Keep in mind that you are painting the sky with AI. It takes a lot of time to create a masterpiece.

If you are using AIFP, it would have referred to the older legacy AI models for the Delta B767 models.

Edited by jabloomf1230

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