People Driving On Ramp & accross runways

[Guest V4DIV-CVN-70]

HELP! I see cars driving around on the ramp at Memphis KMEM. and a couple of other airports. Is this a UTX/GEX issue?

[RFields5421 1]

No - FSX puts cars on certain roads, but where those type roads cross airports and runways FSX displays the cars on the top layer texture - the runway or ramp.Winchester Road goes under the runways and taxiways. FSX is still a one level simulation - it doesn't have a second level below the runway capability.Some addons put roads in correct locations - but to stop the cars from running across the airport - the road would have to be broken or end on either side of the airport.There are quite a few airports in the FSX world with this same issue.

[bkeske 0]

>HELP! I see cars driving around on the ramp at Memphis KMEM.>and a couple of other airports. Is this a UTX/GEX issue?Yes, it is a UTX 'issue'....but....it is a result of UTX's accurately placed roads, and FSX's improperly placed airports (per the UT folks when I asked about it on their support forum).I have it happen very rarely, but it has happened to me as well.

[rhodges 6]

A nusience for sure, howbeit an amusing one!I know next to nothing about what developers have to do in order to give us their contributions, but apparently there is a solution.For some time when flying IFR (I follow roads) I noticed if I was following the turnpike between Beckley, WV and Wytheville, VA (I77) that suddenly the highway ended a few miles south of Princeton, WV flying South, and a few miles North of Wytheville, Va flying North. It finally sunk in on me. Tunnels begin at these locations. Sure nuff, if I ignored the disappearing highway and continued my flight I could see where ground traffic exited a few miles farther at the other end of the tunnels (there are two a few miles apart). A touch of reality as this is exactly what one sees real world.What I don't understand, is if MSFS can display this reality on a highway, why could they not have done the same thing at the airports where ground traffic goes through a tunnel under runways? I would have thought the same scenario would have applied.Respectfully:RTH

[RFields5421 1]

A big part of the problem is the source data. FS is only as good as the source data.Highway databases frequently show tunnels in mountain terrain, but do not show underpasses as different features.Go to maps.google.com and zoom in on the Memphis airport - in the traffic view there is no indication / data that says the highway does not cross the runway.The same thing at KLAX with Sepulveda Blvd.While the Google map view does not display a tunnel at the location you mentioned crossing the VA border between US 52 and VA 598 - the data that there is a tunnel in that location is in the database.If you look at the same location in Microsoft's mapping program - maps.live.com - you see the tunnel indicated. I assume FS gets their road data from the same source as Microsoft gets the data for Live.com.It's all just a question of fine tuning the data - I'm pretty sure KLAX was fixed by Microsoft because it's a detailed airport. KMEM isn't a detailed airport.Programs like USA Roads for FS2004 and Ultimate Terrain place roads very accurately with some very good data correlation of that data to the FS world.They even have my little home town of 600 people in Arkansas wrong. Which shows their data source because all the mapping software sites have the US Highway on the wrong streets. So I know their source data is consistent.The fix - manhours and the cost of labor - it will take detailed hand work by the developers to look at maps and satellite photos of airports to find where the roads need to be broken.That's all the tunnel is - the road ends at one location and starts at another.Of course the cost of looking at all the US airports and making detailed changes by hand might drive the cost of an addon like UTX out of reach for most people.