sunken ground level

[Guest]

hello,i've designed a couple of heliports using the following procedure:1. created the base in eod and exported to api.2. placed a flatten area directly below the api in airport2.63. created an invisible runway surface area over the api with the correct altitudethis works fine, except that if i fly to the pad from a location greater than 20 or so miles in distance, the ground level of the pad sinks about 2 feet lower and i end up sitting with the wheels "stuck in tarmac" syndrome.any idea why this is happening and is there a work around other than reloading the scenerey library when i get close?adrian cholmndeley

[Guest JR Morgan]

Hi adrian. I'm not smart enough to know why this happens, however, yes, it happens in FS2002 only. In FS2000 and FS98, one could simply use the older SCASM Area16 commands for elevated helipads but in FS2002, my experience is that Area16 only commands are un-reliable because of random loss of the hardened surface.I've had success using the Create Helipad routine of Apt26 in a revised sequence similar to the one you posted and as shown below:1. Place a flatten area at the FS2002 default ground level at the location you wish to place your elevated helipad. Depending on the terrain, this ground level may be different than the "scenery" altitude shown in the Apt26 window. This flattened area should be sized at least as large as your building or elevated helipad structure.2. Place an Apt26 helipad AT THE SAME GROUND LEVEL ELEVATION* as your flatten area. This pad does not need to be textured, however, it can-be because your building or structure will hide it so the FS graphics engine does not paint it (unless you're inside the building).3. Place your building or elevated structure directly at the flatten area and (Apt26) helipad created in 1 & 2 above. Gmax buildings can be used.4. Place your Apt26 elevated helipad on-top-of the structure of 3 above. You can choose custom seasonal texture bitmaps if you wish. in the Apt routine, it's default helipad texture bitmap is lighted at night and also, corner strobe and edge lighting options are available. The Apt26 helipad routine retains the Area16 code for backwards compatibility with the earlier sims but it's the invisible runway portion of it's code that works for FS2002.NOTE: I was always having the same result as you described when leaving and re-entering the scenery area *until David Morgan of England discovered the added helipad at ground level of step 2 above seemed to further anchor things and minimize if not eliminate that unwanted characteristic in FS2002.In my opinion based on observations, FS2002 seems to have an unwanted HYSTERESIS EFFECT in it's scenery engine that allows loss-of or unaccurate re-setting of scenery elevations whenever an LOD area is departed-from and returned-to. It's obvious that MS did not design FS2002 with the Helicopter Pilot in-mind.The above "Kluge" in making workable elevated Helipad scenery objects is therefore usually effective; otherwise, resetting the scenery by going to the and refreshing the scenery is also effective but that is not realistic flying :-grr3dac6cd510700d17.jpg