I'm new to making scenery for FS2004, so please bear with me...I am making a photo-realistic scenery of my local airport. It has a C-130 installed as a static display near the entrance. I could not find an object library with a C-130, but I do have a flyable C-130 in FS2004. My question is, is there a way to take an aircraft (model, textures, etc) and convert that to an object library (BGL) that can be placed using EZ-Scenery? Many thanks.

>I'm new to making scenery for FS2004, so please bear with>me...>>I am making a photo-realistic scenery of my local airport. It>has a C-130 installed as a static display near the entrance. I>could not find an object library with a C-130, but I do have a>flyable C-130 in FS2004. My question is, is there a way to>take an aircraft (model, textures, etc) and convert that to an>object library (BGL) that can be placed using EZ-Scenery? >>Many thanks.I've done thia with older aircraft MDL's, from FS98, FS2000and I think FS2002 but not with FS2004 aircraft.I used a program called MDLtoBGL.exe.One of the suggested methods of using FS2004 aircraft as"psuedo-static" is to create an AI flightplan with justa single flight, once a week, perhaps a single THG legat the airport in question. I've not tried this method soI'm not really certain that FS2004 will place the aircrafton the tarmac a week in advance of it's scheduled departurebut others put forth this method. Paul

>I've done thia with older aircraft MDL's, from FS98, FS2000>and I think FS2002 but not with FS2004 aircraft.>>I used a program called MDLtoBGL.exe.>>One of the suggested methods of using FS2004 aircraft as>"psuedo-static" is to create an AI flightplan with just>a single flight, once a week, perhaps a single THG leg>at the airport in question. I've not tried this method so>I'm not really certain that FS2004 will place the aircraft>on the tarmac a week in advance of it's scheduled departure>but others put forth this method.Yes, I did try that program, but it failed to read the mdl files I gave it.The problem is that the C-130 on static display is not on the tarmac, it is part of a memorial. I doubt that the AI would place it there.

MDLtoBGL will only work with very old models from before FS 2000.The best solution at the moment is to use an aircraft model as AI and make a flight plan that only sends it out rarely and at off-hours.In one of my projects, there are a number of junked airplanes at the side of the field. In AFCAD, I created a parking code - "JUNK" - and assigned it to some parking at this location. Then, in the aircraft.cfg for the airplanes, I specified atc_parking_codes=JUNK. Finally, I made a flight plan with TTools and only had the airplanes leave on a touch and go sometime around midnight or 1 A.M.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/141806.jpgWell, they are really not that pretty, and if I get the time, I shall make some dirty and rusted textures for them.Parking codes can have a maximum of 4 letters, by the way. Since only these airplanes use that code in the aircraft.cfg, only they will park there.Best regards.Luis

Two items:1. The default or newly made FS2004 aircraft *.mdl files will not work as static aircraft. The compiling process from GMAX is different for a flying *.mdl and a static (library object) *.mdl.2. If you have the GMAX (*.gmax) file for an aircraft, you can compile twice, once as a flying aircraft and next as a static aircraft. The static aircraft can then be used as a library object.W. Sieffert

>-SNIP->The problem is that the C-130 on static display is not on the>tarmac, it is part of a memorial. I doubt that the AI would>place it there. As long as you create a parking spot at the correct location and connect it to the airport ( use an apron taxi link of 0 width, unknown surface and no lines ) the AI c-130 should use it. Paul

> As long as you create a parking spot at the correct location and> connect it to the airport ( use an apron taxi link of 0 width,> unknown surface and no lines ) the AI c-130 should use it. The parking spots don't need to be connected to the runway, see the spots to the east which shows the museum exhibits at the Yorkshire Air Museum, England.GeorgeThanks to ImageShack for http://imageshack.us Free Image Hosting[/url]

>>The parking spots don't need to be connected to the runway,>see the spots to the east which shows the museum exhibits at>the Yorkshire Air Museum, England.>>GeorgeAh...thanks for that information, George. I wasn't aware ofthat. FS9 is so touchy about other aspects of AI that I justassumed that if a parking spot was unconnected that either itwouldn't be used or that AI would simply disappear from the spot.This explains why a "doubled up" parking space can cause twoAI aircrft to park on top of one another. i.e. - an unconnectedspace hidden under a connected one due to possibly double-clickingwhen adding a spce :)Someone pointed that phenomena out in another thread on a forum today. Paul