The possibility of sending military and cargo aircraft to military or cargo ramps seems - if believing the Microsoft SDK - to exist.Is there any possibility to change the aircraft type of a special airccraft to cargo or mil without touching other parameters? I think of somethink like an additional OPTIONAL parameter in the TTools input files, or similar.Bodo van Laak

If there is such a variable, it's not currently known to any of us...-- Tom GibsonCalifornia Classic Propliners: http://members.aol.com/tgfltsim/index.htmlAlcoHauler Locomotive Page: http://members.aol.com/alcohauler/home/alcohaul.htmlFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.com/ San Diego Model RR Museum: http://www.sdmodelrailroadm.com/Drop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___

I'm not sure I understand. If you look at the sample AircraftTypes.dat file that comes with the Microsoft Traffic SDK, you'll find some info about the parking types that you can assign to aircraft. These types include military and cargo. I'm not intimately familiar with TTools but does it not expose the military and cargo parking types?

Hi Adam,It's been this forum's experience that there is nothing we currently use that allows the segregation of military, cargo, etc. aircraft into their proper parking types.Let me give an example. If you create Gates and Cargo parking places with AFCAD (of the same radius), and place the Gates above the Cargo spots in the list, upon loading FS will place any of the default AI aircraft at the Gates, and not Cargo. If you switch the order of the parking spots in the AFD file (i.e. Cargo spots first and Gates last), then the planes will instead be placed in the Cargo spots and not the Gates.Lee Swordy has stated to me that there is nothing in the traffic.bgl file that specifies the type of parking spot that a flight plan's plane will use. Furthermore, tests by posters on this forum have shown that parking is determined solely by parking spot radius and aircraft wingspan (apparently derived from the mdl file). Also, parking order at FS load is determined by the order of the parking spots in the AFD file and the order of the flight plans in the traffic.bgl file.Finally, while the Traffic SDK aircraft.dat file does indeed specify the types of parking allowed by that aircraft, it appears that this is not what happens. Instead, it appears to us to simply specify to the autoroute routine whether an aircraft will be routed to that airport or not. For example, no Cargo planes will be routed to airports without Cargo parking specified in their airport.dat file. However, once the Cargo aircraft arrives at this airport, it will not necessarily use the Cargo parking (unless it happens to be the next one on the list large enough for the plane) - it could just as easily park at a Gate or a Ramp.If there is indeed a way to specify this, we are all ears... :)Hope this helps,-- Tom GibsonCalifornia Classic Propliners: http://members.aol.com/tgfltsim/index.htmlAlcoHauler Locomotive Page: http://members.aol.com/alcohauler/home/alcohaul.htmlFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.com/ San Diego Model RR Museum: http://www.sdmodelrailroadm.com/Drop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___

Tom,Right you are and thanks for the explanation. It's strange and disappointing that it doesn't work.Adam

Thank you Tom and you allIt is really a funny behavior, but better than nothing. Perhaps Microsoft's Flightsim-Developer-Team did not really finished the product completely at the release time (i can understand them, estimating time in software developement projects is really difficult).But i am looking forward on the next flight simulator with a happy smile in my face.But back to the cargo and mil. I am living in Germany. German airports mostly have a code EDDx (EDDK for Cologne, EDDF Frankfurt, EDDL Dusseldorf etc.We now can make overlays with great AFCAD. It would be very useful if we could give the airports 5- oder 6-letter-codes, e.g. EDDK1 for Cologne, EDDK2 for military, EDDK3 for small aircraft, EDDK4 for generaly cargo, EDDK5 for UPS (with their own parking stands) etc.Is this possible (having the FS2002 data structures in mind) in principle?Or to turn the question around: Is the 4 letter restriction settled in AFCAD / TTools or in FS 2002 itself?ThanksBodo