Avcomware

Hi everyone. I think the org has alienated a lot of Real World pilots. I am in a group of 12+ and everyone got some sort of admonishment just for giving their opinion on the "dark cockpit" issue. I've been with XP since their inception and used to post .lua script solutions on the org, but I no longer contribute to that site. As to the addons I use hires ZL 17+ for local scenery, and Objects Low, No 3D trees.. and I find it much closer to RW than any of the addons. Yes, it's storage intensive, but I have a 14TB HD and I can store all the areas that I fly in real life and it's much more recognizable in the areas that I fly. I wish all the developers would post their code on github and other sites, the org is getting difficult to be around. Ortho can be a created rather quickly for small areas and if you are a Real World pilot and it is the best if you try to recognize / use some of the ground references, which is one of the worst things about XP in my opinion if you fly low. I created many ground references / objects / towers ... around the airports I fly in, for myself and the pilots I work with but it's very time consuming.

Hi GoranM. I like your picture. You must be part of the fabulous team that developed XP10? I think I am beginning to understand who / what you guys are. Can you post a picture of your whole group? I bet you get a lot of looks when you go out in public? TV

Hi Donald, and everyone. >>..either they may not have thought about the problem, or didn't really think it was that much of a problem.<< I am sure it's both, and that is exactly why people like I am try to help with constructive feedback. All the problems that I have pointed out are fairly easy to fix and would greatly improve the simming experience. One can easily analyze the models, if you look at details that are lacking, when compared to a real life model, and come up with hundreds of inaccuracies. My goal is to point out the biggest deviations that can be easily fixed. The problem becomes, gets compounded, when you see individuals that behave as if they may be involved in the development process that should be thankful for the feedback, they instead try to justify the short comings by attacking the individual that is actually doing them a favor. This is the most difficult part to fix. When one is not willing to take the time to understand, and accept the facts, the issues may never be resolved. As it stands right now, what I see in the present release, and the response, there is little hope of having a credible sim. These individuals don't only disrespect themselves they also insult their customers. I would hope Cessna will look closely to this representation and take action. If a real C172 would behave like the model they have to date, nobody would be buying / flying them. It would scare me right out of aviation, if I did not know any better. TV

Hi wb5okj and everyone. >>...however it is very hard to get this view on a small 2 dimensional flat monitor and still fly. << It is actually very easy to implement. I designed an 182RG, in GMAX for FS9 about 8 years ago, that does that, and I don't even consider myself to be an aircraft designer. See pics below. Here is another example and I can show you many more if you like. The problem is that you get these "experts" defined as "one that knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing" that are allowed, and believed as being right, and the people that actually try to help, and actually know something get edited / pushed out. TV

Hi SF. >>Personal attack removed by Mod. No more of this please. SF<< >>So your perception of both the REAL world, FS and XP all seem to be terribly missled.<< I am not sure I understand how was my statement different than the one you alowed from Morten? I would have approached you on private Email but I do not know How? Who you are. Have you seen other posts directed at me? TV

Hi MortenM. Personal attack removed by Mod. No more of this please. SF

Hi Antlab. I did not want to take too much of my time to get into this, I will for the ones curious and want to learn. I am fully aware that there are some that all they want is to antagonize and or create trouble or look smart, they will never learn and in my opinion will die dumb. I am fine with that. If MS would still be around I would not bother to post here because if I post it is my hope someone listens, learns and maybe something good comes out of it. Since Laminar's is the only sim that I still use, and still around it's my hope someone does something about it. >>..Get a model where I can see the wing tips from a normal flight position,<< I will try to elaborate, for the non pilots this may require more information, here it is. When I, or most pilots unless you are very short and cannot see the cowl, sit at the controls in a Cessna 172 you normally see the top of the top of Instrument panel and part of top the cowl as a normal position, without moving my eyes or any other part of my body. For the ones that think the size matters, I've had a pilot for Flight review 6ft.6in. 340 lbs that needed a seat belt extender and he also was able to see the wingtips. Why do I think it's important? Many reasons but assume your windshield gets full of oil, bird splatter, all instruments fail, just to name a few, your ability to fly using external references will save your life After you get a some experience you get to notice / see / sense any movement and or change in that area. While the pics can not represent exactly the proper position it's close enough to get the point across. Now try to do the same in XP10 Cessna 172 in VC mode and look at the wing tips. To Tom K. I was able to get some variations of your RV, to work in XP10, see some pics below. I have some problems with the jitter / shaking / flutter with respect to the Horizon, about the Longitudinal axis of the aircraft, at around 140KIAS, similar to the Cessna 172 at 110, but I do not save time to track down now. I use it when I just want to play, too bad I cannot do more often. Great fun bird. TV

Hello everyone. I see that a number of people have decided that when faced with facts they turn to personal attacks, sign of a lack of data to support their replies / opinions. My only goal is to give feedback based on verified facts, my experience, and with the intention of improving the overall experience of everyone involved. It is my hope that someday I can sit at my computer and experience a sensation of flight without having to get in a real aircraft. >>I have the strong feeling that you have either not flown any recent version of X-Plane, posted in the wrong forum, neven flown a real plane yourself or simply have other motivations to slander X-Plane. Or maybe all of the above. Jan<< There is no slander, everything I said is verifiable and a fact. On the other hand your post and your statement can be interpreted as slander and has no basis, or proof of what you are stating. I will give you one bit of advice, keep your remarks focused to the topic at hand and keep your personal remarks to yourself. I presently have XP9.7(Ver. 9.7.0.0), XP10 ( Ver. 10.0.3.6; 10.0.4.3; 10.0.4.4 ) demos, in the past I had XP8, involved with some sort of simulation since 1976 when I wrote my own Navigation / VOR / ADF simulator, and owned just about every PC simulator on every micro platform since. I also spent many hours in the C130 full motion simulator and was advocating to FAA, and everyone else that would listen, the merits of the PC simulation long before some of these young bucks were even born, and apparently don't know the difference between a Cessna 172 and a low wing aircraft. Every aircraft that I give my opinion on, I have flown in real life and spent a lot of time comparing, analyzing and verifying specified data vs real performance. >>....Now if I had to choose the interpretation of a flight instructor over an 8000+ hour airline captain for xwind experience, I'm going with the captain. Do expect these forums to stay hot at long as people post their interpretations with no concrete data to support the claims. Tom Kyler<< Tom, I think you have / had? good intentions, I still use your low wing release for the XP9, which I had to modify before it became useful, see some of the older posts, and I had to modify again and again with every new ver. of XP9 to make it acceptable / credible. Did you ever finish that? I think you are one of the good guys, don't let art get in the way of facts. You do not have to take anyone's word, get the C172 at KSEA, on the runway, set up the Wx to get about 12 Kts of Xwind, yes I am sure you know what Xwind is in spite of you playing dumb, and see what happens. In addition I forgot to mention, that I get this oscillation about the horizontal axis at about 110 KIAS that gives me the sensation of riding a dragon fly. Is it just me? In regards to captains, they are all humans, I've flown with some that did not know how the Rate of turn if influenced by airspeed, or they could not hand fly a simple acft without the autopilot and many other strange and unbelievable issues. They all knew it at one time, but if you don't use it you loose it. Good luck to all. TV

Hello everyone. In my opinion the technology, by itself, will not fix aviation. What needs to be done is have governments like the EU / read France, stop meddling in the Aviation industry and keep making new rules and regulations that basically destroys aviation. To fix aviation we need to have France split between Switzerland and Belgium. We can come up with any technology but without having pilots and ability to learn and fly there is no aviation. TV

Hello everyone. I, personally, look at an aircraft model as the flight characteristics / model being the Most important part of any simulator, and I compare them to the real world flying / feel sensation / performance. I look at them as tools and how useful the item may be, I don't really care how fancy looking something is. I will restrict my comments to the Cessna 172 in the following statements, unless otherwise noted. As others have mentioned nothing is exactly like the real thing, including the multi million dollars full motions sims. Since I see some of the "old" guys around, I am trying to get a better understanding as to why is it that every time a new version, especially in the XPlane world, they make changes that Drastically affect the flight model? While I do not consider myself an expert I am able to, most of the time, get most of the flight models, in most of the sims, to get the right response / feel of the real aircraft. There are limitations in all, FSX I cannot get the model to fly in slow flight with the horn on, something we practice everyday, without butchering the flight model where most of the other parameters are way out of tolerance. No Adverse yaw, only the original Fly! had that ability, adjusting the in cockpit view in the position of normal flight, see part of cowl and the 6 pack, not sitting in the back seats, to see both wings when you look to the side, very important in teaching someone visual flight, ground effect slightly perceptible in the FSX with RYoung's model. This post is getting way too long to be informative and I will just try to summarize my frustration / feedback to all. All the above said, and considering that XP9-10 cannot handle any xwind condition I am finding that the most useful model for me, as a tool is an 11 years old model, the FLYHAWK from Fly!II with terrascene scenery, next is FSX with Real air configuration, then FSX MS model, then FS9 Real air, XP8-9 self modified model, XP10 but just about useless in Xwind, and remains to be seen what the Fly!Legacy will behave like when they release it. Yes, I know that is not exactly apples to apples but I can live without the VC in the Fly! because it acts very much like the VC in the other sims. Yes, I know that the XP10 has the ability to get most of the things done right, but will it? Remains to be seen. Laminar comes across, to me, as an immature teen that does not care what happens next, they live in the moment. Before I will recommend, or purchase, any of the XP versions again they will have to fix: Ground handling / xwind problem, Allow / implement the Null adjustment for All axis, Get a model where I can see the wing tips from a normal flight position, Fix the see through clouds, Fix the upslope view sensation on flat terrain / runway, Stable platform where the models can be at least used within the same release without mods, right now you cannot even load some of the older models from XP9 like the C162 without having the system hang up, and some other less important things that I am willing to live with but it would be nice to get them done right. With all the short comings that I see it's hard to see why anyone would want to get XP10, other than supporting an active, and hopefully responsive to customers company, when others sims are available offer more flexibility fewer problems and more stable simulators. TV

Hi Alejandro. >>what if i were to sell my current amd radeon hd 6950 and with the money made buy something like a 560ti on sale or one step lower card...would this increase my performance and possibly the occasional artifacts or stutters i get with the ati..<< I have both brands, ATI 6950/70 and GTX 570. ATI has much cleaner display and just as good performance / FPS in FSX, Fly!Legacy, Fly!II, XP9 and XP10. Fix your video problem, if you have artifacts, and do not spend your money and effort on the 560. You will actually loose performance, with the 560. GPU 6950, never exceeded 80% load in my system, very similar to yours. Just fix your present system and enjoy. You should be able to run FSX really well with your set up. Look for changes in your .cfg and play with your sliders. TV

Hi jrhoads. Would you elaborate? Are you saying / implying that they / Cessna has approved the model as an official / true representation of the real aircraft flight model? TV

Hi AG. You may also want to verify that you do not have more than one axis assigned to that function. If you have more than one controller check to see that only one controls that direction. TV

Hi Jeroen.>>I now agree with what others said, that flying to headings that are at the bottom of the VOR gauge isn't very comfortable..<< ??????I did not read all the messages but YOU DO NOT have to fly the headings at the bottom of your instrument, that is just an added bonus, that you can also intercept the reciprocal, in this case 205, just as easily as the course / radial you selected at the top, with direct sensing after you intercept. If you do not like that just put the reciprocal at the top of your compass card.By the way, to easily calculate a reciprocal I use the +2 -2 rule if first digit not over 360, -2 +2 if the added 2 to first digit goes above 360.Try 080, add 2 to the first digit if not over 360, and subtract 2 from the second, 080> 0+2=2, 8-2=6 >>260, or easier, if you are in the cockpit, use your instruments / compass cards.I always fly with the Nr1 / top / best instrument and if others are available I use as back up. This is a little more work but it can save a lot of confusion, especially on a long IFR / IMC flight. Single pilot IFR in the soup can be a very challenging experience. TV

Hi J van E.I was not able to see the original post, but I was able to get some info from the page indicated by the original poster, and wanted to give my opinion since I see some real world Pilots getting involved, and it's my hope to help in some way.This is not intended to instruct and or teach someone, you should always do what your CFI teaches you, regardless of you knowing or thinking that you know better.I see that many recommend, and insist, on using the FAA described method and I also think that all pilots should know it, but it can be slow and complicated, and not the only / best method. I also think that there is nothing wrong with the method that is / was described by OP.This method is taking full advantage of the instrument's capabilities. The VOR is capable of giving you, the course within 90 degrees and one should know how to take advantage of it.I also think that everyone should know about the Reverse sensing, can be used in the Back Course approaches, Holds, etc. I would not recommend using it vs Normal / Direct sensing, but the students need to know and understand it.I see one poster stating that the OPs method will not work because you will never intercept the desired Course / Radial, reason being that the description suggests a 45 degree intercept, but there is nothing to prevent you from choosing the 90 degree intercept. The smart / only thing to do, unless you know your exact position / distance from the VOR is to do a 90 degree intercept.In addition by using the OPs method, you do not have to calculate anything, it's displayed for you, in most VOR heads. The reason I say most, it's because some have part of the Compass card covered up, but it's a lot easier to estimate the invisible part than to calculate everything.Here is the method I use, basically the same as described by the OP, but I think you will also need to make sure you get your Situational awareness understood, know where you are, before you proceed, for double checking your new position.DPEs have no problem with this method, as long as you tell them about it and be able to explain it. There are some that get very curious about it and want understand it better, and most already know it.I have an example here that also intercepts the 025 Course / Radial of "A" VOR, and starts with a mostly unknown position, which is very typical in real life especially VFR flight, where you fly along and you may not know exactly your position with respect to the VOR.Here is a real life situation (paraphrased):You know you are somewhere close to a VOR (SLI 115.70), VFR, the WX is getting marginal, still legally VFR for you picky ones, your CFI asks you to intercept radial / course 025.To set up.Get you favorite sim running get in the vicinity of the VOR, Take off from KSNA, Slew up to 1000Ft. and for a couple of seconds in any direction, with your eyes closed, and proceed. You should only know that you are in the vicinity of a VOR, (SLI 115.70) in this case. If you want to use what I think was a similar method to what OP posted, read on, and follow, this method.Position yourself somewhere near SLI VOR, if you want to try the FAA settings go to 160 Radial From SLI.To Intercept a course of 025, inbound of SLI (115.70) VOR.TITO mnemonic: Tune in your Frequency (115.70), Identify the Station (Morse code), Test your signal strength / flag, OBSelect, the desired Course / Radial, in this case 025 at the top, and note the TO flag, fly toward the quadrant that the CDI points to, see pic below, if you are on the 160 radial you can fly 295 for a 90 degree intercept or anything between 294 and 024 for something less than 90 degree intercept, not recommended.See details below for the complete procedure. If you are not on the 160 read the numbers on the CDI quadrant where the CDI is pointing and fly those headings. When you intercept your Course / radial turn in the desired direction and track.For the complete procedure read below.1-Turn your OBS to center the CDI with the From indication and find that you are on the XXX Radial, this gives you a definitive position, and helps you visualize where you need to go.2-You mentally visualize your position, you are on 160 From, as an example, on the Compass rose and know that the 025 Radial is the NNE quadrant, of your present position. You can now turn to a heading that gives you that general direction / course if you like / can visualize, WNW direction. To get more information, and better precision:3-Turn the OBS to the 025 radial, at the top of your Compass card, note your To flag points to the top half.4-Turn to the heading indicated by the instrument in the upper left quadrant, (where your CDI and the TO indicator quadrant point) between 295, for 90 degree intercept, or anything between 294 and 025 for a smaller intercept angle, if you want to fly To the station, or you can turn to between 295 to 205 if you want to intercept and fly radial 205 (reciprocal of 025) from the station, no change in OBS needed.You can also apply the same technique if you want the From on top half, just look for your From to be active and fly in the direction of the CDI and upper half quadrant indicated.If you want to really understand the operation of your VOR you can try to figure out how to find your position, if your To-From flag or CDI fails. Just keep in mind the TO From indicator divides the top and bottom half of the instrument and the CDI the left and right and left half sides. Example: Your CDI failed and you need to know what radial you are on, knowing your VOR frequency. How can you do this? Hint, turn your OBS until the To From flag changes, note the Compass card on the Horizontal divide / line, let's assume it's 160 and 320, you now know that you are one of those two radials. Make up your own situation for the CDI, with the TO From flag failed.You may run out of fuel, in real life, but it's a good exercise, and should never use it when any part of your fails. TV

Hi Anthony and everyone.>>G7USL, on 14 March 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:There are far more important things to consider than learning to fly. Life is a reality.<< >>Anthony1968My wife would agree with you :)<<While I agree that flying can be expensive it can also be very rewarding, in many ways. Many things you learn from aviation you can apply and use in real life. I've seen people spending thousands of dollars on booze, fancy cars, boats, extravagant vacations and getting very little out of all those.There were others that planned things out, got all their pleasures and meeting all their commitments in life, got their PPL, Commercial, CFI, ATPs etc. and at the same time using their aviation background to supplement their income, some have chosen it as a life career, all enjoying life in a way that only birds and only few earth bound creatures can enjoy.Add to it all the fact that you learn discipline, responsibility, management, physics, communications, etc. that you can hardly get anywhere else, with the same intensity and commitment, as your life and you dear ones depend on you, and you get something unmatched in any other industry that I know of.Don't give up. As you get older things will just be more difficult. You do not have to do it all at once. Hang around the airports, make friends with people that own airplanes, wash their planes, contribute in same way, and one day you will have your Commercial and or CFI and get some of the money back also. TV

Hi Anthony.The most efficient way to get a PPL, that I know of at this time for the people on the other side of the pond, is to save all the money you need to Complete the program, it can be around 5-6000 US$, study and know All your Ground, get your medical there also, in US is much simpler to get it, get a ticket to US and get your PPL during your next summer vacation. You may have some issues with the conversion to the European / French requirements but you can get both in US in some places.It is very important that you keep a regular schedule, I recommend at least 3 times a week, at the beginning, and if possible throughout, otherwise you loose the "muscle memory" required to get you an efficient result.Like some others have mentioned, Insurance, Government regulations, Fuel, Maintenance, etc. have driven most of the Flight schools into the ground. Soon we, in US, will be in the same boat that you guys are in Europe. TV

Hi Stoli.>>Any input is appreciated as it is helping make my decision as to whether or not to buy XPlane 10.<<If you do not own any sim at this point, I would get it.There is something very wrong with the feel, out the window, terrain upslope feel when things should be flat, views change with the direction that you looking at them from, view to right 45 vs straight on when looking at distant objects, under the least amount of xwind the aircrafts tend to turn on the runway, inability to set Null zone for some of the axes (view left right / left if assigned to the Twist), and many other small but overall significant things that add to the wrong feel of this sim.I fly the areas, in real life, and I compare it to the real life view. I want o look out and get at least a general feel that I recognize the area that I am in. If you do not have that experience some of these things may not make any difference, but these can and should be rectified before it can become a credible sim.While airborne there is a smoother feel than some other sims, but as you get close to landing / ground, especially in GA light aircraft with some xwind, everything is exaggerated and unrealistic.I hope they get serious about this sim and fix it, there is no good reason why they could not do it. If you are looking for a better feel, view wise, unfortunately MSFS and Fly Legacy, and some less known sims, are the only sims available that I know of that give you that feel. TV

Hi.You can get acceptable results with the Masks. I also use the night, it blends fairly well with the default MS night in area that you do not have / use the photo scenery.I posted a couple of un retouched pics with the KLGB harbor, clean / with mask and dirty, from another source but you get the idea.The thing you do not see, is the sun reflections. This was one of my main reasons for making my own. When I sim VFR I normally do it at Dusk, 19:37 Aug. 12, right whn the lights come on and the Sun sets. TV

Should have the complete post.Hello everyone.After trying to find some Photo real scenery to my liking, and not being very satisfied with what is available, I decided to look into it. These are some of the observations / findings that I think may be of some help to some of you. I created and modified the Coast area in SoCal from Malibu / Zuma beach to Dana point and east to Corona (AJO), and Catalina island, land only, no Airport improvments. See attached .doc file.If anyone has any questions / want some of it let me know.The pics I posted show the difference in a couple of the different methods used (5 and 6). TVI cannot post the.doc?Here is the text version.TVFSEarthTiles Basics (Ver 1.0, FSX SP2) it should work for other versions.Subject:Using "FSEarthTiles" to generate Photo Real Scenery. This Document will be of most benefit if read from the beginning. If you skip, you are most likely to miss something and get confused.Really good information in the file: "UserDocu.rtf" that comes with the "FSEarthTilesV1_0.zip" file.Disclaimer: Back up all your data.If you have any feedback on how to improve this document, Find any Errors, please post here.Equipment needed:Computer, with at least 500MB of storage, "FSEarthTiles" program, you may also need "Inkscape" free, if you want to generate .SVG ScalableVectorGraphics files, used for Drawing Water and Blend Vectors, DXTBMP, Paint Program like PhotoShop. There is a limitation imposed by the memory available when using "Inkscape" limited to blocks areas, around 6x6 NM.Goal:Impart sufficient information to get someone started without having to spend too much time experimenting, and have someone enjoy the utility's results in the shortest amount of time. Information exists, but it's patchy and it can be confusing. This document is intended to clarify some of those issues.Notes / Personal remarks:This is a compilation of information available, but laid out to make it easier to use by a beginner."FSEarthTiles" is very useful utility, easy to use, but not real easy to set up / get started.This reminds me of the old "Hidden hand" techniques used by the Karate Masters. They would never show you the complete technique, it was up to you to discover it, the hard way.If you deal with the Coast, Water select small areas and generate the masks, in case you decide to go back and clean things up, described later. Method 6 will allow fairly large Areas, 600MB and still allow you to edit the water.I initially generate all the Masks, Water, and Night and the default, no Seasons, later you can delete them but if you do it initially it creates some of the ".inf" files that are easier to modify than to recreate.The output generated will require a large data storage, if you decide to get a large area at one time, and you want to save your downloaded images for later processing, you should have at least 500GB free storage space, more if you can get it.If you want to save space you can use different CompressionQuality, and or Download resolution, more information found in the "FSEarthTiles.ini" file. At % can be close to a .25-.5% of what it is at 100%.I, personally, like to get it done at 100%, 1m resolution, if 0 is selected you get 0.5m. More on that later.Note: I usually generate ALL the masks and may not use them all. I find it easier to delete them later.InstallationDownload "FSEarthTiles" here: http://www.fspasseng...9&i=6835&t=6835Create a folder "FSEarthTiles" for this application and unzip the package into this folder.Create a working folder. Drive Letter (C:): \Name (FSEarthTiles)\Work (A folder where FSEarthTiles will store intermediate files required for the scenery generation. The folder will be created if non-existent.Create a scenery folder. Drive Letter (C:): \Name (FSEarthTiles)\ Scenery\Name (A folder where FSEarthTiles will store the built scenery. The folder will be created if non-existent including the two sub folder's scenery and texture)."Hidden hand":This can all be avoided, it will be generated for you, if you modify your "FSEarthTiles.ini" file, see below, and Start / Execute the program.Make a Copy of your: "FSEarthTiles.ini"Open FSEarthTiles.ini in NotePad or MSWordThe lines below are the most likely you will have (should) modify:[service1]ServiceCodeing = qrtsServiceUrl = http://kh0.g****e.co...=t%s&n=404&v=24 #you need to replace the * with a service base url#Referer = http://kh0.g****e.com[service2]ServiceCodeing = 0123ServiceUrl = http://a1.ortho.tile.../a%s.jpeg?g=104 #you need to replace the * with a service base url#Referer = http://a1.ortho.tiles.v******e***h.net[service3]ServiceCodeing = xyzServiceUrl = http://us.maps3.y**g...mg?%s&v=1.7&t=a # You need to replace both groups of y**g.com#Referer = http://us.maps3.y**g.com [service4]ServiceCodeing = qrtsServiceUrl = http://kh0.g****e.co...=t%s&n=404&v=24Change / enter / verify (Drive letter (C:) is whatever your drive name / letter used:WorkingFolder= Drive Letter (C:): \Name (FSEarthTiles)\WorkSceneryFolder= Drive Letter (C:): \Name (FSEarthTiles)\Scenery\NameDownloadResolution = 1 (corresponds to 1 meter/pixel, 0 is 0.5m.)AreaSnap= LatLongLatLong snaps the Area on whole minutes in Latitude and Longitude. That makes it simpler for you to keep track of an area coverage if you plan to attach more scenery in an region later.CompileScenery = Yes #Yes = Compile the Scenery, No = Download the Area only.CompressionQuality = 85 #FS default is 100%. Some like better to generate smaller bgl's.KeepAreaMaskInfFile = Yes # Important if you want to Recompile later, if Yes then this keeps the AreaMask.inf File (used for FS scenery compilation with resample.exe with Water and/or Season Masks)CreateWaterMaskBitmap = Yes # yes = create Water/Blend Mask. (An Area Vectors file (.Kml or .svg) is required for this!)CreateNightBitmap = Yes # yes = create Night TextureNote: Other masks you may want / need, see the .ini file.I use these settings, you can later delete any of the files you do not need, like the Night, Water etc. If not generated you can get them generated later but it can / will be more difficult.Execute (Run) your "FSEarthTiles.exe"Top 2 rows: Verify your settings / folders etc.Input: OK if coordinates are accepted, correctly entered.Enter your coordinates: Center Mode, if Area Def. Mode (right side) set to 1, or Corner Mode if Area Def. Mode (right side) set to 2, in the form Deg (Hour=60 min) Min =60 seconds, Seconds, i.e. 33 44.9 is equivalent to 33 44Min (.9x60) 54 secondsSelect N, E, S,W whatever area you are in, do not use negative numbers.You can drag any one corner to your upper left and or your lower right to get a larger area, if you want. Make sure your area is not very large, it can take a long time to complete an area of 160x100NM can take around 5 days 120 Hrs., to compile.Display: Will show your screen / pic at the location selected.Area: You can enter the size of your selection, and below the Window will display what you selected, Snap On, Off, coordinates etc. Area Def. Mode: Allows you to select the Center coordinates and or Two points (corners, upper left and lower right).Start: Will download your data and proceed to manipulate it as per your settings chosen in your .ini file and or your settings chosen.Download resolution: 1>1m, 0>0.5m resolution.Area and Tile Count: Will update after you make your selection.Earth Service: Allows you to select your Map / data source from what you have specified in the .ini file.Scen. Compiler: allows you to choose between FSX and FS2004Create Masks: Will generate Masks you have enabled in your .ini file. I suggest you generate Water and Night, alter you can delete them and recompile, if not needed see belowComp. Scenery: Will allow you to compile immediately after you download, or just get the maps, masks and compile later. If you download Coast scenery you may want to set it to NO and edit your maps before you compile. You can also edit them while you compile, but it can take while. See Method 2, below.Zoom: adjusts your viewing and area selected size. Higher number will generate larger areas compiled. If you want to keep your areas small, to be able to easier manipulate later, use 3-5.The rest of the buttons are mostly self explanatory.Operation:Method 1.Not recommended.If you do not need the Water, and or do not want any other area modified.Modify your "FsEarth tile.ini" file as desired, see above.Execute "FsEarth tile"Select your area, if you want a large area set Zoom to 8-9,Select Download Resolution= 1 is what I use (1m / pixel, 0 is 0.5m/pixel) ,Create Masks - YesComp. Scenery - YesClick -Startwhen it finishes look in the Folder you selected to put your finished Scenery (.bgl s), move it to where you want to use in the simulator, Install it and you are ready to enjoy it.Method 2. Describes on how to build Scenery using the modify, water etc., as you compile the Scenery. Not recommended, since editing the water line / coast, can take a while and you are limited to a small 6x6 NM area, dictated by the InkScape's file size. For this you will need to have the InkScape installed in the Folder you described in your "FSEarthTiles.ini" file, i.e.ScalableVectorGraphicsTool = D:\Inkscape\inkscape.exe #Used for Drawing Water and Blend Vectors creating a .SVG FileNote: you need to use / set your own Drive location. There is another program that you can use "Google Earth", but this will Not be described here. There is a document called "WaterUserReadMe" that describes this in more detail.Inkscape will be started from FSEarthTiles after each downloaded area.To do this you need to change the FSEarthTiles.ini config file to:CompileScenery = Yes #Yes = Compile the Scenery, No = Download the Area only.#--- Third Party Tools ---UseAreaKMLFile = NoUseScalableVectorGraphicsTool = Yes ScalableVectorGraphicsTool = D:\Inkscape\inkscape.exe Where of course you have to use your path where you installed Inkscape.You can also leave the UseAreaKMLFile to Yes but when it finds an AreaKML.kml file it will be used then also (mixes both together)Execute FSEarthTiles.Make sure Create Masks, is set to -Yes.And Scen. Compiler is set to -FSX.Then start the Download, Click on -Start.After Downloading the image area, FSEarthTiles will execute InkScape where you draw a line very detailed and as close to your coast line as you need, name it "Coast" (Object properties, ctrl-shift-o), and a line further away, somewhat parallel to the Coast line, but it does not need to be as detailed, from the shore named "DeepWater" line. Give them unique names by adding numbers. (Object properties, ctrl-shift-o). You can add a number like Coast1......2..3... etc or DeepWater 1....2..3...Note: Make sure you extend your lines outside the active shown area otherwise you may not get a good blend, if there is a gap between the lines.Check and see if the name was accepted by reopening the properties again. If it's not assigned make sure you assigned a unique name to each / all.After you edited your area Save the file and make sure you delete the ".bmp" extension and save it as ".svg"After you Close InkScape you will get the rest of the things Compiled and you should have a ".bgl" generated in the folder you selected.SceneryFolder= Drive Letter (C:): \Name (FSEarthTiles)\Scenery\NameMove it to your FSX Scenery location, or use it locally, Install and enjoy.See Recommended settings below for best quality viewing.Resampling, editing water:General steps, most detailed / accurate procedure. See more detailed steps, Edit in PhotoShop 5 detailed steps below.Save your "Area_Lp1_....bmp", "AreaMask_Lp1_...bmp", "AreaNight_Lp1_...bmp" and any other file you may want to modify. I normally add "_ori" to differentiate.Load your "Area_Lp1_....bmp", file in Photo shop.Edit your Water area Black, 0,0,0.Copy / Save your Black area to use in the next step.Load your "AreaMask_Lp1_....bmp", file in Photo shop.Paste your Black area into it, make sure you index it correctly, and clean the edges, inspect it at least 100%.Flatten your image and Save as... "AreaMask_Lp1_....bmp", without the "_ori" it.Save as... your "Area_Lp1_....bmp" without the "_ori" in it.Modify / verify your "AreaFSXMasksInfo_Lp1_...inf" to reflect the location and file names are correct, they should be OK unless you decided to resample/ move some of the files.To Resample / Compile, just Drag the AreaFSInfo_..inf _.. file over the "resampleFSXSP2.exe", or whatever version you want, located in the same Folder as your "FSEarthTiles.exe" if you need / use any Mask or,Use the "AreaFSXMasksInfo_..inf" if you only want Day and Water, and,or "AreaFSXMasksSeasonsInfo_ inf" files if you have Day, Water and Night.Note the extension ".inf" are the files you need to move and if you want al three combinations, used for Terrain, Water, Night, you only need the"AreaFSXMasksSeasonsInfo_ inf" file.You should have the ".bgl" s in your SceneryFolder you selected to put your files in.Method 3.Not recommended.If you need the Water, and or any other area modified, just Download the Images / tiles, Edit your areas, and Compile later.Execute "FsEarth tile"Select your area, if you want to edit a smaller area may be easier to handle, Zoom to 3-5,Select Download Resolution= 1 is what I use (1M / pixel, 0 is 0.5m/pixel) ,Create Masks - YesComp. Scenery - NoClick -StartAfter you downloaded your images you are ready to Edit your "Area_...bmp", "AreaMask_...bmp", "AreaNight_...bmp" files and compile them.You can open your "AreaMask_...bmp" file in PhotoShop or any other paint program, paint the Water area where you want your area shown in black (0,0,0), you can also use a dark Blue color for transition near the coast, you can also do rivers, creeks, lakes etc. and Save.Edit your "Area_...bmp", file any way you want, I use Auto Level and Save it.To Resample / Compile, just Drag the AreaFSInfo_..inf _.. file over the "resampleFSXSP2.exe", or whatever version you want, located in the same Folder as your "FSEarthTiles.exe" if you need / use any Mask or,Use the "AreaFSXMasksInfo_..inf" if you only want Day and Water, and,or "AreaFSXMasksSeasonsInfo_ inf" files if you have Day, Water and Night.Note the extension ".inf" are the files you need to move and if you want al three combinations, used for Terrain, Water, Night, you only need the"AreaFSXMasksSeasonsInfo_ inf" file.If you've done everything right you should have a window (black) open up and see the compiler count the tiles/ areas. If things happen really fast, you can hardly see the window, you probably made a mistake, check the names, extensions, etc.You should have the ".bgl" s in your SceneryFolder you selected to put your files in.Method 4.Not recommended.If you Do not have a Mask generated but you still want to edit your areas.Note: I was not able to find a clean / good procedure to accomplish this task. While the end result is somewhat acceptable is not as good as generating your Water masks during Download.This is the process that I found to works best:Tools: PhotoShop, and or other Paint program that can generate Alpha channels, to edit your "Area_Lp1_SnapOff_YY_YY_XX_XX.bmp", could be SnapOn, and a Notepad editor for "AreaInfo_Lp1_SnapOff_ YY_YY_XX_XX.inf", lots of time and patience.Load your "Area_Lp1_SnapOff_YY_YY_XX_XX.bmp" in PhotoShop.Select the Water area, Magnetic Lasso Tool works well, you may also be able to do it with the Magic Wand. Fill the water area with Dark blue, Red=0, Green=30, blue=35. You can also Dodge an area with lighter blue if you like to smooth out the transition.You may also be able to create a Texture to fill the area in with possible better results.Go into Channels mode and generate an Alpha channel, LClick on the Rectangle within a rectangle, "Create a new Channel"Fill the Water area with Black, it defaults to it, R=G=B=0, this will be a see through area, and the land and or area you want displayed with White R=G=B=255. See "PhotoShop 5 detailed steps" below if you need to.Save your file as "Area_Lp1_SnapOff_YY_YY_XX_XX.TGA", note the ".TGA" extension, 32 bit.Save / Copy your "AreaInfo_Lp1_SnapOff_ YY_YY_XX_XX.inf" file, Note it must have the coordinates "...YY_YY_XX_XX" as your ".bmp" file, and open it in Notepad.Modify your "AreaInfo_Lp1_SnapOff_ YY_YY_XX_XX.inf" file, from ".bmp" to ".tga", see below/. You can save it by adding "_tga" before the ".inf" extension to find it easier, i.e. "AreaInfo_Lp1_SnapOff_ YY_YY_XX_XX_tga.inf"Example (your coordinates and Folders will / may be different):>>[Destination]DestDir = E:\FSEarthTile\LAX\sceneryDestBaseFileName = Area_Lp1_SnapOff_N033190150_N033180161_W118195125_W118183925BuildSeasons = 0UseSourceDimensions = 1CompressionQuality = 100[source]Type = CustomSourceDir = E:\FSET\FSEarthTilesPreV0_8\work#>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>SourceFile = Area_Lp1_SnapOff_N033190150_N033180161_W118195125_W118183925.bmp#Extension ".bmp" needs to be changed to ".TGA" and save it, you can change the name if you like, but make sure you can identify it later. The new line should look:SourceFile = Area_Lp1_SnapOff_N033190150_N033180161_W118195125_W118183925.tga#<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Lon = -118.330907821655 ;for top left and bottom right is: -118.310894966125Lat = 33.3170861005783 ;for top left and bottom right is: 33.3004456758499NumOfCellsPerLine = 2798 ;Pixel is not used in FSXNumOfLines = 3102 ;Pixel is not used in FSXCellXdimensionDeg = 7.15255737304688E-06CellYdimensionDeg = 5.36441802978516E-06PixelIsPoint = 0SamplingMethod = Point<<Save your modified file and you are ready to recompile / resample it.Recompile / resample it by Dragging your just modified ".inf" file on top of "resampleFSXSP2.exe" file found in the same Folder where you have your "FSEarthTiles.exe"If you've done everything right you should have a window (black) open up and see the compiler count the tiles/ areas. If things happen really fast, you can hardly see the window, you probably made a mistake, check the names, extensions, etc.Method 5.There is another way, and the best, at higher altitude, quality wise?, at the expense of storage. Create the area with or without Masks (you will not need the Masks), Compile ( to create some of the .inf files you can edit / use later), Edit your original ".bmp" to fill the water area with pure black (0,0,0).Create an Alpha channel, see Edit in PhotoShop 5 detailed steps. below, with the Water area black and the land pure White (255,255,255) and save it as ".tif".Copy your just modified " Area_Lp1_.....tif" and rename it "AreaMask_tif" i.e.,Example:from:Area_Lp1_SnapOff_N033464853_N033345578_W117580547_W117481839.tifTo: AreaMask_Lp1_SnapOff_N033464853_N033345578_W117580547_W117481839.tifModify your: "AreaFSXMasksInfo_Lp1_SnapOff_XXXX_XXX_YYYY_YYYY.inf " to indicate the change, see the "Type =TIFF" and the extension ".tif". Resample by dragging this modified file over the "resampleFSXSP2.exe". This creates the best result with the water being transparent in areas that you may want to see something submerged, like weeds, rocks, etc, but it does show some of the original MS terrain above the new scenery. Some of the lights may also show up at night from the original MSFS scenery.Not recommended for cities, only for areas like Catalina island or where your small detail is not primary concern.>>>[Destination]DestDir = D:\FSX\avxbgls\sceneryDestBaseFileName = Area_Lp1_SnapOff_N033291890_N033173304_W118272548_W118175570BuildSeasons = 0UseSourceDimensions = 1CompressionQuality = 85[source]Type = MultiSourceNumberOfSources = 2[source1]Type = BMPLayer = ImagerySourceDir = D:\FSEarthTiles\avxdataSourceFile = Area_Lp1_SnapOff_N033291890_N033173304_W118272548_W118175570.bmpLon = -118.457078933716 ;for top left and bottom right is: -118.29879283905Lat = 33.4885919094086 ;for top left and bottom right is: 33.2925009727478NumOfCellsPerLine = 11065 ;Pixel is not used in FSXNumOfLines = 18277 ;Pixel is not used in FSXCellXdimensionDeg = 1.43051147460938E-05CellYdimensionDeg = 1.07288360595703E-05PixelIsPoint = 0SamplingMethod = PointChannel_BlendMask = 2.0 ;red channel, (note:green channel is the grey-info)Channel_LandWaterMask = 2.2 ;blue channel[source2]>>>>> Type = TIFFLayer = NoneSourceDir = D:\FSEarthTiles\avxdataSourceFile = >>AreaMask_Lp1_SnapOff_N033291890_N033173304_W118272548_W118175570.tifLon = -118.457078933716 ;for top left and bottom right is: -118.29879283905Lat = 33.4885919094086 ;for top left and bottom right is: 33.2925009727478NumOfCellsPerLine = 11065 ;Pixel is not used in FSXNumOfLines = 18277 ;Pixel is not used in FSXCellXdimensionDeg = 1.43051147460938E-05CellYdimensionDeg = 1.07288360595703E-05PixelIsPoint = 0SamplingMethod = Point<<Method 6.Recommended.Create All Masks and Compile the scenery, then select the areas that you want to modify. Hint: Look at the Thumbs generated in the Texture folder where you decided to put you ".bgl"s.Resampling, editing water:General steps, most detailed / accurate procedure.Save or Rename your "Area_Lp1_....bmp", "AreaMask_Lp1_...bmp", "AreaNight_Lp1_...bmp" and any other file you may want to modify. I normally add "_ori.bmp" to differentiate.Load your "Area_Lp1_....bmp", file in Photo shop.Edit your Water area Black, 0,0,0. See Edit in PhotoShop 5 detailed steps, step below if needed.Copy / Save your Black area to use in the next step.Load your "AreaMask_Lp1_....bmp", file in Photo shop.Paste your Black area into it, make sure you index it correctly and clean the edges, inspect it at least 100%.Flatten your image and Save as... "AreaMask_Lp1_....bmp", without the "_ori" it, if files are large you can go in the background and rename your just loaded file and use your Save command. This seems to work better with large files if you run out of Memory / space. You must rename your file after that to remove the ".ori".Save as... "Area_Lp1_....bmp" without the "_ori" in it.Modify / verify your "AreaFSXMasksInfo_Lp1_...inf" to make sure the location and file names are correct, they should be OK unless you decided to resample/ move some of the files.To Resample / Compile, just Drag the AreaFSInfo_..inf _.. file over the "resampleFSXSP2.exe", or whatever version you want, located in the same Folder as your "FSEarthTiles.exe" or,Do the same with the "AreaFSXMasksInfo_..inf" if you only want Day and Water, and,or "AreaFSXMasksSeasonsInfo_ inf" files if you have Day, Water and Night.Note the extension ".inf" are the files you need to move and if you want al three combinations, used for Terrain, Water, Night, you only need the"AreaFSXMasksSeasonsInfo_ inf" file.You should have the .bgl s in your Sceneryfolder you selected to put your files in.Edit in PhotoShop 5 detailed steps.Note: This guide / procedure, is what I use. You must keep in mind that I am not an artist, if anything as far one can be from it, I get this done by wearing the electrons down.1-Find your image ".bmp" file to edit, RClick and Open With Photoshop.2-Select your Foreground color, LClick on the square on top of square Lower Left side.3-In the new window, that allows you to select color enter R=0, G=30, B=35, LClick OK.4-Select, LClick, Magnetic Lasso Tool and mark the water area that you want to paint, this is a coarse step you can / will, fine select later with the Pencil Tool. Make sure you go all the way to the corners. Double LClick to close / finish the loop. (Hidden hand: You can go in Channels and select a color like Red that may be easier to differentiate.)4a- Alternate procedure Expand your image to Fit on Screen, then Pixel size, paint all the area at the shore with white, brush 65, or 300 works fairly well, select the area you want to mask black with the magic wand, make sure you only select the area you need, it may take a few tries, Clear it with White then use the Paint Bucket to paint it Black and Save it.You can use your Black selection to mask your "Area_Mask..." file.5-Select Paint Bucket tool and fill the inside of your selected area. Note you cannot make a mistake by painting outside, so you can do it fairly quick and broad.6-Select your Pencil tool and choose a wide brush "300" or so, and fill in the rest of the area that the bucket did not finish, or Clear it with pure Black.7-Deselect your area, upper bar under Select. Note: At this point you must be careful when you use your paint tools since All the area is accessible you can easily paint over an area that you do not want painted. You may want to save your work as a ".psd" file.8-Fine tune your area, Paint it using Pencil with different size brushes and the same color as before, and verify that all the Water area is covered. Expand to Pixel Size-400 and check everywhere specially in the corners and the sides.9-Select Magic Wand Tool and reselect your Water area which should all be dark blue R=0, G=30, B=35, if Method 4 used, or pure Black for the rest. If Alpha channel needed:10-Go into Channels, and LClick, in the lower right area where there is a rectangle within a smaller rectangle in it, Create new channel. A new layer should be generated called Alpha that has all black background and the area you selected in the previous step.Important: At this point you Do not want / need to paint on your original ".bmp" file.11-LClick to the right of the Thumbnail of the Alpha you just created and the area should turn Blue / active and ready to be manipulated.12-Go into Select, top toolbar, and select Inverse. This will now select the Ground / area that you Do Not want to be water and will be rendered as your original .bmp.13-Select, LClick, on your Foreground Color. lower left toolbar, and set R=G=B=255, or pure white.14-Use your Paint Bucket and fill the Ground / selected area with Pure white.15- Save your file as "Area_Lp1_SnapOff_YY_YY_XX_XX.TGA", note the ".TGA" extension, 32 bit, or ".Tif".16-Exit PhotoShop.17-Save / Copy your "AreaInfo_Lp1_SnapOff_ YY_YY_XX_XX.inf" file, Note it must have the coordinates "...YY_YY_XX_XX" as your ".bmp" file, and open it in Notepad.18-Modify your "AreaInfo_Lp1_SnapOff_ YY_YY_XX_XX.inf" file, from ".bmp" to ".tga" or ".Tif" , see below/. You can save it by adding "_tga" or ".Tif" before the ".inf" extension to find it easier, i.e. "AreaInfo_Lp1_SnapOff_ YY_YY_XX_XX_tga.inf". See more details above.19-Recompile it by Dragging your just modified ".inf" file on top of "resampleFSXSP2.exe" file found in the same Folder where you have your "FSEarthTiles.exe"If you've done everything right you should have a window (black) open up and see the compiler count the tiles/ areas. If things happen really fast, you can hardly see the window, you probably made a mistake, check the names, extensions, etc.Recommended settings.Info from HD100.In order to get the best feedback / view of the scenery in the sim you may want to try these mods, (back up your file first)in FSX.cfg:[Display.Device.xxxx.0]MipBias = 6and in the NVIDIA driver: Negative LOD Bias set to ClampThis makes the look sharp.With fast system, in the FSX.cfg:LOD_RADIUS = 7.0LOD_RADIUS = 7.0 setting has to be reentered whenever you modify the settings in FSX. The FSX slider only sets a value of 4.5 maximum.Whenever possible create sceneries with a resolution of 1meter/pixel (level 1) or better. The difference in the look between a resolution of 1meter/pixel compared to a 4meter/pixel in FSX is really significant. FSX texture quality depends on high resolution.

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Hi. I would take the opportunity and enjoy it. But before I go up with anyone I try to be self sufficient / reliant, as much as I can. Learn the systems, Emcy Procedures etc. and be as much part of the crew as possible. Insurance of some sort would help, I imagine there are deep pockets Legal eagles out there also? Have fun, I am not sure about all the rules about Europe, we will likely be there soon, in US, if the French and current admin have it their way. TV

Hi."What makes your suggestion hard is the way that FSET IDs the areas using lat and long."I am not sure how this works, the program we used was TerraScene that was able to generate compile after we dloaded the data. Fly Legacy is starting again, I will try to see if the old data / same(old) procedure is good for it? TV

Hi."Can I set a large area and let things run like overnight? Yep!"Yes, that is part of it. Can we get the Raw data first then compile it? I used to have some old CDs somewhere, not sure of the resolution, and we passed that along and each one of us worked on different areas. TV

Hi."Does anyone know how to adjust the coastline so the photoreal scenery falls perfectly?"I think you have to use a mask, I am not up to speed on that yet. There is a Tutorial, I think Luis is the Master on that. Before you go too far resolve this unknown, it may be that you have to do it at the initial Compile, before you get your .bgl? TV