My New STOLport III

[RollerBall]

Well, it's been finished and ready to be uploaded for several days now.





Now we have the usual problem that really pi**es me off.  >:(

Rey Lopez has very kindly allowed me to include his great Cessna 310 in the package as AI.

But Mr Lucariny (Piper Seneca) and Marcel Kuhnt (Trislander) haven't replied to emails. Now I have to say that I think that this is really unacceptable.

All designers should include email addresses in their packages and reply promptly to any messages they receive, especially from other developers who want to use their work. They should also not keep changing their email addresses. Despite the fact that the email address I use here on the forum and in my work is targetted by at least 20-30 virus emails per day I have kept it constant and make sure that I always respond, unless it's a crass comment or one not requiring a reply, and even then I mostly do. And I've never refused permission for any stuff to be used.

What also makes me so angry is that I've been sitting for months now on a really major ground-breaking carrier package (6 working carriers with programmable AI) because half of the people whose planes I've used as AI and/or statics haven't replied to my requests to use them.

Blast over  ???

[ozzy72]

Looking good Roger
Just put a note in the readme saying you tried to contact them (and include the address) and say that you didn't get a reply and hope that it is okay with them, and if not they should contact you. I think that would cover matters sufficiently

Mark

[RollerBall]

Hi Mark,

That's what I will do in the end I think. But you can see the sensitivities that exist from some of the recent postings about non-approved uploads and the last thing a 'respectable' developer wants is to be accused of using something without permission, even if you have given credit.

Maybe designers and developers need to think about amending their Readmes to give blanket permission for their work to be used in conjunction with the work of other developers so long as credit is given and a copy of the work containing their own stuff is sent to them.

[ozzy72]

I've always given permission for my stuff to be uploaded (except to FSPlanet, but Ferdy still nicks it!), but I ask for a quick courtesy email so I can keep track. The only place I've never got a message from is no-nodes. They are frightfully ill-mannered, oh and never answer complaint emails

[Ben_M_K]

Wow roger I cant wait to upload it! Amazing!

[scott-bansheerider]

Looks very good. How short was the runway again?

[RollerBall]

Hiya Scott

Runway's 1620 metres. Fine for the kind of planes it's intended for.

BTW

It's been uploaded now as Mr Lucariny came back on the Seneca and I've included the Trislander anyway.

Hope the guys who download it enjoy it. There are one or two little details in it I've made sure not to include in the pics I've posted

[SaVas]

Looks fantastic Roger! Cant wait to upload it as well, and Im drooling in regards to your comment on the carriers

[ChrisOquist]

Rollerball,

That looks like really remarkable work - I can't begin to estimate how much time goes into a project like that... Congrats.

I do have a couple of questions for you:

What is the point of a short takeoff and landing airport? Space or noise constraints? I am wondering if it is the same as any of the smaller alternate airports around big cities - sometimes when I fly into or out of Detroit I use Flint Bishop Int. aiport (cheaper flights and LCCs generally) instead of DTW.. It's small but jet-capable. Would this be considered a STOLport?

Also: Where (city) will yours be located when I download and install it (cause I will  :))


Looks sweet, can't wait!


Chris

[RollerBall]

Thanks Stephen and Chris

I'm now gonna press on and get the carrier project uploaded. Be nice to start getting my desk clear of projects - I keep starting (and usually finishing) new ones as ideas come to me but often don't pull em togother and upload them.  ::)

Chris, funnily enough because of the way it's been done, it only took 2 or 3 days on and off to complete (plus a bit more for the TTools AI flightplan work), far less than something like Kai Tak which has almost all custom objects and as a work in progress is not 'complete' even after a year's work.

But as a guide, I spent another over 2 days sorting and organising the package for upload and getting permissions just for the 3 GA AI aircraft I've included in it.

By comparison, for the carrier package which includes many many more AI aircraft and helos I spent weeks trying to get all the permissions done and still haven't received replies for at least half, which is what I mentioned in an earlier posting.

What's the idea of a STOLport? They are usually distribution hubs for other large international airports, or they act as 'bus stops' for local services. Bear in mind that the UK is part of the EU and we now have many air routes between the UK and mainland Europe. That's why we have EasyJet, Ryanair and many other low cost airlines in the UK alone (and more in Germany, France etc) all of which are expanding at a great rate at the cost of the established high cost providers like BA, Air France, Lufthansa etc.

The other thing about STOLports is that they are more friendly to the local environment and residential population. The aircraft using them have a much smaller ground footprint (ie a much smaller area around the airport is affected by noise and pollution) and require much less of an infrastructure spend to set up.

Take a look at London City in the sim, which was built on derelict and unused old London dock wharves. It had a slow start but is now used very heavily by Dash 8s, BAE 146s (Avroliners), Dorniers, ATRs and similar with very little disturbance to local residents. The approach from the  west is on a comparatively steep 6 deg glidepath so aircraft don't really disturb anyone until they get quite close in to the airport. There aren't buildings as close to the approach as the sim makes it appear, but there are flats and apartment buildings right next to the airport boundary.

Brentwood is more or less due east of London City just north of the Dartford Bridge in the sim. In fact when you take off on Rwy 22 you are always instructed to contact City Approach, which gives you an idea.

Give it a try. I made it originally as a scenery XML programming experiment but liked it so much I kept it and added more detail. It's a lot of fun and the signage and ground detail I've added makes it easy to find your way around without any need for progressive taxi and stuff like that.

Roger

[logjam]

I love it, like the windmills but not the Microsoft Blimp. Tried to shoot it down, but guns jammed.

[Hagar]

I'm downloading it now.

Thanks Roger.

[RollerBall]

I love it, like the windmills but not the Microsoft Blimp. Tried to shoot it down, but guns jammed.

If enough people want, I'll upload a blimp-less bgl so there's the choice of not having it.

But tell you what I found, I like flying with 'realistic' cloud and typical vis for the area and it makes such a small field difficult to spot. The blimp helps a lot in that respect because you can see the blue smudge that becomes a brick (LOD problems unfortunately) that becomes a blimp from quite a long way off.

Now see if you can find the hotel and shopping mall - and the construction cranes out to the north west. They're a little bit tougher to spot

[ozzy72]

Moo cows = steak
Time to load the Hispanos

[RollerBall]

Moo cows = steak
Time to load the Hispanos

YeeHAAaaaaaahhhh