Adding static aircraft at an airport

[Gary R.]

Hi fellow pilots.

Here's what I'd like to do.  I want to learn how to add static aircraft to a specific airport.  It would be KRDG, Reading, PA USA.  I would like to add a number of my classic birds to the ramp at the Mid Atlantic Aviation Museum.  The airport's detail is already enhanced with MAAM's freeware high resolution textures with the museum area already very detailed.  It's just empty, only their hanger.  I have numerous prop liners, warbirds and first gen airliners which I would love to park on the ramp area there.  Anyone have a grip on how to do that?  Thanks in advance.

Gary

[Gypsy_Baron]

Hi fellow pilots.

Here's what I'd like to do.  I want to learn how to add static aircraft to a specific airport.  It would be KRDG, Reading, PA USA.  I would like to add a number of my classic birds to the ramp at the Mid Atlantic Aviation Museum.  The airport's detail is already enhanced with MAAM's freeware high resolution textures with the museum area already very detailed.  It's just empty, only their hanger.  I have numerous prop liners, warbirds and first gen airliners which I would love to park on the ramp area there.  Anyone have a grip on how to do that?  Thanks in advance.

Gary

Well, I've added alot of static aircraft to various airports and
aircraft carriers. It involved a LOT of "tweaking" so but it can
be done with a couple of tools that are readily available.

First you need the tool to make a BGL file ( the end result )
from a MDL file ( the input ).

MDLtoBGL.exe will do this but seems to be limited to older
aircraft models...FS2002 and before. I don't think I've ever
gotten an FS9 MDL to convert.

Along with the above tool you will need SCASM.EXE to
assemble the intermediate code produced in the process.
I THINK a copy of that came with the MDLtoBGL download
but it's been awhile so I don't remember if it did, for sure.

Another usefull tool is MdlDisAs.exe written by the same
person that did MDLtoBGL.

Basically the process will involve entering the LAT/LON coordinates
of the point you wish to place the static A/C  along with
other variables such as heading and altitude of the field.

 There are a number of output options in MDLtoBGL. You
can create Airportxx.x compatible API files or just the
"source" files.

I've only used the "standalone" BGL output option.

I know I have combined the BG:'s I've created using this
program to create a mix of different aircraft types at a
location but I don't recall what I used to do this. It was
a utility that took several BGL files and combined them
into a single BGL output file.

Do some Google'ing and searching around on the various
flight sim sites and you should find everything you'll need.

Sorry I couldn't be more specific.

   Paul

[Hagar]

That's one way of doing it but it can be a tad graphics intensive. I would prefer to add the 'statics' as AI traffic. I think it's it's possible to make them appear static if you wish by occasionally flying a quick circuit when you're not likely to see them. The chaps in the AI forum should be able to help more on that.

[microlight]

I've never got anything beyond FS98 models to convert with MDLtoBGL, but having said that, FS98 models look good as static models!

You can also use RWY12 to put planes into the sim, but it's pretty limited to 747s or light aircraft at the moment.

[Hagar]

It really depends on how you wish to tackle this & the experience you have with scenery design or adding AI traffic. Either way it's going to require some knowledge & a certain amount of work. I prefer the AI traffic method as once you learn how that's done it opens up a whole new FS world. The AI traffic is one of the best improvements to FS in the last few years. IMHO

PS. I never figured out why it took them so long to get round to it. AI aircraft were introduced in CFS1 in 1998. AI traffic didn't appear in FS until FS2002 was released in 2001.

[microlight]

I seem to recall in the heady old days of FS4, you could see other stick-planes taxiing around O'Hare. They weren't AI though of course - they always did the same things regardless of when you started it up, as I recall.

FS4 - now there was a program!

[wji]

The easiest and quickest way to add parked aircraft to an airport is with AFCAD2. If the WEEK delineator is used the crates are parked most of the time which is exactly the way I like them.

Just add KRDG in the flightplan(s): e,g., AC#1,MAAM1,10%,WEEK,IFR,3/19:59:51,10:21:34,035,F,0105,KRDG,5/10:30:00,10:51:37,033,F,0156,KPHL

My second choice would be Rwy12. I use both.

I just checked the MAAM Scenery kfdgaf2.bgl AF2 file and Medium size parking is 14m and the FS9 DC-3 requies 15m  ;-) Good  Luck.