It is apparent from reading this forum that many of you are wasting time actually *flying* when you could simply don your virtual anorak and go plane spotting instead.

As I write this I have my other machine running at x4 rate in slew mode with the viewpoint over Taipei international RCTP, watching the air/ground traffic movements. I have more than 400 aircraft available, so I see a lot of movements.

What do you need to do this?

1. Frame rate friendly aircraft. Lots at www.projectai.com, with a vast range of repaints.
2. Flightplans. Same site. Alternatively, worldai2.zip available at avsim has a lot of flightplans to get you started.
3. Lee Swordy's Traffic Tools to convert the flightplans to the traffic.bgl file that FS2002 needs. Available everywhere.
4. Lee Swordy's Afcad to give aircraft the extra gates they need. Lots of afcad data files available at avsim.
5. Thomas Molitor's AITM tool which among other things makes it easy to see a timetable for the airport you are watching. Available at http://www.molitor-home.de/FS/AITM/
6. The taxispeed utility (forgot the name, sorry) to speed up the rate at which aircraft clear the runway.
7. Lots of patience

In general things run fairly well, although occasionally bizarre things happen: aircraft disappear on landing, disappear just when they are about to leave the gate, do missed approaches for no reason, but hey, it wouldn't be Flight Sim without a few bugs built in.

Give it a try - it beats having to watch Landmark and Orbit all the time.

• RE: Virtual Plane Spotting,PeteDowson, 18:39z, 09-27-02
• RE: Virtual Plane Spotting,PeteDowson, 19:21z, 09-27-02
  • RE: Virtual Plane Spotting,brynjames, 21:59z, 09-27-02
• RE: Virtual Plane Spotting,PeteDowson, 02:24z, 09-28-02
• RE: Virtual Plane Spotting,PeteDowson, 11:35z, 09-28-02

Hi Bryn,

> 1. Frame rate friendly aircraft. Lots at www.projectai.com, with a vast
> range of repaints.
> 2. Flightplans. Same site. Alternatively, worldai2.zip available at
> avsim has a lot of flightplans to get you started.

I've not tried the latter yet, though I have got it. It looks like a lot of work as you have to tie in the aircraft it needs with all the ProjectAI aircraft.

For the time being I downloaded and installed ALL the available airlines in ProjectAI's self-installer section. This actually seems to get me less traffic in places like EGCC, even though the Traffic.BGL file is bigger. But the worst thing was that most all of the BA traffic, from the British Airways ProjectAI file, either starts off underground and stays there, or comes to EGCC, and dives into and below the runway, getting underground and staying there.

These underground aircraft stay listed by FS as active forever after, so I've changed FSUIPC's TCAS table to eliminate underground aircraft as well as those on the ground.

Weird!

> 5. Thomas Molitor's AITM tool which among other things makes it easy to
> see a timetable for the airport you are watching. Available at
> http://www.molitor-home.de/FS/AITM/

I went to this URL but there's no way of getting any program there. It seems to be just a picture and title page, no links, no files. How did you get the program? If I go to www.molitor-home.de it just says "under construction" and again no links.

Regards,

Pete

-= VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.2 =-
Registered to: Peter L. Dowson
-OLR.PL v1.76-

Hi Bryn,

> 1. Frame rate friendly aircraft. Lots at www.projectai.com, with a vast
> range of repaints.
> 2. Flightplans. Same site. Alternatively, worldai2.zip available at
> avsim has a lot of flightplans to get you started.

I've not tried the latter yet, though I have got it. It looks like a lot of work as you have to tie in the aircraft it needs with all the ProjectAI aircraft.

For the time being I downloaded and installed ALL the available airlines in ProjectAI's self-installer section. This actually seems to get me less traffic in places like EGCC, even though the Traffic.BGL file is bigger. But the worst thing was that most all of the BA traffic, from the British Airways ProjectAI file, either starts off underground and stays there, or comes to EGCC, and dives into and below the runway, getting underground and staying there.

These underground aircraft stay listed by FS as active forever after, so I've changed FSUIPC's TCAS table to eliminate underground aircraft as well as those on the ground.

Weird!

> 5. Thomas Molitor's AITM tool which among other things makes it easy to
> see a timetable for the airport you are watching. Available at
> http://www.molitor-home.de/FS/AITM/

I went to this URL but there's no way of getting any program there. It seems to be just a picture and title page, no links, no files. How did you get the program? If I go to www.molitor-home.de it just says "under construction" and again no links.

Regards,

Pete

-= VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.2 =-
Registered to: Peter L. Dowson
-OLR.PL v1.76-

>> 2. Flightplans. Same site. Alternatively, worldai2.zip available at
>> avsim has a lot of flightplans to get you started.
>
>I've not tried the latter yet, though I have got it. It
>looks like a lot of work as you have to tie in the
>aircraft it needs with all the ProjectAI aircraft.

Yes, it is a lot of work, but it is incremental. I analysed worldai2 with a spread sheet and started converting the most used aircraft. After a bit there is plenty flying and you can indulge yourself with oddities like Air Namibia. It was Stamatis who convinced me it was doable.

>For the time being I downloaded and installed ALL the
>available airlines in ProjectAI's self-installer section.
>This actually seems to get me less traffic in places like
>EGCC, even though the Traffic.BGL file is bigger.

AITM will help analyse what should be there.
You need lots and lots of extra gates. I suspect there is lots of Fokker, ERJ and ATR traffic at EGCC which is not yet modeled by ProjectAI.

>But the
>worst thing was that most all of the BA traffic, from the
>British Airways ProjectAI file, either starts off
>underground and stays there, or comes to EGCC, and dives
>into and below the runway, getting underground and staying
>there.

Some folks have reported problems like this, although it hasn't happened to me. There are new air files available which are said to fix many such problems at
http://www.pai.simairport.com/Unofficial%20Files/paiFDE_v2.zip

>> 5. Thomas Molitor's AITM tool which among other things makes it easy to
>> see a timetable for the airport you are watching. Available at
>> http://www.molitor-home.de/FS/AITM/
>
>I went to this URL but there's no way of getting any
>program there.

Strange - I just clicked on that link from this message and got not only the aircraft picture but also a load of menu options in the LH border, include downloads.

And of course, my other essential tool is TrafficLook so that I can see what is in the air on its way. Thanks!

Regards,

Bryn

Hi Bryn,

> 1. Frame rate friendly aircraft. Lots at www.projectai.com, with a vast
> range of repaints.
> 2. Flightplans. Same site. Alternatively, worldai2.zip available at
> avsim has a lot of flightplans to get you started.

I've not tried the latter yet, though I have got it. It looks like a lot of work as you have to tie in the aircraft it needs with all the ProjectAI aircraft.

For the time being I downloaded and installed ALL the available airlines in ProjectAI's self-installer section. This actually seems to get me less traffic in places like EGCC, even though the Traffic.BGL file is bigger. But the worst thing was that most all of the BA traffic, from the British Airways ProjectAI file, either starts off underground and stays there, or comes to EGCC, and dives into and below the runway, getting underground and staying there.

These underground aircraft stay listed by FS as active forever after, so I've changed FSUIPC's TCAS table to eliminate underground aircraft as well as those on the ground.

Weird!

> 5. Thomas Molitor's AITM tool which among other things makes it easy to
> see a timetable for the airport you are watching. Available at
> http://www.molitor-home.de/FS/AITM/

I went to this URL but there's no way of getting any program there. It seems to be just a picture and title page, no links, no files. How did you get the program? If I go to www.molitor-home.de it just says "under construction" and again no links.

Regards,

Pete

-= VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.2 =-
Registered to: Peter L. Dowson
-OLR.PL v1.76-

Hi Bryn,

> 1. Frame rate friendly aircraft. Lots at www.projectai.com, with a vast
> range of repaints.
> 2. Flightplans. Same site. Alternatively, worldai2.zip available at
> avsim has a lot of flightplans to get you started.

I've not tried the latter yet, though I have got it. It looks like a lot of work as you have to tie in the aircraft it needs with all the ProjectAI aircraft.

For the time being I downloaded and installed ALL the available airlines in ProjectAI's self-installer section. This actually seems to get me less traffic in places like EGCC, even though the Traffic.BGL file is bigger. But the worst thing was that most all of the BA traffic, from the British Airways ProjectAI file, either starts off underground and stays there, or comes to EGCC, and dives into and below the runway, getting underground and staying there.

These underground aircraft stay listed by FS as active forever after, so I've changed FSUIPC's TCAS table to eliminate underground aircraft as well as those on the ground.

Weird!

> 5. Thomas Molitor's AITM tool which among other things makes it easy to
> see a timetable for the airport you are watching. Available at
> http://www.molitor-home.de/FS/AITM/

I went to this URL but there's no way of getting any program there. It seems to be just a picture and title page, no links, no files. How did you get the program? If I go to www.molitor-home.de it just says "under construction" and again no links.

Regards,

Pete

-= VPC OffLine Reader Version 1.2 =-
Registered to: Peter L. Dowson
-OLR.PL v1.76-