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AI Flight Planer issue using P3Dv4?

N

nightowl56

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26
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us-washington
I'm trying to make AI Fp's for a few P3Dv4 choppers but when I try to add them to the aircraft list I receive an error message saying "aircraft wingspan/radius if entered must be a positive number." I understand that this information is in the "airfile" .
When I try to open the file with "notepad" the information is all numbers and symbols (computer. numbers and symbols ) Is there a program I can use to make these adjustments or will microsoft word open these files?
 
Odd because the airfile format has not changed since (probably) FS2002. It works on P3Dv5 and P3Dv6 - I know, because I'm using it. The only 'changes' that have been made is that some of the parameters in the airfile are now overwritten by parameters in the aircraft.cfg file.
 
DragonflightDesign said:
Odd because the airfile format has not changed since (probably) FS2002. It works on P3Dv5 and P3Dv6 - I know, because I'm using it. The only 'changes' that have been made is that some of the parameters in the airfile are now overwritten by parameters in the aircraft.cfg file.
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I guess I'm not doing something right. I open the AirEd file but can not seem to get to the air file in the aircraft I want to change. Thanks again I'm able to get to the air file but it still is in "computer" I can't get it to show in "English"Appreciate your help. I'll keep trying.
 
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DragonflightDesign said:
Odd because the airfile format has not changed since (probably) FS2002. It works on P3Dv5 and P3Dv6 - I know, because I'm using it. The only 'changes' that have been made is that some of the parameters in the airfile are now overwritten by parameters in the aircraft.cfg file.
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Question if I may. Can the aircraft radius be changed in the config file? IF so how?
 
I don't know :) . My excursions into the airfile have been limited to changing engine and control surface parameters. Have you tried drag'n'drop with the .air file? Can you post a picture?
 
Use Martin's AI Aircraft Editor.NET - everything is editable in a GUI, and you can check pretty much every aspect of your AI aircraft. https://www.owlsnest.eu/phpatm/index.php?action=view&filename=AIAE.NET-Setup.zip&directory=Tools

Note: there is an issue with the latest version (4.4.8.0) where some of the span info (specifically the metres conversion and spot size) isn't showing, but the wingspan itself is showing in feet, and can be edited.

Screenshot 2026-02-16 135114.png
 
Tim Collins said:
Use Martin's AI Aircraft Editor.NET - everything is editable in a GUI, and you can check pretty much every aspect of your AI aircraft. https://www.owlsnest.eu/phpatm/index.php?action=view&filename=AIAE.NET-Setup.zip&directory=Tools

Note: there is an issue with the latest version (4.4.8.0) where some of the span info (specifically the metres conversion and spot size) isn't showing, but the wingspan itself is showing in feet, and can be edited.

View attachment 99115
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I now have this but when I open it everything from the "model Radius (FS9)/Wingspan" is "scrunched up and I am not able to enter anything in these fields. (I'm not computer literate so I have issues but I will keep trying thank you for your help.
 
The AI radius (for things like fitting into parking spots) in FSX and P3D is determined by one half of the wingspan value in the aircraft.cfg file, not in the model file. That is true only for FS9. And that is never in the air file. This can easily be edited manually.

I assume from the picture above that you enter the new wingspan value in the box labeled new span (ft) and press the Save button?
 
What I am trying to do is make helicopters AI flight plans. When I try to put the chopper on the aircraft list in the program I get a msg that says Aircraft radius must be greater then 0. So I figure I need to adjust that value in the "airfile" file.
 
You cannot use objects coded as helicopters in the air file. They must be coded as aircraft. MS never added helicopters to their AI world.
 
They have to have special air and cfg files to do that. I typically:

If the desired craft is currently a flyable helicopter then make a copy of its folder and paste it back in. I usually rename it by adding AI to the beginning of the name. Then add AI to the end of all the title= and ui_variation= lines in the copied folder’s aircraft.cfg file.

Rename this file aircraft_orig.cfg

Find an AI helicopter that is similar to the one you want to use. Copy the craft’s aircraft.cfg and AIR file and paste into the copied folder.

Copy the fltsim, contact points, and lights sections from the aircraft_orig.cfg file and overwrite those sections in the new aircraft.cfg file. One section at a time.

Change the sim= lines in the aircraft.cfg file to the name of the AIR file that was copied and pasted.

That will hopefully get you close, but the animations may not operate properly in some cases if the original flyable model had custom animations that are not compatible with the AI flight model.
 
Tim Collins said:
Use Martin's AI Aircraft Editor.NET - everything is editable in a GUI, and you can check pretty much every aspect of your AI aircraft. https://www.owlsnest.eu/phpatm/index.php?action=view&filename=AIAE.NET-Setup.zip&directory=Tools

Note: there is an issue with the latest version (4.4.8.0) where some of the span info (specifically the metres conversion and spot size) isn't showing, but the wingspan itself is showing in feet, and can be edited.

View attachment 99115
Click to expand...
I have tried this program with no success. When I open it this all the information from the Model Radius (fs9) / Wingspan (FSX) is not usable. see screen shot
 

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Your display is set to an oversize setting, hence the very large program icons on the desktop and the fact that the panels in AIAE aren't properly visible. Resizing the panels is simple, but at your display setting you may never be able to access the text boxes. It's not the fault of the program; it's your Windows settings.
 
Tim Collins said:
Your display is set to an oversize setting, hence the very large program icons on the desktop and the fact that the panels in AIAE aren't properly visible. Resizing the panels is simple, but at your display setting you may never be able to access the text boxes. It's not the fault of the program; it's your Windows settings.
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Thank you, I'll try that.
 
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