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Parking Spots.

L

Louimann1

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unitedkingdom
Is it possible to have to parts of one parking spot. For example, 16 and 16L. So if 16 is in use, no traffic will be sent to 16L?

The reason I need this, is because the airport im working on, EGGD has several parking spaces which have different parts to them. If your still confused, the attached screen shot of the Parking Chart will show you what I mean.
As you can see over by the Old Terminal Building you have 14 (L), 15(L) and 16(L), and over by the control tower you have several more like this.

All help is appreciated, and thanks in advanced!

Lewis.
 
I don't see your screenshot. I think I know what you are getting at, but before I answer I want to be absolutely sure.

There are some things you can do as a designer to control what parks where and when. And I'm not talking about parking codes.
 
You can have duplicate gate numbers but no letters like 'L' The compiler does not allow a letter in the Area Number tag.

Now if you have a duplicate number for 2 parking spots then you cannot have a Jetway assigned to either parking spot. FSX will not know which parking spot belongs to the Jetway.

The next problem is keeping a AI Plane out of one of the duplicates. You could disconnect the parking link path so no AI plane taxis into the parking spot but this will not stop a AI Plane from spawning into that spot.

There is some trickery we can add to a unknown parking spot based on meter size and a AI Plane will not spawn.
 
Well before i've had a problem where parking spots of 5 metres were not showing up on ATC. So if I linked a 5 metre parking spot to the taxi network, then no AI would park there?

I guess im gonna have to have a play around:rolleyes:

Thanks.
 
You couldn`t do this for all new airfields/airports you create but for a one off special like my EGCB its ok. I had planes to park in the central area and taxi to either RW09R/27L for take off. At the same time the helicopters at the left of the airfield had to taxi to and take off from RW02. The microlights in front of the large hanger and behind the tower were to taxi from there to RW09R/27L to share take off with the planes. The second set of helicopters nearest the tower were to taxi from that parking area to RW32 for take off. This is similar to the action, events and aircraft in real life at that airfield.

So I created EGCB from the FSX original. Got rid of the buildings and introduced a new tower much like the original. Adjusted the parking areas and increased them in line with the original. Also turning the aircraft to face the proper direction. I then stopped traffic using the wrong runway in general. After that I one by one introduced each batch of helicopters and microlights. I adjusted the traffic.bgl to allow planes/helicopters/microlights in and out. Later I made individual EGCB_traffic.bgl, EG32_traffic.bgl, EG33_traffic.bgl and EG34_traffic.bgl so they can easily be added back after wiping a drive and made easier to adjust as time goes along.

Next I made a copy of my copy of EGCB and called it EG32 (3=c and 2=b being the thought process). In EG32 I took away all the parking spots barring the helicopters to the left of the entrance, nearest RW02. I also made all runways zero width and got rid of any RW idents. The Runways and idents show through the original at EGCB and give it a faded look. Before doing so however,I turned off all runways barring the one I wished that particular set of aircraft to use. I then repeated for EG33 and EG34, the second set of helicopters and microlights. Using the newest copy of ADE made this easy as I could drag the airport marker and rename it for each copy. In the traffic.bgl files I also added EG32,33,34 to the airport data file before recompiling.

Now, using EGCB I see two lots of helicopters taxiing in and out exactly where I want, one lot to from RW32 and the other to/from RW02. The microlights taxi from outside the tower to share the 09R/27L runway with the planes. The planes run from the central parking area to RW09R/27L. On flying into Barton they all land on their individual runways and taxi to the correct parking area. To the user it appears as one airfield with lots of action mirroring that in real life. EGCB Barton is a busier place than many believe.

Jim and the others will come up with many ideas and get you where you want to be. This idea of mine is still under test and not fully utilized yet. I still have some areas to sort out but it works. Feel free to use any of it as you all see fit, if you have a use for it. You can also use it to make complex taxi/take off routines with the planes as well as the helicopters.

Reider
 
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That all sounds very confusing but I think I get it... Just!

I may try some of it out, and see where I get myself.

Thanks!
 
Just take a copy of what you have now and place it somewhere safe first. Then all along think along these lines. All you`re doing is recreating the same airfield but in each recration you only allow it to taxi to/from where you want and take off/land where you want. The rest is masked by deleting the parking spots, turning the runways off and making all the runways zero width so they don`t show through. The zero width isn`t crucial and can be done after testing.

As each recreation is a copy of the original it looks like its just the normal airport, but in the flightplans you get those AI aircraft to fly only to the recreated airport, not the original. Those AI only see the restricted parking areas and open runways so have to use them and no others. Then repeat for the next recreated airport.

Then when you open and observe the original airport you still see the aircraft flying into individual runways and taxiing to their own parking areas. Action all around that matches real life. Whilst at the same time bending the rules that FSX imposes on us.

Reider
 
Reider said:
Those AI only see the restricted parking areas and open runways so have to use them and no others. Then repeat for the next recreated airport.
Click to expand...

There is only one runway at Bristol ;)

George
 
Reider said:
Just take a copy of what you have now and place it somewhere safe first. Then all along think along these lines. All you`re doing is recreating the same airfield but in each recration you only allow it to taxi to/from where you want and take off/land where you want. The rest is masked by deleting the parking spots, turning the runways off and making all the runways zero width so they don`t show through. The zero width isn`t crucial and can be done after testing.

As each recreation is a copy of the original it looks like its just the normal airport, but in the flightplans you get those AI aircraft to fly only to the recreated airport, not the original. Those AI only see the restricted parking areas and open runways so have to use them and no others. Then repeat for the next recreated airport.

Then when you open and observe the original airport you still see the aircraft flying into individual runways and taxiing to their own parking areas. Action all around that matches real life. Whilst at the same time bending the rules that FSX imposes on us.

Reider
Click to expand...

I think I understand better now, but yeh only one runway :)

Thanks.
 
The only way you could do that using this method would be to look at the types of aircraft set to fly into that airport in the flightplans. Decide which should park where and then make recreated copies of the airport with parking only showing in those areas. The aircraft then fly to the the recreated airport code and park where you want. Then repeat for any others. Observing the EGGD all you would see is aircraft flying into the single runway but still going to the correct parking place. In the background they`d actually be flying into the other airport code you made up as a copy of EGGD with only the parking spaces on you wanted. If you basically only have about 3-4 different types it may be worth doing. Any more then not-it depends on how much you really want the parking to be structured. Virtually anything can be achieved with a bit of sleight of hand. So heavies to one part, helicopters to another, light aircraft elsewhere, all decided by looking at the aircraft list. Thats about the most structured you`ll get.

So you look at the decompiled traffic.bgl showing the airports, aircraft, flightplans data. Open the aircraft list, use edit/find in the flightplans and key in EGGD, then keep using next. Make a list or dump them to a separate file to use just with that airport. Then look at the aircraft list against that aircraft number in each EGGD listing. Decide which should park where by compiling a list. If you end up with three parking areas then go make 2 copies of EGGD, move the centre of each to somewhere near the parking area and change the airport code. Take away all the parking in all but that area you want, save and compile-lets say it was EGXX. Back to the flightplans, take the aircraft you selected and change them to go to EGXX-leaving the rest as they are. Make a copy of EGGD and call it EGYY (as long as it doesn`t exist already). Again delete all parking except those you want. Back to the flightplans and redirect to EGYY instead of EGGD. Pack the separate traffic.bgls you create with each copied airport code as an add on. So you end up with some EGGD traffic going to EGGD, some to EGXX and some to EGYY but all parking where you told them since they had no choice other than that. In reality as they`re all copies they`re flying into EGDD on the single runway and parking exactly where you want. EGXX and EGYY have a zero width runway so it doesn`t show through the one in EGDD. It looks like a runway with a shadow at the sides, a jaggedy one-do this last when sure it works ok. the other thing is you need to add EGXX and EGYY (examples) to the airports list before recompiling to a traffic.bgl I would make thes EGGD_traffic.bgl, EGXX_traffic.bgl and EGYY_traffic.bgl then put them in with each add on airport. When you fly a plane in yourself manually, you ignore EGXX and EGYY, just fly to EGDD as that is the mail airport, the other two are AI airports for parking purposes only.

My trick works for me with 4 runways and the wish for seperate parking/take off/taxi, it could be adapted to one for another reason. In effect you could make one runway look like 3-4 by closing either end. The aircraft coming into that runway will see one with those conditions. Aircraft coming in as a different airport code would see the same runway with different ends closed. Therefore you close one end where you don`t want that set to park. Alternatively use some trickery from Jim and the rest using meter sizes etc as he mentioned.

Reider
 
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I think you are getting in too deep Steve.

If there is only one runway, an overlay increases the risk of multiple aircraft ghosting through each other unless one arranges suitable flightplans.

Also, depending upon the ARPs, an aircraft landing on one overlay can easily taxi-in on an other overlay's taxiways.

George
 
Louimann1 said:
Well before i've had a problem where parking spots of 5 metres were not showing up on ATC. So if I linked a 5 metre parking spot to the taxi network, then no AI would park there?
Click to expand...

5 meter radius parking spot is generally too small for most civilian aircraft.

Most Cessnas, for example, need at least a 6m, 7m or 8m parking spot.

Probably nothing parked in your 5m spot because none of your flight plans featured an aircraft small enough to park there.

Regarding those parking areas on the right-hand side (15, 16, L, etc.). If it were me, I would only have ONE of those dual spots "hot". The other spot in the pair would be a dummy--it would have the lines, parking T, etc. but would never park anything.

I would probably do this by making the radius very small--such as 2m. Nothing would spawn there, and yet it would have all the markings and grease spots.

I can't see of a way to do a conditional parking arrangement where "IF spot A is occupied, THEN ignore the adjacent spot B"

Probably something could be done with an overlay but I personally wouldn't do it-- I would do the "hot" spot and "dummy" spot and leave it at that--
 
Mace said:
5 meter radius parking spot is generally too small for most civilian aircraft.

Most Cessnas, for example, need at least a 6m, 7m or 8m parking spot.

Probably nothing parked in your 5m spot because none of your flight plans featured an aircraft small enough to park there.

Regarding those parking areas on the right-hand side (15, 16, L, etc.). If it were me, I would only have ONE of those dual spots "hot". The other spot in the pair would be a dummy--it would have the lines, parking T, etc. but would never park anything.

I would probably do this by making the radius very small--such as 2m. Nothing would spawn there, and yet it would have all the markings and grease spots.

I can't see of a way to do a conditional parking arrangement where "IF spot A is occupied, THEN ignore the adjacent spot B"

Probably something could be done with an overlay but I personally wouldn't do it-- I would do the "hot" spot and "dummy" spot and leave it at that--
Click to expand...



Yeh thats what i'm doing with the 5m radius and it seems to be working. And overlay just seems quite alot of work so I thik im gonna stick with this way.

Thanks.
 
Golf-HotelDelta said:
I think you are getting in too deep Steve.

If there is only one runway, an overlay increases the risk of multiple aircraft ghosting through each other unless one arranges suitable flightplans.

Also, depending upon the ARPs, an aircraft landing on one overlay can easily taxi-in on an other overlay's taxiways.

George
Click to expand...

Point taken George, not tested with one runway but it works perfectly here on four runways. Its impossible for any aircraft to impinge on the wrong runway/taxiway the way its set up with four here. I had to get all groups of aircraft moving separate ways in my airfield. The main thing being not to allow helicopters to taxi to/from or take off from the same runway as the planes. Then return to their own individual parking spots. This way meets my needs at Barton. The main thing being that even the seemingly impossible is possible, we just haven`t found a way yet.

Reider
 
I was going to say, 5m will park some small military jets too.

I think if you make it 2m you will be fine. 2/3 of a meter is too hard to type :) .66666 vs. simply "2"
 
Oh, I see :) You mean, "2 or 3 meter" by "2/3" Maybe that's a British thing. 'Round these parts 2/3 means "two-thirds a cup of sugar"
 
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