New to MAIW, questions

[Mar96]

Hi, I am new to MAIW and recently downloaded a few bases. I installed them and researched how to convert to FSX. I successfully managed to get some traffic into FSX, but when they land, they disappear and do not park. The only place they actually park is at the fuel station and thats it. They seem to not be able to taxi and park on the flight lines for some reason.For example, I downloaded NAS Miramar Top Gun and I see F14s, but they land, then disapppear. I always see only one parked at the little gas station thing at the base. What's going on? Does this have anything to do with AFCADS? What am I doing wrong? I have AI flight planner 2. I converted the airports to FSX, but was unsuccessful because it keeps telling me that the airport was not found in airportlist.dat. Why does it say this? Also, I read the installation guide on how to convert MAIW to FSX, but can anyone explain to me in detail on how to convert and put MAIW files into FSX? I just want to really make sure I am doing it right but a bit confused. Is there any other software I need besides AIFP2? Thanks.

[Victory103]

AIFP2 is the one I use for all conversion or FP making needs. If they AI are only going to the fuel spot and others disappear after landing, you have a AFCAD issue. I only convert the AFCADs that do not work well in FS9, but most do. If you put the scenery in the same order as the MAIW FSX guide states, it will override your stock AFCADs.

[Firebird]

Just to be sure that you are not getting confused, AIFP does not convert afcads into FSX compatible afcads. All it does is convert flightplans that use FS9 afcad idents into FSX idents. Nothing else.

Your problem sounds like actually have no parking at the airfields. Did you copy across the AF2/AFX/ADE9 afcad files to your scenery folders? It sounds like either you are only picking up default FSX afcads.

[Mar96]

No, I was not aware of putting the MAIW scenery into my FSX scenery folder. Is it the scenery folder, or in addon scenery? Is there any software I can use to convert the AFCADS to FSX? What other files would I have to manipulate from MAIW to FSX besides the traffic, aircraft, and scenery files?

[Mar96]

AIFP2 is the one I use for all conversion or FP making needs. If they AI are only going to the fuel spot and others disappear after landing, you have a AFCAD issue. I only convert the AFCADs that do not work well in FS9, but most do. If you put the scenery in the same order as the MAIW FSX guide states, it will override your stock AFCADs.

Ok, thank you! When I install an MAIW package, I only get the traffic files and the aircraft filres and put them in their places. Are there any other files besides aircraft and the flightplan bgl files I need to manipulate and convert?

[Mar96]

How do you convert the the AFCAD/scenery files?

[Mar96]

Okay, I have installed the Miramar Top Gun package. I converted the flight plans and put the aircraft into my FSX airplanes folder. It all workedout fine. However, the I still have only one F14 that parks at the fuel station while the others are nowhere to be found on the flightline parking area. I deleted all of the AFCAD files like the Miramar Top Gun read me file said to do. However, this seemed to make it worse. Now the only one F14 that spawns at the fuel station is gone too,as well as the other ones that fly around miramar. Was I supposed to remove the package's AFCADS? I also put the Miramar scenery without the AFCADS into my FSX ADDON SCENERY folder but that didn't work either. Then, I added it to my FSX SCENERY folder, and that only made my FSX stock miramar scenery turn all black and covered with black buildings and a normal tower next to a black tower like it had been overwritten or something. I just took the file out of my SCENERY folder and now my miramar stock scenery looks normal. I deleted the MAIW AFCADS because on the read me, it said " remove afcad duplicate files" and that failure to do so will result in aircraft parking problems, so I was thinking that was maybe the cause, but now I see no f14s at all.

[Victory103]

How do you convert the the AFCAD/scenery files?

Not really converting, but adjusting them to work in FSX. The main issues you will see are an elevation difference between the 2 sims, airport background placement offset, and ICAO codes different. In the set FSX Thread here on the MAIW forums, some of the airport .bgls are there for you to download that have had FSX fixes applied. I use ScruffyDuck's ADE for all airport work, but have kept the FS9 based AFCAD 2.21 as well.

The duplicate removal note is if you have other custom scenery installed or in this case with NKX, another version of NKX installed. So, hopefully you installed the package to temp folder. Prior to moving the folders into FSX, make sure you have checked in your Add-On Scenery/scenery folder for other KNKX files, there is a program you can use as well to check for duplicates. Several packages include NKX from the older Top Gun days to the current MCAS. With all MAIW custom scenery that installs with the package, go into the Addon Scenery/MAIW___ Package/ scenery folder and remove the .VTPP, LMW2, and exclude files. Add the MAIW scenery as you would any other FSX scenery in the Scenery Library.

Should be a youtube vid out for the install into FSX process. The guide will get you set up and after that 1st package the install is the same.

[Mar96]

I have it working!! Thank you all! I really appreciate it! I have a question about AIFP2. I am installing traffic for an air force base. I converted the traffic files. When saving the traffic bgl to my FSX scenery folder, do I manually have to highlight each 54 aircraft and save them as individual flight plans 54 times? Or do they all get automatically compiled together the first time?For example, I'm trying to get NAS Lemoore f18 super hornets. I want F18Es and F's. On the flight plan list, the number goes up to about 1 hundred I think. So do all of the 100 of these different f18s and squadrons automatically get saved into the file the first time you save it? Do I have to individually highlight one flightplan and aircraft at a time and save with different names each time(very time consuming)? If not, wouldn't I be overwriting it? Would this create duplicate aircrafts? Does each individual traffic file contain multiple or all of the aircraft and flight plans, or just one? If I highlight the entire list, would that be effective? Thanks. I tried to explain it the best I could.

[Victory103]

You should just compile them all at once. In AIFP2, just go to convert fs9 to fsx, check the block to each one you want to convert, I genereally do 4 or more at a time. For NAS Lemoore, I completely broke down each squadron out of the original MAIW flightplans to simulate when the air wing was on cruise. To do this I saved the flight plan as a set, which will decompile the aircaft/airport/flightplan .txt files and then copy/paste each one as a different squadron.