Military AI Works

I've been updating the default version of Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport in Constanta, Romania. The airport is home to the U.S. military's Forward Operating Site MK.

The U.S. has wound down the Transit Center at Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan earlier than its July 2014 dealdine and moved operations to FOS MK. The aerial refueling unit that was also based at Manas has been inactivated and may be stood up at another location in Southwest Asia. Here is a Stars & Stripes article about the airport's new function for the U.S. military.

I've added military parking areas, coded a gate for Turkish Airlines (the only civilian carrier serving the airport), and also amended the flightplan for United Airlines's Boeing 747 charter aircraft (N194UA), which has been photographed at MK (a picture is in the previously linked Stars & Stripes article). There is a ramp to the north that is currently empty where I added four parking spots for fighter aircraft. I also amended some MAIW flightplans to use the field that currently use Manas (AMC East C-5, AMC West C-5, AMC West C-17, and Seaboard ANG all have aircraft that at some point land at Manas). While I will not release those flightplans, if anyone is interested in beta-testing this version of LRCK before I upload it, shoot me a message with your email and I'll send you a copy.

Once I completed the airfield, I completely missed the housing portion of the base to the west of the airfield, so once I get that modeled, I'll be ready to send the files out for beta testing.

Nice looking airfield! Thanks for your efforts, I fly a lot of MAC/AMC long range flights so this is a welcome addition.

I just flew through here real world, again sometimes the timing on here is mysterious. Sadly between the bad weather and then taking off at night, never go to see the ramp portions.

Another good point, change any flightplans from Manas to MK from now on.

Victory103 wrote:Sometimes the timing on here is mysterious.

Indeed. I was working on updating Souda Bay when somehow I ran across the move from Manas to MK.

FYI Manas's ICAO code has changed. It's currently UCFM, but it's UAFM in FSX. I almost missed it and wrote it off as a project until I glimpsed Manas in AIFP as UAFM.

Yeah, that's a common problem (even more so in FS9). A lot of users are quite entuthiastic about updating their airport codes, while others couldn't care less about it, which presents a bit of a headache for flightplanners.

Apparently the KC-135s have indeed departed Manas.

In FSX at LRCK right now, there are four KC-10s there from Travis. I'm thinking of changing those out with C-17s from the 62nd Airlift Wing from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, as the Stars & Stripes article notes that four C-17s and four civilian widebodies (half going to Afghanistan, half coming from there) go through the base everyday (and the pic shows a McChord C-17). I'll probably have them fly between Ramstein and MK and then from MK to Kandahar (and back). Anyone have more insight on flightplans involving MK?

Great minds think a like.... I just did this one myself.

jetmax wrote:Great minds think a like.... I just did this one myself.

Niiiice. Good to see folks paying attention to the news.

PROGRESS REPORT:

- I used SBuilderX to make the roads around the area. They do not appear in the render below, but they are there.

- I completed the living area using default buildings.

- I found out which specific unit will be assigned to LRCK, but I will not divulge it due to OPSEC considerations. The units that comprise the larger unit are already modeled in MAIW, and I adjusted the flightplans accordingly.

- For now, it appears that only C-17, C-130, and AMC charter flights come through LRCK due to the drawdown in Afghanistan. Because of ramp space limitations (and because of both the condition of the taxiways the open storage of old MiG-29s), I only let one C-5 fly into the base instead of two (in MAIW, two C-5s flew into Manas, so I sent one to LRCK and sent the other one back stateside). MAIW had one North Carolina Air National Guard C-130 fly into the base, so I added a second one. I added two heavy gates and added flightplans for the United Airlines charter Boeing 747 and a World Airways MD-11. I'll have them shuttling between KBWI in the United States and OAKN (Kandahar). I think at least one of the C-17s shuttles between LRCK and OAKB (Kabul).

- In my previous Semper Flight 2020 project, I had two USMC F-35Bs visit LRCK for a little while before flying back to their forward deployed location at Souda Bay in Greece. I made parking spots for those aircraft at the north end of the field.

- I modeled the north apron, which looks like an old helicopter landing area. I put some barracks up there before I realized that the living area was to the west. But I left the buildings there anyway since the apron does not appear to be connected to the rest of the field via a taxiway.

Comments, feedback, and suggestions are welcomed!

Another preview pic.

62nd AW are indeed there, rode one from MK to Bagram, and yes the tail# is in the sim. I have the UAL charter stuff in, we actually rode an Atlas Air B744 over. Got to spend 12 hrs on the ground in the jumbo after we weather diverted to Bucharest, not fun. You can send the C-17's to all the normal spots, to include Camp Bastion.

I like it. I'll see if I can work up a decent photoreal back drop for you -- note that I don't just cut out plain squares that are not season and look like crap with ugly borders (I will post that here, however, just for you to work with). Instead I have learned to create a blendmask and remove the areas where I don't want photoreal textures, and thus allowing the background proper FS textures to show thru. That is the part that takes a little while.

Cannot post the photoreal backdrop file, clearly it is too large, but I will email it over to you if you like. PM me if you are interested.

Cheers

That sounds good, Ripcord. Thanks!

Here's an aerial shot of what I have so far. Trying to add the trees and vegetation.

I wasn't too far off...just put the wrong aircraft there.

KC-130s from the U.S. Marine Corps also used MK Air Base in 2010 during its Black Sea rotations. So the Semper Flight flightplans I made for VMGR-352 and VMGR-452 will have one -130 moved to LRCK.

JNDVirtual wrote:That sounds good, Ripcord. Thanks!

Here's an aerial shot of what I have so far. Trying to add the trees and vegetation.

I will send a PM

I take it this is a FSX version? If so let me know and I will post my FS9 version (which is no way as awesome as this one).

Oops. Yes, this is made for FSX. Apologies for not stating that in the beginning.

Found this, not sure if it helps.

Victory103 wrote:Found this, not sure if it helps.

Great minds think alike. This is what I used to make the ramp area.

JNDVirtual wrote: ↑16 Mar 2014, 08:47

Victory103 wrote:Found this, not sure if it helps.

Great minds think alike. This is what I used to make the ramp area.

Hello,

Is this scenery finished ? I've searched after it but don't find it. Is it available anywhere ? Thanks a lot.

regards.