I have a flight plan for the Maryland A-10's. The plans have them going to lots of different airports in the area. I want to change some of the plans so they take off from their home base (KMTN) then land back at base. What would be the best way to do this? Would be better to have i like the first example? Or the second example with the TNG's?

AC#x,78-0682,1%,Week,IFR,1/19:50,1/20:51,301,F,0014,KMTN,1/23:10,2/00:12,281,F,0014,KMTN,2/17:04,2/17:56,201,F,0014,KMTN

AC#x,78-0682,1%,Week,IFR,1/19:50,1/20:51,301,F,0014,KMTN,TNG1/23:10,2/00:12,281,F,0014,KMTN,TNG2/17:04,2/17:56,201,F,0014,KMTN

Well the principle from the early days, so with FS9, was that if you departed and landed at the same airport it was advisable to use TNG as weird things COULD happen, like they flew off and never came back.
Second thing is that if you were going to use TNG then you needed two legs. The first was the departure and TNGs this was followed by the departure from TNGs and return home. The difference between the end of the first leg and the start of the second leg should be 3 mins. Anything more and the aircraft has a chance of going ballistic (climbing away in a straight line, never to be seen again).

Now things might have changed with later sims but unless you know differently don't assume.

Your second plan has the TNG leg finishing at 23:10 and then starting the next leg at 00:12 this leaving yourself open to random weirdness.

The final thought is that you have to take into account the traffic levels at your base. Remember that while an aircraft is pounding the circuit you are severely restricting take offs and landings. If you are going to do TNGs I would advise doing them at another airfield and then returning.

Steve, I'm pretty sure nothing changed re AI traffic as P3D progressed, other than that airfield locations got more accurate and various ICAOs were updated and, for airfields closed since FSX, fairly randomly reallocated - in much the same way that MSFS did.

I hardly ever program TNGs in circuit flight plans in FSX or P3D (previously in FS9 too), so not to hog the pattern as Steve says. I've never experienced anything going astray, as far as I can remember. Now flying out and back to a waypoint is more of a challenge and time consuming to get the timing right!

John

Joseph29 wrote: ↑03 Dec 2023, 11:47 I have a flight plan for the Maryland A-10's. The plans have them going to lots of different airports in the area. I want to change some of the plans so they take off from their home base (KMTN) then land back at base. What would be the best way to do this? Would be better to have i like the first example? Or the second example with the TNG's?

AC#x,78-0682,1%,Week,IFR,1/19:50,1/20:51,301,F,0014,KMTN,1/23:10,2/00:12,281,F,0014,KMTN,2/17:04,2/17:56,201,F,0014,KMTN

AC#x,78-0682,1%,Week,IFR,1/19:50,1/20:51,301,F,0014,KMTN,TNG1/23:10,2/00:12,281,F,0014,KMTN,TNG2/17:04,2/17:56,201,F,0014,KMTN

Hello, If I am reading your first sample correctly, you are leaving KMTN on Monday to an unknown location for 1 hour and and coming back to KMTN. Then doing the same thing on Tuesday Departing again and staying in the air somewhere for another hour.

Without the TNG your AI will find somewhere to be until the planned time of arrival. Also as IFR plans your AI will never touch wheels down on the landings until the last arrival without TNG. IFR will cause the aircraft to go missed approach.

In this example AI will leave KNLC at 16:18 on Wednesday and at 16:32 will arrive and begin TNGs at 16:32 and at 16:36 will depart the pattern and return to KNLC for a full stop at 16:50. Now I might revise this flight plan to be VFR since this is supposed to simulate FCLP practice landings for F/A-18 Hornets at KNLC.

AC#28,165910,10%,Week,IFR,3/16:18,TNG3/16:32,019,F,0012,KNLC,3/16:36,3/16:50,012,F,0012,KNLC

Thank you for explanation guys I understand now. Also those plans I posted I know had errors in them. I just made them up real quick of a example to post.