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Agusta A109's

Previews, discussions and support for projects by John Young.
lucas frusciante
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by lucas frusciante »

mage, I made some, here a texture of just one
with paintkit it would be 100% but it could be fixed hehe

https://prnt.sc/yjc4lh
https://prnt.sc/yjc8gk
mage
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by mage »

Hi Lucas -

If you want to "remove" the gray military aerials on the aircraft you will need to make the part of the alpha channel that maps onto those aerials completely black (not just close to black, each RGB value must be 255). If any part of the alpha channel is pure black then it will make anything that it maps onto completely invisible in the case of the AW109.

What I did was to use the aircraft's daytime texture to create an "alpha template" in DXTBMP and select that aerial texture area and paint it black, with everything else as pur ewhite except for the "glass" area at top left, which needs to be a gray color to make the windows visible but transparent. Then the helicopter repaints will get a bit closer to reality!

Then just save the livery with that alpha channel, in DXTBMP, and you should no longer see the military aerials

Very nice paints, by the way.

I think the paintkit is on the way, but I know John's busy with actual models and they need to take priority. I've made one or two paintkits in the past and they are not easy to do when they need to simulate tihngs such as dirt on the aircraft, shadows, and so on. Panel lines are easy to get right, but natural things like dirt really need to be worked on to get looking right.
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bvanhout
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by bvanhout »

John Young wrote: 05 Jan 2021, 16:21 I may though provide a bespoke kit for the painters here on request, but it needs to justify the work.
John
Hi John have a friend who will paint the South African Air Force A109's which have three tone camouflaged scheme. I have already done flightplans and sceneries for the SAAF 109's.
If a paintkit for the camouflaged models is available it would be appreciated. This would be for P3D. The variant is the same as the Swedish and Royal New Zealand air forces.

Regards
Brian
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John Young
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by John Young »

Brian, have you made the helicopter overlays for the 4 South African sceneries (FADN, FAHS, FAPE and FASK, according to Scramble) and have you tested them with one of the A109LUH models?

John
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by bvanhout »

John, yes I have made those as well as FAYP, FABL, FAOB. I have tested them with other helicopters, AW139, Super Pumas but not with the A109LUH models.
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John Young
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by John Young »

That's fine Brian. I'll get the paint kit ready for you.

John
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by bvanhout »

Thanks John
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John Young
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by John Young »

Brian, I've PM'd a link to the A109 Paint Kit for you or your friend to try out before I release generally.

John
jetrange
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by jetrange »

Maybe for future repaints, one of the models could be used to replicate the MH-68A Stingrays the Coast Guard used to fly for counter drug missions? I wish I could paint them, but I unfortunately don't have FSX with me and I got limited space on my laptop. Just an idea for someone to try out.

Image
TheFoufure
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by TheFoufure »

Hello,

I'm actually trying to do a little afcad file for Agusta Hangar at EBLG Liege Airport. The parking and taxi are OK. I made a simple FP for 2 A109. I see them on the little apron. They go to runway at time But the Heli doesn't take off.

So my question is : what's the minimal lenght for the runway ? I've put 300ft.

Thanks a lot.
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John Young
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by John Young »

I don't think I've tried something as short as 300ft. I normally try for about 800ft. Just in case 300ft is OK, have you checked other features that might prevent take-off. Does the AFCAD have comms for example?

John
TheFoufure
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by TheFoufure »

John Young wrote: 23 Apr 2022, 14:23 I don't think I've tried something as short as 300ft. I normally try for about 800ft. Just in case 300ft is OK, have you checked other features that might prevent take-off. Does the AFCAD have comms for example?

John
Hi John,


I will try with 800 ft.

I haven't put any comms. Just a basic runway.
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John Young
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by John Young »

Try 300ft but add the comms.
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by TheFoufure »

Hi John,

I added comics (Atis, Tower, Approach, Ground) but nothing changes.

My helicopter leaves his parking place, goes on the runway threshold but does not take off.
I certainly forgot a little something but I do not find what it is.

I realized 2 Afcad for 2 helicopter zones for my EBLG scene and I have the same concern on the 2 AFCAD.
For one of the AFCAD, take-off can only be done in one direction, and landings in the other direction.
I reversed to see if the problem came from there, but always the same problem ... my helicopter does not take off.
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John Young
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by John Young »

Then it's probably jumping AFCADs to the main one underneath. Try moving the overlay so that it is clear of the main one. Also try moving the ARF in the overlay. We have a similar problem on landing with an overlay for Key West that we haven't resolved yet.

John
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Greg
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by Greg »

To me it sounds like you're missing hold-short nodes.
mage
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by mage »

I'm speaking for FS9 here, but the principles in later sims are probably much the same. I hope!

I've tried 300ft but it's unreliable to use. Helicopters will go missed more often. It's almost as though there is something in the sim that senses when an AI is landing too long and forces a go-around.

Sometimes an overlay runway's length affects too much of the underlying airport (it takes control of the communications within anywhere that is 225ft away from any runway end/edge - this is why you can only contact for takeoff when you are close to the departure runway, when the "call for departure" option becomes available to you. It's the same for AI. Because of this, it is advisable to keep the runway as small as possible in length and width - the bigger it is, the more of a blanking effect it will have. I will tend to have runways that are between 400 and 500ft with width of 3ft. Even with those lengths there might occasionally be a go-around.

Because the main airport and the overlay are competing for the comms frequencies, and the main airport normally surrounds an overlay, it can be quite easy for an AI to stray onto another controller's "territory" even though the frequencies might be the same. This leads to either no comms being possible and the aircraft gets frozen in place, or a communication with the other airport's controller, at which point the AI might receive a clearance to a gate on the other airport, after which it will probably never depart.

This is pretty much the effect you'll also get with any missing hold-short nodes. UTT's AFD's for their payware helicopters have very long and thin runways leading to one or two parking spots and are geared toward their helicopters, allowing them to land and depart from a single spot. They don't work as well with anyone else's helicopters. Their hold-shorts are right by the aircraft, it parks on them!

The other aspect of overlays is the ARP - the airfield's reference point. This also seems to have some "say" in which controller is actually in control. What has helped me in the past is to have the overlay's ARP moved a kilometer or more away to the side of the main airport. If the main airport's ARP has the overlay's ARP on a heading of 225 degrees and a distance of 500 meters, I will move the ARP along that heading out to maybe 1 or 2 kilometers to lessen the contention.

Also, if you're attempting to use the marked helicopter (TLOF) symbol on the north runway at Liege, you will have the main airport and the overlay airport in direct contention for the communications. In such an instance, anything can happen. You might need to have helicopters depart from somewhere other than that runway.

Overlays are simply airports that are extremely close to other airports, so far as the sim is concerned, and the sim doesn't use intelligence to figure things out, it just works from the rules it is coded with. Unfortunately for us, we don't know some of these rules except through guesswork, and are stuck with trying a succession of workarounds.
TheFoufure
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by TheFoufure »

mage wrote: 29 Apr 2022, 16:09 I'm speaking for FS9 here, but the principles in later sims are probably much the same. I hope!

I've tried 300ft but it's unreliable to use. Helicopters will go missed more often. It's almost as though there is something in the sim that senses when an AI is landing too long and forces a go-around.

Sometimes an overlay runway's length affects too much of the underlying airport (it takes control of the communications within anywhere that is 225ft away from any runway end/edge - this is why you can only contact for takeoff when you are close to the departure runway, when the "call for departure" option becomes available to you. It's the same for AI. Because of this, it is advisable to keep the runway as small as possible in length and width - the bigger it is, the more of a blanking effect it will have. I will tend to have runways that are between 400 and 500ft with width of 3ft. Even with those lengths there might occasionally be a go-around.

Because the main airport and the overlay are competing for the comms frequencies, and the main airport normally surrounds an overlay, it can be quite easy for an AI to stray onto another controller's "territory" even though the frequencies might be the same. This leads to either no comms being possible and the aircraft gets frozen in place, or a communication with the other airport's controller, at which point the AI might receive a clearance to a gate on the other airport, after which it will probably never depart.

This is pretty much the effect you'll also get with any missing hold-short nodes. UTT's AFD's for their payware helicopters have very long and thin runways leading to one or two parking spots and are geared toward their helicopters, allowing them to land and depart from a single spot. They don't work as well with anyone else's helicopters. Their hold-shorts are right by the aircraft, it parks on them!

The other aspect of overlays is the ARP - the airfield's reference point. This also seems to have some "say" in which controller is actually in control. What has helped me in the past is to have the overlay's ARP moved a kilometer or more away to the side of the main airport. If the main airport's ARP has the overlay's ARP on a heading of 225 degrees and a distance of 500 meters, I will move the ARP along that heading out to maybe 1 or 2 kilometers to lessen the contention.

Also, if you're attempting to use the marked helicopter (TLOF) symbol on the north runway at Liege, you will have the main airport and the overlay airport in direct contention for the communications. In such an instance, anything can happen. You might need to have helicopters depart from somewhere other than that runway.

Overlays are simply airports that are extremely close to other airports, so far as the sim is concerned, and the sim doesn't use intelligence to figure things out, it just works from the rules it is coded with. Unfortunately for us, we don't know some of these rules except through guesswork, and are stuck with trying a succession of workarounds.
Thanks for that. Your exemple of EBLG is perfect beceause it's on this airport I just tried to put 2 other AFCAD. one for heli on the north (Heli and Co) and one other to the south for Heli (Agusta plant).

But my results are very poor.
TheFoufure
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by TheFoufure »

As is just a local trafic for the Agusta Factory at EBLG and for a local Heli Company I 'll use the Payware Flight 1 Hli Traffic 2009 to add some Heli traffic to my EBLG scenery.
The AFCAD problem is very difficult to solve.
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Jim
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Re: Agusta A109's

Post by Jim »

mage wrote: 29 Apr 2022, 16:09 I'm speaking for FS9 here, but the principles in later sims are probably much the same. I hope!
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O dear, that's opened a bag of worms for me. I'd added a few heli overlays to some (simple) sceneries I've done, and have now noticed some problems. I'd tested them for take offs, but half have landing problems. (I obviously lack patience when testing!)
Only one has the problem of go-arounds. More common (including to my embarrassment, an overlay I uploaded to the forum) is a problem when I test with two helicopters: The first is usually ok, but the second just circles above. Could be a long day tomorrow...

Thanks for the hints though mage, the ones that work ok might be those furthest separated from their host airports.

Jim
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