AAR Tracks

[dk1213]

I need to ask this of someone with more knowledge on how to create traffic files than what I have got. What I would like to do, Is make a traffic file running 2 MGAI KC-135's (the one's with the boom I hear about) in opposite tanker loops on either coast of the United States. I don't need it to have chicks with it, I would just like to be able to take off from Seymour Johnson, kick out over the ocean and refuel (even if its not actually transferring gas I don't care) and then be able to move on and do whatever. Is this possible?

[MIKE JG]

Not really for what you want to do. However there are alternatives.

For straight AI traffic and flight plans, you could set up a series of flight plan waypoints and then write a set of flight plans that would spawn a KC-135 at point A and have it fly to point B in a straight line. If you multiplied that flight plan a couple times with each AI spaced out a few minutes apart, you could have a relatively predictable string of AI tankers set up between a specific set of waypoints.

That's one way to do it.

The other involves the use of the Recorder module. It simply records a flight that you physically have to fly in the sim first and then can play that exact flight back using any other aircraft in your flight sim inventory such as the MAIW KC-135. So for example, you could take any flyable aircraft, fly a real or simulated AAR track recording the whole thing. Then at your choosing you can play back that flight as AI in the sim so that you can fly a second aircraft yourself up to it to refuel.

The nice thing is that I designed the KC-135 series with just this in mind. So the refueling boom animations will work regardless of whether you fly the AI model as a flyable aircraft, whether it's being used as an AI model or whether you are playing it back as an AI flight using the Recorder module.

It's been a while but I set up a few AAR tracks northeast of Nellis and it works great.

The only break in the realism is that you have to cue up the recorded flight which means pausing the sim momentarily to activate the recorded flight. The nice thing is that you can set the recorded flight to continuously loop which is perfect for a simulated AAR track.

[dk1213]

Yea that makes sense. I have FSRecorder, however I was unaware that I could swap out the plane I am flying in record mode with a different one in playback. I think like you said that would probably be the easier way of doing it. I have a set of flight plans in .pln format meant to fly yourself of AAR tracks during Operation Odyssey Dawn, maybe I can use FSRecorder run those and try what you said. Is there a program that exists to integrate ai planes to run these .pln files?

[Victory103]

FSR is the best way, and if you are using FSX you can use the Refuel Gauge to get gas.

[dk1213]

10-4 I'm working on it now.