McChord AFB C-17s

james84 · Post by **james84** » 14 Oct 2008, 17:17

Hello!
Today I installed some PAI packages, including the one with the C-17s at McChord AFB (KTCM - Tacoma, Washington). I noticed that the aircrafts don't show up at the airport, and I think this depends on the flightplans (attached). I didn't touch the plans themselves, just changed the percentages to 1% and the numbers of the aircrafts in order to have only 3 (for hd space reasons). What do you think?
Is there a way to fix them or shall I re-do them? Or has anyone some to share?
Thanks for any help!

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 14 Oct 2008, 17:35

Before even scrutinizing the fp's themselves, I suggest checking a couple other things. If you've already done these things, then ignore this post.

1. Ensure the parking space size is large enough to handle the aricraft. Parking space size must correlate to (be bigger than) winspan described in the aircraft.cfg file. There's a difference between that relationship in FS9 and in FSX.
2. Make sure that there ARE correctly labelled parking spaces at both destination and departure airport afcads
3. Ensure that the "model=" entry in the aircraft.cfg file matches the x.mdl file name exactly
4. Same matchup idea with texture titles.
5. Make sure that the "[fltsim.x]" entries are a) sequential, b)have no gaps, and c) that the "f" in fltsim is lowercase. Some people have reported problems with it and others say it never caused them problems. I know that by making it lowercase everytime, in both FS9 and FSX, I never have any problems with it.

After all of those are triple checked, then I troubleshoot the FP lines themselves. I do THAT a single line at a time - literally. Get one aircraft to show up when and where I expect it and any formatting problem I've replicated throughout the flightplans.txt file usually becomes obvious.

james84 · Post by **james84** » 14 Oct 2008, 17:48

Thanks for your answer, Ford Friendly! Done everything you listed and everything seems to be allright. I'll check the FPs now...

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 14 Oct 2008, 18:19

Can you post the aircraft.txt file line describing AC#1 and the entire aircraft.cfg [fltsim.x] entry for AC#1 here, please?

I know it seems pedantic, but these areas are where I usually find my own errors and PAI usually does/did work for me "out of the box". They rarely screw up the fp lines themselves.

Also, are you using FS9 or FSX?

GrahamS · Post by **GrahamS** » 14 Oct 2008, 20:07

The problem is the parking (afcad). The parking size required for the C-17 is very large (from memory 50+metres) and the afcad simply doesn't have much parking of that size. There is nothing wrong with the flightplans.

SMOC · Post by **SMOC** » 14 Oct 2008, 20:25

I believe the default C-17 is 44M. The March and Elmendorf MAIW ones are 44M. I make mine around 28-30M as the entire wingspan of a C-17 is only ~51M.

GrahamS · Post by **GrahamS** » 14 Oct 2008, 20:41

Seem to recall something about the filename being too long with the McChord package as well.

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 14 Oct 2008, 20:45

I just looked at the PAI_C17_RPP_Hickham aircraft.cfg files.

Wingspan is listed as 94.75 feet.
Figure your afcad C17 parking size from that.

GrahamS · Post by **GrahamS** » 14 Oct 2008, 20:51

I can confirm the filenames in the released package are too long for the PAI installer. You need to shorten the filenames for the compiler to work properly. Unless you do so the aircraft will not appear.

Victory103 · Post by **Victory103** » 14 Oct 2008, 22:14

I had issues the other PAI package for Charleston AFB. My McChord AFB worked, so I changed everything to mirror the Charleston package.

james84 · Post by **james84** » 15 Oct 2008, 06:45

Thanks for the answers!
I actually saw one of McChord's C-17s at Charleston, alongside with other "brothers"...
I attached the aircraft.cfg file, now I'll see what happens if I increase the radius of the Afcad file.

james84 · Post by **james84** » 15 Oct 2008, 06:48

Forgot... I don't use PAI's filenames, and I always rename any flightplans in a simple way: ie. "Traffic_USAF McChord AFB C-17.bgl"

james84 · Post by **james84** » 15 Oct 2008, 07:06

A C-17 appeared! But it's from Hickam Field...

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 15 Oct 2008, 08:16

Okay... here's what I often find as "the issue" with aircraft.cfg files like this. You must examine how each afcad used in the flightplan is coded parking space wise. This can cause problems if the aircraft.cfg atc_parking_codes and atc_parking_types entries don't match the afcad parking coding.

This may be the case here...

Take the Hickham entries. They are coded:
atc_parking_types=MIL_CARGO
atc_parking_codes=535A
(This will park in the squadron's spaces at Hickham but in any open and correctly sized MIL_CARGO space elsewhere.)

The other base's C17's are coded
atc_parking_types=MIL_CARGO
atc_parking_codes=C17
(This will park in any space designated for C17's if available and correctly sized, but if none ARE available, then they'll go looking for any IL_CARGO space that is big enough.)

For FS9, I would change the own aircraft.cfg to the following:
atc_parking_codes=535A, C17, M003
and
atc_parking_codes=C17, M003 (at least that if no squadron or wing designation is available. I added the M003 because I have seen MIL_COMBAT afcad parking spaces with M003 coding also.)
respectively.

Now, so long as afcad parking spaces have one of those codes AND the wingspan radius is sufficient, any of these C17's should show up at all the destinations. At least, this is what works for me.

The fact that a Hickham C17 did show up - I assume at McChord - says something. The question is, where did it park? What was the parking space coded?

james84 · Post by **james84** » 15 Oct 2008, 09:35

I've recompiled the plans taking some Singapore Airlines ones and changing the destinations.
I noticed that McChord's C-17s are coded only "C17", while the afcad has "C-17, M003". I changed both tha codes in the aircraft.cfg and the afcad file. Hickam's C-17 appears outside the parking area of McChord's C-17's.

james84 · Post by **james84** » 15 Oct 2008, 09:36

I've recompiled the plans taking some Singapore Airlines ones and changing the destinations.
I noticed that McChord's C-17s are coded only "C17", while the afcad has "C-17, M003". I changed both tha codes in the aircraft.cfg and the afcad file. Hickam's C-17 appears outside the parking area of McChord's C-17's.

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 15 Oct 2008, 10:14

james84 wrote:Hickam's C-17 appears outside the parking area of McChord's C-17's.

What were the parking codes for the space that it parked in? What was the space's size?
Do those match what you have for the McChord spaces? (I wouldn't think so. So what is the difference?)

james84 · Post by **james84** » 15 Oct 2008, 10:34

So, I changed ALL the C17 spaces but nothing happened, even if Ileaved the codes blank. No McChord C-17s at all at their home base, but at least I've seen a couple of them sitting close to each other at Honolulu...
I'll try with a different afcad!

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 15 Oct 2008, 10:45

You know, it dawns on me that perhaps the percentage in the flightplans.txt file is "too high" in comparison to your traffic density slider.

I routinely set ALL my military traffic percentages to 1% so that they will always show up - unless I set my traffic density slider to 0.

Open the flightplans.txt file and change the number just before the percent sign - for each flightplan line - to something relatively low and check again for traffic at McChord.

Post by **Firebird** » 15 Oct 2008, 12:11

Maybe a different question should be asked here.

As you appear to have changed quite a lot already, can you post your aircraft.txt file that you are using for this bgl?