NZWF doesn't like C-17's ?

[Joecoastie]

Hi ! I posted this over on AVSIM and have had no comments.

I like to think I am fairly proficient at AI flight plans, etc. But this one has me stumped.

A couple of days ago I thought to do a military flight from Langley AFB (KLFI) to Wheunapi (NZWP), with RON stops along the way - KLFI > KVBG > PHNL > NZWP - and return - NZWP > PHNL > KEDW > KADW> KLFI. I used one of the USAF C-17's from MAIW's Hickam offering. Proper AFCADS in place with parking for MIL_CARGO and C17, M003 at all the stops. TT Tools compiled the flight and everything went great - I followed and/or waited for the C-17 at the stops with either the Toolbox or Traffic View Board. It all went fine until I was watching the C-17 on final to NZWP - it vanished about a quarter mile from touchdown! So I backed up an hour and tried it again. Now the A/C does not show up anywhere around NZ! I thought maybe the A/C file was messed up. But after checking, everything is in place. I checked out the return legs and the C-17 shows up back at Hickam, at Edwards, at Andrews and back at Langley right on schedule. After spending hours checking, rechecking flightplans, AFCADS, aircraft etc. the USAF C-17 would not appear in the skies of New Zealand.
So I figured the Aussies should be on good enough terms with the Kiwis to let one of their planes land, and I made a flight plan with the RAAF C-17(MAIW again) from Amberly in Queensland (YAMB) to NZWP. Watched it take off then scooted ahead a few hours and miles and waited at NZWP. It never showed up -nothing - nada. Checked everything at least five or six times. Could find nothing amiss. Then I swapped A/C. I dug out an AI US NAVY Beech King Air C-90. Started from YAMB (put some long range tanks in the Beech ) and headed off to New Zealand. Scooted ahead. Waited. Lo and behold the Beech comes in and makes a perfect landing and taxis in to park!
I've even tried to make the C-17 start from NZWP and just fly some touch & go. The C-17 does not show up - swapped to the Beech and there it is. The C-17 flies into all the other airports just fine.
Sorry this is so long winded, but I'm stumped. Is there a "Bermuda Triangle" ("Lord Howe Island Triangle"?) ? Tomorrow I'm gonna try some other RNZAF airfields.
Anyone have other ideas ?

Joe

FS9 - XP, etc.

[MIKE JG]

Joe, place your AFCAD file for NZWP in a zip file and attach it to a post here. I will take a look at it, sounds like the parking isn't working at NZWP for some reason, could be a lot of things.

Welcome to our site BTW!

[Joecoastie]

Thanks for the welcome. I've been a "lurker" here for quite some time.
I moved the T&G locale to NZAA in the flight plan. The C-17 was sitting at a cargo spot near the end of the runway! Then for some reason I went back to the NZWP AFCAD and moved the parking spot just a few feet. There was the C-17! I ran a couple of different flight plans with both the RAAF and the USAF plane and all worked! (Gonna have to relocate the spot again as the plane backs out onto the grass when leaving.)
Here's a zip of the two AFCADs. V1 is the one that didn't let the C-17 show and v2 is the one that works. As you can see the spot was only moved a few feet to the east at an angle. The base AFCAD is the MAIW one from the Exotic Alberts for NZ and Australia. Nothing was changed but adding the one MIL_CARGO spot.

If you see anything strange between them let me know.
Thanks again for the assist

Joe

[Firebird]

Hi Joe, so you have managed to fix the problem yourself by moving the one added cargo spot and you would like to understand why. Is this correct?

[Joecoastie]

That is correct . . . . . If an explanation can be determined.

Cheers;

Joe

[james84]

I have a similar issue with McChord... I'll try to do like this and I'll see if I can fix the problem..

[MIKE JG]

Joe the only difference I see in V1 to V2 is that your one C-17 spot in V2 is left uncoded. In version one you have that spot coded as C17, M003. That alone should not make a difference as the model should look first for a spot that matches its "atc_parking_code=C17". If it can't find a spot that has that code, it should look for a spot that has a "Ramp_MIL Cargo" spot.

The parking radius of each spot is ever so slightly different. One is listed at 100 ft and the other is at 100.36 ft. That MIGHT make a difference but I don't think that small of an amount should matter.

I can't figure out why AFCAD is displaying the radius in feet right now LOL. Normally we use meters for the parking spots but it doesn't matter. I thought the parking radius for the C-17 was something like 38m but I can't check since I don't have that model installed here on my laptop.

So on your end, check the difference in parking radius between V1 and V2 of that afcad. Try changing version 2's parking radius back to what it was in V1, but do not move the spot so we can see if the radius or the placement of the spot is the culprit.

[drydocker]

Hi all. I was reading what Joe said at the beginning and notice that the plane vanished at a quarter mile out on approach. I thought it didn't vanished until it landed and began to taxi off the runway it if didn't have a parking spot to park at. could it be a problem with the approach? I'm not to smart on these things but was just wondering.

[Firebird]

The only thing that I have come across that could cause that is that the height of the previous airfield it visited was over a certain above this one but this is not the case on the routes he specified. First thing I checked.

[Joecoastie]

[quote="So on your end, check the difference in parking radius between V1 and V2 of that afcad. Try changing version 2's parking radius back to what it was in V1, but do not move the spot so we can see if the radius or the placement of the spot is the culprit.[/quote]

Okay, I'll give it a go. I am using AFX (most of the time). maybe that's why it's in feet vs. meters. I'll try AFCAD, too.

Joe

[Firebird]

Both Afcad and AFX have an options menu and in there you can select whether you want Metric Parking Radius or not. If not then its in feet.