Made my 1st Flight Plan,...Happy with Traffic X

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   I followed the basic VFR flight plan tutorial except used a different aircraft and airport locations.  So I compiled it and was anxious to start FSX and load the Tower View and watch it take off.  So I'm at the airport, in the tower, about 15 mins before take off.  There it is!  A pretty C-130 parked with the cargo door open.  I await the take off time.  It comes and goes and no take off.  Thought hmmmmmmm,,,I must have done something wrong.  I then made a second flight plan at the same airport to take off 1 hour later than the first flight that never took off.  Sitting in the tower at take off time I hear engines start.  What I see next is the C-130 taxing to take off!!  I then discovered that the times of the flight plans are ahead one hour than what I set them at, i.e, my 9AM plan took off at 10AM, and my 10AM plan took off at 11AM.  I just now was searching around and found a couple of references of this being a bug in FSX.  So I guess I have to use times that are an hour differnce in my flight plans.  I have not found a fix for it from the searchs I've done...but I just started investigating this.

An odditiy I think is that with my flight plan from the take off airport to the arrival airport is 38 miles away.  TCC Showed the departure time of 0900(which is what I set it at) and calculated the arrival time at 0907.  The thing is though, the aircraft took almost 10 mins to taxi to the end of the long runway.  Thus it was about 0910 before it finally got airborne....so I guess the arrival time is being pushed back due to this.

Anyways, I really like Traffic X.  I am glad I selected it over the other couple of well known FSX traffic addons.

Y'all have a great day.    

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
quick Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Ground Crew Joined: 12 Sep 2012 Points: 80	Post Options Post Reply Quote quick Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Made my 1st Flight Plan,...Happy with Traffic X Posted: 01 Oct 2012 at 11:42pm
	I followed the basic VFR flight plan tutorial except used a different aircraft and airport locations. So I compiled it and was anxious to start FSX and load the Tower View and watch it take off. So I'm at the airport, in the tower, about 15 mins before take off. There it is! A pretty C-130 parked with the cargo door open. I await the take off time. It comes and goes and no take off. Thought hmmmmmmm,,,I must have done something wrong. I then made a second flight plan at the same airport to take off 1 hour later than the first flight that never took off. Sitting in the tower at take off time I hear engines start. What I see next is the C-130 taxing to take off!! I then discovered that the times of the flight plans are ahead one hour than what I set them at, i.e, my 9AM plan took off at 10AM, and my 10AM plan took off at 11AM. I just now was searching around and found a couple of references of this being a bug in FSX. So I guess I have to use times that are an hour differnce in my flight plans. I have not found a fix for it from the searchs I've done...but I just started investigating this. An odditiy I think is that with my flight plan from the take off airport to the arrival airport is 38 miles away. TCC Showed the departure time of 0900(which is what I set it at) and calculated the arrival time at 0907. The thing is though, the aircraft took almost 10 mins to taxi to the end of the long runway. Thus it was about 0910 before it finally got airborne....so I guess the arrival time is being pushed back due to this. Anyways, I really like Traffic X. I am glad I selected it over the other couple of well known FSX traffic addons. Y'all have a great day.

freddy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Chief Pilot Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne, Aust Points: 1339	Post Options Post Reply Quote freddy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Oct 2012 at 12:38am
	You are correct about the takeoff times of your planes. Your planes are not always going to take off at the exact time you set in your flight plan. It may seem to be about one hour difference each time, but that is not always going to be the case. The actual time a plane taxis and takes off depends on a number of things ... GMT time being one of them ... as well as other factors, all under FSX's control. For example, if there is lots of other traffic already in the takeoff queue, or maybe lots of other AI planes about to land, and a range of other things. If the one hour difference is an issue, and you're trying to set "real-world" schedule times, then, as you say, it's a simple matter to merely create schedules that are one hour earlier than they should be. It's usually easy to find a workaround if you need to. It is certainly A LOT OF FUN to create your own flight plans and to add/edit/delete planes at airports, and then to see the results of your work operating in the sim as per your changes. I find it to be "addictive". I'm constantly making changes to schedules as real-world aviation changes occur. It gets even MORE FUN once you start using the Repaint Tool to repaint or update existing liveries, or to add new planes to an airline's inventory. And, of course, the Repaint Tool is only one way to add planes or update liveries ... you can also simply import downloaded AI planes straight in to Traffic X as well. After doing repaints, or importing planes, you then add the schedules and see them flying. Very fun, cool, and addictive indeed. Here are some OTHER things to be aware of when creating your own flight plans and then checking for them in the simulator ... Note 1 ... You've already noticed this one, but I'll expand on it anyway. After doing the compile, when testing to see if your plane appears ... remember that the plane may not necessarily take off at the exact time you have set. Therefore, run FSX and set the time to the scheduled time the plane is supposed to appear. If it is not there, set the FSX clock BACK about half-an-hour. Check again. Still not there? Set the FSX clock BACK again, another half-an-hour. And maybe BACK again a third time if it is still not there. After doing that, reset the clock back to the scheduled time for the plane but this time set the FSX clock FORWARD about half-an-hour. Check again. Still not there? Set the FSX clock FORWARD again, another half-an-hour. And maybe FORWARD again a third time if it is still not there. The idea is to check a good deal of time BEFORE and AFTER the scheduled time. Sometimes you need to go back (or forward) some HOURS before you see your plane doing something (or appearing at the airport). Note 2 ... This one is IMPORTANT TO KNOW. Due to a "randomness" factor built-in to the compile process, sometimes a plane that you have added (or edited) schedules for may NOT appear in FSX at all, even after you have recompiled the traffic database and done checks as per Note 1 above. Just RECOMPILE A SECOND TIME and test again, using the methods described above in Note 1. And then if it STILL doesn't appear, COMPILE AGAIN and test, A THIRD TIME, to be sure. I've had cases where I compile and can see my plane first go ... but on the next compile that I do, the plane is gone and no longer shows. I just recompile again. This "randomness" appears to be there to help prevent congestion at airports and to also, well, create a random feel to everything. Who really knows? It can sometimes be a little annoying, but as long as you are aware of it, then you can work OK with it.

quick Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Ground Crew Joined: 12 Sep 2012 Points: 80	Post Options Post Reply Quote quick Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Oct 2012 at 2:11am
	Thank you very much Freddy for the very informative reply. I learned a lot from it! I agree that this can get addictive. I'm already hooked on it and can't wait to try some repaints. Cool on the importing AI planes. I've been dling quite a few of them over the past week. Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

freddy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Chief Pilot Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne, Aust Points: 1339	Post Options Post Reply Quote freddy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Oct 2012 at 10:56am