Useful Info & Top Tips!

AVOIDING FSX CRASHES WHILE FLYING AH JOBS

This tip comes from user soepkip in the forum at Mutley's Hangar.

"Hoi, i had daily FSX crashing too and solved the problem...

My HD5770 had an automatic 33% fan speed during FSX.
Manual increase fan speed setting to 60% ... no crash during flight since then.

http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/topic/5419-fs-crashes-during-ah-flight/page__gopid__56048#entry56048

PURPOSE & LIMITATIONS OF AI PILOTS

PURPOSE OF AI

AI Pilots are one of five AH features that are intended to make it possible for AH users who want to fly large AC to progress to that reasonably quickly without resorting to paying $10,000,000 for hauling a Skylane full of cabbages 200 NM.

AI are a means to an end, i.e. a cash generating mechanism, thinly disguised as trash-hauling aviation operations.  That aspect of AH is not intended to be highly realisitic because the AH design philosopy included a conscious objective for it not to become the main focus of AH. While AI operations may not be rigorously realistic, they are plausible and effective.  AI pilots are a reasonably reliable generator of cash, but have a dark side which will pull a 35 inch vacuum on your company's bank account if not managed with reasonable care.  That's as realistic as it was ever intended to be.

LIMITATIONS OF AI

1) Single Mindedness: You may load up an AI Pilot's scedule with multiple jobs which will be handled singly in the order they are assigned.  Jobs may be un-assigned and re-assigned to the same or different pilots, but in any event, each job is prosecuted to completion before the next one is begun, even if more efficient sequencing or inter-mixing of jobs might seem obvious.  AI are incredibly single-minded and don't even become aware of job #2 until job #1 is complete.  Do not expect AI pilots to pick up return cargo between the legs of a multi-trip job, even if it is available - they are utterly incapable of such an operation.

2) Full Fuel: AI always fly with full fuel tanks.  Their AC cargo capacity is limited to the AH Cargo Capacity statistic for the aircraft, which derives from...

AH Cargo Capacity = MTOW - (Empty Weight + Weight of full fuel)

3) MTOW Limit: One of the visible attributes of AI Pilots is their MTOW Limit.  AI Pilots cannot be assigned to an AC with an MTOW that exceeds the pilot's MTOW Limit.  The MTOW Limit can be found on the Pilots screen.  MTOW Limit increases with pilot rank, which increases from time to time based on the number of jobs completed.

4) Runway Lengths: When an AI pilot is assigned a job, AH compares the assigned AC MTOW rating and the length of the longest runway at the job destination airport.  If the runway length is insufficent for the AC, in accordance with the Runway Lengths table (elsewhere in this thread) then AH will not permit the job to be assigned.

5) AI Pilot Rating:  AI Pilots possess an attribute "score" expressed as a percentage (with a related number of stars), which is visible in the Pilots screen.  Each Pilot's Rating is a composite of four non-viewable attributes, each with a weighting factor associated.  The Rating is a weighted average of the pilot's current scores in those four attribute areas.  Among the attributes are two that may roughly be thought of as "flying ability" and "work ethic".  There are two others about which even less is known.  Each of the attributes affects the pilot's performance in certain aspects of carrying out his assignments.  A pilot's attributes will change over time with experience.

6) Reputation: AI pilots do not gain reputation for jobs completed, however they can cost you reputation for jobs failed.  The positive benefit for which AI are intended is the generation of cash.  The offsetting negative effect is that, if not carefully managed (and occasionally even if they are), they can cost your company money and reputation. 

LANDING GEAR SYSTEM FAILURE IN FLIGHT

If you hear the dreaded beep-beep-beep-beep while in flight with a retractable gear AC, prepare yourself - you're going to be making a gear-up landing.

Here is the best way to handle it...

1) Be sure crash detection is set ON in FS.  If it is off you'll skid until your job expires.

2) Avoid the temptation of making an off-runway landing.  Land on the runway as gently as possible. 

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If you do a good job of it you will not receive any AC or cargo damage, which may not be realistic, but take your breaks where you can get them.  You will have to pay for the system repair, which is not cheap. 

If you land off the runway, AH will interpret that as an off-airport landing and will assess damage to the AC and possibly to the cargo based on the FS landclass in which the airport lies.  Forest and Urban are particularly ugly.  It may look like smooth grass next to the runway to you but to AH it is whatever the landclass database says it is and you probably won't like the result.

DETERMINING FUEL CONSUMPTION

There are at least three ways to get fuel consumption info...

1) Look it up on line.  It's a statistic that's often difficult to find, but sometimes you get lucky.

2) If you know the range, cruise speed and fuel capacity you can work it out.

You divide range by cruise speed to get endurance, then divide fuel capacity by endurance.  That will get you there.  The result will probably be a little rough, but good enough for AH.

3) Fly the plane in FS in a non-AH flight.

Climb to a typical cruise altitude and set a typical cruise power setting.

Using the panel clock as a time reference...

Open the Fuel & Payload menu...  Top Line Menu -> Aircraft -> Fuel & Payload

Read the fuel quantity from the F & P menu

Return to the sim

When exactly 10 minutes has elapsed by the panel clock go back to the F & P menu and read the fuel quantity again.

Subtract the two to determine how much you burned in ten minutes.  Multiply that by six to determine how much you will burn in an hour.

Note that this will be in pounds and AH wants the fuel consumption in US gallons.  To convert pph to USG/hr...

If Jet A divide by 6.7

If 100LL divide by 6.0

Note that the fuel consumption value that you enter in AH does not affect the way it performs in FS.  AH uses that value for job generation, AH scheduling, etc - only things internal to AH.  Note also that fuel burn is NOT affected by AC weight, only by density altitude and power setting.  Speed will vary with AC weight, but fuel burn will not if the power setting remains constant.

REPUTATION LOSS FOR CLOSING BASES

It's dependant on how close the nearest base is to the one being closed, i.e. do the customers of the base being closed have a reasonably convenient alternative.

> 50nm = full penalty

< 50nm = 50% penalty

< 30nm = no penalty