Why some airfields are empty of AI traffic at start?

[PHo17]

I have plenty of AI traffic (all freeware mostly from WoAI which I have all I quess). When I start from some airfield all the AI planes on gates or ramps are there. Bigger airfields are full of them. I think this is usual and has been so for years since Fs2004 times and then now with FSX.

Then I bought some UK2000 airfields (EGKK, EGLL, EGLC, EGCC and EGSS) and was astonished. For example on the Heathrow default airfield there must have been tens of AI aircrafts if not hundred and now on the UK2000 EGLL there isn't any! (or sometimes 1 or 2 at most).

If I wait on the airfield for hours it fills up gradually. So it can't be something wrong with the AI traffic. It must be something in the scenery or afcad or else I don't know yet. This same peculiarity happens too with one freeware airfield Oslo Gardemoen (ENGM) of Norway airfields packet (from FlightSim Norway). Only UK2000 Manchester is exception within these UK2000 airfields. I have and had UK2000 airfield demos and they behave/behaved normally. There the AI planes are on the airfield while starting as I expect is normal. On any other airfields I haven't notice anything odd with the AI traffic.

I asked this from UK2000 support and they couldn't find any explanation to this and said (of course) it can't be anything in the sceneries.

Could it be something in the airfield's afcad (some option that makes the airfield start empty and fill up little by little) or something else I don't know. I have a 2 years old PC which isn't best one for running FSX (I have to higgle with settings - however AI traffic slider is at 100% so it can't be that). In my PC there is only 4 GB of RAM. Could this effect that the FSX doesn't load every traffic at start because of lacking memory (perhaps some background programs reserving memory too much)?

Pekka

[DaveWG]

I know UK2000 extreme airports usually have an option to install an AFCAD that has "airline codes" so airlines can use specific gates & parking. Maybe that's confusing your AI. Maybe worth a try enabling that, or disabling it if it's already enabled.

[PHo17]

I have lots of airfields and afcads with dedicated airline codes. They all work ok. Though I tried to remove them, but as I expected. No change. The airports stay empty of AI traffic. Can you imagine for example Heathrow at noon and number of airplanes = 0 (except the one I am flying)! Even the default airfields and demo ones with those big Demo cubics on the runways worked ok with AI traffic. I don't understand this. The only thing I have changed is installing these paywares and almost with default settings. I only removed static airplanes (used that option) I have never liked.

Pekka

[modelr]

You need to search the file sites for afcads designed to work with your scenery which update the parking. Most add-on sceneries do not come with afcads designed to work with the large numbers of add on ai programs. If the DESIGNATED parking spots are not there, the usual aircraft won't show up. Especially if you have removed the default aircraft or default ai files.

Also, most commercial add-on scenery packages "move" the default airports to their correct locations, (which sometimes may only be a foot or so, but they have moved) and if there is another, older/different afcad for the new airport, it will create all kinds of problems, starting with the ai. A program which scans your scenery files for duplicate afcads, such as ScanAFD.exe, which can be found here.

http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=ScanAFD.exe&FileName=&Author=&CatID=root


OOPS, I just realized that one is for FS9. For FSX, use Scruffy Duck's airport scanner fas_010003.zip available at avsim

[Skyhawk_310R]

The most likely reason for this is that you don't have any flightplans developed to operate out of that airport, or the airport lacks viable parking spots with continuous tracks laid down to the runways. Without parking spots, any aircraft that were programmed to fly to/from that airport won't have anywhere to park and if for a landing, the AI will recognize absence of available parking spots and will do a missed approach and eventually disappear. If for a takeoff, without a parking spot, the AI aircraft simply won't ever materialize.

If there are breaks in the taxiway pathways, then the AI aircraft won't be able to either reach the runway from the parking ramp or won't be able to reach the parking spot after landing. Eventually, the stuck AI aircraft will disappear.

Ken

[kilo delta]

The most likely reason for this is that you don't have any flightplans developed to operate out of that airport, or the airport lacks viable parking spots with continuous tracks laid down to the runways. Without parking spots, any aircraft that were programmed to fly to/from that airport won't have anywhere to park and if for a landing, the AI will recognize absence of available parking spots and will do a missed approach and eventually disappear. If for a takeoff, without a parking spot, the AI aircraft simply won't ever materialize.

If there are breaks in the taxiway pathways, then the AI aircraft won't be able to either reach the runway from the parking ramp or won't be able to reach the parking spot after landing. Eventually, the stuck AI aircraft will disappear.

Ken

I don't think that this is the issue here ,Ken, as the AI does seem to fill up over time.:)
I've noticed this issue too..although AI begins showing up after a few minutes for me (I use most of the WOAI traffic and some MAIW, converted to FSX format). I'd put it down to the fact that this is intentional...ie FSX was coded this way and the AI is last in the line of processes that the program loads?

[modelr]

I don't think that this is the issue here ,Ken, as the AI does seem to fill up over time.:)
I've noticed this issue too..although AI begins showing up after a few minutes for me (I use most of the WOAI traffic and some MAIW, converted to FSX format). I'd put it down to the fact that this is intentional...ie FSX was coded this way and the AI is last in the line of processes that the program loads?



Only if the flightplans FROM this scenery are written to portray a closed airport at the time of loading, and opening during the time you are there. (Actually, impossible, since flightplans are specific days and times on a weekly schedule.)

FSX is not coded to load ai last, per say, as in leaving some out till later. It has more to do with the way your flightplans are written, as well as the way your airport parking spots and aircraft parking codes are written in the aircraft cfgs. These parking spots will remain empty until incoming aircraft need a spot to park in, and will use any available, however when first loading, they will only use those coded to them. If none are available, and the aircraft do not have the generic parking code in their cfg, they will not appear till later, in the air.

There are many different programs to check this with. The flightplan bgls must be opened to find the correct aircraft, then their cfg must be checked, then the afcad must be checked/fixed. With the proper code added to the cfg.

Aslo, make doubly sure you don't have any FS9 flightplans anywhere in FSX. They must be converted to FSX or they will cause all true FSX flightplans to not be used. It only takes one. AI Flight Planner (aifp_v2.1.27.zip) can check for and convert flightplans, as well as check them for proper parking codes.

[kilo delta]

Only if the flightplans FROM this scenery are written to portray a closed airport at the time of loading, and opening during the time you are there. (Actually, impossible, since flightplans are specific days and times on a weekly schedule.)

FSX is not coded to load ai last, per say, as in leaving some out till later. It has more to do with the way your flightplans are written, as well as the way your airport parking spots and aircraft parking codes are written in the aircraft cfgs. These parking spots will remain empty until incoming aircraft need a spot to park in, and will use any available, however when first loading, they will only use those coded to them. If none are available, and the aircraft do not have the generic parking code in their cfg, they will not appear till later, in the air.

There are many different programs to check this with. The flightplan bgls must be opened to find the correct aircraft, then their cfg must be checked, then the afcad must be checked/fixed. With the proper code added to the cfg.

Aslo, make doubly sure you don't have any FS9 flightplans anywhere in FSX. They must be converted to FSX or they will cause all true FSX flightplans to not be used. It only takes one. AI Flight Planner (aifp_v2.1.27.zip) can check for and convert flightplans, as well as check them for proper parking codes.

Thanks for the explanation,Don. To be honest it doesn't effect my sim experience much as I tend to fly from small airfields or off airport.:)

[PHo17]

The problem is solved. I put all the blame on me.

I was sure that there isn't any FS9 Traffic files in my FSX because on almost every airfield the AI traffic showed up normally. However after all I scanned with AIFP2 once again. It showed that there is 2 FS9 mode traffic files. They ware hidden in two freeware scenaries scenery folder withour my knowing that. One was in England. that's why the UK2000 airports didn't show any AI planes. The other was in Norway. I guess this was the reason why Gardemoen ENGM was empty of AI too.

Every day you learn more. This far I thought that even one FS9 traffic file may stop most or all FSX traffic to show anywhere. It seems to me now that this is regional thing. One FS9 traffic file produces trouble on nearby areas - not neccessary on all airfields.

I compiled these traffic files to FSX format and now everything seems to be ok. Thank you everyone for help and I am sorry I bothered you with a thing I already knew but didn't realise right.

Pekka