AI Helicopters
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Thread: AI Helicopters

  1. #1

    AI Helicopters

    I created ai traffic for KDTO from the flights on Flightaware to and from Denton Enterprise Airport. Searched and found all of the aircrafts freeware online also using ORBX North American AI aircrafts. Among these flights were a couple of helicopter flights. Well, first, unsuccessfully, I tried using FSX default R-22 and B206 JetRangers. I remembered that MAIW has ai helicopters albeit military ones so I downloaded an AW 139 FSX from MAIW and it followed the flightplan perfectly taxiing to the runway with the rotors rotating and taking off beautifully. Then I Google searched for ai helicopters for flight sims and found a download in Simviation called: FS2002 ai helicopters 101 by Holger Sandmann. Substituting the model and cfg according to his instructions into his Bell JetRanger folder from the FSX default I was able to get it to follow the flightplan BUT rotors don't work. Research says in Model Converter X you change rotor animations to prop animations but unfortunately Holger's setup and FSX model and airfiles are not compatible. Still no rotation.

    John Young who designs the helicopters for MAIW was kind enough to answer a PM I sent to him on how he gets HIS helicopters to perfoms so well. They are designed from scratch with the animations engineered into them.

    OK: Here is MY success and how I did it...

    starting out from a parking spot

    in the air first turn on the flight plan

    just before landing

    I "ran out of film" so I didn't get the touchdown which is not hovered but like a very slow aircraft landing and then taxi back to parking

    Its done with the default FS2002 Bell 206B JetRanger which I was able to find at Simviation after a lot of searching for it with a repaint. I also found the R-22 and two other FS2002 helo's. They are not a detailed as FSX choppers but they work as ai. Its fun to view them in traffic and follow them through the whole flight. You can find Holger's program and the 3 subsequent lessons at Simviation.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Bell JR 1.jpg   Bell JR 2.jpg   Bell JR 3.jpg  

  2. #2

    FS2004 Helicopters

    Since there is NO Bell 407 Helicopter freeware in FSX, I decided to try and see if an FS2004 would work and it does. I found a download file called GMAX Bell 407 by Alan Devins and Rory Kelly which has 2 models civil and law enforcement as well as 2 textures. First I converted it with Holger Sandman's files into AI which worked perfectly. Then I loaded it into FSX Rotorcraft and it's buried in the asphalt up to the windows. Since I have spent the last 2 days on just the repaint for the Dallas Fort Worth CBS TV paint scheme for it, I decided I was not going to give up trying to get it to fly. I opened up my FS9 SDK Aircraft Container and went to the contact points which I modified but an FS9 aircraft cfg's contact points work exactly opposite at least I think they do so after experimentation tweaking them I got it to sit perfectly on the skids as you can see here. I would like to show you the real chopper for comparison but the only photos online are copyrighted. Here is MY repaint at my home airport. This was my first try at airbrush "feathering" in the edge of the black to the yellow which I learned today with a youtube video tutorial. I am going to try and create an "airport" of the KTVT studios with their helicopter landing pad this week from Google Earth so that the AI will fly from there around the Dallas/Fort Worth area from Denton. If I can get it to work I'll post here later this week.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails FS9 Bell 407 Helo.jpg  

  3. #3
    Any particular AI helos you are looking for? Former rotorhead and I have been using the .cfg and airfile adjustments from Holger S. for flyable and AI helicopters since FS9. There is the old FS9/X payware program "Heli Traffic 2009" that allows them to follow waypoints and land on heli pads. The ORBX Aussie AI pack includes a 407, I think it's the A. Devin's converted to AI. Otherwise, for military helos the JYAI and NBAI models from MAIW are the way to go. The AIG folks have a new flightplan program that supports rotorcraft style AI flights in beta. In FSX, I used the stock B206 with the above adjustments, but there is also an A-Star AI to fill up the civy helos.
    Fly Navy/Army
    USN SAR
    DUSTOFF/ARMY PROPS

  4. #4

    Following the AI Flight

    Thank you for all that info. I have all I need with the FS9 Bell 407 working so beautifully as you can see here. I just followed the flight pattern for N211KT from KDTO to KAFW back to KDTO to be sure it worked. It was so cool and surprising to be #2 for takeoff (all ai aircraft) that I didn't expect to see. I had the screenshot camera setup to shoot the takeoff. Number 2 for takeoff at KDTO early morning

    Taking off from KAFW half hour later

    Landing at KDTO; lining up on Rwy 17

    setting down on Rwy 17; rotors are turning slowly, not stopped

    after following the taxiways to parking, it settled and shutdown


    I tried the demo for the ai helo program but I want aircraft and helicopters together not just helicopters. I saw a post from a guy who said all his ai aircraft disappeared when he installed it so I wasn't about to purchase it. This started out as just a few ai aircraft and one helo and I have 32 flight plans/aircraft at KDTO.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails pm9v32in8rsvjgd6g.jpg   qjozohllk24u4cl6g.jpg   gutez0mu73ac3mg6g.jpg   15ewua41jxd5v6c6g.jpg   0vdnz0iv3in0rdq6g.jpg  

  5. #5
    Nicely done! I'm just wondering why the helicopters don't use separate runways and landing locations as mostly they do in real life.

    Bernard

  6. #6

    Separate as in R.L.

    Quote Originally Posted by leuen View Post
    Nicely done! I'm just wondering why the helicopters don't use separate runways and landing locations as mostly they do in real life.

    Bernard
    As Victory103 said above, the only way to do that is with the FS9/FSX Helicopter Program which is payware. They DO have a demo you can try from an Army Air Field. The designers of Flight Simulator from FS2002 to FSX AND P3D Versions only created AI aircraft. Helicopters are for pilots to fly in their logic. I cannot answer for MSFS since though released is still receiving updates and tweaks from those with it as I gather from those who have it, I don't. My computer can only use FSX and up through P3DV3.

    The FS Helicopter 101 designed by Holger Sandman as mentioned above numerous times, works around a modified aircraft.cfg and airfile from a glider to create the ability to use FS2002 and FS2004 helicopters in those sims and FSX. I am going to experiment in a little while with a helipad at KTVT station assigning a parking spot on top of the helipad which IS on a drive up to the station but CAN in my opinion double as a very short runway in order to create it as an airport with ADEx. We'll see what happens. I will post results here later. Wish me luck.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by tgycgijoes View Post
    As Victory103 said above, the only way to do that is with the FS9/FSX Helicopter Program which is payware. They DO have a demo you can try from an Army Air Field. The designers of Flight Simulator from FS2002 to FSX AND P3D Versions only created AI aircraft. Helicopters are for pilots to fly in their logic. I cannot answer for MSFS since though released is still receiving updates and tweaks from those with it as I gather from those who have it, I don't. My computer can only use FSX and up through P3DV3.

    The FS Helicopter 101 designed by Holger Sandman as mentioned above numerous times, works around a modified aircraft.cfg and airfile from a glider to create the ability to use FS2002 and FS2004 helicopters in those sims and FSX. I am going to experiment in a little while with a helipad at KTVT station assigning a parking spot on top of the helipad which IS on a drive up to the station but CAN in my opinion double as a very short runway in order to create it as an airport with ADEx. We'll see what happens. I will post results here later. Wish me luck.
    There's a sneaky that you can do here. I did it to the MAIW RAF Valley, to allow the 22 Squadron Sea Kings to operate.
    What I did was to create an extra unseen runway, parking and taxiways as its own airfield (with its own ID) and fly the AI from that.

    Dave

  8. #8
    By separate runways I ment separate ADE used only by AI. These can be placed somewhere on the tarmac, where usually helicopters are parked and taking off. 'Heli Traffic 2009' allows helicopters to hoover and land as they should. But you can't follow them with Traffic Tollbox or Super Trafficboard.

    Bernard

  9. #9

  10. #10

    Thanks

    Quote Originally Posted by Penzoil3 View Post
    Thank you for the h/u I am familiar with it and tested the demo, but felt I didn't need it for just one airport's ai helicoptor traffic which all I wanted to do.

  11. #11

    TS56 or not

    Found out that KTVT has its own helicopter landing pad for their chopper designated TS56. The also have one called TE56. After spending the afternoon researching it on Google Earth and other satellite sites, and printing out AIRNAV, AOPA and Skyvector FAA Information. Thelocations are guarded secrets it seems. I created TS56 on ADEx with the Lat/Long on top of the Google Earth location a screenshot which was of the KTVT studios. The problem is that nobody told Microsoft when they created FSX. It's nowhere to be found in FSX after I installed the Addon Scenery. I went to Skyvector and entered a flight plan from KDTO to TS56 and it recognized it and entered a track with a dot on the sectional chart BUT TS56 is NOT ON the sectional chart. So in the end I removed all the buildings; satellite dishes and the chain link fence and just put an apron and short runway alongside Highway 65 with a fictional layout so that the ai helicopter would land and takeoff. It is supposed to have a 60x60 red square heliport with an "11" in it but that is not on Google Earth or any other satellite photo either. I figured that it would be in FSX in the middle of Texas. I expected to have to create little fishing village private airstrips in Northern Alaska which I've done for those left out, but not in Texas. Oh well! That's FSX for ya. LOL!!! This ends my adventures with ai helicopters.

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