arms twisted; SIMPLE AI Flight Planner -STEP by STEP

[nigel richards]

Okay Falcon, I hear you!


Please understand that this walkthrough is NOT written by an expert.

I just use it for personal traffic - and its a year since I last used it.
Anyone wishing to correct me or add suggestions;
Jump in! You'll be doing me and everyone else a big favour...and maybe we can finally get the AI traffic flowing.

Let us begin;

Download and install the latest version of 'AI Flight Planner'

Install on to your computer and read the installation notes - its simple and its the only part I will not touch.

Step1

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Find your desktop icon for AI Flight Planner. Enter, double-click!

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All boxes empty? We'll take care of that...

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The first thing to do is get some planes - click the box named aircraft; you'll be given a choice of actions.
Forget the choice!...

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Select: 'create new aircraft list'...

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Dang! You'll probably get a message like this (if you have your headphones on as always like me you'll hear the dang!)
Beginning problems? did I do something wrong?
Nope! Just press ok and continue...




Edit: however I did press something wrong on the thread here.
Disregard the 3 pics below.

[falcon409]

lol, there ya go!! Well done Nigel, lol. You'd think that after reading Job Guides and Tech Manuals in the Air Force for 26 years, just to turn a screw or tighten a "B" nut, a short Tech Manual would be a breeze, but I think my head just finally said "Enough Already", lol. Thanks for the Tutorial. I'll bookmark it to come back to when necessary (which will probably be constantly for a few weeks at least).

[nigel richards]

lets continue;

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so you're in the 'create new aircraft list' dialog box. Good.
1. select your fs version or both.

2. Press the 'scan folders' box and direct 'AI Flight Planner' to your fs main 'aircraft' folder.
It may take a few moments loading all your aircraft, but you should eventially see a list of all your aircraft as here.

3. For simplicity, press the 'use all' button; I'm telling you to do this because you might want to choose a different aircraft
halfway through your flightplan. That's nearly what you're ready to do!

Look in the righthand corner of the 'AI Flight Planner' main screen;
you'll see you now have a #.

Yes? That's good!

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scroll down the list (yeah! your mouth's already watering)...

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Choose a fairly reliable aircraft to begin with;
I chose the Avia 156 (I'm trafficking in my sound testing sim)
Go for something fairly 'normal' for now. (you'll probably give it the chase, if you're doing traffic for the first time)

[Milton Shupe]

Well done Nigel. Now, where can I get AI Planner? Is it freeware?

[nigel richards]

Falcon: hope its some help my friend.


Milton: Thanks Sir!

Yes, its a great, reliable and continually tested/improved freeware program.

Download here (its in the blue dialog box on the lefthand sid of the site page.):


http://stuff4fs.com/newpage.asp?folder=AIFP

[nigel richards]

Not long now,gentlemen...we'll soon be seeing traffic.

I now want you to consider where your traffic will be flying from, and a very nearby destination.

Make sure they both have parking areas!
(most medium to large airports have plenty of room - keep it simple for now)

here we go...

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we've chosen our aircraft? Good!...

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1. Press 'start new FP'

2.You're selected aircraft may not show now, if not, just scroll the 'aircraft list:
you can even still select a different one if you like!

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1.Time zone.
Don't touch anything for now, just leave it alone.

2. Active level
This will determine the traffic density level where your traffic file will be active!
Remember! If you put 100%, the traffic slider in your fs must be to this level.
If you put 1% then your traffic, even set at a low level on your fs traffic slider will always show.

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Traffic frequency
If you're a beginner at traffic, choose the 1 or two hour option.
There's nothing more complicated with the others except that you'll have to start choosing days etc.
And for your first traffic, you're going to be sitting around the airport to see your pride and joy!
The choice is yours, we want fast, easy results for now....

Note: if you look further down on the viewer, its still impossible to check destinations etc...

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press the IFR button and Bingo!
Don't bother with VFR, as far as I know fs doesn't do it...
I could be wrong though. Press IFR!


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1. Oh look, A. Simpleton forgot to choose an aircraft...just testing! Choose!
2. As I said: IFR!

[Milton Shupe]

Got it, tried it, got the first half leg in, but no buttons light up to do the return leg, so ...

I guess I'll RTFM.

[nigel richards]

Phew!

Writing this guide is a darn sight harder than using the program.

legs:

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now's the time to choose your airports.
Either use the 'airports' dialog box - select 'Get Airport information'
or
If you're familiar with their codes, type the codes directly as shown below...


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1. Type out a 3 digit flight number - 007 is a good start.

2.Type the airport code of the airport from where our aircraft begins the flight.
You don't type its full name; as soon as you type the code, ai Flight Planner does it for you.

3. Type the departure time (24:00 clock) For now type 0900 (I'll explain further down when we go to watch our first traffic).
If you're lazy, like me, when you type 0900, as soon as you get to the next step, you'll receive a warning! Just ignore this and place your pointer in the 'To' box. Look again at the time, and you'll see the program has corrected - it now reads: 09:00.

4. Type the destination To airport code.
Remember!!! With the 1 or 2 hour flight this must be a placed near to your point of departure.
I'm flying from LGTS (Thessaloniki) to LGSD (Sedes) its only a mile away. If you wish to use these airports you'll have to create parking space at Sedes. Not recommended for this exercise.

5. Height

Anything you like, but you'll cause delay problems if your Cessna has to climb to 20,000ft just to land a mile or two away!
Try and avoid a mountainous area too for now for obvious reasons.
I typed in 30, which gives me 3,000ft. Plenty.

That's it - You have your first leg....

okay, so why can't I save?

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Because you need a callsign

Either simply press the FN (flight number) button (arrow 2 above reg)
or
1. invent a reg. number, as I did here.
2. Press the Reg button

As soon as you complete this, you'll be given the option to save.
Save! (but don't exit the program yet or you'll lose the 'save'!

Under the 'save' button' you'll now see the 'Add leg' button.

Press!

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Do the second leg and we're done, patience!

1. Create a flight number for this leg...any 3 digits.

2. ai Flight Planner knows where you are! YOU dont write anything.

3. ai Flight Planner has done some math and provides the 'ideal' time.

4. Destination; for this exercise put the same airport name as your departure airport in the first leg.
Mine was LGTS.

5. Height
keep it simple again (see first leg) I'll stick to 30.

Well thats just about your flightplan...

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Press 'save' again...

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Dang! Oops! What's this?
Well I told you its a pretty smart program...

its warning me that my arrival time back at LGTS is cutting it too close!

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1. So i do a little thinking, correct my departure in the second leg from 09:39 to 09:30.
This doesn't often happen, I just don't want anyone panicking if it does on your first go.

2. With the time now adjusted, I try for another 'save'.


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Bingo! This time its accepted.
So now we press the 'Add FP To List' button, and see it appear on 'FLIGHT PLAN LIST'

Congratulations Gentlemen:
we now have a viable flightplan ready for Bgl compilation!

But before patting one another on the backs, we want to make a permanent save!

Dont exit the program yet, or you'll lose your flightplan.

[nigel richards]

Got it, tried it, got the first half leg in, but no buttons light up to do the return leg, so ...

I guess I'll RTFM.

Patience my friend, we're getting to the best bit: Traffic!

[nigel richards]

We have the flightplan in the 'FLIGHT PLAN LIST'

just before saving, quickly open the properties option of the desk icon as you do when adding something to fs.
There are four folders. The 2 we are interested in are;

1. Flightplans
2. TrafficFiles

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This is a good place to store all your work.
By saving flightplans you can open them up in the program, change times, places, aircraft or even dupes.
For now we're just saving.

Back in the program, ready to save...
so we now click on the top lefthand corner 'Files'


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Go to 'Save as' and press!

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direct the 'save in' browser to the flightplans folder we just took a look at.
When open, name your work - by default, the names should always begin with:Flightplans_l

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We're ready to compile the flightplan into a traffic bgl.

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Top left, Files again, this time: 'Compile Traffic bgl'. select!

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1. Select your target fs9, fsx or both.

2. Guide the browser to the TrafficFiles folder mentioned above.
If you know what you're doing in scenery, you can guide it to a specific ADDON folder.
TrafficFiles is safer for now.

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1. TrafficFiles as above

2. Name the file with a relevant name (remember it), save and we're done!

If you have followed these steps, you have just created you very first traffic with AI Flight Planner.

And now deserve some fun!

To use the traffic file you've just made, open the TrafficFiles folder
find the traffic bgl file - mine was: Traffic_sedesavia1

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Copy/Paste the bgl file into an active addon scenery/scenery file.

So let's load up fs, for the pleasure of seeing our first traffic.


If its your first time, I'll now walk you through with some hints 'n pics on seeing you own traffic.

[Naismith]

Thank you Nigel from me too, for what it is worth I found this elder walkthrough in two parts at YouTube. The interlocator has a grasp of language without limping through sentences and gives a fair representation of someone who knows what he is talking about. As I say it's for a previous AIFP2 version 2.1.19 but some people like a visual aid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkwCpGwa-Ac
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zcjl...eature=related

[nigel richards]

Naismith, that'll be of great assistance because the basic use and logic of the program hasn't changed.

Many thanks Sir.

[nigel richards]

Its all your own work, and you are now truly in command of your own airspace.

Go on then...Fire up your sim! You deserve it.

Go to your departure airport

Check you have your traffic setting at or above that which you made the flightplan.

What's the time? Remember we said 09:00hrs. If its 1 hour traffic, the actual hour doesn't matter.
What does, is to be there a little early...say 08:56. This will give you time to search around for where fs has parked your traffic.
If your airport is large, you may have to slew around a little till you find it.

Pick yourself a chase-aircraft a good measure faster than your traffic. Good!

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Aha! There she is! Sitting there motionless. Good!


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Now tune into 'Ground', book yourself a flight, then sit and watch. Enjoy!
What's this? Your traffic talking to 'Control'? Excellent!

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She's doing push-back and taxi!

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Oh my! Will you look at that pretty plane taxying.

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Can't resist it...follow m'leader. Tune into tower!

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Great! She's cleared for take-off.

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Let the gal get a headstart...

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There's my baby!

[Wing_Z]

A picture is worth a thousand words.30 pictures = 30,000 words.
This was too simple... Nigel please can you give us the Comprehensive Walk-through?

OK I am yanking your chain... still, I prefer to work in Traffic Tools as it is very direct.
For example, a cut 'n paste of an aircraft name in each of 2 text files, followed by a quick compile, produces 787's instead of 767's for existing ANA and JAL WOAI files:



Can AIFP do this too?

[nigel richards]

2:30 a.m.? Phew!, You re telling me Wing Zulu...all this tutoral stuff set me back flight sets for about 200 major airports.

All that writing reminded me of hand editing traffic Nobody will ever read it!