Hey Folks!   

   I recently learned how to write my own flight plans. I live on the gulf coast of the U.S. where there is a lot of private, military, and law enforcement helicopter traffic - oil companies, DEA, ICE, Coast Guard etc. I've noticed that the helicopters in my flight plans won't show up. For instance, I created a set of plans for the U.S. Coast Guard, using both aircraft and helicopters. I used AFX to place the correct helo pads for skidded helos or ramp spaces for wheeled helos (I'm not really sure if that matters or not). I also marked the parking spots with parking codes of DUJ, DOD, MSH for Dept of Justice, Air Force Mobile Command (?), and U.S. Marshall Service. I chose to use and enter "atc_parking_code=DOD" into the aircraft.cfg. All of that, and all I see or hear are the aircraft, but not any helicopters, wheeled or skidded. The aircraft park in the proper spots, I hear the Coast Guard callsign and flight number, but when a I see the aircraft information in the air or a traffic alert is given it's always for an Amphibious Caravan, MU-2, Gulfstream, but I never see or hear an Aerospeciale Dolphin, Bell 206 B Rangerjet, Bell 412 Rangerjet, Westland EH 101, etc.

   I found a list of basic model and type of aircraft called in FS9 and FSX on Bone's Aviation site that indicates Bell, Aerospeciale, BellRanger, and Rangerjet are available. I don't remember if Edit Voice Pack 4.0 has Bell, Westland, or Rangerjet.

   I have a nice program called Helo 2009 by Flight 1. I'll admit that I have only done basic work with the program, but  the helicopters will fly in kinda randomly, sometimes on a marked helo pad and sometimes they'll fly right onto a ramp space, flying directly over other aircraft and buildings. Or they'll take off and fly right over an active runway. I can choose what helos I want in the air, but haven't messed with callsigns and flight numbers and as I stated, parking spots and proper flying is kinda like the wild west. Anyone tinker with it more than I have?

   I have also used Traffic (for FSX, not Traffic X) and My Traffic X which have Robinson R 22s & 44s, Bell 206 B Rangerjets, several Eurocopters along with most military helos. The programs do work well independently and together, and, they do taxi and fly properly, but there are no oil companies, law enforcement, Coast Guard, ICE, etc., and they just don't look good - at all. One day I had a PINK Rangerjet parked next to me on the tarmac  ;D That is just wrong...

   Anyway, if anyone can help me get some nice flight plans for some nice AI choppers in the air, parking, taxiing and flying properly, I'd appreciate any help, advice or suggestions.

Semper Fi,

Dave

As far as I know, the FS ai engine still does not directly support helicopter-vtol aircraft. Semi-realistic heli flight can be attained by  creating 'special' airports and modifying the heli's flight dynamics. View a short discussion here: http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10717&highlight=fsx+helicopter+traffic

I've never used Traffic or My Traffic.


Quote:

I have a nice program called Helo 2009 by Flight 1. I'll admit that I have only done basic work with the program, but  the helicopters will fly in kinda randomly, sometimes on a marked helo pad and sometimes they'll fly right onto a ramp space, flying directly over other aircraft and buildings. Or they'll take off and fly right over an active runway. I can choose what helos I want in the air, but haven't messed with callsigns and flight numbers and as I stated, parking spots and proper flying is kinda like the wild west. Anyone tinker with it more than I have?

I do use Flight1's Heli Traffic 2009 (Helo 2009?). It is quite easy to create scheduled flights. Unlike FS ai flightplans, which fly direct routes, you can add waypoints to the 'flight plan' to avoid obstacles and airspace giving a more realistic approach. Also, you can use any heli in your hanger without having to mod.

HT 2009 random traffic lands at 2 types of heli pads. 1)Those defined in  default or addon/modified airport files and 2) 'landing spots' you have created with HT 2009. If they're landing on ramps where you have not created a 'landing spot' then it's probably an 'invisible' pad from an addon, maybe Traffic. In HT 2009 you can modify any pad, default/addon or 'landing spot' so that HT 2009 random traffic will not use it.

One draw back is that HT 2009 controlled helis do not interact/communicate with ATC. Another might be that 'schedule' departures are not tied to time of day, but are spawned at random points along their routes when you 'Enable' the heli traffic. (Undocumented feature: All schedules will start at their 1st departure point if you hold down [right ctrl] and [right shift] while clicking 'Enable')

I believe that HT 2009 would be the easiest way to add custom heli traffic.

Dave

  Many Thanks Dave! I'll get into HT 2009's user manuals and tinker around with it a bit more - I know Flight 1 issued an update/upgrade/patch awhile back, but I haven't messed with it much since. Many thanks again for the good word!

Semper Fi,

Dave

A good place to ask about helo AI is www.militaryaiworks.com
They have done some great ai packages with Chinook and Apache helicopters.
I believe they use the "special airport" style of traffic creation, but it works quite well for them.