Ok let's get started
Creating Parking:Man I hope this is not to much info at one time if so let me know and I will try to break it down into 2 parts
Click the Parking Tool button on the toolbar. The pointer will change to a parking tool symbol. You can pre-select the parking type and parking code (airline) from the drop-down lists beside the Parking Tool button, or you can create the parking spots first and set the types and codes later.
You can use two methods to create parking:
You can place a parking spot by just clicking on the window while the parking tool is active, or if you need to precisely place parking spots in the visual scenery, at boarding bridges (jetways) for example, you can use the aircraft position on the Flight Simulator window as a reference. Slew the aircraft (press y key then ctrl s )until it is positioned where you want to put a parking spot then press the letter ‘o’ key. This is easy to remember as the ‘o’ is a circle like a parking spot. AFCAD traps that key and will drop a parking spot at the current aircraft location and heading. The following pictures show a sequence of parking spots created by moving the aircraft around a terminal:
Note in the above picture that the parking circles overlap a certain amount. The parking circle radius is somewhat wider than the aircraft actually needs, so you can get away with a certain amount of overlap, but you should test the final product to make sure clearances are adequate with the largest AI aircraft that will use that parking.
It is usually easier to create all the parking spots first, then link them to the taxiway network afterwards. A parking spot must be linked to the taxiway network or it can result in AI operations becoming blocked.
Rotating a Parking Spot:
The aircraft stick-symbol in the parking spot circle points in the direction the AI aircraft will point when it starts there. You can change the direction by selecting the parking spot symbol and grabbing the rotate handle (dot) that appears at the top of the symbol. The symbol will rotate around to follow the mouse pointer until you release the mouse button. The heading field in the status bar will show the parking direction (degrees true) while you are rotating it. You can also rotate a parking spot by changing the heading in the Parking Properties window.
If you create parking spots using the mouse-click method then the parking spots will aim to the top of the window initially and you will probably need to rotate them to the final heading. If you use the ‘o’ key method in FS to drop parking spots then they will have the aircraft heading.
Aircraft will start at a parking spot aligned with the heading of the parking circle, however, when an aircraft taxis into a parking spot it will not turn to that heading, but instead will remain at the heading of the parking connector when it stops. If you want the aircraft to both start and stop at the same heading (essential for jetway parking) then ensure the parking connector is in-line with the aircraft symbol. This may require inserting a node close behind the parking spot to allow the aircraft to turn to the desired final heading.
Deleting Parking:
Select one or more parking spots with the mouse and press the Delete key.
Changing Parking:
To change the parking type, select one or more parking spots then choose an entry from the Parking Types drop-down list on the tool bar. All the selected parking spots will change to the new type and will get the default radius for the new type.
To add a parking code, select one or more parking spots then choose an entry from the Parking Codes drop-down list on the tool bar. All the selected parking spots will get the new code. If a spot already has a code then it will get a second code, and so on. To delete all codes for selected parking spots, choose the blank entry at the top of the Parking Codes list.
You can select multiple parking spots by holding down the Shift key while clicking on them, or by dragging a rubber band around them. Don't worry if other objects such as nodes or links also get selected using the rubber band, they won't be affected by a parking change.
You can also change a group of parking spots by selecting them all then double-clicking on one of them. Hold down the Shift key while doing this to prevent the other spots from being un-selected . This will bring up the properties window for the parking spot you clicked. If you change one or more parameters (Radius, Area, Parking Codes, etc.) the program will apply the changed parameters to all the selected parking spots, but will not apply the unchanged parameters. For example, if you want to change all the parking spots surrounding Terminal A to be designated as "Gate A xx", where xx is the existing gate number, then use this procedure:
Select all the parking spots around Terminal A.
Double-click on one of them while holding down the Shift key.
Select "Gate A" on the properties window.
Click OK to close the window.
Parking Properties:
Double click a parking spot to bring up the Properties window to examine or modify the following settings:
Heading This is the direction the aircraft will be pointing when they begin at a parking spot. Note that when an aircraft taxis into a parking spot after landing it will not turn to this heading, it will remain at the heading of the taxi link that brought it to the parking spot.
Area This is the part of the airport (e.g. NW Parking) or the gate group (e.g. Gate A) for this parking spot. A gate group is usually a separate terminal or concourse. Smaller airports may just have ‘Gate’. This parameter, along with the number parameter below, determines how the parking spot will be labelled in the FS Start Positions list.
Number This designates the individual gate or parking spot. This number goes along with the ‘Area’ field, for example "Parking 14" or "Gate 12" or "Gate B 5". Note that Flight Simulator does not permit letters after the number, for example "Gate 12B".
Selection List This is a lookup table for airlines and other aviation classes. When you select an entry from the list, for example a particular airline, the parking code for that airline will be inserted in the parking codes box. You can repeat this to insert additional codes if needed. If you want to clear all the codes from the box then select the blank line at the top of the list. Note that the names appearing in the Selection List are not saved with the airport file, only the parking codes are saved. You can add your own entries to this list, for example to add a new airline or special purpose codes. See Custom Parking Specs for more details.
Parking Codes Parking codes allow you to assign gates to specific airlines or other designated aircraft. This requires matching codes to be entered in the aircraft.cfg file for the aircraft you want parking at those gates. Multiple codes can be entered in this field separated by commas or spaces to specify other airlines that may also use the parking space if it is available. You can type codes directly into this box if you know them already, or you can use the Selection List to look up a code holder by name and insert the code. It is best to use ICAO airline codes where possible in order to maintain a common standard. See Parking Assignments for AI Aircraft for more details.
Parking Type Parking types have labels like "Ramp GA small" and "Gate Medium". These appear in the FS Start Positions list for you own reference, but they can also be used to direct classes of AI aircraft to matching classes of parking. See Parking Assignments for AI Aircraft for more details.
Radius This determines what size of aircraft can use a parking spot. Every aircraft has a radius parameter, and an AI aircraft will not park in a spot that has a smaller radius than the aircraft. The measurement units for parking radius can be set to either feet or metres by checking either the Metric line or the Metric Parking Radius line under the Tools menu. It is recommended that you normally use metres for parking, as that is the native unit of the aircraft radius parameter. See Parking Assignments for AI Aircraft for more details.
Parking List Window:
The Parking List window, called from the Lists menu, shows all the parking spots for the current airport as they will appear in the Start Positions list on the Flight Simulator Create a Flight window. The radius and any assigned parking codes are also shown.
Parking List Order:
One of the criteria FS uses for AI parking assignment is the order of the Parking List (see Parking Assignments for AI Aircraft). You can reorder the parking list by grabbing list entries with the mouse and dragging them to different locations in the list. You can also use the Randomize button to mix up the spots. This will prevent AI from bunching up in sequential gates. The Randomise button will keep parking grouped by type (gate, ramp, cargo), but will mix-up the order of the parking spots within each type-group.
You can click on the column headings of the list to sort it by area, type, size, etc. This makes it easier to locate parking spots in a large group, or to inventory parking. Keep in mind that when you close the window the order you see in the list will be the order the parking will appear in Flight Simulator, so if you sorted parking then you should randomize it again before you exit. Alternatively, you can click the Original Order button, which will return the parking list to the order it was in when the window was opened. If you accidentally re-ordered parking then press Ctrl+Z after you close the window to undo it.
Drive-Through Parking:
You can connect more than one link to a parking spot to create ‘drive through’ type parking; however, because of limitations with the AI it rarely results in the kind of behaviour one would hope for, that is, aircraft driving in from one side and driving out the other. AI will take the shortest path to the active runway and even if they can exit a parking spot going forward they will go out the rear taxi path, if that is the shortest route to the runway. You should also be careful to avoid serial or ‘string of pearls’ parking, which can block some parking spots when others are occupied.
Tips for Creating Parking:
Microsoft sprinkled parking rather loosely around the stock airports. Not surprising as they had to do this by hand for a few thousand airfields. You may want to delete most or all of the parking spots at an airport before you create your own so you aren’t constrained by existing parking spots.
When you choose an aircraft to slew around in, use the same type of aircraft you are creating parking spots for to get an idea of the size requirement and clearances. This is especially important if you want to mate aircraft doors with boarding bridges (jetways).
If you are trying to align an aircraft with a boarding bridge you may find the FS slew keys, especially the arrow keys and rotate keys (keypad 1 and 3) provide finer control than the joystick.
Avoid trapping AI aircraft in pockets, such as behind other parking spaces, as an AI aircraft may become stalled if another aircraft is parked it its way.
Ensure all parking spots are connected to the taxiway system. An unconnected parking spot will lock out other parking spots further down the parking list, even if they are properly connected. Run the Fault Finder from the Tools menu to check for unconnected parking spots.
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