Simviation Forum - Airspace Training

Oct 21^st, 2005 at 5:15pm

LU_Skyhawk Offline
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Hi everyone.
I'm a supplemental instructor for private pilot ground school at a university. I'm looking for airspace training aids. I'm wondering if there is a way I can get airspace to be displayed inside FS2004 or 2002. I would like the students to be able to slew around an area and see how the airspace changes. Can I make terrain or objects shaped like an airspace block? Is there a way to use cloud layers to do the same thing?
Any help with FS or any other training aids would be greatly appreciated.

Matthew

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Reply #1 - Oct 21^st, 2005 at 6:16pm

wji Offline
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Not that I'm aware of . . . FS9 Learning Center has an Understanding airspace.htm document and we're all familiar with the wedding cake analogy:

"The configuration of each Class B airspace area is individually tailored and consists of a surface area and two or more layers (some Class B airspace areas resemble upside-down wedding cakes), and is designed to contain all published instrument procedures once an aircraft enters the airspace."

If FS9 is installed to the default folder, one can read about it in the LearningCenter\AirTrafficControl\UnderstandingAirspace.htm, but there's no way to replicate it visually in FS9.

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Reply #2 - Oct 22^nd, 2005 at 10:55am

C Offline
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I imagine it could be done. Just Flight released a freeware scenery last year which they developed for the British aerobatic team which was an aerobatic venue (Kaunas) with the associated aerobatic "box" marked in the sky. I imagine using the same techniques airspace could be represented in a similar 3D form.

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Reply #3 - Oct 26^th, 2005 at 8:45pm

LU_Skyhawk Offline
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Thanks for the input. I tried creating scenery objects for the airspace. (first time I've every played with scenery) I created a class D cylinder around seattle-tacoma as a test. It displays properly but it disappears until you are fairly close to it. I assume this is because flight does not draw scenery objects beyond a set distance. However, I want to see the airspace up to 50 miles away. How do get flight sim to display my object at a greater distance?

Matthew

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Reply #4 - Oct 26^th, 2005 at 9:09pm

Fly2e Offline
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Very Cool Mathew!

Your answers would best be answered here!!

Oh John......................... 8)

Dave

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Reply #5 - Oct 26^th, 2005 at 11:08pm

Midnight_LS1 Offline
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Quote:

Thanks for the input. I tried creating scenery objects for the airspace. (first time I've every played with scenery) I created a class D cylinder around seattle-tacoma as a test. It displays properly but it disappears until you are fairly close to it. I assume this is because flight does not draw scenery objects beyond a set distance. However, I want to see the airspace up to 50 miles away. How do get flight sim to display my object at a greater distance?

Matthew

Did you try maxing out all the settings for the scenery and sight distance?

-Chris&&Active Camera Pro&&MegaScenery NY&&PSS 777-200LR&&Aerosoft Scenery Manhattan&&TrackIR3 Pro with Vector&&ActiveSky 6&&PMDG 747 'Queen of the Skies'&&AlphaSim F-117

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Reply #6 - Oct 26^th, 2005 at 11:15pm

JBaymore Offline
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Quote:

I created a class D cylinder around seattle-tacoma as a test. It displays properly but it disappears until you are fairly close to it. I assume this is because flight does not draw scenery objects beyond a set distance. However, I want to see the airspace up to 50 miles away. How do get flight sim to display my object at a greater distance?

Matthew,

I actually think this thread might fit better in "Scenery and Panel Design" to get a solid answer or two... since this is really a basic flightsim software issue. "Homebuilt Cockpits" isn't exactly where this concept fits in...... but maybe real flight simulators as a topic fits here more closely than elsewhare.... except maybe "Real Avaiation".

That being said...... and with my knowledge of scenery design being able to be written on the head of a pin with room for "War and Peace" added in...........

It seems to me that you can SET the visibility distance for a scenery object. Usually this is set close in to minimize the impact on frame rates of keeping track of all those polygons at long distances.

So maybe you can just take the idea you have.... which sounds straightforward enough....... and alrer the property that "tells" the sim how long to make the object visable?

Anyone else got suggestions?

best,

..........john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

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Reply #7 - Oct 27^th, 2005 at 1:06am

LU_Skyhawk Offline
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That's what I was thinking. I don't know where to find such a setting though.

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Reply #8 - Oct 27^th, 2005 at 10:14am

JBaymore Offline
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I seem to remember that in the scenery design program that I have used on the rare occasion I have played with it....... FSSC..... that there is a small box to enter the visible distance into. Or maybe that was the program that creates the bgl file for the object that I only PLACED with FSSC. Can't remember for sure. Sorry.

Hope we are at least s....l....o...w....l....y working our way closer to solving this for you.

best,

....john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

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