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Warnings and Limitations to creating a groundnet
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[[TaxiDraw]] pre dates WED and allowed the creation of airport layouts from basic geometrical shapes. Its ground network module is somewhat separate from the rest of the airport project code and allows the creation and export of fully functional groundnets. It is the tool behind all of the ground networks you see in Flightgear today. | [[TaxiDraw]] pre dates WED and allowed the creation of airport layouts from basic geometrical shapes. Its ground network module is somewhat separate from the rest of the airport project code and allows the creation and export of fully functional groundnets. It is the tool behind all of the ground networks you see in Flightgear today. | ||
[[FGAirports]] is currently under development. Its philosophy is airport centered rather than file specific and allows you to visualize at a glance all of the | [[FGAirports]] is currently under development. Its philosophy is airport centered rather than file specific and allows you to visualize at a glance all of the existing groundnets as well as editing them. | ||
See the [[TaxiDraw]] and [[FGAirports]] articles for instructions on how to obtain the tools and operating instructions. | See the [[TaxiDraw]] and [[FGAirports]] articles for instructions on how to obtain the tools and operating instructions. | ||
=== Reference material === | === Reference material === | ||
Most Civil Aviation authorities make available on the web, electronic versions of their Aeronautical Information Publication (Lookup 'eAIP') which often contains precise Airport Charts but also lists of parking stands with their precise Latitude/Longitude as well as usage (Cargo, Gate, Maintenance) and the category (radii) of aircraft they can accommodate. | |||
Most Civil Aviation authorities make available on the web, electronic versions of their Aeronautical Information Publication (Lookup 'eAIP') which often contains precise Airport Charts but also lists of parking stands with their precise Latitude/Longitude as well as usage (Cargo, Gate, Maintenance) and the category of aircraft they can accommodate. | Gates Numbers and Airlines operating them can often be found on Airports website. | ||
Gates Numbers and Airlines operating them can often be found on Airports website. Most flight tracking sites/apps will also allow you to monitor a flight all to the way to its gate to identify who parks where. | Most flight tracking sites/apps will also allow you to monitor a flight all to the way to its gate to identify who parks where. | ||
In essence, all the information you need can be compiled from multiple sources, including Wikipedia, airport diagrams published on the net, in flight airline magazines, etc. etc. In other words, be creative! | In essence, all the information you need can be compiled from multiple sources, including Wikipedia, airport diagrams published on the net, in flight airline magazines, etc. etc. In other words, be creative! | ||
=== | === Warnings and Limitations === | ||
The | The complexity of building a fully functional groundnet (and the time spent on it) grows exponentially with the size of the airport but very small airports, on Pacific Islands for example, pose even larger challenges. An ideal project to start with is a Metropolitan airport with one or two runways, and two dozen of parking positions. | ||
Traffic manager has its limitations and not all features are yet implemented, creating specific challenges of their own. For example: | |||
* TM does not handle the spacing of arriving aircraft and you will most likely see packs of aircrafts landing at once on your runways, sometimes from both ends. | |||
* TM does not understand Holding Points so you cannot prevent an AI aircraft to cross an active runway of you have placed a route across it. | |||
* TM cannot handle the conditional usage of gates accommodating more than one aircraft type (One large only or 2 small side by side) so you should always assume that all the Parking position you set will be occupied. | |||
* AI Aircrafts cannot "pivot" on their parking positions so the route followed to reach a parking position must have the same heading than the parking position itself (Park Straight) | |||
Your candidate groundnet will need to be tested thoroughly by running it in FG, at different time of the day as wind conditions and traffic patterns will impact which runways are used and how many AI aircrafts are handled. | |||
You should have log/debug enabled as traffic manager will create :ai entries, allowing easier troubleshooting. | |||
On the bright side, both Taxidraw and FG Airports contain a validation tool which will allow you to detect any structural problem with your groundnet. You will also find a lot of resources and tips in the AI section of the Flightgear forums. | |||
Finally, the approach to creating a groudnet is described below as three separate phases, each one including its own specific testing which will hopefully simplify your journey. | |||
=== Creating the network === | === Creating the network === | ||