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Lucas777

how to get a full airports database?

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Hi, I was thinking about developing some small addon for FSX.

Which is stopping me right now is that I would need a database with airports and all their information.

I don't know how AIRACs (not sure if it's the proper name for what I'm looking for) are distributed in real life, and if it's something available for anyone.

 

Will appreciate some information about this.

Thank you.

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It depends on whether you want to use a real world AIRAC, or to scan the airport files in FSX and build your database that way.

 

If you want to extract the data from the airport files in the user's FSX installation, then you'll need some code that goes through all the BGL's, respecting the layer ordering in scenery.cfg, and extracts the data. Depending on what you need, Pete Dowson's MakeRunways might do all you need: http://forum.simflight.com/topic/66136-useful-additional-programs/. Some addons ask the user to run this (RAAS for example), and then they read the data from the generated files (which are in CSV format). If you need something more custom, there is information at fsdeveloper.com about BGL file formats and you'd probably need to write your own data extraction code.

 

If you want to use real world AIRAC data, those are available from Navigraph or Aerosoft (NavDataPro). Many addons require the user to buy this data separately, but some also get permission from these companies to distribute their product with an old copy of the data. Both of the above sources are very affordable.

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Barry Friedman

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Courtesy of Pete Dowson of FSUIPC fame is a program called MakeRwys, found at the link below:

 

http://forum.simflight.com/topic/66136-useful-additional-programs/

 

Run it on an installation of FSX and it will give you more information than you probably want and not in a "database" format. But the resulting output can be culled and made into a database-type file and used or abused to your heart's content.

 

 

And yes, I'm a slow typist... :lol:

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There are two .pdf’s for FS9, and FSX, by Winfried Orthmann that will be a good starting place since they describe the .bgl file structures quite accurately. You need both FS9, and FSX file structures since many addon sceneries and airports combine a mixture of both formats. It’s not straightforward to make a scenery scanner to include addons due to FSX handling bits of older formats.

 

You can download the free copy of IF10 from my site, this lists the scenery and addons in FSX. You may be interested, a new version “IF10 >augmented” [out later this week] also reads AIRACS, and for example, can create a common data subset from the FSX scenery files and the AIRAC.

 

 

Good luck,

Steve

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Steve Waite: Engineer at codelegend.com

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Thanks Steve, I will check it.

 

Now my doubt is, how accurate is the information you can get from FSX, compared with real life today.

 

Is all data from the date FSX was released?

Is it possible to update it in any way?

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Check out the NavDataPro and Navigraph websites for information on FS AIRAC accuracy. The scenery, from around a year before FSX was launched, could be updated with current airports, navaids, and airways.


Steve Waite: Engineer at codelegend.com

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I fly FSEconomy, and my simulator is P3-D… I realize that the database used by FSEconomy is that of FS9,quite often forcing me to take off and land at non-existent P 3-D airports. Tonite's flight , my second FSEconomy flight, was from EKAH to EDON...both NOT in the P3d database....BOTH WERE LISTED in my Realair Duke Turbine's GTN750!

 

www.fseconomy.net:81/airport.jsp?icao=EKAH, www.fseconomy.net:81/airport.jsp?icao=EDON

 

I made my assignment money tonite $3500 net after expenses, for hauling a bunch of urgently needed hospital equipment...wellll at 3:54am EDT, shamefully admitted..., because I took off at the right coordinates for EKAH, and landed at where my GTN750 said EDON should be...on some farmers field... and at night to boot... having to do an emergency stop for refueling midway at EDBH www.fseconomy.net:81/airport.jsp?icao=EDBH, which AGAIN didn't exist in the P3D database, but DID in my GTN750.

 

Thank God for the for the short field landing capabilities of the turbine Duke, and my GTN 750! Which showed me the actual location of the runway on which I was supposed to land each time!

 

I wonder if there is a way of combining FS9's airports which show up on my GTN 750 but do not show up in FSX/P 3-D, with P3D's database...Some batch function of Scruffy Duck's ADE???

 

While I had a hell of a scary/fun time flying from point A to B to point C, out of and into three nonexistent P3d airports, it would be nice to be able to have the airports that are enumerated in FSEconomy(Fs9's database AND Garmin's newest GTN750 trainer's database) actually showing up in P 3-D.

 

I know I am just blue skying here, but sure does sound like you guys are talking about something like that.

 

Please advise…your progress...thoughts

 

Thanks, and a big thank you to Taehunkkk, a veteran FSEconomy pilot/entrepreneur who flew and advised me the whole way via my Skype shared screen!

 

Chaz


My first sim flight simulator pD25zEJ.jpg

 

Take a ride to Stinking Creek! http://youtu.be/YP3fxFqkBXg Win10 Pro, GeForce GTX 1080TI/Rizen5 5600x  OCd,32 GB RAM,3x1920 x 1080, 60Hz , 27" Dell TouchScreen,TM HOTAS Warthog,TrackIR5,Saitek Combat Rudder Pedals HP reverbG2,Quest2

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Now my doubt is, how accurate is the information you can get from FSX, compared with real life today.

FSX airport data was locked down around 2005/06 so is now 10 years old. Speaking about my local airport its runway designators were changed several years ago because of changes in magnetic variation.

 

EGCC in FSX is 06/24 for both runways whereas in real life they're now 05/23. I imagine there will be many other airports similarly affected.

 

But if your proposed utility can read a user's FSX BGLs or output from MakeRunways then there may not be a problem.

 

Good luck.


Ray (Cheshire, England).
System: P3D v5.3HF2, Intel i9-13900K, MSI 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24G, Crucial T700 4Tb M.2 SSD, Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero, 32Gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000Mhz RAM, Win 11 Pro 64-bit, BenQ PD3200U 32” UHD monitor, Fulcrum One yoke.
Cheadle Hulme Weather

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But if your proposed utility can read a user's FSX BGLs or output from MakeRunways then there may not be a problem.

 

I am pretty certain that Vox ATC does what you're suggesting that is to say realign with the new data.

 

Chas


My first sim flight simulator pD25zEJ.jpg

 

Take a ride to Stinking Creek! http://youtu.be/YP3fxFqkBXg Win10 Pro, GeForce GTX 1080TI/Rizen5 5600x  OCd,32 GB RAM,3x1920 x 1080, 60Hz , 27" Dell TouchScreen,TM HOTAS Warthog,TrackIR5,Saitek Combat Rudder Pedals HP reverbG2,Quest2

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I am pretty certain that Vox ATC does what you're suggesting that is to say realign with the new data.

 

Chas

 

But it's only new data if you have Manchester by UK2000 installed. Otherwise the runways would be 06/24.


Ray (Cheshire, England).
System: P3D v5.3HF2, Intel i9-13900K, MSI 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24G, Crucial T700 4Tb M.2 SSD, Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero, 32Gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000Mhz RAM, Win 11 Pro 64-bit, BenQ PD3200U 32” UHD monitor, Fulcrum One yoke.
Cheadle Hulme Weather

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As Ray points out, the scenery in FSX (and P3D, I believe) is from 2005.

The only real solution is to work with the data in the scenery files, rather than newer datasets which may contain more up to date real world information. 

From the point of view of the 2005 simulated world we are flying over, the "updates" in the newer datasets can only be viewed as errors, as hesynergy's experience clearly illustrates.

Use of the stock GPS to verify where airports are, and how their runways are aligned, before filing a flight plan (or accepting a particular FSEconomy assignment) may result in fewer emergency landings.

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