LPMA airport in FSX is wrong - help please!!!

[DMullert]

Hi Gang!

A picture is worth a 1000 words. As you can see there is an issue with LPMA and the Europe mesh.  Has FSG released a fix for this yet?  This issue kills the experience of flying into Funchal.

Thanks for any help!

Dennis

[JustinFSG]

HI Dennis,

Not a terrain problem.  Funchal is listed at 711 feet in FSX.  World Aero Data website lists Funchal at 192 feet.

http://worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?id=PO57880&sch=LPMA

So it can't be fixed by terrain mesh, but by fixing the airport.  Perhaps someone has already done so.  I would check the usual sites for an update that might fix the elevation of the airport.  The terrain itself appears to be just fine.

Thanks

[DMullert]

Hi Justin!

Thanks for your reply.

If I open the airport using ADE and change it's altitude, then a hole gets created inside of that protruding piece of land there in the picture.  Do you know how I can fix this by any chance?  I could not find any fixes on-line.

Thanks again!

Dennis

[JustinFSG]

To be honest, I would have to spend several hours researching it myself before i could adequately explain to someone else.  I am about to start moving some airports in Mexico, though, so i should be able to explain it adequately in a couple of days.

Meanwhile, it might be easiest to just go to http://www.ptsim.com and see what they have to offer.  They have a complete Madeira product for a reasonable price that includes Funchal.

[DMullert]

Hi Justin!

Thanks again!

Unfortunately, PTSIM's products are for FS2002 and FS2004.  I've posted the issue in the AVSIM forum in hopes that someone would come to the rescue.

Thanks for your replies

Dennis

[JustinFSG]

I think Aerosoft has a similar product.  Maybe for FSX, too.

[dboley]

Try the ADE forum:
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=95

This free product will allow adjustment of airport height. Problem is background is a different elevation parameter than the runways/aprons. 2 step process. Note that setting it to 192 elevation may cause other problems especially if the runway is significantly sloped since FSX cannot recognize sloped runways. the end in the picture may be ok but the other end may be buried in a hill. Try moving the airport center designator. All done aith ADE.

[Mace]

Dennis, as Dick B. is saying; you are going to have to create a correct background polygon -- in FSX this underlies the airports -- at the correct elevation.

ADE can do this; select the green terrain poly icon, and select Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutogen as the polygon type in the dropdown of the properties for the poly in ADE.

It might be easier to go to GoogleEarth and download an image of Funchal, then paste that image into ADE as a guide.  Then draw your background poly in ADE and set it at the correct elevation.

Next...Step 2 of the 2-step process Mr. Boley was referring to...

You must create what I call a "Preload" bgl for Funchal Airport.  This must be done, or else FSX will not recognize the new elevation of the airport.  I would call it LPMA_Preload.bgl, and this file *must* reside in FSX's \Scenery\World\Scenery directory.

I am not sure if the current ver of ADE allows for the creation of preload bgl's, but I know how to make them WITHOUT using ADE.  The good ol' fashioned way, with xml and bglcomp.  I can e-mail you a template, I used it on two airports in my Nicaragua scenery.

I love all this scenery design discussion here on Justin's board.  hehe

[JustinFSG]

HI,

Yes, ADE 1.37 will create a preload BGL if you adjust the airport's elevaton.  I used ADE to move and adjust more than 50 airports in Mexico that were misplaced.  Once you learn the process, it's very quick and relatively easy.

HIghly recommended program . . .