Aerofly FS airport creation tool ( early alpha version, work in progress )

  • Dear Aerofly FS Users,

    we have been busy in the past months to work on a tool to create your own airport for Aerofly FS.

    We now have an online tool available for testing purposes. It allows you to create an airport for Aerofly FS using a web browser. If you are interested in trying it out and giving us feedback, let us know. The amount of users is limited that we can accept and we recommend you only contact us if you have done airports using FSCP in the past, the workflow is somewhat similar.

    Please note, this is so far the online tool only. The resulting file you get is not the actual airport for Aerofly FS, it is required to run through a converter program on a PC computer, so for now a Windows PC is required as well. This tool is not yet published as we would first like to get some feedback with the online tool first.

    If you are interested and have done airports for our previous products in the past, please drop us an email at mail(at)ipacs.de.

  • TomSimMuc: We have no documentation yet at all, but we intend to create a simple step by step guide once we have enough feedback. We also hope we will get support from the community with this tool.

    As for the level priority: Tarmacs with a higher priority will lie over any underlying tarmac areas. You can use this to add different material to certain areas or to create 'holes' in the tarmac. You should have access to an ESMS on the website that shows you this. We will add more airports soon as a reference.

    RJ04 by the way converts just fine already. We recommend to add Tarmac areas whereever you place buildings, it's not required but otherwise we will get issues at the border.

  • IPACS has recommended that I share my feedback here on the forum so that others can share it.

    I applied to be an alpha tester because I am interested in the topic and have been designing dozens of airfields of various sizes in FSCloudPort for years. ^^

    After I got access from IPACS, I first had a look at their "demo" airfield EMSM (Malmö International) to get a first impression. Then I exported ESMS, added the data from KNGU (an airfield I created in FSCloudPort in Norfolk, USA) and imported it again. In addition, I also created KNHU (also Norfolk, USA) using the "Create new airfield" function. All in all, I have taken a few hours to become familiar with the tool. :)

    My first general impression:

    I think the alpha version is already well done for us users :) and I have no problems creating complex airfields with it right now :) . Those who are "at home" with FSCloudport will, in my opinion, quickly get to grips with the new tool.

    => Therefore, a big praise in advance to all those involved. :thumbup:

    I will now post my comments on the individual points in separate articles. This will be done exclusively in the sense of a positive critical test in order to prepare a good way for this tool.🚧 8)

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

  • INTRODUCTION

    I find that you are left a bit alone with the introduction via "Dashboard" and don't really know what to do next:

    I think it's better to start via "Airports" because you have the feeling that you can start right away:


    PAGE "AIRPORTS"

    I think it would make sense to add the button "New Airport" to the button "Import Airport" (see picture above), which jumps into the map like the button "View on Map" and then permanently shows the hint "Right Click Ma to create an Airport".


    FIRST CREATION OF AN AERODROME

    When creating a new aerodrome, it should also be possible to directly enter the TLD of the country in the field "Country".

    After entering the data shown Country, Name and ICAO, the airfield can already be saved, but then the localization is missing, to find it on the map.

    This happened to me when creating KNHU and I was then able to catch up on the localisation by means of export, manual data correction and subsequent import.


    IMPORT OF AIRFIELDS

    When importing an already existing aerodrome, the following messages appear one below the other

    - "Airport with icao ICAO allready exist" and

    - "Airport imported seccessfully",

    which does not fit together. In fact, no import of an already existing aerodrome takes place.


    PARALLEL CREATION OF IDENTICAL AERODROMES

    As in FSCloudPort, identical airfields can be created under different names. In the long term, this can certainly only be limited by moderation.


    DEACTIVATE AIRFIELDS

    I am in favour of deactivating airfields in order to work on them in peace, for example. Then they should be listed, but not be able to be used by third parties.


    VISIBILITY OF CHANGELOG

    I think changelog is good in general, but I think there should be the possibility that it is not publicly visible.


    SAVING AIRPORTS

    When saving, the view "Saving Airport" should come up first and show whether all data fit.

    If data does not fit, there should not only be a RED X in the affected area, but it should be shown more concretely what does not fit, because otherwise one might search oneself silly.

    Only when everything is GREEN does the text field for change notes make sense -- actually, it could also be directly under "Saving Airport".

    There should also be active feedback that it has been saved.


    OUTPUT OF THE FILES

    I think it would be good if in the future, too, the files were generally editable with a text editor.

    And for the automatic structure of the files I would like to see a clearer outline and not so unstructured:


    These are my first points. Detailed points will follow little by little. :)

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

  • I continue with the individual menu items:

    I am simply bothered by the activity words in the first 4 menus. I suggest omitting the words "Place", "Add", "Draw" and "Edit".


    GENERAL FOR ALL MENUS

    In general, I find the images and fonts in the selection catalogue sometimes a bit difficult to recognise. Therefore I suggest

    - when hovering the mouse over an element, it should be clearly enlarged, e.g. factor 4

    - on the catalogue pictures the background should be light and no longer dark

    - in all catalogues there should be a search function, which is currently only available for the aeroplanes

    the drag marks on objects are partly not in the optical centre of the objects (where they make most sense), but partly at the edge, e.g. on "Techhouse01 4.02 x 3.81" in a corner of the object.

    For all lines, the catchment area for marking a line is too narrow in my opinion. You have to hit a line very precisely in order to edit it.

    For all objects that can be rotated, a drag point for rotating the object would be helpful.

    During the dragging of an object, not only should the dragging point be moved and the object remain at the previous location, but it should constantly move along with the dragging point. At the moment, exact placement is a bit tedious.

    It should be possible to move marked objects not only with the mouse but also with the arrow keys.

    If objects are marked in the catalogue, it should be possible to place them directly on the map with a double click.


    MENU "(PLACE) OBJECTS"

    AIRCRAFTS

    If you have already placed an aircraft and want to place another, but different one, you must first go out of the AIRCRAFTS submenu and then back in again to place the new aircraft. Because if you only select the new aircraft in the catalogue, the one already set changes.

    For the other objects it works normally.


    MENU "(ADD) LANDING POSITION"

    RUNWAY

    When placing a runway, the window "Edit Runway" can be opened at the same time.

    Basically, the runway material should be set to "Runway Asphalt standard" by default. With the first runway I created, I had to search for a long time before I realised that the absence of the material prevented it from being saved.

    For purely informative purposes, the length of the runway could be displayed in addition to its width.

    In the PAPI the selection "both" is missing.

    HELIPAD

    The orientation for the helipad position is still missing.

    There should be different variants for heliports in the markings.

    PARKINGSPOT

    The orientation for the parking spot is still missing.

    In addition to "parked_jet" (40 m radius) and "parked_ga" (7.5 m radius), "parked_heli" with e.g. 15 m radius should be added to the type.


    MENU "(DRAW) SIMPLE SHAPES"

    When the submenu "(Draw) Line" is selected, the other submenu "(Draw) Tarmac" remains highlighted. However, drawing lines still works.

    (DRAW) LINE

    If you want to draw an asymmetrical line such as a holding line, you cannot subsequently rotate the orientation by 180°. In the direction of drawing, the broken line is always on the left and the solid line on the right. A simple swap should be possible here.

    Currently, only angular polygons can be drawn with the automatically appearing handles. It would be good if you could also form arcs.


    MENU "(EDIT) AIRPORT DATA"

    (DRAW) AIRPORT BOUNDS

    When closing the boundary (set last draw point exactly (!) to first draw point), it is not always easy.

    That's why I suggest that surfaces should always have an enclosed border, e.g. in the form of a quadrilateral, because the automatic handles between two corner points allow all shapes to be drawn.


    Basically, I'm already through with trying and testing. I enjoyed it and I think we can look forward to a good tool. I'm curious to see to what extent the tool can also be used on a tablet.


    Tschüss, Michael

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

  • @ApfelFlieger: Thank you for this very detailed feedback, it is really appreciated! We will check and see what we can improve here.

    Some quick feedback for you:

    1) The Airport bounds are currently not really important, there is no need to draw them exactly as the final tool should calculate a proper boundary based on the added tarmacs and objects.

    2) Drawing 'arc's is not supported. However some lines and tarmacs are automatically smoothed based on some simple rules. It will get clear once we publish the tool to convert to the final airport data.

  • ApfelFlieger Michael, you did a great job covering most things I observed plus some ^^ :thumbup:

    This is a great tool and seems very promising!

    I like the 'Map Settings' feature, being able to enable and disable all those features make viewing much easier.

    1. Create a larger banner that tells the user which Material and Brightness they have selected.

    Example:

    2. Would like the ability to adjust positioning of Tarmac texture. Unless I'm missing how to do that?

    Again, Michael covered everything I noticed plus much more.

  • admin, ApfelFlieger

    Congratulations to the new and intuative airport tool!

    Many thanks Michael for your excellent overview and suggestions for improving the tool. I have already created a few airports with it and was able to get a good overview of the strengths and weaknesses.

    I agree with all of Michael's points and don't see any of them as superfluous. Nevertheless, I would like to highlight a few points that I think should be given priority:

    1) Easier and more precise rotation of objects.

    For me, the scroll wheel reacts with far too large jumps (more than specified, possibly a bug).

    It should work directly with 1° steps, and with another button in larger steps. The additional dragpoint is a good idea.

    2) Strange assignment of the scroll wheel (Chrome browser, Firefox does not work at all):

    With Shift Scroll the map zooms and/or the object rotates.

    Control Scroll zooms the complete window content

    Alt Scroll zooms the map again

    Shift Control Scroll zooms the map and the object again.

    Here I would like to see a change for dedicated occupancy

    Zoom / Rotate fine / Rotate coarse.

    3) When moving an object, not only the symbol but the complete outline should be moved. (If the performance of the browser allows it.) This would allow a much better and faster exact positioning.


    5) The dark background must become light, a good contrast of the objects is very important.

    6) Selecting lines is extremely difficult, the catch area should be enlarged by a factor of 4.

    7) Hint what is causing a red cross when saving (focus on it and highlight the object).

    Cheers, Thomas


    Edited 4 times, last by TomSimMuc (February 17, 2023 at 8:13 AM).

  • Moin Moin to all,

    I currently only see ESMS and my three airfields KNGU, KNHU and EDXE (for higgy ) in my airport overview.

    Now we could test the next step and work on one airfield with several using the Invite function.

    This leads me to ask the admin :

    - Is it already possible to work on several airfields at the same time?

    - How is the overview of all airfields planned? Can I filter by "only my airfields" and "all airfields"? I don't want several people to work at the same aerodrome and not know that others are already doing the same.

    I am curious to see how well the conversion of the tap files into the files for FS4 (and FS2?) works.😎

    admin :

    - When drawing lines I have no problem setting multiple points for curves, an arc function would reduce the data volume of the coordinates somewhat.😀

    - I like the possibility of delimiting the airfield at least visually on the map. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to want to do it exactly😱, which of course increases the data volume of the coordinates.🫣🤭

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

  • admin

    I still have some questions/suggestions/wishes: :)


    PAPI

    Currently the PAPI allows you to select whether they are set by default or custom set by the user with position, width and angle, e.g. ...

    Code
                    <[string8][papi1][left]>
                    <[string8][papi2][none]>
                    <[bool][papi1_has_custom_position][true]>
                    <[bool][papi2_has_custom_position][false]>
                    <[vector2_float64][papi1_custom_position][-4.179356 47.975760]>
                    <[vector2_float64][papi2_custom_position][0 0]>
                    <[float64][papi1_glide_slope][3]>
                    <[float64][papi2_glide_slope][]>
                    <[float64][papi1_spacing][9]>
                    <[float64][papi2_spacing][]>

    => I think it is good if this will continue to be possible.


    POSITION OF THE AIRPORT

    In addition to my point yesterday on this, I propose the data "<[vector2_float64][model_center][]> (airfield coordinates) are

    - displayed in the AIRPORT DATA menu and if possible can also be changed there (I mostly use the data of the AERODROME CHARTS) as well as

    - be shown on the map with a destination point marker as with FSCloudPort.


    RUNWAY ALSO WITHOUT MATERIAL

    I use airfields for which there are (very) good images without artificial runway.

    => Therefore, I would be happy if it were possible to create "transparent" artificial runways.

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

  • I have further points:


    I RECOMMEND SAVING AFTER EACH STEP

    I have now got into the habit of saving after each action. Especially with more complex lines and tarmacs it is helpful to save after each line or group of lines as well as after each tarmac to get direct feedback if there is an error that prevents saving.


    "MOVE" BUTTONS MISSING

    When editing my compact airfield KNHU I wanted to set some drag points more precisely afterwards. To do this, I zoomed very far into the airfield using the trackpad. Unfortunately, moving the map then no longer works if I don't have an original area of the map where I can access with the virtual left mouse button of the trackpad. Because if only tarmacs are visible, I always move only the tarmacs.

    As an alternative, I then try to zoom out of the view until I have an original map again and then move the map there.

    => It would be good to have 4 buttons with which you can move the map left-right/up-down, even if there is no map surface to grab.


    "ZOOM" BUTTONS MISSING

    When zooming the map via the trackpad, there are sometimes relatively large jumps.

    => 2 buttons for zooming in and out would be good.


    "UNDO" BUTTON MISSING

    When accidentally moving the tarmacs, I noticed that there is no way to undo an accidental move in the software.

    => It would be good if there were 2 buttons for undoing and unundoing.


    WHY TAMAC UNDER BUILDINGS?

    In the article above on the RJ04 airfield it is pointed out that it is advisable to create an tarmac area under buildings.

    My questions:

    - Does this level the surface?

    - Or is it just for visual reasons that a building is not placed somewhere on the images in a place where it just looks stupid?

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

  • Thank you very much, IPACS for your new Airport Designer tool.

    I was only able to take a quick look at it.

    I agree with the hints and feedbacks from my colleagues, especially from Michael. Much of it is intuitive if someone has already created airports on FSCP. It is a pleasure to be able to create taxiways and aprons now.

    Where I still struggle a little bit is:

    • When I move a single aircraft after having placed them, the mode changes from “Place-Mode” to the “Edit-Mode” without me having noticed it (“Place Objects> Aircrafts” still remains in the blue top menu and the top part of the white area is not visible doe to scrolling down). Then I have to go back in the menu or click “Aircrafts” to place new objects. Maybe “Edit-Mode” and “Place-Mode” should appear in the blue top area too, allowing to change the mode

    • It is very difficult resp. sensitive to select a line and to be able to move the hole line (a single point seems easier to move)

    • I had certain difficulties with the Exit of Draw Line mode (mode remains even I press Esc till I select another object)

    • I couldn't first figure out which runway corresponded to which threshold number first. Only making an runway extension or giving a name gave me the clarity what fits (maybe assign a temporary name when adding a new runway)

    • I couldn't first figure out how to rotate the parking spots and helipad seems (shift and mouse wheel). It would be useful to add a corresponding field under "Edit Parkingspot/Helipad" containing the rotation similar to "Edit Building" and "Edit Aircraft"

    • Explanations of the different runway resp. threshold - options would be very helpful.

    This seems to be a bug:

    When saving, I always had the red cross at Tarmacs, this although I had deleted all of them during troubleshooting. Looking to the TAP file, all Tarmacs are still present in the background, although they are deleted:

    Also, I often have tarmacs and lines multiple times without duplicating them and without them being visible. But they are still listed in the TAP file.

    Thus, it was also no longer possible for me to save my work with the runway definition and the already placed objects.

    Then I deleted the airport and wanted to re-import. Unfortunately only the airport Data are currently imported and I lost all other placed objects and runways.


    My biggest wish:

    It should be possible to import a complete airport tap file with an appropriate plausibility check, in order to be able to edit the airport afterwards. This would allow e.g. to take XREF objects from an existing FSCP-airport (after conversion due to format changes) and edit them.


    Finally, I am looking forward to the new compiler!

    Cheers, Christophe

  • I did Boardman (M50), this airport creation tool is fairly easy to use, took about 20 minutes to create the airport with runways, taxiway lines, taxiway lights, and objects. I agree with Michael's feedback, as well as the others. If possible it would be nice to zoom in closer when marking the edges of the taxiways, and center taxiway line. If make a mistake drawing a line I haven't figured out how to delete just one point, I have to exit the program and add the line again.

    I also did Portland (KPDX) when doing the crossing runway there were no errors when saving it, hopefully this has fixed the crossing runway issue from FSCP.

    ApfelFlieger I tried importing a previously created airport, when it opens up on the map the runway doesn't line up, its off about 90 degrees.

    Todd

  • chrispriv

    Quote
    • I had certain difficulties with the Exit of Draw Line mode (mode remains even I press Esc till I select another object

    When you create a line, you double-click to set the last point of a line. :)

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

    Edited once, last by ApfelFlieger (February 19, 2023 at 10:57 PM).

  • chrispriv

    Quote
    • I couldn't first figure out how to rotate the parking spots and helipad seems (shift and mouse wheel). It would be useful to add a corresponding field under "Edit Parkingspot/Helipad" containing the rotation similar to "Edit Building" and "Edit Aircraft"

    I hadn't thought of that before, thank you for pointing it out. :) On a MacBook it works with SHIFT and two fingers on the trackpad. :thumbup:

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

    Edited once, last by ApfelFlieger (February 19, 2023 at 10:58 PM).

  • moxeetwo

    Quote

    ApfelFlieger I tried importing a previously created airport, when it opens up on the map the runway doesn't line up, its off about 90 degrees

    Unfortunately, when I import a tap file, only the "general information" is imported without heliport and runway.

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries

  • Finally, I am looking forward to the new compiler!

    I feel the same way. I am now "eagerly" waiting for the compiler to see how my airfield constructions will look "in real" in FS4. :)

    And I would also like to see on a map which airfields the other testers are working on. ;)

    Tschüss, Michael (🍎🚁)

    Configurations:

    - MacBook Pro (16", 2021); Chip: Apple M1 Max; actual macOS || Thrustmaster TCA AIRBUS EDITION: 1x Sidestick, 2x Quadrant, 2x Quadrant Add-On || Pro-Flight-Trainer PUMA X

    - iPad (12,9", 4th Generation, RAM: 6 GB); actual iOS || nimbus steelseries