Here is a link to a full set of updated files which should simply replace any existing ones. Install instructions included as well....
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ao55vsirtydtic/UK%20Airspace%20Boundaries.zip?dl=0
Changes included in this update:
AERODROME TRAFFIC ZONES (ATZ)
Effective: 25/06/2015
Details:AERODROME TRAFFIC ZONES (ATZ)
Coningsby - delete 120.800, insert 124.675
SYERSTON
Effective: 30/04/2015
Details:SYERSTON
Change frequency for glider site at 530124N 0005442W from 125.425 MHz to 128.525 MHz
AERODROME TRAFFIC ZONES (ATZ)
Effective: 25/06/2015
Details:AERODROME TRAFFIC ZONES (ATZ)
Remove Wyton ATZ.
SHOBDON (EGBS)
Effective: 23/07/2015
Details:SHOBDON (EGBS)
A/G service to be removed. Amend entry in ATZ list in Legend to read "SHOBDON (EGBS)..... AFIS 123.500".
WITTERING (EGXT)
Effective: 23/07/2015
Details:WITTERING (EGXT)
Change frequency for military aerodrome at 523645N 0002836W from 125.525 to 119.675.
ATS ROUTE N42
Effective: 25/06/2015
Details:ATS ROUTE N42
Lower limit of airway raised to FL145 along whole length.
ATS ROUTE L175
Effective: 28/05/2015
Details:ATS ROUTE L175
L175 is to be redesignated as P2.
IRELAND
Effective: 28/05/2015
Details:IRELAND
ATS ROUTE L175
Lower ATS route L175 will be renamed P2.
Thursday 23 July 2015
Thursday 30 April 2015
Jersey Update
I've purchased the UK2000 version of EGJJ Jersey airport to see how it fits with my island. There were some terrain problems with some cliffs visible, especially at the end of runway 08 when used with my custom mesh. The default mesh looks rather flat and horrible when used with the terrain blend provided by the UK2000 team. Even the blend provided for us with the Pilot's mesh doesn't bear any real resemblance to reality.
So, I decided to mod the terrain to make it better.
This is how it looks with just my mesh and the UK2000 airport..
This is how it look on a real life approach..
This is how it looks now after my modifications...there are a few more tweaks required but overall its much much better I think.
So, I decided to mod the terrain to make it better.
This is how it looks with just my mesh and the UK2000 airport..
This is how it look on a real life approach..
This is how it looks now after my modifications...there are a few more tweaks required but overall its much much better I think.
Here's a video of it in sim... https://youtu.be/S2ZHKTvrEaI
Wednesday 15 April 2015
Jersey Update - Watermasks
I have been working away 15-20 minutes a day updating the watermask for Jersey so that it is completely accurate to the imagery in FSET.
This is quite time consuming, but I will end up with a really good watermask that looks the part from low level, especially when I add in all the offshore rocks. Here's a pic showing the parts of the coastline which have been updated so far (shown with the thick red line). There's still some way to go yet!
Thursday 2 April 2015
UK Airspace Project Updates
I've now completed the ENR5.1 Danger, Restricted and Prohibited areas, as well as updated the class D airspace changes that are effective today for EGMC Southend airport.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a link to the most up to date files - no instructions yet
IMPORTANT : PLEASE LEAVE ME A QUICK COMMENT IF YOU FIND THIS USEFUL - let's be honest, it's free and updates will only be made for as long as it's appreciated.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vw2sfmt3soo4kcd/UK%20Airspace%20Scenery%20%28updated%20020415%29.zip?dl=0
3 files need to replace default files shipped with FSX/P3D (backup first please!)
BNXWorld0_amended.BGL should replace BNXWorld0.BGL
(This deletes aerodrome default airspace information)
BNXWorld1_amended.BGL should replace BNXWorld0.BGL
(This deletes other default airspace information)
bvcf_amended.BGL should replace bvcf.BGL
(This deletes default 'center' airspace information)
All other BGL's just need to be added to an active scenery folder - the related section number of the AIP is in each filename.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
EGMC changes...
ENR5.1 Danger areas...
ENR5.1 Prohibited and Restricted areas...
.jpg) |
| Project completeness to date (02/04/15) |
Here's a link to the most up to date files - no instructions yet
IMPORTANT : PLEASE LEAVE ME A QUICK COMMENT IF YOU FIND THIS USEFUL - let's be honest, it's free and updates will only be made for as long as it's appreciated.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vw2sfmt3soo4kcd/UK%20Airspace%20Scenery%20%28updated%20020415%29.zip?dl=0
3 files need to replace default files shipped with FSX/P3D (backup first please!)
BNXWorld0_amended.BGL should replace BNXWorld0.BGL
(This deletes aerodrome default airspace information)
BNXWorld1_amended.BGL should replace BNXWorld0.BGL
(This deletes other default airspace information)
bvcf_amended.BGL should replace bvcf.BGL
(This deletes default 'center' airspace information)
All other BGL's just need to be added to an active scenery folder - the related section number of the AIP is in each filename.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
EGMC changes...
ENR5.1 Danger areas...
ENR5.1 Prohibited and Restricted areas...
Sunday 15 March 2015
UK Airspace - How did I do it?
The key to quickly covering an entire country using real world data was a spreadsheet I created.
As you can see there is an input section at the top left. All I need to do is cut and paste the info from the Aeronautical Information Publication for the UK (available at http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/public/index.php.html)
If I include a comms frequency it will automatically include that as well.
All I need to do is press a key and the spreadsheet will output the correctly formatted xml code for use in flight sim for that airspace. All that needs to be done is to cut and paste that into a txt document and drop it onto bglcomp.exe from the SDK.
Hey presto! There is then a nice bgl to use in your preferred simulator....
Obviously all the magic happens on a sheet behind this one!!!!
As you can see there is an input section at the top left. All I need to do is cut and paste the info from the Aeronautical Information Publication for the UK (available at http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/public/index.php.html)
If I include a comms frequency it will automatically include that as well.
All I need to do is press a key and the spreadsheet will output the correctly formatted xml code for use in flight sim for that airspace. All that needs to be done is to cut and paste that into a txt document and drop it onto bglcomp.exe from the SDK.
Hey presto! There is then a nice bgl to use in your preferred simulator....
Obviously all the magic happens on a sheet behind this one!!!!
UK Airspace Scenery Project
As most people are aware, the default data shipped with FSX/P3D dates back to 2006 at the latest and probably some before that!
For the past couple of months I have been quietly working on a not so little project to update the airspace in FSX/P3D so that it matches the real world as defined in the UK AIP.
I have first removed all default data relating to the UK from the stock files.
To date, I have added up to date information contained in:
ENR2.1 - All class A airspace and TMAs etc.
ENR2.2 - Government aerodromes and Military Aerodrome Traffic Zones.
ENR3.1 - UK Lower Airways (surface to FL195)
AD2 - Aerodrome controlled airspace.
ENR6 - Altimeter setting regions
This all works in the simulator GPS units etc, as well as in external flight planner that scan scenery files, such as Plan-G. (Shown below - all UK data shown is bespoke updated material)
For the past couple of months I have been quietly working on a not so little project to update the airspace in FSX/P3D so that it matches the real world as defined in the UK AIP.
I have first removed all default data relating to the UK from the stock files.
To date, I have added up to date information contained in:
ENR2.1 - All class A airspace and TMAs etc.
ENR2.2 - Government aerodromes and Military Aerodrome Traffic Zones.
ENR3.1 - UK Lower Airways (surface to FL195)
AD2 - Aerodrome controlled airspace.
ENR6 - Altimeter setting regions
This all works in the simulator GPS units etc, as well as in external flight planner that scan scenery files, such as Plan-G. (Shown below - all UK data shown is bespoke updated material)
Still to be added are:
ENR4.1 - Radio Navigation Aids (Default data to be updated where necessary)
ENR4.4 - Name code designators for significant points ((Default data to be updated where necessary)
ENR5.1 - Prohibited, Restricted and Danger areas
ENR5.2 - Military Exercise and Training areas
ENR5.3 - Other activities of a dangerous nature
ENR5.5 - Aerial sporting and recreational activities
ENR5.6 - Bird migration and areas with sensitive fauna
Monday 2 March 2015
Accuracy of water masks.
I've reviewed what I did 2 years ago and can't for the life of me replicate the process. So, I found an easier way to get it accurate, since the Google Earth imagery doesn't appear to be 100% aligned with the virtual earth imagery I use for photoscenery in FSET.
FSET loads the areaKML.kml file in its work folder when you click 'K'. With Google Earth and FSET open alongside each other it's easy to quickly amend the polygon points for a water mask in Google Earth, save the KML file, click K in FSET to reload it and see whether it aligns OK.
The following image shows the three steps, with Google Earth displayed on the left and FSET on the right. You can see in the Google Earth image that there is a loaded kml file shown by the thin red line. The same line is shown in FSET by the thin blue line.
In the top pic we can see the blue watermask line is not properly aligned to the coast in FSET. If we used this as it is, the transparency in the photoscenery wouldn't show the water correctly.
So in the middle pic we can see I have adjusted the kml file in Google Earth. At this point nothing has changed in FSET. Then I save the kml file to the work folder in FSET and click 'K'.
The bottom pic shows how the blue line changes in FSET and now far more closely follows the coastal imagery that I will be using to create photoscenery. The transparency FSET introduces will now really match the water poly that will lie underneath and the actual coastline in the scenery, leading to good visual results in the sim!
This way I should be able to update all the water mask polys to show 99%accuracy with the coastline and interior water features quite easily.
I've also tested out a couple of values in the FSEarthMasks.ini file that control how FSET a deals with water transparency effects. I don't like seeing a sharp definition where the water starts unless it's like that in real life, as it looks too fake for me. I settled on values starting from 0 (no transparency) to 1 (full transparency) and altering the distance from my deep water lines that the transparency extends to.
I also, to prove I could still do it, worked out a method for importing kml files into SBuilderX, which is necessary to produce the water polys.
I ended up doing this by installing QGIS. Easy to do, and free. Now all I need to do is save an accurate (described above) KML file in Google Earth, import it into QGIS and save as an ESTI shp file that can be imported straight into SBuilderX. I can fairly easily manipulate the polys in SBuilderX to only cover individual QMID11 squares (see the app that will build those in Google Earth for you in an earlier post!). I can then use SBX to compile water polys and flattens for the appropriate water areas :)
FSET loads the areaKML.kml file in its work folder when you click 'K'. With Google Earth and FSET open alongside each other it's easy to quickly amend the polygon points for a water mask in Google Earth, save the KML file, click K in FSET to reload it and see whether it aligns OK.
The following image shows the three steps, with Google Earth displayed on the left and FSET on the right. You can see in the Google Earth image that there is a loaded kml file shown by the thin red line. The same line is shown in FSET by the thin blue line.
In the top pic we can see the blue watermask line is not properly aligned to the coast in FSET. If we used this as it is, the transparency in the photoscenery wouldn't show the water correctly.
So in the middle pic we can see I have adjusted the kml file in Google Earth. At this point nothing has changed in FSET. Then I save the kml file to the work folder in FSET and click 'K'.
The bottom pic shows how the blue line changes in FSET and now far more closely follows the coastal imagery that I will be using to create photoscenery. The transparency FSET introduces will now really match the water poly that will lie underneath and the actual coastline in the scenery, leading to good visual results in the sim!
This way I should be able to update all the water mask polys to show 99%accuracy with the coastline and interior water features quite easily.
I've also tested out a couple of values in the FSEarthMasks.ini file that control how FSET a deals with water transparency effects. I don't like seeing a sharp definition where the water starts unless it's like that in real life, as it looks too fake for me. I settled on values starting from 0 (no transparency) to 1 (full transparency) and altering the distance from my deep water lines that the transparency extends to.
I also, to prove I could still do it, worked out a method for importing kml files into SBuilderX, which is necessary to produce the water polys.
I ended up doing this by installing QGIS. Easy to do, and free. Now all I need to do is save an accurate (described above) KML file in Google Earth, import it into QGIS and save as an ESTI shp file that can be imported straight into SBuilderX. I can fairly easily manipulate the polys in SBuilderX to only cover individual QMID11 squares (see the app that will build those in Google Earth for you in an earlier post!). I can then use SBX to compile water polys and flattens for the appropriate water areas :)
Wednesday 25 February 2015
Development resources
Discussion on FSDeveloper about using Google Earth KML files with SBuilderX
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/using-google-earth-kml-files-with-sbuilderx.20474/
Discussion on FSDeveloper about pre-processing GE kml files using PreFsxKml
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/edge-detection.19477/page-2#post-235281
New Updated SBX 3.14 64 bit version
http://www.ptsim.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=30
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/using-google-earth-kml-files-with-sbuilderx.20474/
Discussion on FSDeveloper about pre-processing GE kml files using PreFsxKml
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/edge-detection.19477/page-2#post-235281
New Updated SBX 3.14 64 bit version
http://www.ptsim.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=30
Jersey Rebooted
Following the sad demise of Earth Simulations, I have decided to restart some of my efforts to create some scenery for Jersey island.
It was 2 years and a daughter ago that I did my original work so it has taken me a week or so to relook at what I did back then and to get to grips with how I did it again.
Fortunately I still have all the original development materials which made things a lot easier.
Additionally, I have found that Google have updated their photoimagery for Jersey, meaning I can get a much better fit for my water masks. (The old 2005 imagery was poor as far as the inland water elements were concerned, but the new imagery is a much better fit for the VE maps I'll be using in FSET)
It will mean first though, that I shall have to redo almost all of the inland water features in Google Earth before I can recompile accurate watermasks through the new 64bit version of SBuilderX, which had also passed me by.
This also wont be a quick or easy scenery to do, as I have virtually no free time to do it in....
As I go through, I think I'll post the links to the updated development resources I'm using, as well as dropbox links to the development files themselves, which will make it easier for anyone to follow what I'm doing by doing it themselves as well, with little to no risk because if it messes up you can restart again with my files :)
It was 2 years and a daughter ago that I did my original work so it has taken me a week or so to relook at what I did back then and to get to grips with how I did it again.
Fortunately I still have all the original development materials which made things a lot easier.
Additionally, I have found that Google have updated their photoimagery for Jersey, meaning I can get a much better fit for my water masks. (The old 2005 imagery was poor as far as the inland water elements were concerned, but the new imagery is a much better fit for the VE maps I'll be using in FSET)
It will mean first though, that I shall have to redo almost all of the inland water features in Google Earth before I can recompile accurate watermasks through the new 64bit version of SBuilderX, which had also passed me by.
This also wont be a quick or easy scenery to do, as I have virtually no free time to do it in....
As I go through, I think I'll post the links to the updated development resources I'm using, as well as dropbox links to the development files themselves, which will make it easier for anyone to follow what I'm doing by doing it themselves as well, with little to no risk because if it messes up you can restart again with my files :)
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