Airport Runway data.

cliff · Post by **cliff** » Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:00 am

Hi,

I am working on an instructors station for a sim we are building and one item I am a little confused about is getting a list of the runways at an airport and also setting the active runway. I have looked through the SDK and LC but I can't seem to see anything.

I believe there is a Nav database somewhere within the program but how do I get access to this and search/read the data I need. Basically I want the instructor to be able to type in the Airport code and be presented with the runways available and when they select one the Aircraft is re positioned to the threshold of this runway, all very simple but i can't seem to find the runway data.

Thanks.

Cliff.

aeronauta · Post by **aeronauta** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 1:08 am

From the menu

World>Go to Airport> select ICAO at the bottom there is a dropdown menu that defaults to Active Runway, drop the menu and all Runways , Paking and Helipads appear , select the desired one and presto...

regards Jorge

N4GIX · Post by **N4GIX** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:24 am

You will need to code a SimConnect module that queries the GPS database engine to retrieve the data you require. See the portion of the SDK that deals with the GPS system.

cliff · Post by **cliff** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 4:25 pm

aeronauta,

Thanks but i am building an instructors station for a simulator so need to be able to read and set the airport details via software that I am writing and not via the menu system. Basically I need to almost do the same as the menu but within my software crazy I know but it's a requirement for the project I am working on.

N4GIX,

Thanks that was what i was looking for I have been searching around the SDK for the past few days and it's not the easiest of documents to search around. Out of interest have you seen any samples of using the GPS variables in code, just be easier to see some code rather than attempt to re-invent the wheel.

cliff · Post by **cliff** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:33 am

Having looked at the GPS data it seems me that I can only gt access to the data if I m doing so via a Guage an not via Sim Connect and my external software. I have found on the web ways of de-compiling the BGL files to get the required data but I thinkthis just seems wrong to reverse engineer software to get at some values.

There must be an easier way or am I just missing somthing obvious...

Cliff.

cliff · Post by **cliff** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 3:41 pm

Hi All,

I have been on this for the past few days and getting nowhere and there seems to be a lack of replies from the LM staff so I am not that impressed with the support for this software, if it can't be done then at least just say so.

All I want is a list within my software that resembles the list displayed in the menu World->GoToAirport so that in the Instructors station that I am bulding the user can type in the ICAO airport name and get back a list of runways and then once they select one the aircraft i positioned on that runway. Now this seems very easy if you use the menu's in the game but I can't allow that in the set-up we are building.

In my search for an answer I have found the SimConnect_RequestFacilitesList function but this returns basic info of ICAO/Lat/Long/Alt and then only on airports in the so called facilities cache which is based on the aircrafs current position. There must be an answer for this can someone please help as I am going very bald with this....

Cliff.

jimcooper1 · Post by **jimcooper1** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 5:20 am

If you're designing your software for a specific set of training objectives at a limited range of airports then you could create .FLT files for those locations. Your software could then interroigate those .FLT files and then load the appropriate one.

regards

Jim

Burkhard · Post by **Burkhard** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 5:27 am

This "all I want" for me, having written a lot of addons to Flightsim. looks like a giant task. Not all scenery is loaded into P3D/FSX all the time. What you get in the menus seems to be taken from C:\users\all users\Lockhhed Martin\Prepar3D\Facilities\aindex.idx - these idx files should be easy to decode, once you select an airport the corresponding scenery file will be read and only then the information is available. So yes it is possible with I estimate between 1000 and 1500 hours of work, N4GIX knows most about this ( if I compare his name right

) and might be able to do it a bit faster since he has already coded part of it for an offline program.

The way I would do this is to just build up a data base of those entries that you need. Or put a request here for an extended "Dump airport list" from the traffic toolbox menu, which includes more details of the currently installed airports - this would allow to have your tool still working with addon airports installed.

I would be happy about such an extended dump airport, and I'm sure many other addon programmers too!

Post by **Beau Hollis** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 11:01 am

I'm not aware of an easy way to do this, but several valid workarounds have been mentioned. I realize this is not a fun suggestion, but if you need to use the gps variables, you could access them via a dll gauge and pass the data along to your application.

I would also suggest throwing a post in the feature request section. Perhaps we can work it in to a future release of the sdk.

Thanks

Beau

cliff · Post by **cliff** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:32 pm

Hi All,

Firstly sorry to the LM staff I wrote the message above after returning from the bar last night and was trying to do some more research which maybe I should have just left and gone to bed...

Anyway I have decided that it will probably be best to generate a list of my own maybe and XML file or somthing that has this data and that way i can control this data. One question I do have is how old is the Nav data in ESP/LM?

Thanks.

Cliff.

N4GIX · Post by **N4GIX** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 2:37 pm

Burkhard guessed correctly about my identity...

Several years ago I began collecting information to be used for a future FMS project. Among the things I found was that using bgl2xml.exe produced a collection of all the FSX facilitiy files in .xml format. I turned all of my collected data over to a crackerjack programmer who then created a Microsoft Access Database (.mdb) file along the same lines as that used by Navigraph for the Eaglesoft Citation X FMS, but using the native FSX data rather than the "current data."

This .mdb file is included in our CJ1+ aircraft and serves as the database for our Universal UNS-1F FMS. Since the .mdb file contains all of the FS facilities data in an easily searchable form, it may of course be accessed by any gauge .dll or standalone .exe.

Jon Masterson has two versions of the bgl2xml program at his website (bottom of this page): http://www.scruffyduckscenery.co.uk/SDE.html

I also highly recommend joining here: http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/index.php as there's a very active group of developers there who just may well save you from having to reinvent the wheel...

Post by **Beau Hollis** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:19 am

Off hand, think the data is from 2005 or 2006. It's the same data that shipped with FSX/ESP.

Beau

cliff · Post by **cliff** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:17 am

N4GIX - I have been looking at the scruffyduck website but as I mentioned above I don't really think reverse engineering things is the best way forward, but thanks for the info.

One thing I have found though in the P3D SDK download is a files called p3d.Airports.dat which is in the C:\Program Files\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D SDK 1.2.3253.0\Environment Kit\Traffic Toolbox SDK folder. This .dat file has all the airports and with Lat/Long etc but I need a de-code for all the other parts of the file so that I can get the data I want, as this is in the SDK does anyone have these details.

Thanks I seem to be getting somewhere now must be the lack of Xmas drinks and office parties....

Cliff.

Oh - Beau is there any plans to update the real world data anytime in the future as the runways around the UK and Europe are all off by one ie: Manchester is 05/23 now and not 06/24 as in FSX/ESP.

N4GIX · Post by **N4GIX** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 12:01 pm

AIFP (AI Flight Planner) is a freeware AI utility program that is a vast improvement over the default Traffic Tools. Unfortunately, neither of those will give you any runway information, which is what you apparently need.

This for example is the entry for my home airport, KGYY:

Code:
United States|Indiana|Gary|Gary/Chicago Intl|N41* 36.9767'|W87* 24.7667'|180.14M|*|*|KGYY|GYY

While it is certainly possible to write a program to access the data in any given .bgl file without "decompiling," the chief problem remains that we have no access to the index, and with the requisite data scattered amongst a few dozen .bgl files...

...it should be obvious that this would not be a workable approach.

High Iron · Post by **High Iron** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 3:24 pm

Hi Cliff,

The magnetic variation has been wandering so a lot of airports have had their numbers changed, particularly those within the 4-6 degrees of the tenths. You may already know of this, but I'll post it anyway, here's a link for how to fix alignment issues with current Nav Data because of the changes: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/336155-mag ... 9-and-fsx/

To change the numeric numbering you can use an AFCAD editor and fix the runways to reflect current values. Changing all the runways in the world would require a complete airport rebuild. Orbx may be the only practical solution to this.

Cheers,

Thad