Recently FlightSim.Com interviewed Johan Clausen, a long time AI traffic developer and now an active member of the Alpha India Group team. Johan is involved primarily in creating AI flight plans and often sticks to some favorite airlines.
When did you start developing flight plans?
The flight planning team was started back in the summer 2007. At that time it was a part of the EvolveAI group. In December 2007 the EvolveAI group was shut down and shortly after the Alpha India Group began working in January 2008. The main purpose was to continue the successful flight planning team from the EvolveAI group. The AIG Dispatch team, as we like to call it, released their first flight plans in February 2008. The first full season, summer 2008, was a huge success with more than 350 flight plans released. Since then we have continued to evolve, but still with the same main focus: "Trying to give the users the best quality flight plans that can be made".
At the same time the group also decided that the work in the group was going to be a fun and enjoyable part of our life. We still have it that way because we have a bit of a crazy humour and because we respect each other.
I personally began developing flight plans back in 2005. Actually I started in 2002 but the flight plans at that time was for my own use. I can't remember the first flight plan I made for FS, but it must have been a Danish airline. I found that there wasn't enough Danish flight plans and decided to do something. Then I became a member of the EvolveAI flight planning team in 2007 and have been involved in the AIG team since its beginning. Today I'm one of two Dispatch team leaders.
Have you ever considered doing full-time development?
Sometimes I feel the flight planning job is a full-time job. But one good thing about making flight plans is that if you are busy with your real life then you can step back until you are ready again. What also make it feel like a full-time job is that we have a forum where members are asking questions 24/7.
Do you have any experience (or lust?) for real aviation?
Some years ago I was thinking about taking a PPL but then I began studying and things have changed. Today I'm just enjoying flying as a passenger. But when I get a chance to fly to a place I'm doing it. Unfortunately it's not happening that often but I try to have at least two flights per year.
Any memorable flights in real life?
I think the most memorable flight I have ever has was a flight from Bangkok to Sydney. Flying across the Australian outback in the sunrise. The red/orange ground combined with the early sunlight really gave the ground a very special color that can't be described.
Another memorable flight was actually on the same route, but the opposite direction. When we were flying across Borneo I saw a few lightning from a thunderstorm. It was incredible to be in a plane flying at 40000 feet, looking out of the window and watching the lightning below us. Mother Nature is her full rage. It was an incredible and very special experience for me.
How many add-ons have you done?
I checked at FlightSim.Com and I count about 70 flight plans plus around 16 WOAI packages where my flight plans have been used. But only 6 of the flight plans are released before I entered the EvolveAI team. And a few of the flight plans is cooperation with other members at AIG though.
What's your most popular work?
Speaking of "only" flight plans it's Aer Lingus from the Winter 2009/2010 season closely followed by Aer Arann from the same season. It's the same at Avsim.
But if we include the WOAI-files then it's the Germanwings package from 2009. But at the same time, if we look at Avsim, then it's the Mexicana package from 2007.
What about your favorite projects?
My favorite is always Air New Zealand. I have flown with them once in real life. Even though the flight plans are not easy to do, they are always very appreciated by the AI users. And I always try to include Air New Zealand Link.
But after Air New Zealand it is the Danish airline Cimber Sterling that is my favorite.
How about your goals in choosing an airline?
I usually have a few airlines that I want to make every season or at least once a year. This includes Scandinavian airlines but also Air New Zealand and Druk Air from Bhutan. But sometimes I also make other airlines.
The first thing I really need is good data. Sometimes you can get it at the web site of the airline, but sometimes they are not available or is not updated for the new season. Sometimes it's charter airlines which is quite hard to do. Sometimes you have to scan the hubs of the airline to get their flights but sometimes it's not enough. Then I have to ask other AIG members if they somehow can get data for them. And other times I get data directly from the airline. Usually they are the best you can get but sometimes they are not that good.
Are you developing for FS2004 or FSX or both?
Because most of the programs used for AI was released when FS2004 was still the newest FS, the flight plans AIG make is for this simulator. In FSX things only changed a bit so we continued to release for FS2004. But today there are several programs that can convert flight plans from FS2004 to FSX.
What software packages do you use?
I'll try to make a long story short.
The most basic is Excel from Microsoft which is where we usually work with the data we have collected. Then there is a program, MRAI Compiler, which can read a txt-file. This txt-file contains the flight plan data that has been worked on. The text has been copied from Excel to this txt-file. Then MRAI Compiler compiles the flight plan into a new txt-file. This new txt-file is written in a way, that after being compiled with the well-known Traffic Tools, the flight plan can work in FS.
Have you any future projects?
There is always new flight plans to do. Right now, as I'm writing this, I'm working on 2-3 flight plans. Now some people will ask why I don't say the names of the airlines. But one of the things that AIG is also based on is that we usually don't tell the names of the airlines we are working on. Sometimes we just give the members at our forum some small indications that there might be something interesting underway. But they'll have to know that if we told them exactly what we were working on our releases wouldn't be a surprise.
But we always guarantee that the things we are working on, no matter which of our team we are talking about there is something interesting going on. Especially at the moment where we are working on something that might change the whole AI community for some years ahead. But sadly I can't say anymore.
What can sites like FlightSim.Com do to support the hobby?
First time I used FlightSim.Com was back in 2000. Since then it has been one of my favourite sites but after 2003 I sadly lost most contact to the site because of Avsim. But after the Avsim hack the only real alternative was FlightSim.Com. Since then I have been checking FlightSim.Com two times daily. Both the headlines on the frontpage, but also the new files in the file library have my interest.
FlightSim.Com and Avsim are crucial for the FS community. Is one of them not working people are getting anxious and is asking questions why the site is not working. But in most cases the site is back shortly after.
What about the future of flight simulation, even beyond FSX?
Hmm. That is a very good question. With the recent "Flight" announcement from Microsoft things will go in another direction again. Since the old Fly!-series was stopped in the late 90's there hasn't really been a competitive simulator against the FS we know today. I know X-Plane is around but I have a feeling that there are not many flightsimmers that uses X-Plane.
With the Aerosoft simulator underway, maybe, I'm thinking that the flightsimming world is going into a new era. Maybe Microsoft can still hold position, but since we all know the quality of Aerosoft, and their dedication to the FS community. I'm sure we'll see some kind of fragmentation of the community. Some will stick to Microsoft and some will go to the Aerosoft simulator. But until that day I'll stick with FS since I'm just happy I can fly around looking at some fine and sometimes also fantastic scenery.
Johan Clausen
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Johan Clausen related add-ons in the FlightSim.Com file library