AFCAD2.21 issues

[KCD]

Hello all...

I know, AFCAD has passed its prime, but for someone who has never developed much of anything, it is easy, or so it seemed. I decided to try my hand at creating an old, abandoned and forgotten airport with lots of history attached to it. The project attempts to recreate Erco Field in Riverdale, Maryland, adjacent to College Park airport.

I created what I believe are the rudimentary characteristics of the field all saved in a file named AF2_KRVD.bgl. I have also created an "exclude" for the Erco Field area, see below.

[Area.084]
Title=KRVD
Local=Addon Scenery\AF2_KRVD
Remote=
Layer=084
Exclude=N38 58 48,W76 55 50,N38 57 50,W76 54 55,objects.

Neither of these files (AFCAD nor Exclude) are without their problems. The "exclude" file doesn't exclude the roads, but it does remove the buildings and trees. However, it does not allow the AFCAD of KRVD to show. The AFCAD, on the other hand can be seen (without the exclude) with houses and trees upon it. Additionally, the AFCAD doesn't flatten the area. Can someone help me with a "flatten" file and where to place it? As for the "exclude" and "AFCAD", could someone give me a pointer as to what I am doing wrong?

Erco Field had two macadam 1500x50 runways on top of grass runways (one 2800x200, the other 2300x100). The macadam runways were connected by taxiways to a sizable parking area with fuel (gas only) and a couple of old style hangers in front of the Engineering Research Corporation (ERCO) Plant.

I cannot see the macadam runways 3/21, or either grass runway segments under them. The parking area and taxiways are there along with the macadam runway running NW/SE.

Basically, here is what I did. In AFCAD, I made and positioned the two 1500x50 macadam runways and then made the 2800x200 and 2300x100 grass runways. I dragged the grass runways to their proper locations and then positioned the macadam runways on top of the them. Then I created the parking area and connected the macadam runways to the parking area with taxiways. I included hold shorts and start points, but nothing else. Obviously, since the grass strips do not show, and 3.21 doesn't show, I've done something major incorrectly.

I'm not asking to have my error corrected, rather how to properly make this airport my self. Pictures the history of this abandoned field can be seen at http://www.airfields-freeman.com/MD/....html#capitol1.

Thanks for any help. I will gladly provide photos and additional information by private email, but don't have a firm handle on how to attach files here.

KCD

[StringBean]

First off, take a look at this thread, it addresses some of your question- http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showth...uestion-(KEQY)

You exclude is technically called a switch and not a file. It can be added to any active scenery area, so you might try moving it to another scenery area that has lower priority than KRVD.

To get the layered effect you are looking for first create a grass apron, then place the macadam runway on top of it.

Afcad does not have the ability to create a flatten for your airport.

Some elements flatten terrain by default, including aprons and taxiways. Oddly enough runways will not flatten the terrain, but you can work around that by placing an apron under your runway.

But you will not flatten terrain between these different elements, leading to buttes and holes between them.

The proper way to do this is the way MS did it.

First you have to create a flatten file to prepare the area.

Then you need an airport background to mask the underlying landclass and eliminate autogen trees and buildings. Roads and powerlines are another story.

They are vector scenery and immune to common exclude methods, however they can be edited.

The tool you need for FS9 is SBuilder. It is the bulldozer that can do all of the prep work for your airfield.

Again, follow the link I posted, go to FSDelevoper and get SBuilder and spend some time with the tutorials.

Once you learn how to do this it really doesn't take long to do, though you can spend as much time as you want, to do these things.

Lastly, Afcad is past it's prime and you should give ADE a try.

peace,
the Bean