Jump to content

Scenery Orientation - Google-map background in ADE9X


GDALE14853

Recommended Posts

Hi,

 

I've been having a go at creation, from scratch, some airfields that are currently disused ex-wartime ones as useable (sort-of 'modernised) versions, as though they had not been closed down years ago!

I'm using Jon's latest ADE9X (absolutely bl**dy excellent program, Jon), and I try to get the airfield location as near correct as I can by 'identifying' a specific Lat/Long point on a 'snip' from Google-maps as my ARP, and aligning my airport in 9X with this. The oddity I'm a bit puzzled with is that when I add the Runways on their correct headings they don't line up with the Google image (after I've sized it to suit) unless I rotate the image to some extent (usually around 11 degrees!) This would seem far too much to be possibly accounted for by Magnetic Variation differences etc - If any-one could enlighten me I'd be grateful.

 

PS I found an Airport created in ORBX EU Scotland (Crail Aerodrome), where the runways that had been created lined up OK with the google image "un-rotated", but their headings did not match their Designation Id's i.e. they appeared to have been created with headings to suit the background!

 

Geoff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When i import images into ADE, I use Google Earth.

 

Make sure you have north straight up by double clicking the N on the compass on the right, that your terrain scale is set to 0.01, and your coordinates are set to decimal degrees xx.xxxxxxx. Maximize the screen, Shft +Ctrl+B to close the sidebar on the left, Shft+Ctrl+C to take a screen shot.

 

Open Paint (by Microsoft), paste the image, then save the image in png format. It is lossless and better than jpg.

 

With Google Earth in the background but still on the screen, put ADE in a smaller window in the foreground. In ADE, add the image, and check the box about using coordinates. Then move mouse over, but not clicking, Google Earth, to the top left of the screen. Looking to the lower right, you will see the coordinates of the mouse's location. Make sure the mouse's cursor stays on the satellite image and put the number of the latitude and longitude. Do the same for the lower right.

 

Now, with subsequent images, you can do one of two things.

 

A) you can repeat the process for each and every images. Slow and tedious but more accurate or

 

B) so long as you don't change your altitude in Google Earth, save your screen shots, import them into ADE as normal but first "edit" your first image in ADE, get the image dimensions and as you import more images into ADE, just resize the pics and place them by hand. Faster, but the images may not line up perfectly due to minor distortions in Google Earth which are more apparent in the northern and southern extremes.

http://my.flightmemory.com/pic/tvieno.gifhttp://www.vatsimsigs.co.uk/Status/1136602.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is an easy thing to do with SBuilderX.

 

See Jim's post here- https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?257526-How-to-make-scenery-according-to-real-world-coordinates&p=1729867#post1729867

 

peace,

the Bean

WWOD---What Would Opa Do? Farewell, my freind (sp)

 

Never argue with idiots.

They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
Thank you :)

 

You're welcome, sir!

 

Going back to my original query, I'm still having a bit of a struggle understanding the alignment of my created aerodromes with the rest of my scenery (in my case ORBX EU England/Scotland/Wales) and/or an imported image. If I use an image, brought in as explained by 'tvieno', and then add a runway with the heading as per the QDM information I have for that airfield I find the runway sits about 10 degrees clockwise deviation from the image. I find that, if I alter the runway heading until it aligns with the image, I get good alignment with my scenery etc but my runway headings are not "in agreement" with the runway ID's (e.g Runway 29-11 has heading more equivalent to 28-10!). Am I missing something?

 

Geoff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

YIf I use an image, brought in as explained by 'tvieno', and then add a runway with the heading as per the QDM information I have for that airfield I find the runway sits about 10 degrees clockwise deviation from the image.

 

Could it be that the runway headings are magnetic in the image and airport info while they are true in ADE?

 

peace,

the Bean

WWOD---What Would Opa Do? Farewell, my freind (sp)

 

Never argue with idiots.

They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Could it be that the runway headings are magnetic in the image and airport info while they are true in ADE?

 

peace,

the Bean

 

I'd thought about the Magnetic Variation and how it might affect things, but I'm just using the image as a layout guide, removing it before compilation of the airfield, and I find that the image and my main scenery seem to be in good agreement with how things should align but, to get runways to lie over the image correctly, the runways have to have headings that differ so much from what their ID would suggest (and what my Airport info gives as runway QDM) that it can't just be the magnetic variation - MV in the area I'm working on is

 

It's not much of a problem really, but it feels a bit unrealistic to approach runway 13 on a 'finals' heading of 120!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Runway IDs are always magnetic. Runway headings are true. MagVar changes over time so runways get renumbered since it is pretty difficult to drag an actual physical runway around.

 

Approaching R13 at 120 sounds fine to me. Now if you were approaching it at say 45 then I would be concerned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Jon, that does explain things a bit more! I had wondered about changes in Magnetic Variation, but I wasn't all that sure about just how much it would have altered over a significant period of years - the data I have for my ex-wartime aerodromes is mostly of 'wartime' vintage, so the quoted 'QDM' info for the runways will now be some 70 years or so old! Perhaps I should, as you say, renumber my runway ID's to match.

 

Many thanks for a great program, anyway!

 

Regards,

Geoff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...