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Adding ATC Boundaries to FSX

mgh

Messages
1,413
Country
unitedkingdom
I've created the following XML for the London CTR. (It is missing from FSX together with the London TMAs.) It compiles with no error but I can't get the boundary to display on the map in FSX. I've put the .bgl file in Addon Scenery/London Control Areas/Scenery and with and without an associated empty Texture folder. I've used the Scenery Library to add London Control Areas as Priority 1. Heathrow's co-ordinates are 51.44775N and 0.46133W so the boundary brackets these.

What am I doing wrong?

Code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<FSData version="9.0"
xmlns:xsi='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance'
xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd" >
<Boundary
type="CLASS_A"
name="London CTR">
<BoundaryStart
lat="51.60305"
lon="-0.6925"
minimumAltitudeType="AGL"
altitudeMinimum="0.0"
maximumAltitudeType="MSL"
altitudeMaximum="762.0"/>
<Line
lat="51.60305"
lon="-0.21472"/>
<Origin
lat="51.47"
lon="-0.21472"/>
<Arc
type="CLOCKWISE"
index="0"
lat="51.33666"
lon="-0.21527"/>
<Line
lat="51.33694"
lon="-0.63333"/>
<Line
lat="51.35111"
lon="-0.71166"/>
<Origin
lat="51.47"
lon="-0.45361"/>
<Arc
type="CLOCKWISE"
index="1"
lat="51.60305"
lon="-0.6925"/>
</Boundary>
</FSData
 
Hi Folks

mgh -
Your sample possibly has an incorrect structure.
I can't test the following ATM as my videocard is faulty.

ISTR
That if using multiple arcs
ALL their Origins had to be declared first,
immediately after boundary start,
(n.b. It might be that I'd done this to ensure correct indexing sequence).

Also ensure that your Arc FROM and Arc TO coords
are in the correct sequence.
I've added comments to indicate the correct relative positions.

Code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>

<FSData version="9.0"
xmlns:xsi='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance'
xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd" >


<Boundary
type="CLASS_A"
name="London CTR">


<BoundaryStart
lat="51.60305"
lon="-0.6925"
minimumAltitudeType="AGL"
altitudeMinimum="0.0"
maximumAltitudeType="MSL"
altitudeMaximum="762.0"/>

<!-- Arc Origin Index 0 -->
<Origin
lat="51.47"
lon="-0.21472"/>

<!-- Arc Origin Index 1 -->
<Origin
lat="51.47"
lon="-0.45361"/>



<!-- Arc FROM -->
<Line
lat="51.60305"
lon="-0.21472"/>

<!-- Arc ORIGIN Index 0 -->

<!-- Arc TO -->
<Arc
type="CLOCKWISE"
index="0"
lat="51.33666"
lon="-0.21527"/>

<Line
lat="51.33694"
lon="-0.63333"/>

<!-- Arc FROM -->
<Line
lat="51.35111"
lon="-0.71166"/>

<!-- Arc ORIGIN Index 1 -->

<!-- Arc TO -->
<Arc
type="CLOCKWISE"
index="1"
lat="51.60305"
lon="-0.6925"/>


</Boundary>

</FSData>



HTH
ATB
Paul
 
Thanks for the response but it didn't help.

I've simplified the boundary to a series of lines by omitting the arcs and origins. I added a VOR at Heathrow (EGLL) to check that the file is being processed by FSX. The VOR appears on the map but the boundaries still don't.

Code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<FSData version="9.0"
xmlns:xsi='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance'
xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd" >
<Boundary type="CLASS_A" name="London CTR">
	<BoundaryStart lat="51.60305" lon="-0.6925" minimumAltitudeType="AGL" altitudeMinimum="0" maximumAltitudeType="MSL" altitudeMaximum="762"/>
	<Line lat="51.60305" lon="-0.21472"/>
	<Line lat="51.33694" lon="-0.21527"/>
	<Line lat="51.33694" lon="-0.63333"/>
	<Line lat="51.35111" lon="-0.71166"/>
	<Line lat="51.60305" lon="-0.6925"/>
</Boundary>
<Vor
	lat="51.477500"     
	lon="-0.461389"                    
	alt="30"                    
	type="LOW"                        
	frequency="116.3500"                    
	range="12345"                        
	magvar="0.0"                        
	region="EG"          
	ident="MGH"                   
	name="My VOR"                        
	nav="TRUE"        
	dmeOnly="FALSE"                        
	dme="FALSE">
</Vor>
</FSData>
 
Hi Folks

mgh -
Sorry I can't test before posting.

Try setting altitudes to similar types -
minimumAltitudeType = "MSL"
altitudeMinimum="0.0000"
maximumAltitudeType = "MSL"
altitudeMaximum="762"

And Boundary type="CENTER"

Try renaming name="London CTR"
to
name="London CTR MYVERSION"

Does it display now ?

PS
Just in case you hadn't done so -
IIRC you'll need to restart FSX before any boundary change will be displayed,
as boundaries are only indexed on FSX launch.

HTH
ATB
Paul
 
Last edited:
I've done some further testing and, as far as I can tell, the problem arises because not all the boundary types are actually implemented in FSX

The attached table identifies those types that seem to be implemented, with the type as displayed on the map and the line type and colour. All the UK airspace seems to be Controlled Airspace. I've been able to display all the implemented types on the map.
 

Attachments

  • Boundaries.jpg
    Boundaries.jpg
    93.2 KB · Views: 1,465
I've done some further testing and, as far as I can tell, the problem arises because not all the boundary types are actually implemented in FSX

The attached table identifies those types that seem to be implemented, with the type as displayed on the map and the line type and colour. All the UK airspace seems to be Controlled Airspace. I've been able to display all the implemented types on the map.

Thanks for the information. We will implement boundaries in ADE in a future version.
 
I may have spoken too soon!

Although I can draw on the map now, I can't see anyway to set the radius of an arc, which is rather essential.

Radius can be set for a circle but I can't find any means to do so for an arc - its not mentioned in the SDk nor in the .dtd schema.

Any ideas???????????
 
Have your tried decompiling some existing boundaries?
 
The attached table identifies those types that seem to be implemented, with the type as displayed on the map and the line type and colour. All the UK airspace seems to be Controlled Airspace. I've been able to display all the implemented types on the map.

Thanks for the nice table. I'm not terribly surprised that NONE won't show up... :duck:
 
Disregard my last post. It was late in the evening!

The radius is implicit, given the start and end points of an arc and its cente point.

I was confused by the UK AIP which gives those three points and the radius.
 
[Just to confirm that apart from the fact that some boundary types are not implemented boundaries can be developed according to the SDK.

Microsoft seems to have omitted all the England and wales en-route airspace boundaries from FSX - they were in FS9. I'm thinking of correcting this but there are a lot of boundaries (the London TMA alone has 18). I'm loking at a eans of automating this. The SDK says degrees can be entered as decimal degrees or degrees-minute-seconds. What is the acceprable format for the latter?
 
Hi Folks

mgh -
Could you please provide links to the relevant NATS AIP ENR docs
and a list of these missing boundaries.

If present in FS9, you could decompile from there.
Then create/compile an additional fsx bgl, to add them into fsx.

I might already have a dataset
which should include all aspects of UK airspace.

re: acceptable format
I tend to exclusively use decimal degrees,
as it's all to easy to include inappropriate characters when importing dms.
To ensure consistency,
I use an excel spreadsheet to perform the parse & conversion.

PS
Don't bother working on any helicopter operations related ATSUs, routes, etc.
as I've already created those.

HTH
ATB
Paul
 
Last edited:
The link toUK AIP ENR 2-1 - 1 is:

http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/aip/current/enr/EG_ENR_2_1_en.pdf

As you see coordinates are deg-in-sec in the form DDMMSSX / DDDMMSSX. I'vwe created a couple by hand and found accurately converting the numbers is very tedious. I envisage writing a program to to most of the work.

My comment on the ommissions in FSX is simply based on observation. Airspace around airports is shown in blue but there is no purple airspace in England and Wales. There is some in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Also, scrolling the map shows plenty in France. What have we English done to offend Microsoft?
 
I'bve created an application that enables me to cut-and-paste from the UK AIP with little manual intervention and automatically ncreate .xml and .bgl files. I've created London and Manchester TMAs so far.
 
I'bve created an application that enables me to cut-and-paste from the UK AIP with little manual intervention and automatically ncreate .xml and .bgl files. I've created London and Manchester TMAs so far.

sounds good! :)
 
I'm happy to upload here if that's possible. Otherwise I'll upload it to the AVSIM library
 
Hi Folks

mgh -
re: Boundary type 'Center'
My humblest apologies for my earlier misleading info. :o

I bit the bullet and launched FSX,
and was gobsmacked to find
my previous compilations were no longer showing up for me either.

It was my use of boundary type CENTER that caused their no-show.
I was sure they were working previously,
but it must have been for the boundary's comms as CENTER.

I've converted the areas back to Class C
and they're all displaying now in FSX,
with ATC performing handoffs on crossing.



re: Your conversion applet
Sounds good, wouldn't mind a play, if ok.
Please see your PM's.

PS
If you've tried Tim Arnot's excellent Plan-G
and are seeing any of your arc'd boundaries displaying incorrectly,
then don't worry,
he's already addressed the issue for the next release.



HTH
ATB
Paul
 
Hey,

have you finished your tool? I have written one for my needs, but it would need refining before I can release it for general usage (while you can always contact me if you are interested in using it, albeit unfinished). No need for double work I suppose.
 
can some please tell me why this wont work? it compiles ok but wont show up on maps and GPS.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>

<FSData
version="9.0"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd" >

<Boundary
type="CLASS_C"
name="Thomas Regional Airport">

<BoundaryStart
lat="41.681234725"
lon="-89.005757868"
minimumAltitudeType = "MSL"
altitudeMinimum="0.0"
maximumAltitudeType = "MSL"
altitudeMaximum="3000.0"/>

<Origin
lat="41.681234725"
lon="-89.005757868"/>

<Circle
index="1"
radius="10"
minimumAltitudeType="MSL"
altitudeMinimum="0.0"
maximumAltitudeType="MSL"
altitudeMaximum="3000.0"/>
</Boundary>
</FSData>
 
Hi Folks

Microdude
You're not looking at your map closely enough ;)

Distances are in METRES.
Look at your circle tag.

HTH
ATB
Paul
 
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