Hovering planes and black grass

[AACvirtual]

A couple of quick questions for you. I have done a couple of new airfields for FSX, both are 3 active runways in one location purely for AI purposes [this, by using the old method of creating 3 airfields at the same location, as I used to do in FS9].
A problem common to both is that the aircraft [AI] will land and taxi just fine but when they turn off the taxiway and go along the apron parking to the jetways, they climb 5ft into the air. They don't jump up but seem to "climb up" to the jetways. This also happens with GA spots and for all aicraft types. I attach some pix showing this [aircraft selection was deliberate to amplify the problem].
The second airfield is a Vietnam jungle helicopter base. Again no problem with landing, taxiways are good but at the parking spots, they are 5 ft in the air again [OK for my choppers I suppose!]. Now I do have elevation problems at the Jungle Base so I will have to do a re-write, but the first airfield is at sea level and you are familiar with it, as it is my NorwayFSX airfield.
Black grass. My problem, I used a downloaded freebie grass texture upgrade which was very good but I cannot see grass when I select it using ADE for Taxiways, Apron routes and the Apron itself. Do you have the original airfield grass filenames to hand so that I can seek them out and re-install the default grass? I appreciate that the apron has its own visibilty problems, but all my "selected" grass, apart from the runways, is black.
I did RTFM for both of these!! Charlie.

 

[scruffyduck]

Well this needs someone with more knowledge that I to answer

For the hovering aircraft this is usually caused by altitud variations. The aircraft thinks the ground is higher than it appears in the sim. Taxiways and aprons have no way to adjust altitude as such, although runways and starts do. If you use something like TCalcX you can establish the actual ground altitude at the points where the problem is. Compare that to the ARP altitude you have set. If it is different then that will certainly be a place to start.

As for textures - dunno

 

[jvile]

Charlie

There is also a slight change in the way SP1a and SP2 handles the airport elevations when applied to a runway, taxiway and apron.

ACES assures us they did not do anything on purpose but we have to use slightly different techniques when working with the unseen elevations of the ARP alt='s in respect to the runway which is where most sunken or floating wheel issues start from.

Are you SP1a or SP2?

 

[AACvirtual]

It is SP1a on a windows platform, but I just feel that it is something that I might have done with the three co-located airfields, which were all set at the same height of 4 foot AGL. I will do some measuring using TCalcX. Charlie.

 

[AACvirtual]

Just a few more pixs to illustrate this point. With the exception of Helicopters, this hover seems to apply to all aircraft, AI and my own selected. If you park up at a gate and look at the aircraft from 8 or 9 ft and higher in spot, the wheels are on the ground. As soon as you go below about 6ft [same view, same aircraft], the aircraft hovers or the ground goes down?? It is in a similar vein to wandering taxiway signs that are not "rooted to the ground" and will move position relative to the aircraft's movement. I always use a helicopter for scenery placement and checking the results, as I can have a look from wherever I want.
I think that this is an inbuilt FSX problem but I will just check this with a stock airport. I am leaning toward FSX/vista SP2 probably being OK but the windows XP/FSX Acceleration guys will probably suffer from this.
I have a cunning plan for my black grass problem so I will let you know the result soon. As to moving aircraft from one spot to another at the same airfield in AI, I think that I have a solution for that as well, but will keep you posted. All the best, Charlie.

 

[GHD]

I think that this is an inbuilt FSX problem but I will just check this with a stock airport. I am leaning toward FSX/vista SP2 probably being OK but the windows XP/FSX Acceleration guys will probably suffer from this.

I have created about 300 AFD files (including 200 raised platforms) using both XP and Vista 64 with FSX/Acceleration. The only problems were when the heights of the flatten polygon and AFD were different.

George

 

[AACvirtual]

Thanks George, then the problem lies at my end. I think that I will just get all the users to look at their parked aircraft from a 747 cockpit! I will check the elevations again in case I missed something. The airfield had not been flattened as it is built on the sea and a 4ft elevation was put in to stop the waves from lapping the active. The problem is probably there somewhere. Charlie.

 

[GHD]

The airfield had not been flattened as it is built on the sea and a 4ft elevation was put in to stop the waves from lapping the active.

That explains everything

George