FlightSim 2004

Approaches and Airfield Data Knowledge Base

  Changing Runway Designations in FS 2004

by Jim Vile

 
 Why do runway numbers change?    The real world moves - not just around the sun - but various elements on this planet move - including the magnetic poles.

As a result of this change in magnetic variation - a runway magnetic heading will change over time. This is usually a 20-30 year process but every year several airports are modified when the magnetic heading has changed enough to make changing the runway designator advisable.

In the summer of 2005, PANC - Ted Stevens International in Anchorage Alaska changed the designation of Runways 6R/24L and 6L/24R to Runways 7R/25L and 7L/25R.

 
Can I just change the numbers with AFCAD In FS2002 it was a simple procedure to open the airport information and change the runway properties to the new numbers.

FS2004 introduced a completely new way of using the world which REQUIRES the scenery and the airport data to be synchronized.

The inclusion of real world approach data in the airfield data for many airports guarantees that changing the runway information alone will break the airport - making it a VFR only airport.

This will create an entire set of issues and problems.

The approach system must be changed to reflect the new runway designations. This is a task which requires knowledge of the Microsoft FS2004 BGL Comp SDK and editing in XML.

It is a relatively simple task - the subject of another document.
PANC Anchorage Alaska - changing from Rwy 6R/24L and Rwy 6L/24R to Rwy 7R/25L and Rwy 7L/25R A simple set of instructions for modifing your personnel AFCAD if it is not corrupt



1. Copy the PANC_ILS_jv.bgl to the Scenery/ Gerneric/ scenery/ folder (NOT the Addon scenery folder)

2. Open your favorite PANC with the AFCAD program

3. Click on each Runway Texture with the mouse and renumber 6L/24R and 6R/24L to 7L/25R and 7R/25L

4. "Go To" the Dropdown Menu and View ---> Show Start Locations so they display on the PANC AFCAD grid

5. Click on each Start Location (4 total) and renumber so they match the new runway numbers.

6. IMPORTANT!!!!!!! Save the PANC AFCAD now and close the program

7. Reopen PANC with the AFCAD program ( do not pick the quick link) and click on Open Airport

8. Type in PANC in the Airport ID search box. This is IMPORTANT!!!!! so the AFCAD program will decompile PANC

9. Click on List ----> Navaids in the Dropdown Menu

10. You should now see a new 7L LOC+GP and a 7R LOC+GP but the Name or Type is not labeled correctly.

11. Open 7L properties and change ILS 06L to ILS 07L

12. Change the words CAT III ILS 06R to CAT III ILS 07R

13. Change the ILS IDent and frequency's to match the the old 6/24LR runways 


SAVE and CLOSE your AFCAD

Reopen and check all your work.

Start FS9 and the database will reindex and rebuild automactically so ATC will now use the right runway numbers at PANC
But my AFCAD is not working that way - what's wrong
Corrupt AFCAD's


If your AFCAD is corrupt or the simple instructions above did not work correctly then you will have to follow these intructions.

The AFCAD program sometimes can be very temperamental.

What you are going to have to do is remove all the duplicate XML statements that have been accidently saved in the af2_PANC.bgl. 

This is not hard to do.

Open PANC with the AFCAD program. ALWAYS use File Menu ---> Open Airport ----> search Airport ID when loading a airport so AFCAD can decompile/copy the root data properly. 

NEVER select one of the 10 memory quick links listed in the File menu.

Once PANC is open and displaying on the grid "Go To" View and then click on Show Navaids

This will place all the green triangle symbols on the runways that have a LOC or LOC/GP that is read by AFCAD from the FS9 database.

Click on one of the large Green triangles for either 6L or 6R and it should turn a color of Orange. Now hit the delete key on the keyboard. 

One of two things is going to happen. AFCAD will report that it does not allow stock ILS to be deleted or the triangle will turn from Orange to Green again. Click on the Green triangle again so it turns Orange and hit the delete key. 

Continue to do this until you get the AFCAD message that says cannot delete stock ILS. Do this for both 06L and 06R LOCALIZER Green triangles.

What this is doing is removing dulicate ILS statements that AFCAD has saved in its XML which are file corruptions. Again, the AFCAD program by default will add a XML statement but once added will not always overwrite the statement properly. The AFCAD program uses the delete command much better then it does the modify command (in respect to Navdata).

Once you have all the additional Green triangles removed that are overlayed on top of each other that you cannot see then you might also see that the small GP triangles are 90 degrees offset from the runway. Don't worry this will correct itself once the AFCAD is rid of all corrupt data.

Now renumber the runways back to 06/24L and 06/24R including Start Locations (if they had been changed previously) and save the PANC AFCAD and close. We need the AFCAD to look like the original default FS9 PANC in the runway and navdata sections to rid it of unwanted statements.

Open the AFCAD program and using the Open Airport menu (collecting airports/decompiler) type in PANC and search. Let AFCAD once again decompile the FS9 root data so it loads a clean install of PANC that mirrors your changes back to the default runway/navdata.

Once PANC is displaying on the grid, highlite each runway texture and change the runway properties so 06L and 06R are now 07L and 07R. 

Change all 4 Start Locations runway numbers also. 

What this is doing is changing the runway number that you see when landing at the end of the runway (plus other minor stuff). The Black Runway Link Line will also automatically change to update the taxi network for ATC.

EVERYONE NOTE !!!!!!!

Because we renumbered 06L and 06R to 07L and 07R there is no ILS navdata for these new numbered runways in AFCAD. This is what is confusing to most designers that change runway numbers and upload to web sites.

We must force FS9 to understand that 06L and 06R are not going to be used because by default they are still in the database. 

My Approach ILS PANC_ils_jv.bgl file does not address this part of the database but only realigns what ATC is going to say once the AFCAD substitutes 06 ILS runways for 07 ILS runways.

Now lets finish this up

Your AFCAD PANC is still open.

"Go To" Insert on the dropdown menu. Select ILS and you must see a 07L and 07R runway. Why? Because you added 2 new runways into the AFCAD program that do not have a ILS associated with them.

Runway 06L and 06R is not in the list because they have a ILS. 

Now click in the list on 07L to open Navdata properties and change 

ILS Ident from IABC (or whatever) to ITGN
Change Name to read ---> ILS 07L 
Frequency to 109.90
untick the DME checkmark
click OK

Now click in the list on 07R to open Navdata properties and change 

ILS Ident from IABC (or whatever) to IANC
Change Name to read ---> CAT III ILS 07R 
Frequency to 111.30
untick the DME checkmark
click OK

Be extremely careful at this point !!!!!!!

"Go To" dropdown menu List and click on Navdata

You should see 5 ILS runways if everything was done right

RWY
14
07L
07R
06L
06R

not always in that order

The 06 runways mirror exactly the 07's.

Now comes the magic of FS9 thanks to MSN

Save your AFCAD and exit completely. Reopen AFCAD properly so it collects airports/decompiles.

Look at the List -----> Navdata and the 06 runways should be gone and only 3 ILS runways listed.

Rwy
14
07L
07R

The small green triangles (GP) should also be aligned properly with the runways.



In answer to other questions, the NAVDATA must be aligned properly to the airport, runways and my Approach/ILS bgl so you do not get a CTD. 

I thought long and hard before uploading a runway number change Approach/ILS bgl file. I was hoping that all the AFCAD's available for PANC did not have any XML corruption but that is now wishful thinking on my part.

Any AFCAD that you have downloaded that changed the runway numbers is corrupt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This short tutorial is a sure way of getting the AFCAD Navdata set up correctly and try's to explain why you just can't renumber a runway with AFCAD if there is ILS runway present and Approach data written in the default database.

I have always included a AFCAD with all my ILS Approach Files so I did not have to fix thousand's of AFCAD's for every updated airport I released (Ha Ha!)

Sooner or later I have to bite the bullet and say "you guys/gals can do this also" if I just (in the future) update the database with no AFCAD.

If you still can't get it set right don't hesitate to ask more questions. The more people that can grasp the workings of FS9 the better we all are in the end.