Destination Finder for FSX, FS9 and FS2002
Version 2.0
Readme
You probably don’t need to read this document, as the program will work straight out of the box for most users, and is quite intuitive. But have a glance through the Contents to see if anything catches your eye. In particular, have a look sooner or later at the section entitled ‘Database Creator’ below.
There is a button on the program interface which will open this README should you wish to come back to it later.
This program is very simple to use. All you need do is enter an ICAO code in either the start or destination box in the top left of the form and then press RETURN. Everything else on the form is optional.
Using this program with FS running
Installing the program for the first time
Upgrading from version 1.0/1.1
Do I need to run the Database Creator?
Before you run the Database Creator
How often does the Database Creator need to be run?
How do I use the Database Creator?
What does the Database Creator actually do?
To create a database for an FS installation
What information is in the database files created by the Database Creator?
A note for users of Radar Contact v5
Size and on-screen position of the user interface
Random start and destination airports
Method 1: enter a precise numeric heading
Method 2: enter one of the eight points of the compass
Method 3: leave the ‘Heading’ box blank
The ‘Destination Airport’ group box
The ‘Destination Country/State’ group box
The ‘Destination Parking’ group box
The ‘Max number of results’ box
Order of data within each column
Selecting data in the Results Grid
Context-sensitive menus in the Results Grid
Show each result on [a single line/multiple lines]
Copy Start and Destination (and Alternate) airport details to ...
Find alternates for the selected airport using current criteria
Find alternates for the selected airport using widest criteria
Copy selected Destination Airport IDs
Copy all Destination Airport IDs
Copy selected Destination Airport IDs as TTools file
Copy all Destination Airport IDs as TTools file
Distinguishing between hard and soft runway surfaces
Distinguishing between civil and military airports
Using the program for creating AI flightplans
Appendix 1 Files and folders contained within Destination Finder’s application folder
Appendix 2 Format of the DATA.CSV files
Appendix 3 Sample of the ‘Airport details’ that can be copied from the Results Grid
You can use this program as a stand-alone program without FS, or you can use this program with FS running at the same time.
Using this program without FS
You enter the ICAO code of the airport at which you want to start (or end) your journey. Then (optionally) you enter the distance you wish to fly, and (optionally) the heading on which you wish to fly. Then click ‘Go’ or press RETURN. The program will search through a database of all the airports in FS, and will compile a list of the airports nearest to your desired destination.
You can also optionally specify:
· a maximum and/or minimum distance
· a maximum and/or minimum heading
· a maximum and/or minimum length for the runway
· a maximum and/or minimum elevation for the airport
· whether the runway must have an ILS
· the runway surface (hard or soft or either)
· whether the airport must be civil, or military, or either
· (in FS9 and FSX only) whether or not the airport must have a control tower
· (in FS9 only) whether or not the airport must have at least one runway open for landing and/or takeoff
· (in FS9 and FSX only) whether the airport must have any particular type of parking and
· whether the airport must be in a particular state/province or country
Using this program with FS running
The program can also be used alongside any version of FS from FS2002 onwards. If you use it alongside FS, it works in exactly the same way as described above, except that one extra feature is available to you. Instead of entering an airport ID in the ‘Start Airport ID’ box, the program can read the latitude and longitude of your aircraft’s current position, and use that position as the starting point for the search. Handy if you are already flying, and want to find a convenient and suitable destination.
In version 1, all you had to do to use this feature was to leave the ‘Start Airport ID’ box blank, and the program would assume that you wanted to use your aircraft’s current position as the starting point for the search. This is not the case in version 2. In version 2, you have instead to click on the ‘FS’ button to read your aircraft’s current position.
The only essential requirement to use this program is the .NET Framework 2.0. But, to use all the features of the program, you will also need Pete Dowson’s FSUIPC.DLL module, as detailed below.
.NET Framework 2.0
Before you run this program, you must have the .NET Framework 2.0 installed on your computer.
If you are unsure if the .NET Framework 2.0 is installed on your computer, then (in Windows XP) click ‘Start’ > ‘Settings’ > ‘Control Panel’ > ‘Add or Remove Programs’. In the list of programs, check to see if there is an entry for ‘Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0’ or ‘Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1’ or ‘Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2’. If you do not have the .NET Framework 2.0, then use Windows Update to install it.
FSUIPC
You will also need Pete Dowson’s FSUIPC.DLL module. (Note that the FSX version of this module is names FSUIPC4.DLL.) You will almost certainly have this already installed on your computer, as it is used by lots of FS add-ons.
If you are unsure whether you have this installed on your computer, then look in your main FS folder. There you will (probably) find a subfolder called MODULES. Open the MODULES folder, and see if it contains a file named FSUIPC.DLL (for FS9 or FS2002) or FSUIPC4.DLL (for FSX). If it does, then that is all you need. If not, or (in FSX) if there is no subfolder called MODULES, then you can download FSUIPC.DLL (for FS9 or FS2002) or FSUIPC4.DLL (for FSX) free from Pete Dowson’s website, www.schiratti.com/dowson.html.
Destination Finder was tested with version 3.75 of FSUIPC.DLL for FS2002 and FS9 and version 4.3 of FSUIPC4.DLL for FSX. If you have problems connecting to FS using Destination Finder, then check to see if you have at least version 3.75 of FSUIPC.DLL for FS2002 and FS9 or version 4.3 of FSUIPC4.DLL for FSX. If you have an older version, then download an up-to-date version from Pete Dowson’s website, www.schiratti.com/dowson.html.
Installing the program for the first time
Once you unzip the downloaded file, you will find eighteen files and one folder contained within a parent folder entitled ‘DestinationFinderv20’. The files and folder contained therein are listed in Appendix 1 below. You do not particularly need to know what each file is.
The DESTINATIONFINDER.EXE file is the program itself, not an installer. There is no installation program. Rather, installation is manual.
Move the parent folder entitled ‘DestinationFinderv20’ (you may need to close this README file before you do this) to a suitable location anywhere on your hard drive. You may then want to add shortcuts to this README file and to DESTINATIONFINDER.EXE to your desktop for convenience.
Upgrading from version 1.0/1.1
There is no upgrade procedure. Instead, version 2 should be treated as an entirely new application, and kept in a separate folder from version 1.0/1.1.
You can delete all of version 1.0/1.1 once you are satisfied that you want to use version 2 instead.
The only reason why you might want to keep version 1.0/1.1 is if you fly floatplanes. The data used in version 2 do not include water runways, so version 2 is no use for this type of flying. Version 1.0/1.1 does include water runways (but uses only FS9 data).
If you want to continue to use version 1.0/1.1, then you should use version 1.1 rather than version 1.0.
To uninstall, do the following two steps:
· Delete the parent folder entitled ‘DestinationFinderv20’.
· Delete the settings folder, usually C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Destination Finder.
Do I need to run the Database Creator?
No, you don’t. Destination Finder will work just fine even if you never run the Database Creator.
Destination Finder now comes with all the data it needs to function as fully as possible with FSX, FS9 and FS2002. However, this data is stock data (that is, data compiled from stock airports). It will therefore not include any changes that have been made to your airports by add-on scenery and AFCADs. Such changes would typically include the addition of lots of parking spaces, the addition and revision of comm frequencies, the addition of ILS equipment, and so on. To ensure that the data that Destination Finder uses fully takes into account your add-on scenery and AFCADs, you should run the Database Creator.
Before you run the Database Creator
Some options that are available to you in Destination Finder will only take effect after you have run the Database Creator. Therefore, you should have a look at these options before running the Database Creator.
Click ‘Options’ on the main program interface, and then click on the five sub-categories under ‘Airport description’, the ‘Runway surfaces’ options and the ‘Military airports’ options.
How often does the Database Creator need to be run?
As often or as little as you want.
Ideally, you should run the Database Creator every time you add new add-on scenery or an AFCAD, but this will be impractical. It is really a question of striking a balance between having up-to-dare data and the time it takes the Database Creator to run.
How do I use the Database Creator?
There are two steps to creating a database. First, you need to run MAKERWYS.EXE, and, secondly, you need to run Destination Finder’s own Database Creator. Each of these is considered in turn below.
MAKERWYS.EXE
MAKERWYS.EXE is a utility created by Pete Dowson. It is included with Destination Finder with permission from Pete Dowson, for which I am very grateful.
MAKERWYS.EXE has been around for a long time, and has in the past been used by a number of different add-ons. It is updated often. Its primary purpose now is to provide the data used by Radar Contact (an add-on which provides a sophisticated and more realistic replacement for air traffic control in FS; for more details, see Radar Contact’s website at http://www.jdtllc.com).
What does MAKERWYS.EXE do?
MAKERWYS.EXE simply looks through all your scenery files (both stock and add-on), and compiles a number of databases of the information it finds there. It puts these database files into the root folder of your FS installation.
How do I run MAKERWYS.EXE?
There are three ways of running MAKERWYS.EXE. The first is to let Destination Finder do it for you. The second is to do it manually. And the third is to do it through another add-on which uses MAKERWYS.EXE such as Radar Contact. Each of these is considered in turn below.
If you do not have Radar Contact or any other add-on which uses MAKERWYS.EXE, then the easiest way of running MAKERWYS.EXE is to let Destination Finder do it for you, as follows:
1. On Destination Finder’s main interface, click ‘Database’.
2. Check that the correct paths are displayed in the boxes at the bottom of the page. If the path is incorrect, or if no path is displayed, then use the ‘Browse’ buttons to navigate to your root FS folders.
The root folder for FSX is usually:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X
The root folder for FS9 is usually:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator 9
The root folder for FS2002 is usually:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FS2002
3. Click on one of the first set of three buttons to run MAKERWYS.EXE for your FS installation, depending on which version of FS you have installed. Note that, for FSX, you should run MAKERWYS.EXE while logged on to your computer using the same user account as you do when you fly.
4. The MAKERWYS.EXE dialog will appear on-screen. Wait for it to finish (it will take a few minutes). When MAKERWYS.EXE finishes, you must click on the ‘Close’ button on the MAKERWYS.EXE dialog before continuing.
5. If you have more than one FS installation, then run MAKERWYS.EXE again for each of your remaining FS installations.
To run MAKERWYS.EXE manually, do the following:
1. Have a look inside the root folder of your FS installation to see if you already have a copy of MAKERWYS.EXE installed. If you have, hover your mouse over it to see what version number it is (for example, ‘File version 4.2.7.0’). Destination Finder uses version 4.27 of MAKERWYS.EXE. If your version is older than version 4.27, then you should be fine to overwrite your older version (as MAKERWYS.EXE appears to maintain backwards compatibility in its later versions). However, to be on the safe side, you should make a backup copy of your older MAKERWYS.EXE just in case the newer version of MAKERWYS.EXE causes you problems.
2. If there is no copy of MAKERWYS.EXE in the root folder of your FS installation, then you will find a copy of version 4.27 of MAKERWYS.EXE in Destination Finder’s application folder. Copy this to the root folder of your FS installation.
3. Once you have a copy of MAKERWYS.EXE in the root folder of your FS installation, then simply double-click on it to run it. Note that, for FSX, you should run MAKERWYS.EXE while logged on to your computer using the same user account as you do when you fly.
To run MAKERWYS.EXE through another add-on such as Radar Contact, you will need to consult the documentation which came with that add-on.
Once you have run MAKERWYS.EXE in one of the three ways described above, you will then need to run Destination Finder’s own Database Creator, as described below.
What does the Database Creator actually do?
Destination Finder’s Database Creator takes data from three (R5.CSV, G5.CSV and F5.CSV) of the database files that MAKERWYS.EXE creates, and assembles that data into one large database, at the same time doing some extra work on the data. It is this large database which Destination Finder uses for its own searches.
The advantage of this is that, although it takes some time to create the database, once created, each search is done much more quickly than was the case in version 1 of this program.
Destination Finder creates one data file for each of your FS installations. These data files are named FSXDATA.CSV, FS9DATA.CSV and FS2002DATA.CSV. These files are stored in Destination Finder’s application folder.
To create a database for an FS installation
1. On Destination Finder’s main interface, click ‘Database’.
2. Check that the correct paths are displayed in the boxes at the bottom of the page. If the path is incorrect, or if no path is displayed, then use the ‘Browse’ buttons to navigate to your root FS folders.
3. Then click on one of the second set of three buttons to run Destination Finder’s Database Creator. Be warned that this can take a long time to run (you can cancel it at any time), and, on a single core, can make it difficult to do other work on the computer at the same time.
4. If you have more than one FS installation, then run Destination Finder’s Database Creator again for each of your remaining FS installations.
Once this is done, simply click ‘Close’ to return to Destination Finder’s main interface. Your new database(s) will then be active, and you will see the updated information appear in Destination Finder’s Results Grid. Remember to select the correct sim in the ‘Sim’ box in the bottom right of the main program interface.
What information is in the database files created by the Database Creator?
See Appendix 2 below for details of the contents of the database file that the Database Creator creates.
Task priority
The Database Creator runs with the second lowest task priority available in Windows. This will allow you to do other things on your computer while the Database Creator is running.
A note for users of Radar Contact v5
As mentioned above, Destination Finder relies on version 4.27 of MAKERWYS.EXE for its data. The principal purpose of MAKERWYS.EXE is to provide the data for Radar Contact. At the time of writing, version 5 of Radar Contact is being developed, and, in response to the changing requirements of the developers of Radar Contact, so MAKERWYS.EXE is also undergoing a process of continual development. The data that MAKERWYS.EXE extracts from FS scenery files, and the format in which MAKERWYS.EXE outputs its data files, are therefore also continually changing.
It may well be therefore that, when version 5 of Radar Contact is finally released, the version of MAKERWYS.EXE which accompanies version 5 of Radar Contact will be incompatible with the version of MAKERWYS.EXE that Destination Finder was built around. The net result of this would be that it would become impossible to use Destination Finder and Radar Contact in the same FS installation.
If that happens, I will update Destination Finder so that it can happily run alongside version 5 of Radar Contact.
When it is used for the first time, the main program interface and the Results Grid start maximised.
The main program interface and the Results Grid can be resized in the standard Windows ways, by dragging the edges of the form, or by dragging the lower right-hand corner of the form, or by clicking on the buttons in the top-right corner of the form. The font size used by the interface will grow or shrink in accordance with the size of the interface.
You can also drag the title bar to reposition the (non-maximised) form on the screen.
All these changes will be maintained the next time you start the program.
Unlike in version 1 of this program, the Results Grid is now displayed in a separate window. The best way of moving from the Results Grid to the main interface and vice versa is to use ALT+TAB. The ‘Back’ button on the Results Grid will also return you to the main program interface without closing the Results Grid. The ‘Exit’ button on the Results Grid will close the whole program. The ‘X’ button in the top right-hand corner of the Results Grid will close the Results Grid without closing the whole program.
There are four ways of using this:
1. If you know the airport you want to start your flight from, then enter the ID (sometimes called the ICAO code) of that airport in the ‘Start Airport ID’ box, and leave the ‘Destination Airport ID’ box empty. The Results Grid will display the details of all the destinations which match your search criteria.
2. If you know the airport at which you want to end your flight and want to search for a suitable start airport, then enter the ID of the destination airport in the ‘Destination Airport ID’ box, and leave the ‘Start Airport ID’ box empty. The Results Grid will display the details of all the start airports which match your search criteria.
3. If you know both the start airport and the destination airport, then enter those in their respective boxes. The Results Grid will display the details of only that particular flight. All the other choices (e.g. as to minimum heading, runway surface etc.) that you can make on the interface are ignored when you do this, so there is no need to clear the form beforehand.
4. In 1 and 3 above, you can alternatively use your aircraft’s current position as the starting point of your search. If you have FS running, and a flight loaded (though you do not need to have clicked the ‘Fly Now’ button), then click the ‘FS’ button, and the program will fetch the latitude and longitude and magnetic variation of your aircraft’s current position and will use that position as the starting point for its search. This will work equally well whether you are on the ground or in the air, or at an airport or away from an airport. This can, therefore, be used as a way of finding the nearest airport in an emergency.
Note that, although the NEAREST function on the default GPS will also show you the nearest airports, Destination Finder allows you to filter out unsuitable airports (by using the runway length filters etc.) which the default GPS will not do. Also, the default GPS will display a maximum of only nine airports on the NEAREST page, and has a maximum range of 200 nm. Destination Finder has no such limitations.
If you do not know the ICAO code of an airport, you can use a search feature to find the code, by clicking the small question mark button next to the airport ID boxes. See the section below entitled ‘Searching for an ICAO code’ for more details.
Whenever you use the latitude and longitude of your aircraft’s current position as the starting point of your search, the latitude and longitude of your aircraft will be displayed just beneath the ‘Start Airport ID’ box. You can change the format of these co-ordinates by right-clicking on the numbers and choosing one of the options from the menu.
Searching for an ICAO code
If you do not know the ICAO code of the airport you wish to fly to or from, then you can use a search facility to find the code. Just to the left of the ‘Start Airport ID’ box and the ‘Destination Airport ID’ box, there is a button with a question mark. Click this button, and the search facility will open.
· If you know the name, or a part of the name, of the airport or the city, then enter this in the first box. Click on ‘Exact’, ‘All words’ or ‘Any words’, as appropriate. You do not need to enter the whole name: for example, ‘jul’ will find ‘Princess Juliana’. The search terms are not case-sensitive.
· If you know the name of the city, the state/province or the country, then select those in the lower three boxes to reduce the number of results. If you select the city, then there is no need to select the state/province or country. Similarly, if you select the state/province, then there is no need to select the country.
· Alternatively, you can leave the search box blank, and just choose a city or state/province or country. This will give you a list of all the airports in that city or state/province or country.
· Click ‘Search’. A list of matches will appear.
· Single-clicking on one of the results will display details of that airport in the box in the top-right of the form. Right-clicking on this box will allow you to copy this text or parts of it to the Clipboard.
· Double-clicking on one row in the results will send that ICAO code to the ‘Start Airport ID’ box or to the ‘Destination Airport ID’ box on the main interface. The search form will then close automatically and return you to the main interface.
· Alternatively, select one of the results by left-single-clicking on it. Then right-click to bring up a context menu, which can be used to send the ICAO code to either the ‘Start Airport ID’ box or the ‘Destination Airport ID’ box on the main interface. Once done, click ‘Close’ to close the search form and return to the main interface.
Random start and destination airports
To assist you in finding new places to fly, the program can choose a start airport and/or a destination airport for you at random.
Click on the ‘R’ (for ‘random’) button just to the left of the ‘Start Airport ID’ box and the ‘Destination Airport ID’ box. The program will search through all the airports in FS which match the criteria (runway length, parking and so on) you have selected and choose one of them entirely at random. The ICAO code of the airport will be entered in the ‘Start Airport ID’ box or the ‘Destination Airport ID’ box, and the airport’s name will be displayed under the box. Move your mouse over the airport name to see fuller details of the airport pop up in a tooltip. Move your mouse back over the ‘R’ button, and the tooltip will tell you from how many hits your airport was randomly chosen.
If you want to limit the random airports to a particular country or state/province, then simply choose that country or state/province from the drop-down lists on the main program interface.
If you want to exclude countries from the random airports, then you can do so by clicking ‘Options’, then ‘Excluded countries’. But, note that, if you exclude a country in this way, you can override that exclusion by choosing that country or one of its constituent states/provinces from the drop-down lists on the main program interface.
Rather than using the random feature to choose both a start and a destination airport (which could give you a very long flight indeed), a better way would be to select all the search criteria (as to parking, runway length, etc.), and then use the random feature to choose either a start or a destination airport. Enter a distance in the ‘Distance’ box, and then click on ‘Mission’. This will choose an airport at random which is at (or as near as can be) the desired distance from your start airport.
For more details of the ‘Mission’ feature, see the section below entitled ‘Mission generator’.
Most of the time, you will enter the distance you wish to fly, in the ‘Distance’ box. The distance you specify in the first box is an ideal distance, and Destination Finder will attempt to find destinations which most nearly match this ideal distance.
You can use the ‘Min Distance’ box and the ‘Max Distance’ box to specify a minimum and a maximum distance that you wish to fly. You can specify a minimum distance without specifying a maximum distance, and vice versa. You can enter a minimum and/or a maximum distance regardless of whether or not you have left the first ‘Distance’ box blank.
If you leave the ‘Distance’ and ‘Min Distance’ boxes blank, Destination Finder will find the nearest airports to your starting position (which could therefore be as little as a few miles away). This could be useful if you were trying to find an alternate, or if there are so few airports around that you find no matches if you specify a distance.
You can enter a heading in the first ‘Heading’ box in one of three ways:
· You can enter a precise numeric heading from 0 to 360 degrees.
· You can enter one of the eight points of the compass (N, E, W, S, NE, SE, SW or NW).
· Or you can leave the ‘Heading’ box blank.
The program treats each of these methods in a different way, as set out below.
You can use the ‘Min Heading’ box and the ‘Max Heading’ box to specify a minimum and a maximum heading that you wish to fly. You can specify a minimum heading without specifying a maximum heading, and vice versa. You can enter a minimum and/or a maximum heading regardless of whether or not you have left the first ‘Distance’ box blank.
The only thing you cannot do here is to specify a point of the compass and at the same time a minimum and maximum heading. An error message will pop up if you try to do so. In such a case, just use the minimum and maximum headings boxes without specifying a point of the compass.
Method 1 should be used if the heading is more important to you than the distance, whereas Method 3 should be used if the distance is more important to you than the heading. Method 2 is a compromise between the two.
Methods 2 and 3 are particularly useful if you are using the program as an aid to drawing up fictional AI flight plans. See the section below entitled “””.
Method 1: enter a precise numeric heading
You can enter a precise numeric heading from 0 to 360 degrees. Due North can be entered as either 0 or 360. Do not use negative numbers. Do not use a degree sign or any other symbols or text. Here, the program will calculate your ideal ‘Target’ point based on the heading and distance you have specified, and will find airports nearest to that Target point.
This is demonstrated in Figure 1 below. Point A is the start point, the distance of the flight is 200 nm, and the heading is entered as a precise heading of 90. The program calculates the coordinates of the Target point, T. It then draws a circle centred on point T with a radius of half of the flight distance (in this example, half of 200 nm, i.e. 100 nm). The program searches for airports within this circle, and will list all such airports it finds within that circle, ranked according to their distance from the Target point, T, up to the maximum number of results specified in the ‘Max number of results’ box.
The distance from the Target point T is shown in the second column of the Results Grid under the heading of ‘Distance from Target’.
FIGURE 1
Method 2: enter one of the eight points of the compass
You can enter one of the eight points of the compass (N, E, W, S, NE, SE, SW or NW) in the ‘Heading’ box. This works in a different way from Method 1 above. Here, the program draws a sector (a ‘slice of pie’) radiating out from the start point, and extending 45 degrees either side of the compass direction you have chosen.
In Figure 2 below, A is the start point, the distance of the flight is 200 nm, and the heading is entered as a point of the compass, E (i.e. east). The program draws a sector radiating out from the start point A, and extending 45 degrees either side of this compass direction (i.e. in this case extending from 45 degrees to 135 degrees), with a radius equal to the length of the trip (i.e. 200 nm). The program then searches for airports nearest to the arc BC, and will list all such airports it finds, ranked according to their distance from the arc BC, up to the maximum number of results specified in the ‘Max number of results’ box.
The distance from the arc BC is shown in the second column of the Results Grid under the heading of ‘Deviation from Specified Distance’.
FIGURE 2
Method 3: leave the ‘Heading’ box blank
You can leave the ‘Heading’ box blank. This method is similar to Method 2 above, except that the search is not limited to a 90 degree arc, but instead extends to the full 360 degree circle.
In Figure 3 below, A is the start point, the distance of the flight is 200 nm, and the heading is left blank. The program draws a circle centred on A with a radius of the length of the trip, i.e. 200 nm. The program then searches for airports nearest to the circle, and will list all such airports it finds, ranked according to their distance from the circle, up to the number of results specified in the ‘Max number of results’ box.
FIGURE 3
New in version 2 are the ‘Speed/Time’ boxes. These are optional.
Enter the cruise speed (in knots) of your aircraft in the ‘Cruise speed’ box. This cruise speed will be used to make a rough calculation of the time it will take to complete your flight (the ‘Estimated Time Enroute’ column in the Results Grid). It does this simply by dividing the direct distance between the start and end points of your journey by the cruise speed. This will, of course, give an underestimate of the time your flight will take, as no aircraft does the entire flight at its cruise speed. Rather, an aircraft will take time to climb and descend/approach. To allow for the extra time required for the climb and descent/approach, you can enter this extra time (in minutes) in the ‘Extra time’ box.
These can all be left blank, or (as appropriate) the default choices can be left as they are.
For details on how Destination Finder distinguishes between civil and military airports, see the section below entitled ‘Distinguishing between civil and military airports’.
For details on how Destination Finder distinguishes between hard and soft runways, see the section below entitled ‘Distinguishing between hard and soft runway surfaces’.
The choice of whether the destination airport must or must not have a control tower is not available when you have chosen FS2002 as your sim. This is due to limitations in the data.
The choice of whether the destination airport must or must not have at least one runway open for takeoff and/or landing is not available when you have chosen either FSX or FS2002 as your sim. This is due to limitations in the data.
These can be left unchosen.
Only the United States, Canada and Australia have states and provinces listed in the ‘State/Province’ box. This accords with how FS does it.
If you want to limit your destination to a particular state or province (e.g. Alabama), you need only choose ‘Alabama’ from the second drop-down list. You do not need to also choose ‘United States’ in the first drop-down list at the same time.
Clicking ‘Clear’ simply removes the choice and resets the box.
These can be left unchecked.
Many stock airports have no parking spaces at all, so if you specify that you need a particular type of parking, then you will exclude a large number of stock airports from your search.
If you find yourself regularly entering the same criteria for a particular type of flying (GA short hops, bizjet long haul, and so on), you can save each set of choices to save having to enter the same criteria each time. I refer to such a set of choices as a ‘scenario’.
· To save a scenario, simply type a name (any name using any characters you wish) for the scenario into the drop-down box. You can overtype any name that is currently being displayed in the box (doing so will not overwrite any saved data). Then click ‘Save’.
· To change (or ‘edit’) a previously saved scenario, simply select that scenario from the drop-down list, make any changes to the choices that you wish, and then click ‘Save’. You will be asked if you wish to overwrite the existing scenario with the same name. Click ‘Yes’.
· To delete a scenario, simply select that scenario from the drop-down list, and click ‘Delete’.
· To load a scenario which you have previously saved, simply choose it from the drop-down list. Your choices will automatically be loaded into the program interface.
You can make the program load one of your saved scenarios each time you start the program. On the ‘Options’ page, click ‘Startup’, and choose the third option button, and then choose the scenario from the drop-down list. Then click ‘Save’. If you have not yet saved any scenarios, then this choice will be unavailable (‘greyed-out’).
This can be used to specify the maximum number of results to display in the Results Grid. Valid values are from 1 to 100. Higher values noticeably affect the speed of each search.
Because each version of FS uses different data, you should choose which version of FS you want to do your flight in, in order to ensure that the data shown in the Results Grid is as accurate as possible.
You do not, however, need any particular version of FS either installed or running in order to use Destination Finder.
The ’Mission’ button does exactly the same as the ‘Go’ button, except that, instead of displaying all the results of the search, it selects one of the results at random and displays only that result. This is your destination. It is really intended to bring both an element of reality into your flying (few pilots ever get to choose where they fly) and an element of discovering new places that you would not have otherwise thought of trying.
Note that, the greater the value that you set in the ‘Max number of results’ box, the greater will be the pool of airports from which the mission generator randomly chooses. If you have a high value in the ‘Max number of results’ box, then this could mean that your randomly chosen destination is a very long way from where you were expecting. If this proves to be the case, then simply reduce the value in the ‘Max number of results’ box and click ‘Mission’ again.
The Results Grid can be customised in a number of ways, as described in this section.
Column order
The order in which the columns appear in the Results Grid may be changed. Simply drag a column head to the left or right. Your changes will be maintained the next time you start the program.
Column width
The width of individual columns may be changed. Simply drag the divider between the column heads to the left or right. Your changes will be maintained the next time you start the program.
Hiding columns
Individual columns may be hidden. To hide a column, right-click on the column head, and choose ‘Hide this column’ from the context-sensitive menu. To restore all the columns which have previously been hidden, right-click on any visible column head, and choose ‘Restore all hidden columns’ from the context-sensitive menu. Your changes will be maintained the next time you start the program.
The columns are hidden rather than deleted, so you can restore the columns even when data is being displayed in the Results Grid. The correct data will display in the restored columns.
By default, any column which is empty (that is, the column has no data in it) are automatically hidden. You can change this default behaviour by clicking ‘Options’, then ‘Results Grid’.
Order of data within each column
The results are initially sorted according to the distance of each airport from your desired destination (its ‘Distance from Target’ or its ‘Deviation from Specified Distance’). You can re-sort the results by clicking on any of the column heads (except the ‘Runway Details’ column, the ‘Parking’ column and the ‘Comm Frequencies’ column, which cannot be sorted). Click a second time to sort in reverse order. However, the next time you click ‘Go’, the order will revert to the default ‘Distance from Target’.
Note that, where the ‘Distance from Target’ column is empty, the results are sorted according to their ‘Distance from [Start]‘.
Selecting data in the Results Grid
Selecting rows of data within the Results Grid works in accordance with standard Windows practice, as follows:
· Individual rows within the Results Grid may be selected by left-clicking on the row.
· Pressing CTRL while left-clicking on a row will allow you to select multiple non-contiguous rows.
· Contiguous rows may be selected by left-clicking on the first row to be selected, holding down SHIFT, and left-clicking on the last row to be selected.
· Pressing CTRL+A will select all the rows.
Pressing the standard Windows key combinations for COPY, namely, CTRL+C and CTRL+INS, will copy all of the data in the selected rows to the Clipboard, though not in a particularly useful format. For a more useful way of copying results data to the Clipboard, see the four subsections below beginning with ‘Copy selected Destination Airport IDs’.
There are two context-sensitive menus available in the Results Grid. The first is called up by right-clicking on the column heads, and is always available. The second is called up by right-clicking on the rows of data within the Results Grid, and is only available when data is being displayed in the Results Grid.
The menus have the following choices:
Hide this column
This will hide the column which you clicked. Your changes will be maintained the next time you start the program.
Restore all hidden columns
This will restore all the columns which have previously been hidden. Your changes will be maintained the next time you start the program. The columns are hidden rather than deleted, so you can restore the columns even when data is displayed in the Results Grid. The correct data will display in the restored columns.
Restore default column order
This will restore the original order of the columns (that is, the order of the columns as they appear within the Results Grid, not the order of the data within each column). Any columns that you have hidden will remain hidden.
Autofit visible columns
This will resize the visible columns so that they can approximately contain the typical amount of data which is displayed in each column.
This can be particularly useful if you change the size of the program interface (for example, by maximising it or by dragging the bottom right corner of the form), or the font used in the Results Grid, and would like to change the width of the columns so that they will fit into the new space available or the new font size.
It can also be useful if you decide to hide or make visible one or more of the columns, and wish to resize the remaining columns afterwards.
Font
This will call up a font dialog which will allow you to choose the font used in the Results Grid. The same font dialog (and others) is also available by clicking ‘Options’ on the main program interface, and then clicking ‘Fonts’.
Show each result on [a single line/multiple lines]
This allows you to toggle between viewing the results with each result occupying a single line, and viewing the results with each result occupying as many lines as are required to display all the data in that result.
When viewing the results on single lines, much of the information will not be visible, but, in such cases, if you hold your mouse over a cell of partly hidden data, the complete data will be displayed in a tooltip.
You can set either the single line view or the multiple line view as the default view, by clicking ‘Options’ on the main program interface, and clicking ‘Results Grid’.
Copy Start and Destination (and Alternate) airport details to ...
This is one of the most useful features of the program, and it can be easily overlooked tucked away here in the menu, so it is worth setting out in some detail how to use it.
· First, use the program to do a search to find a destination.
· When the results of the search come up on the screen, choose one of the results as your destination by clicking on that particular row of data to highlight it. Then right-click to bring up the context-sensitive menu.
· Click on ‘Copy Start and Destination (and Alternate) airport details to ...’ in the menu, and, when the submenu appears, choose (for now) to copy to the Clipboard as plain text. (If this menu item is unavailable (‘greyed-out’), this will be because you have selected either no row of data or more than one row of data.)
· Open a word processor or Notepad, or some other application into which you can paste the text which you have just copied to the Clipboard. You will see that the pasted text includes lots of details about your route and your start and destination airports. (A sample output is reproduced in Appendix 3 below.)
If you also want to find an alternate as well, then the procedure is as follows:
· First, use the program to do a search to find a primary destination.
· When the results of the search come up on the screen, choose one of the results as your primary destination by clicking on that particular row of data to highlight it. Then right-click to bring up the context-sensitive menu.
· Choose one of the two menu items which do an alternate search.
· When the results of the alternate search come up on the screen, choose one of the results as your alternate by clicking on that particular row of data to highlight it. Then right-click to bring up the context-sensitive menu.
· Click on ‘Copy Start and Destination (and Alternate) airport details to ...’ in the menu, and, when the submenu appears, choose (for now) to copy to the Clipboard as plain text. (If this menu item is unavailable (‘greyed-out’), this will be because you have selected either no row of data or more than one row of data.)
· Open a word processor or Notepad, or some other application into which you can paste the text which you have just copied to the Clipboard. You will see that the pasted text includes lots of details about your primary and alternate routes and your start, destination and alternate airports. (A sample output is reproduced in Appendix 3 below.)
The submenu provides five places where you can copy the information to:
1. the Clipboard (either as plain text or as HTML text)
2. the FS kneeboard (as HTML text) (this is probably the most convenient place to copy the information to)
3. a file which you can pre-specify (either appending the new text to the existing text, or overwriting the existing text with the new text) (you can define and redefine this file in ‘Options’, ‘My file’)
4. a file to which you can browse (either appending the new text to the existing text, or overwriting the existing text with the new text)
5. your screen, which simply opens a separate window which allows you to view the text
Option 2 above, copying the information to the FS kneeboard, is probably the most useful. If you look in the root folder of FSX or FS9 (but not FS2002), there is a subfolder named UIRES. Inside this subfolder, there is a file named NOBRIEF.HTM.
When you first open the kneeboard in a new flight, the first page displayed is the ‘Mission Briefing’ page. In lessons and in missions, this page gives an overview of the lesson/mission. However, in free flight, this page is not used, and instead merely displays the message ‘There is no briefing available for this flight’. When you look at this page, what you are in fact looking at is the NOBRIEF.HTM file.
This file is therefore an ideal place to copy Destination Finder’s details to. You will not be overwriting anything important, and the page is available in all your aircraft (provided, of course, that the aircraft uses the kneeboard at all).
In 3 and 4 above, if the file is a HTML file (that is, one which has a .HTM or .HTML extension), then the text will be copied as HTML text. Otherwise, it will be copied as plain text.
Items 3 and 4 above can be useful, for example, if you want to copy the information to a suitable file for easy reference in flight. For example:
· a Notepad document on your FS desktop, which you can ALT+TAB to while in flight
· the file which is found in an aircraft’s folder in FS2002, usually named [aircraft name]_NOTES.TXT, which is available while in flight
· perhaps there is a cockpit gauge into which you can paste text which will display in the cockpit while in flight
· or you might want to paste the text into a word processor and print it out in order to refer to it on paper while in flight.
Find alternates for the selected airport using current criteria
This will run a new search, and produce a new set of results in the Results Grid, using the airport ID of the selected row as the starting point, but without taking into account any minimum distance or heading that you may have specified on the main program interface. This will produce a list of all airports nearest to the selected airport, and can be useful when planning for an alternate airport to your primary destination.
Although the distance and heading that you specified on the main program interface will be ignored when you run this alternate search, all the other options that you specified (e.g. as to runway length, parking, etc.) will be taken into account in the search for an alternate.
This menu option will be unavailable (‘greyed-out’) if more than one row, or no rows, are selected in the Results Grid.
Find alternates for the selected airport using widest criteria
This will run a search for alternate airports, just as in the previous menu item, but this time it will ignore most of the choices that you made on the main program interface. This is really intended to be used in an emergency, when your first priority is to get your aircraft down onto a runway, and you are therefore not too fussed about such matters as whether there is any parking available or whether the airport is civil or military, etc.
Specifically, the search will ignore the following:
· any distances entered in the ‘Distance’ boxes
· any headings entered in the ‘Heading’ boxes
· any maximum runway length
· any minimum elevation
· any ‘Must have an ILS’
· any civil/military preference
· any soft runway preference
· any must/must not have a control tower preference
· any country or state/province preference and
· any parking preference
It will not ignore the following:
· any minimum runway length
· any maximum elevation and
· any hard runway preference
This menu option will be unavailable (‘greyed-out’) if more than one row, or no rows, are selected in the Results Grid.
Restore original results
Once you have run an alternate search, your original results will be lost. There are two ways to restore your original results. One is to ALT+TAB back to the main interface and click ‘Go’ again. Alternatively, you can click on this menu item, and the original results will be restored.
Copy selected Destination Airport IDs
This will copy the airport IDs from all the rows which are currently selected in the Results Grid to the Clipboard.
Copy all Destination Airport IDs
This will copy all the airport IDs in the Results Grid (whether or not they are selected) to the Clipboard.
Copy selected Destination Airport IDs as TTools file
This will copy the airport IDs from all the rows which are currently selected in the Results Grid to the Clipboard. The latitude, longitude and elevation of each airport are also added to the Clipboard in the format used in the AIRPORTS.TXT file used by Lee Swordy’s Traffic Tools utility.
Copy all Destination Airport IDs as TTools file
This will copy all the airport IDs in the Results Grid (whether or not they are selected) to the Clipboard. The latitude, longitude and elevation of each airport are also added to the Clipboard in the format used in the AIRPORTS.TXT file used by Lee Swordy’s Traffic Tools utility.
There is a column in the Results Grid headed ‘Description’. This attempts to give a brief description of the airport as a quick way of helping you choose a start or destination airport.
Typical descriptions are as follows:
Civil, very large, moderately busy, mixed GA/commercial
Civil, medium-sized, lightly used, GA
Military, unused
There are four elements to this description:
· the civil/military status of the airport
· the size of the airport
· how busy the airport is and
· the type of aircraft that use the airport.
The first part of the description describes the civil/military status of the airport. By default, these are ‘civil’ and ‘military’, respectively.
The descriptions can be changed on the Options page (click ‘Options’, then ‘Civil/military’). If you do not wish either of these descriptions to appear at the start of the airport description, then either or both can be left blank on the Options page.
For details on how Destination Finder distinguishes between civil and military airports, see the section below entitled ‘Distinguishing between civil and military airports’.
The second part of the description describes the size of the airport. By default, these sizes are ‘very large’, ‘large’, ‘medium-sized’ and ‘small’. The size attributed to an airport is dependent on the length of the longest runway at the airport, as follows:
|
Description |
Runway length (feet) |
|
Very large |
9,000 and over |
|
Large |
6,000 to 8,999 |
|
Medium-sized |
3,000 to 5,999 |
|
Small |
0 to 2,999 |
Both the descriptions and the numerical boundaries between one category and another can be changed on the Options page (click ‘Options’, then ‘Size’).
The third part of the description describes how busy the airport is. By default, these categories are ‘very busy’, ‘busy’, ‘moderately busy’, ‘lightly used’ and ‘unused’. The ‘busy-ness’ attributed to an airport is dependent on the total number of parking places available at the airport, as follows:
|
Description |
Number of gates |
|
Very busy |
75 and over |
|
Busy |
50 to 74 |
|
Moderately busy |
25 to 49 |
|
Lightly used |
1 to 24 |
|
Unused |
0 |
Both the descriptions and the numerical boundaries between one category and another can be changed on the Options page (click ‘Options’, then ‘Busy-ness’).
Of course, whether an airport which is described as ‘busy’ really is busy will depend entirely on whether you have AI traffic installed which will use that airport.
The fourth part of the description describes the types of aircraft that use the airport. By default, these categories are ‘GA’, ‘commercial’, ‘cargo’, ‘military’ and ‘mixed’. The category attributed to an airport is dependent on the number of each type of parking available at the airport.
Where one of these types accounts for more than 75 per cent of the parking spaces available at the airport, then the airport will be described as exclusively of that type. Where there is no one type of parking which accounts for more than 75 per cent of the available parking, then the airport will be described as ‘mixed’. The ‘mixed’ description will then list all the types of parking which account for at least 10 per cent of the parking spaces (for example, ‘mixed GA/commercial/cargo’).
Both the descriptions and these percentages can be changed on the Options page (click ‘Options’, then ‘Type of aircraft’).
Where an airport has no parking, it will be described in the second element as ‘unused’.
Finally, a closed airport (in FS9 only) will be described simply as ‘Closed’. (A closed airport is one which has no runways open for takeoff or landing.)
If you specify, for example, the minimum length of the runway or the runway surface, the program will search for runways which match your criteria. Airports which have at least one runway which matches all your criteria will be displayed in the Results Grid. But (unlike in version 1 of this program) all runways at that airport, including those which do not match your criteria, will be listed in the ‘Runway Details’ column of the Results Grid.
In other words, an airport listed in the Results Grid may have, say, six runways, but only one of these runways may match your criteria. Nevertheless, all six will be listed.
When you approach an airport which is controlled (that is, one which has a control tower), ATC may not give you the runway you want. If you are flying under an IFR flight plan, you can use the ATC menu to request an approach to a different, more suitable runway. But, if you are flying VFR, then there seems to be no way in FS9 of requesting a different runway from the tower. If the airport is uncontrolled (that is, it does not have a control tower), then you can choose any runway you like to land on.
The program follows the categorisation of runway surfaces as either hard or soft as used by FS. Of the nineteen land surfaces available in FS airports, only Asphalt and Concrete are treated as hard surfaces. All the rest are treated as soft surfaces.
You can change this categorisation for the purposes of this program. To do so, do the following:
· On the main interface, click ‘Options’, then click on ‘Runway surfaces’.
· Select the surfaces you want to move from the Hard category to the Soft category, and vice versa, and then click ‘Move’.
· Then click ‘Save’.
You must run the Database Creator for these changes to be reflected in the Results Grid data.
The program allows the user to choose whether to include either civil airports, or military airports, or both, in the results. The data used by this program contain no definitive indication of whether any particular airport is civil or military. Instead, the program relies on the fact that military airports usually have an abbreviation (for example, AB) added to their name. Thus, if one of the abbreviations listed below is found in the airport’s name, then the airport is treated as a military airport. Otherwise, the airport will be treated as a civil airport.
The abbreviations which indicate a military airport are as follows:
AAF (Army Airfield)
AB (Air Base)
AF (Airfield, or Auxiliary Field)
AFB (Air Force Base)
AFS (Air Force Station)
AHP (Army Heliport)
ANGB (Air National Guard Base)
ARB (Air Reserve Base)
Army
LRRS (Long-Range Radar Station)
MCAF (Marine Corps Air Field)
MCALF (Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field)
MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station)
Mil
NAF (Naval Air Facility)
NALF (Naval Auxiliary Landing Facility/Field)
NAS (Naval Air Station)
Naval
Navy
NAWS (Naval Air Weapons Station)
NOLF (Navy Outlying Field)
NS (Naval Station)
You can edit this list, as follows:
· On the main interface, click ‘Options’, then click ‘Military airports’.
· Add any additional words or abbreviations, or delete any already included, by following the instructions on the screen.
· Then click ‘Save’.
You must run the Database Creator for these changes to be reflected in the Results Grid data.
The data used by this program are based on individual runways, not on airports. Therefore, if an airport is just a heliport and has no runways, it will not be included in the data, and therefore will never appear in the Results Grid.
The data used in version 2 do not include water runways, so version 2 is no use for flying floatplanes. Version 1.0/1.1 of this program does include water runways (but uses only FS9 data). So, if you do this type of flying, you may want to consider keeping or downloading version 1.1. (You should use version 1.1 rather than version 1.0.)
The headings that you enter in the heading boxes should be true headings.
In the Results Grid, both the true heading and the magnetic heading to your destination are shown. Over shorter distances, the magnetic variation will not vary much as your flight progresses, and so the magnetic heading shown in the Results Grid will be good for the entire flight. But, over longer distances, the magnetic variation will vary, sometimes greatly, as your flight progresses, so you will need to adjust your magnetic heading accordingly.
The data are very comprehensive (as well as plural). But there are a few gaps which are worth a brief mention:
· The data do not include water runways (use version 1.1 of this program if you fly floatplanes).
· Airports in Asia which have either been added or have had their ICAO codes or names changed from FS9 to FSX will have their names, cities, countries and runway surfaces missing from the data in the Results Grid. But all other information about those airports will still appear.
· The FS2002 data do not include information about gates and comm frequencies.
· The FSX and FS2002 data do not include closed runways.
· The data do not include heliports without a conventional runway.
Click on ‘Options’ on the main interface to open the Options page.
The various sub-pages within the Options page have detailed explanations of what each option does.
Note, however, that a number of options will only take effect after the Database Creator has been run. So you should set these options before running the Database Creator. This is the case for the five sub-categories under ‘Airport description’, the ‘Runway surfaces’ options and the ‘Military airports’ options.
The program can be used as an aid to drawing up AI flightplans for fictional airlines using hubs, as follows:
1. Type the ICAO code of the hub into the ‘Start Airport ID’ box.
2. Set all the other choices on the interface in accordance with the type of aircraft to be operated. For example, insert a maximum and a minimum distance in those boxes in accordance with the range of the aircraft. Choose a suitable runway length for that type of aircraft. Select the particular type of parking required by your aircraft. And so on.
3. Then click ‘Go’.
4. In the Results Grid, select all the airports which interest you as destinations. Then right-click and choose ‘Copy selected destination IDs as TTools file’. Then paste that text into a Notepad document. This will give you the AIRPORTS.TXT file required by Traffic Tools.
By downloading and/or using this program, you implicitly agree to the following licence.
This program and the accompanying README files are copyright 2008 by Martin Gleeson. You use this program and the information in the accompanying README files at your own risk. This program is freeware, and may be redistributed as freeware. It may not be redistributed as payware or as part of any commercial package. Any redistribution must include the accompanying README.HTM (or README.TXT) file unaltered in any way.
I am grateful to Pete Dowson for allowing me to include his MAKERWYS.EXE in this download, and for making many of his programs, including his FSUIPC module, available to the community as freeware.
I am grateful to Paul Henty, for his FSUIPC Client DLL for the .NET Framework, and the very clear documentation which came with it.
I am grateful to Winfried Orthmann and Reggie Fields , who provided parts of the data via the AVSIM library.
The maths formulae were provided by Ed Williams (see his excellent website at http://williams.best.vwh.net/index.html).
This program has benefited greatly from features suggested by users of previous versions. I am grateful to everyone who took the time to contact me to make suggestions or just to say thank you. It has been a great pleasure to have received so many e-mails from simmers around the world.
In particular, I am grateful to:
· Mike Cronin and Ian Nunn for pointing out the usefulness of the program for drawing up AI flightplans and thereby inspiring a number of new features;
· Claude Bouissiere for suggesting using points of the compass in the ‘Heading’ box;
· Robin Tannahill for suggesting the civil/military filter;
· Devin Pollock for inspiring the idea of reading the aircraft’s current position and finding the nearest airports while in flight;
· Erik Peterson for suggesting the random airport selector and the minimum elevation feature;
· Joe Spencer for suggesting the maximum distance feature and the ‘mission generator’ feature;
· Chip Barber for suggesting the ICAO code search feature; and
· the tireless Mark Peery for suggesting the idea of not having to put in a heading at all, for suggesting the idea of specifying a maximum and minimum heading and a maximum and minimum distance, for suggesting the parking options, and for making a number of other suggestions which I have not (yet) been able to incorporate into the program.
I am also grateful to Mark Peery, Erik Peterson and Bob Luther for testing a pre-release version of this program.
This program is freeware, so no support is given as of right. Nevertheless, I will try to help out folks who have problems with it. Send an e-mail to masala@blueyonder.co.uk.
Happy flying!
Martin Gleeson
26 October 2008
The files and folder in the application folder are as follows.
|
ALLCOUNTRIES.TXT |
A combined file listing all the countries found in FS2002COUNTRIES.TXT, FS9COUNTRIES.TXT and FSXCOUNTRIES.TXT. This list is used in the ‘Excluded countries’ options. Do not edit this list. |
|
DESTINATIONFINDER.EXE |
The program. |
|
FS2002CITIES.TXT |
A list of all the cities which have airports in FS2002. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FS2002. The list is used to fill the drop-down list of cities on the ICAO code search form. Do not edit this list. |
|
FS2002COUNTRIES.TXT |
A list of all the countries which have airports in FS2002. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FS2002. The list is used to fill the drop-down list of countries on the main program interface and on the ICAO code search form. Do not edit this list. |
|
FS2002DATA.CSV |
The data file created when you run the Database Creator for FS2002. This file is used by the program when searching for destinations which match your selected criteria. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FS2002. The format of the data is detailed in Appendix 2 below. The file can be edited, but, if you get something wrong when editing it, this may cause the program to crash. Any edits you make will be overwritten if you run the Database Creator for FS2002 again. |
|
FS2002STATES.TXT |
A list of all the states and provinces which have airports in FS2002. Only the United States, Canada and Australia have states and provinces listed here. This accords with how FS2002 does it. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FS2002. The list is used to fill the drop-down list of states and provinces on the main program interface and on the ICAO code search form. Do not edit this list. |
|
FS9CITIES.TXT |
A list of all the cities which have airports in FS9. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FS9. The list is used to fill the drop-down list of cities on the ICAO code search form. Do not edit this list. |
|
FS9COUNTRIES.TXT |
A list of all the countries which have airports in FS9. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FS9. The list is used to fill the drop-down list of countries on the main program interface and on the ICAO code search form. Do not edit this list. |
|
FS9DATA.CSV |
The data file created when you run the Database Creator for FS9. This file is used by the program when searching for destinations which match your selected criteria. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FS9. The format of the data is detailed in Appendix 2 below. The file can be edited, but, if you get something wrong when editing it, this may cause the program to crash. Any edits you make will be overwritten if you run the Database Creator for FS9 again. |
|
FS9STATES.TXT |
A list of all the states and provinces which have airports in FS9. Only the United States, Canada and Australia have states and provinces listed here. This accords with how FS9 does it. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FS9. The list is used to fill the drop-down list of states and provinces on the main program interface and on the ICAO code search form. Do not edit this list. |
|
FSUIPCCLIENT.DLL |
A file which enables communication between Destination Finder and FSUIPC, and thus to FS. This file is copyright Paul Henty, and is included here under the terms of its licence. |
|
FSXCITIES.TXT |
A list of all the cities which have airports in FSX. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FSX. The list is used to fill the drop-down list of cities on the ICAO code search form. Do not edit this list. |
|
FSXCOUNTRIES.TXT |
A list of all the countries which have airports in FSX. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FSX. The list is used to fill the drop-down list of countries on the main program interface and on the ICAO code search form. Do not edit this list. |
|
FSXDATA.CSV |
The data file created when you run the Database Creator for FSX. This file is used by the program when searching for destinations which match your selected criteria. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FSX. The format of the data is detailed in Appendix 2 below. The file can be edited, but, if you get something wrong when editing it, this may cause the program to crash. Any edits you make will be overwritten if you run the Database Creator for FSX again. |
|
FSXSTATES.TXT |
A list of all the states and provinces which have airports in FSX. Only the United States, Canada and Australia have states and provinces listed here. This accords with how FSX does it. This list is created afresh each time you run the Database Creator for FSX. The list is used to fill the drop-down list of states and provinces on the main program interface and on the ICAO code search form. Do not edit this list. |
|
MAKERWYS.EXE |
A utility created by Pete Dowson. It is included with Destination Finder with permission from Pete Dowson, for which I am very grateful. MAKERWYS.EXE looks through all your scenery files (both stock and add-on), and compiles a number of databases of the information it finds there. It puts these database files into the root folder of your FS installation. |
|
NAMES.CSV |
A file containing the names, cities, states/provinces, countries and runway surfaces of most of the airports in FSX and (probably) all of the airports in FS9 and FS2002. This file is used by the Database Creator to add airport names, cities, states/provinces, countries and runway surfaces to the database. |
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README.HTM |
The file you are currently reading. |
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README.TXT |
A text version of the README.HTM file, just in case you are unable to open the HTM file. |
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README_FILES |
A folder containing files used by README.HTM. |
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SAVEDDATA.TXT |
This file is not part of the original download. Instead, it is created by the program to store your ‘saved scenarios’. |
The CSV file is simply a text file, which can be opened in any text editor capable of handling large files.
Each line of text represents one end of a runway. Each field within a line is separated from the next field by a comma. The final field does not have a comma following it. If a field is empty, it must still have a comma following it.
Note that, if you open this file in Excel, you should not save it using Excel, as Excel does some unexpected things to the data (such as removing the first zero from runway numbers such as ‘09’).
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Field within the CSV file |
Excel column |
Description |
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0 |
A |
ICAO code |
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1 |
B |
Country |
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2 |
C |
State |
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3 |
D |
City |
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4 |
E |
Airport name |
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5 |
F |
Altitude (feet) |
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6 |
G |
Magnetic Variation |
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7 |
H |
TRUE if the airport is a civil airport, FALSE if the airport is a military airport |
|
8 |
I |
Runway number |
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9 |
J |
Latitude of the centre point of the runway |
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10 |
K |
Longitude of the centre point of the runway |
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11 |
L |
Magnetic heading of the runway |
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12 |
M |
Length (feet) of the runway |
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13 |
N |
Surface of the runway |
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14 |
O |
TRUE if the surface of the runway is hard, FALSE if the surface of the runway is soft |
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15 |
P |
TRUE if the surface of the runway is soft, FALSE if the surface of the runway is hard |
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16 |
Q |
TRUE if the surface of the runway is either hard or soft, FALSE if the surface of the runway is water (this will always be TRUE, as water runways are not included in the data; this is a leftover from version 1) |
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17 |
R |
TRUE if the surface of the runway is water, otherwise FALSE (this will always be FALSE, as water runways are not included in the data; this is a leftover from version 1) |
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18 |
S |
TRUE if the runway has an ILS, otherwise FALSE |
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19 |
T |
TRUE if at least one runway at the airport is open for landing, otherwise FALSE |
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20 |
U |
TRUE if at least one runway at the airport is open for takeoff, otherwise FALSE |
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21 |
V |
TRUE if the airport has any parking spots (of whatever type), otherwise FALSE |
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22 |
W |
The number of Ramp GA parking spots at the airport (not used by the program, as it is always zero) |
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23 |
X |
The number of Ramp GA Small parking spots at the airport |
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24 |
Y |
The number of Ramp GA Medium parking spots at the airport |
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25 |
Z |
The number of Ramp GA Large parking spots at the airport |
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26 |
AA |
The number of Ramp Cargo parking spots at the airport |
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27 |
AB |
The number of Ramp Military Cargo parking spots at the airport |
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28 |
AC |
The number of Ramp Military Combat parking spots at the airport |
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29 |
AD |
The number of Gate Small parking spots at the airport |
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30 |
AE |
The number of Gate Medium parking spots at the airport |
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31 |
AF |
The number of Gate Heavy parking spots at the airport |
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32 |
AG |
The number of Dock GA parking spots at the airport (not used by the program, as it is always zero) |
|
33 |
AH |
A list of all the parking places at the airport in a text form. This is displayed in the Results Grid. The hash signs represent carriage returns. |
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34 |
AI |
A list of all the runway details for the airport in a text form. This is displayed in the Results Grid. The hash signs represent carriage returns. |
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35 |
AJ |
TRUE of the airport has a control tower, otherwise FALSE. |
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36 |
AK |
A list of all the comm frequencies at the airport in a text form. This is displayed in the Results Grid. The hash signs represent carriage returns. |
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37 |
AL |
A description of the airport. This is displayed in the Results Grid. The hash signs represent commas. |
The section above entitled ‘Copy Start and Destination (and Alternate) airport details to …’ describes how to select a start, destination and (optionally) an alternate airport from the Results Grid. Details of your primary and alternate routes and your start, destination and alternate airports can be copied to the Clipboard or to a file on your computer. A sample of what is copied is shown below. The sample shows a primary flight from KDFW (Dallas-Ft Worth Intl) to KJAX (Jacksonville Intl), with an alternate at KDAB (Daytona Beach Intl).
From KDFW (Dallas-Ft Worth Intl) to KJAX (Jacksonville Intl)
Distance = 795 nm
True Heading = 96°
Mag Heading = 90°
Estimated Time Enroute = 4 : 18
******************************
******************************
From KJAX (Jacksonville Intl) to KDAB (Daytona Beach Intl)
Distance = 86 nm
True Heading = 158°
Mag Heading = 162°
Estimated Time Enroute = 0 : 45
******************************
******************************
KDFW (Dallas-Ft Worth Intl)
Dallas-Ft Worth
Texas
United States
Altitude: 607 ft
Magnetic Variation: 6
Civil/Military: Civil
Rwy 13L 129° 9002 ft Concrete
Rwy 13R 133° 9307 ft Concrete ILS 109.50 (GS/DME)
Rwy 17L 174° 8517 ft Concrete ILS 111.75 (GS/DME)
Rwy 17R 174° 13427 ft Concrete ILS 111.35 (GS/DME)
Rwy 17C 174° 11411 ft Concrete ILS 110.30 (GS/DME)
Rwy 18L 174° 13427 ft Concrete ILS 110.55 (GS/DME)
Rwy 18R 174° 13427 ft Concrete ILS 111.90 (GS/DME)
Rwy 31L 313° 9307 ft Concrete
Rwy 31R 309° 9002 ft Concrete ILS 110.90 (GS/DME)
Rwy 35L 354° 13427 ft Concrete ILS 111.35 (GS/DME)
Rwy 35R 354° 8517 ft Concrete ILS 111.75 (GS/DME)
Rwy 35C 354° 11411 ft Concrete ILS 110.30 (GS/DME)
Rwy 36L 354° 13427 ft Concrete ILS 111.90 (GS/DME)
Rwy 36R 354° 13427 ft Concrete ILS 110.55 (GS/DME)
5 Ramp GA Small
9 Ramp GA Medium
14 Ramp GA Large
12 Ramp Cargo
81 Gate Small
34 Gate Medium
3 Gate Heavy
ATIS 123.77
ATIS 135.92
Unicom 122.95
Ground 121.65
Ground 121.80
Ground 121.85
Tower 124.15
Tower 126.55
Tower 127.50
Tower 134.90
Clearance 128.25
Approach 118.10
Approach 118.42
Approach 119.40
Approach 119.87
Approach 125.02
Approach 125.20
Approach 125.27
Approach 127.07
Approach 133.15
Approach 133.52
Approach 133.62
Approach 135.50
Approach 124.30
Approach 135.97
Departure 118.55
Departure 124.82
Departure 125.12
Departure 126.47
******************************
******************************
KJAX (Jacksonville Intl)
Jacksonville
Florida
United States
Altitude: 30 ft
Magnetic Variation: -5
Civil/Military: Civil
Rwy 07 75° 9995 ft Concrete ILS 110.70 (GS)
Rwy 13 135° 7704 ft Concrete ILS 110.50 (GS)
Rwy 25 255° 9995 ft Concrete ILS 110.30 (GS)
Rwy 31 315° 7704 ft Concrete
8 Ramp GA Small
7 Ramp GA Medium
1 Ramp Cargo
14 Gate Small
15 Gate Medium
3 Gate Heavy
ATIS 125.85
Unicom 122.95
Ground 121.90
Tower 118.30
Clearance 119.50
Approach 118.00
Approach 118.60
Approach 119.00
Approach 120.75
Approach 121.30
Approach 123.80
Approach 124.40
Approach 124.90
Approach 127.00
Departure 118.00
Departure 118.60
Departure 119.00
Departure 120.75
Departure 121.30
Departure 123.80
Departure 124.40
Departure 124.90
Departure 127.00
Pre-taxi Clearance 119.50
******************************
******************************
KDAB (Daytona Beach Intl)
Daytona Beach
Florida
United States
Altitude: 34 ft
Magnetic Variation: -5
Civil/Military: Civil
Rwy 07L 70° 10498 ft Asphalt ILS 109.70 (GS)
Rwy 07R 70° 3194 ft Asphalt
Rwy 16 162° 6013 ft Asphalt
Rwy 25L 250° 3194 ft Asphalt
Rwy 25R 250° 10498 ft Asphalt
Rwy 34 342° 6013 ft Asphalt
36 Ramp GA Small
3 Ramp GA Medium
3 Ramp GA Large
5 Gate Small
1 Gate Medium
ATIS 120.05
Unicom 122.95
Ground 121.90
Tower 118.10
Tower 120.70
Clearance 119.30
Approach 118.85
Approach 125.35
Approach 125.72
Approach 125.80
Approach 127.07
Departure 123.90