ShareWare OnLine 2/ShareWare OnLine Volume 2 (CMS Software)(1993).iso/games1/app200.zip/APP.DOC

Text File | 1993-02-28 | 20KB | 481 lines

                            Approach Control
                               Version 2.0

                     A Pre-compiler for the Microsoft
                       Flight Simulator Aircraft and
                            Adventure Factory

                        (c) 1993 by John Mechalas


This program is shareware.  It may be distributed freely provided that
it is not modified in any way, and that all the accompanying files
in this archive are distributed with it.


- Introduction -

Probably the most useful application that I have found for the Aircraft
and Adventure Factory is the simulation of Air Traffic Control.  I have
created adventures that would simulate approach control for various
airports across the country, and would serve the purpose of providing
the necessary heading vectors needed to line up my aircraft for
instrument approaches.
   Unfortunately, I found the coding of the necessary "fixes" and commands
to be a tedious process, but since the basic command structure of the AAF
file was roughly the same all the time, I was able to come up with a
program that could automatically generate the necessary source code for
the AAF compiler, with only a minimum of input and effort.
   Approach Control reads a data file that contains basic airport
location and runway information and creates the source code necessary
for AAF to compile an adventure file.  With this program, you can create
an approach control simulator within (literally) a matter of seconds,
instead of the hours that it would take to code manually.  And, absolutely
no programming is necessary.
   After compiling the resulting source code with Adventure Factory's
AFF.EXE program, you are ready to go.  If you want to fly into Indianapolis
International Airport, for example, you simply load your adventure file
containing the data for Indy's airport into Flight Simulator, then start
flying.  Once you are within 40 miles of the airport, you would be told
to contact Indianapolis Approach, and approach control would proceed to
vector you in for an instrument approach on the runway favored by the
local surface winds.


- What You Need -

Naturally, you will have to have both Microsoft Flight Simulator version
4.0 and the Aircraft and Adventure Factory.  Until Flight Simulator version
5.0 is released (whenever that will be), I can make no guarantees as to
whether or not the adventure files created by this program will work with
v5.0, since I can not predict whether or not the Flight Simulator variables
I make use of in this program will become obsolete.
   It is also recommended that you have the Aircraft and Scenery Designer.
Without it, you will only have the ILS approaches available on scenery
disks, which will limit the usefulness of any adventure files created
by this program.  With A&SD, you can provide full ILS support at each
airport, and hence a corresponding adventure file to vector you in for
a final approach.
   All communications generated by the resulting adventure file will be
printed to the screen, so you won't need a special sound card to make use
of the adventures-- I tried to make the program as universal as I could.
However, if you do own a sound card, I have added the option of playing
recorded/digitized speech in addition to printing the ATC commands.  The
APP.EXE program will ask if you wish to include speech in your adventure,
so if you do not have a sound card, or don't care for the recorded voices,
simply answer "no".


Section 0:  Quick Start

   If you want to get started quickly and test out the sample adventure
(OHARE.APP), just type APP and when asked for the input file, enter
OHARE.  APP will then create a file called OHARE.AAF ... Simply compile
this using the AAF compiler by typing AAF OHARE.AAF OHARE.ADV.  You will
now have an adventure file titled "OHARE.ADV" in your directory which
you can now load and run from Flight Simulator.  (A good flight for
this adventure would be from Kankakee Airport to O'Hare International).


Section 1:  Running the Program


1.1 Creating the Airport File

   In order to build an adventure file, APP needs to read in an input
file that contains the necessary airport information.  When you first
run the program, APP will ask you for the name of that input file,
which must have a .APP extension.  If the file does not exist, you
will be asked if you want to create it.  At this point, you can
enter "y" to go to the file creation utility.
   Here, you will be asked several questions about the airport which
you wish to model approach control for.  The best way to explain the
process is by example, so we will "build" a sample file for Willard
Airport in Champaign, Urbana (this airport is supported by the FS4.0
default scenery, so you can test your file after we are done).  Another
sample input file, already created for you, is included in this package
that covers Ohare Airport in Chicago.
   Any lines beginning with a '>' are responses from the APP.EXE
program.  Entries in capital letters are meant for you to enter in
response to the questions that APP will ask you.

>    C:\FLTSIM> APP.EXE
>
>    Approach Control Version 2.0
>    A Pre-Compiler for the Microsoft
>    Flight Simulator Aircraft and
>    Adventure Factory
>
>       Enter input filename: WILLARD

You do not need to add the .APP extension...the program will do that
for you.  In fact, due to teh string-handling routines I used, if
you enter a name greater than 8 characters, or with an extension of
your own, you may get some bizarre results.

>    File does not exist.  Do you wish to create it? Y
>
>    Is there a control tower at this airport? Y

Willard has an active control tower.  If we had answered "N" to this
question, the program would have you contact Willard Unicom instead
of Willard Tower when appropriate.

>    Enter airport name (eq "Ohare"): WILLARD
>       Enter Willard tower or unicom radio frequency:  120.40

The airport name is Willard, and the radio frequency of the Willard
tower is 120.40.  Not that you wouldn't really want to enter the
name in all CAPS like above.  This is only done to help clarify the
data entry process as described above.

>    Enter approach control name (eq "Chicago"): CHAMPAIGN
>       Enter Champaign approach radio frequency:  121.35

Note that the name of approach control is not necessarily the same as
the airport tower.  This is particularly the case at small airports
that are near major facilities.  In this case, Willard is under
Champaign APproach Control, and the radio frequency is 121.35.

>    Is this correct? Y

If we enter "N", we will re-enter all of the above information.

>    Enter airport NORTH coordinate:  16400
>       Enter airport EAST coordinate:  16465

Here we need to tell APP where the airport is located in the FS world.
Simply enter the FS coordinates given in your scenery disk info sheets.
These values MUST be integers, so round them off to the nearest whole
number.  If you enter a floating-point number, you may get some very
bizarre results.

>    Is this correct? Y

Gives you a chance to correct errors in the airport location.

>    Enter first altitude assignment:  4000
>    Enter second altitude assignment:  2600

ATC will assign you to a certain altitude when you are a given distance
from the airport.  The first altitude assignment is given at about 30 NM
and the second is given at 15 NM.  You will want the first altitude
to be higher than the second, and both must be integer values.

>    Is this correct? Y

Enter "Y" or "N" as needed.

>    Enter the magnetic variation (positive values for east,
>       negative values for west variation):  0

Here we tell APP what the local magnetic variation is.  The best way to
determine the variation is to enter SLEW mode in FS4.0 and hit both
ALT keys simultaneously.  This will turn your aircraft so that it
points to true north.  Next, simply read off the value showing in your
magnetic compass.  If the compass shows a number from 0 to 180 degrees,
variation is west.  If the compass reads from 180 to 360 degrees, then
variation= 360 - compass east.  (eg:  If your compass reads 358 degrees,
the magnetic variation is 2 degrees east).  West variation should be
entered as a negative number, so if variation is 4 degrees west, enter
-4 in response.
   This number must also be an integer, so round off to the nearest whole
number.  At Champaign, variation is roughly 0.1 degrees East, so we'll
enter 0 degrees.

>    Is this correct? Y

Self-explanatory.

>    How many instrument approaches? 4

Willard airport has six runways, but only four of them have published
instrument approaches.  This tells APP how many approaches we are going
to enter.

>    Is this correct? Y

To correct your mistakes.

>    Enter runway number: 4
>       Enter runway/approach heading: 54
>       ILS, LOC, VOR, or NDB approach? VOR

Now we begin entering the approach information.  There's a lot to digest
here, so we'll try to take it in slowly.
   First, we have to tell APP which runway we are entering data for.  At
the present time, all runway information has to be entered in ASCENDING
NUMERICAL ORDER.  Also, APP does not currently differentiate between
Left, Center, and Right runways.  So, if your airport has both a 4L and
a 4R approach, you should only enter runway 4 once.  Whether you choose
to land on 4L or 4R during flight is up to you, though if one runway has
a higher-precision approach, you will probably want to simulate it (the
highest precision approaches are ILS, followed by LOC, VOR, and NDB
approaches, in that order).
   A good example of this is the example OHARE.APP file.  Ohare has
parallel runways for every instrument approach.  Runway 4R features an
ILS approach, and 4L an LOC approach.  Since the ILS is a higher-
precision system, runway 4 is entered as an ILS approach.
   The published instrument approach procedures can be found in both
NOAA Terminal Approach Procedure plates or the Jeppsen plates, both of
which are probably available at your local airport.
   ILS systems transmit both localizer and glideslope information.  By
tuning the ILS frequency on your NAV radio, you follow both the localizer
and the glideslope down to the runway.
   An LOC system consists of a localizer beacon only, and does not transmit
any glideslope information.
   In a VOR approach, you tune in a radial for the airport's VOR beacon
and follow that radial in until you can visually line yourself up for a
landing.  The heading of the runway does not necessarily match that of
the approach radial.
   For NDB approaches, you track the given non-directional beacon with your
ADF guage.  When you intersect the NDB, you turn to a certain heading and
follow it in until you can visually line up with the runway as in a VOR
approach.
   At Willard, runway 4 is supported with a VOR approach (in this case,
you track radial 54 of the CMI VOR on 110.00).
   Note that the approach type must be entered in all CAPS, so if you enter
"ils" instead of "ILS", the program will prompt you to re-enter.

>    Enter runway number: 14
>    Enter runway/approach heading: 136
>       ILS, LOC, VOR, or NDB approach: LOC
>
>       Enter runway number: 22
>       Enter runway/approach heading: 207
>    ILS, LOC, VOR, or NDB approach: VOR
>
>    Enter runway number: 32
>    Enter runway/approach heading: 316
>    ILS, LOC, VOR, or NDB approach: ILS
>
>
>    Runway 4:  VOR heading 54 degrees
>    Runway 14:  LOC heading 136 degrees
>    Runway 22:  VOR heading 207 degrees
>    Runway 32:  ILS heading 316 degrees
>
>    Is this correct? Y

The rest of the approach information.
   After answering "Y", to confirm that all information has been entered
correctly, the program will write a data file called WILLARD.APP to the
current directory.  It will then proceed to create the WILLARD.AAF file
from the information in the .APP file.


1.2 The APP.EXE Pre-Compiler

   Once you have created or read in a valid input file, the APP program
will begin generating the source code for the AAF compiler.  Some
information will be printed to the screen, and you will be prompted if
you want to include the digitized speech in your adventure program.

>    Do you want digitized speech in your adventure file? N

If you want digitized speech, enter "Y".  Check your AAF manual for
hardware requirements.

>    Variation is 0 degrees.
>    4 runways.
>    4 54
>    14 136
>    22 207
>    32 316

Here, the runway information is printed back as a For Your Information
feature.  It confirms that your runway data has been read properly.  Note
that the runway headings are adjusted according to the magnetic variation.

>        54    5    95
>        136    95    171
>        207    171    261
>        316    261    5

Here, the runway headins are printed along with the boundaries for runway
selection according to the local winds.  If, for example, the surface winds
were between 5 and 95 degrees, you would be vectored to land on runway
4, which has an approach heading of 54 degrees.
   Again, this is an FYI listing, only.
   After this point, the program will complete in a manner of seconds, and
you will have a file called WILLARD.AAF in your current directory.  You
can now compile it using the AAF.EXE program.


Section 2:  Compiling Your Adventure Program

   To compile your program, simply follow the procedure as given in your
AAF manual.  In our above example, we would type:

>    C:\FLTSIM> AAF WILLARD.AAF WILLARD.ADV

If, however, you are lazy like me, then you can instead use the batch file
AF.BAT that is included in this archive.  Simply type:

>    C:\FLTSIM> AF WILLARD

This is equivalent to the full command line given above.  The syntax is as
follows:

    AF <infile>

This is equivalent to typing:

    AAF <infile>.AAF <outfile>.ADV



Section 3:  The Input File

  APP.EXE reads an input file that you create and turns it into source
code for the Aircraft and Adventure Factory.  A sample input file,
OHARE.APP, is provided in this archive to help you understand the
structure of the input file, as well as give you an sample adventure to
experiment with (O'Hare airport at Chicago is available on the FS4 default
scenery, and provides full ILS support.  It was included as a sample file
so that anyone could use the it, since not all of us have scenery disks or
the Scenery Designer).  It is compatible with the FS4.0 default scenery.
   The structure of the file is outlined below, and I will explain the
OHARE.APP input file in detail so that it is easier to understand the format.
Quite a few changes have occurred between Approach Control versions 1.0 and
2.0, so if you have the previous version, you will want to check out the
WHATS.NEW file included in this archive.


3.1: File Format for .APP input files.

Line 1 (Airport location):

   NORTH and EAST coordinates, seperated by a space.  Both must be integers.

Line 2 (Approach control frequency and name):

   Radio frequency of approach control, followed by the name, seperated
 by a space.

Line 3 (Tower frequency and name):

   Frequency of airport tower or unicom, followed by the tower "flag",
 and then the airport name; all seperated by a space.  The tower flag is
 either 0 or 1, and is defined as follows--

    0 -- No tower at the airport.  Use Unicom.
    1 -- Airport has a tower.

Lines 4-6 (Distance from airport to "fixes"):

   These are default values given by the program.  You should not need
 to change them unless you find that ATC vectors you through a mountain
 or something.  By changing the numbers here, you change the distance
 from the airport to the various "fixes" that ATC vectors you to during
 your approach.  These can be floating-point numbers.

Lines 5-7 (Angles for "fixes" with respect to runway headings):

   Again, these are default values that you should not have to change.
 They represent the angles between the runway and the various fixes
 described above.  These can be floating-point numbers, and are given
 in FS Units (1 NM = 7.2 FS Units).

Lines 8-9 (Altitude assignments)

   Here is where the altitude assignments are stored.  The first number
 is the altitude, and the second is the distance from the airport at which
 the altitude assignment is given.  All numbers are integers.

Line 10 (Magnetic Variation):

   Magnetic variation.  + for east, - for west.  Must be an integer.

Lines 12 - ?? (Runway information)

   Here is where the runway information is stored.  The first is the ruway
 number, the second is the runway heading, and the third is a flag denoting
 the approach type.  All numbers are integers, and the flag is defined as
 follows:

    1 -- ILS approach
    2 -- LOC
    3 -- VOR
    4 -- NDB


3.2: The OHARE.APP Sample File

The first line of the input file describes the location of the airport
in FS units.  For O'Hare, the location is 16244N and 16578 E.

 17244 16578

The second line tells the compiler what frequency approach control uses
for communication, along with the name of that approach control center.
Note that the airport name and approach control name are not necessarily
the same.

 119.00 Chicago

Line three gives the tower frequency of the airport's ATC tower, along
with it's name.  The "1" denotes that there is a tower available at the
airport.

 126.90 1 O'Hare

The next six lines define the locations of the various "fixes" that
ATC guides you into during your approach.  These numbers should not
have to be changed, but I am allowing you to do so if you wish.  For
the most part, however, the numbers given in the OHARE file will work
well for almost all airports.
   Looking at the OHARE file, we can see that the fixes are located
roughly 88, 132, and 171 FS units from the airport, and are at angles
of 18, 45, and 89 degress to the runway heading.  (This is a difficult
concept to explain, but since you shouldn't need to change any of these
numbers, I won't bore you with the gory details).

  87.5322
 132.4499
 171.4833
  17.7435
  45.2737
  88.6013

At certain distances from the tower, your aircraft should be assigned
lower altitudes to prepare you for your approach.  The next two lines
define what the new altitude assignment is, and at what distance
from the airport (in miles) they are given.  Although you probably
shouldn't have to change the distance at which a new assignment is
given, the actual assigned altitudes themselves will have to be adjusted
according to the local ground level.
   In the OHARE file, an altitude of 5000 feet is assigned at 30 miles
from the airport, and an altitude of 2700 feet is assigned at 15 miles.

  5000 30
  2700 15

The magnetic variation is about 1 degree west, so we enter a -1 on the
next line.

  -1

Here is where you tell the program how many runways you have.  At O'Hare,
we have six.  Note that the current version of Approach Control does not
distinguish between left, right, or center runways.  If there is a
runway 19R and 19L, simply enter runway 19 once, and when you are vectored
to land on runway 19, you can choose either the left or right runway as
you see fit.

  6

Here we enter the runway data.  The first number is the actual runway
number, and the second number defines the runway heading.  Again, as
mentioned above, the current version of Approach Control does not
distinguish between left, right, and center runways.  All runways are
ILS supported, so each has the "flag" set to "1".

 4 42 1
 9 90 1
 14 140 1
 22 222 1
 27 270 1
 32 320 1