OnCourse Software

Hi...

The PFE manual says this, referring to tweaks available in the ini file: "GateOnlyParking=1: .... Please note: If you already have a gate/parking location 'reserved' for any airport that will take precedence over this option. Also please remember if you add this new option to the INI file and arrive at an airport where (a) you haven't reserved a gate and (b) there are no free gates available then you will not be sent to a parking location but will instead simply receive the
default taxi instructions 'Taxi to Terminal'".

Since I activated GateOnlyParking=1 (which I think is a useful little tweak) I have never been sent to a specific gate by ATC, even though when I arrive at the terminal all or most of them are vacant and would have been Ok for the a/c I am flying: I always get "Taxi to Terminal".

From what I understood of the manual (7.3.10), if suitable gates are free, ATC should still be choosing one of them and sending me there. Or does it mean that I must have a reserved parking space at every airport for me not to be directed simply to 'terminal', whether gates are free or not? I think it could be read either way (no??).

Thanks,

Martin

Martin, i think I'd like to see a log file when this occurs as there may be other reasons causing the problem

Sent from my Dumbphone

OK, will post or send it next time.

Hi Dave,

I paste the relevant section below. If it is not the section you need, or you need more, I can email you the whole log, and any other. But you see that it says 'No empty gates found'. This was landing at Madrid, LEMD at a quiet time and as I taxied to my chosen gate, most spaces were empty - and dozens of them would have been suitable for an A321. Probably the 'Err: 13 Desc: Type mismatch in 'Find_Empty_Gates' is relevant - you will know what it means! I, of course, do not!

As I say, this happens every single time, whatever airport or aircraft, so I have reset GateOnlyParking=0 for now...

Thanks,

Martin

23/12/2013 21:37:30: 630 - Transcript: 'Ground Air Portugal 321 Clear of the active runway '
23/12/2013 21:37:35: 720 - Taxiway Runway crossing set at TWP 135
23/12/2013 21:37:35: 730 -
23/12/2013 21:37:35: 730 - SayPFSentence:- PfeFlightR\pfac230B,PfeFlightR\pf3B,PfeFlightR\pf2B,PfeFlightR\pf1B,PfeFlightR\pfchat323B,pfclick
23/12/2013 21:37:35: 730 -
23/12/2013 21:37:35: 730 - Transcript: 'Air Portugal 321 hold your position '
23/12/2013 21:37:38: 870 - Waiting for aircraft to stop... Current Spd: 12
23/12/2013 21:37:48: 910 - Taxiway Runway crossing set at TWP 135
23/12/2013 21:37:48: 930 -
23/12/2013 21:37:48: 930 - SayPFSentence:- PfeFlightR\pfac230B,PfeFlightR\pf3B,PfeFlightR\pf2B,PfeFlightR\pf1B,PfeFlightR\pfchat519B,pfclick
23/12/2013 21:37:48: 930 -
23/12/2013 21:37:48: 930 - Transcript: 'Air Portugal 321 stand by '
23/12/2013 21:37:56: 130 - Err: 13 Desc: Type mismatch in 'Find_Empty_Gates'
23/12/2013 21:37:56: 130 - No empty gates found!
23/12/2013 21:37:56: 800 - Taxiway Runway crossing set at TWP 135
23/12/2013 21:37:56: 820 -
23/12/2013 21:37:56: 820 - SayPFSentence:- PfeFlightR\pfac230B,PfeFlightR\pf3B,PfeFlightR\pf2B,PfeFlightR\pf1B,PfeFlightR\pfchat519B,pfclick
23/12/2013 21:37:56: 820 -
23/12/2013 21:37:56: 820 - Transcript: 'Air Portugal 321 stand by '
23/12/2013 21:38:01: 020 - Err: 13 Desc: Type mismatch in 'Find_Empty_Gates'
23/12/2013 21:38:01: 020 - No empty gates found2!
23/12/2013 21:38:01: 030 - Taxiway Runway crossing set at TWP 135
23/12/2013 21:38:01: 050 -
23/12/2013 21:38:01: 050 - SayPFSentence:- PfeFlightR\pfac230B,PfeFlightR\pf3B,PfeFlightR\pf2B,PfeFlightR\pf1B,PfeFlightR\pfchat11B,pfclick
23/12/2013 21:38:01: 050 -
23/12/2013 21:38:01: 050 - Transcript: 'Air Portugal 321 taxi to terminal '
23/12/2013 21:38:05: 160 - Taxiway Runway crossing set at TWP 135
23/12/2013 21:38:05: 180 -
23/12/2013 21:38:05: 180 - SayPFSentence:- ProFlightV\pfchat11E,ProFlightV\pfac230E,ProFlightV\pf3E,ProFlightV\pf2E,ProFlightV\pf1E,pfclick
23/12/2013 21:38:05: 180 -
23/12/2013 21:38:05: 180 - Transcript: 'taxi to terminal Air Portugal 321'

Thanks Martin,

You obviously have a problem with one of you Makerwys data files. Please do email the log to me though I doubt I'll be able to look at anything till after Christmas

OK, will email it to you, but I will try deleting all my Makerwy files first and creating new ones, then running the PFE database programme, just to see if that fixes it.

"I doubt I'll be able to look at anything till after Christmas"

I will try deleting all my Makerwy files first and creating new ones, then running the PFE database programme, just to see if that fixes it.

.. it didn't!

Any info Dave? Recreating the PFE database (after rerunning makerwys.exe) didn't help. I seem to have problems with the makerwy files on more than one level: I was posting a few days back about Innsbruck, LOWI. Every time I take off from there and I pass the GA parking en route to runway 8, TGS tells me to turn left into the parking. If I ignore this and continue towards the runway, TGS tells me I have arrived at the runway and disconnects just past that GA parking taxiway. Just one example: I'd say over 10% (maybe well over 10%) of my airports have a similar oddity - directed to odd corners of an apron for take-off.

Not the fault of PFE it seems - it just reads what it finds in the makerwys.csv file I suppose to create the database and uses that. But its ideas of where the hold short points are for take off often confuse me - where exactly in the makerwy files is PFE getting the info for these co-ordinates: they never correspond to anything in the AFCAD, or the default FS AP******.bgl file AFCAD either. Had a look to see if I can correct things 'by hand' but it's not easy. If you have any ideas... Not a huge issue I guess: you can usually see where you shouldn't be taxiing, instructions or no.

Anyway, I've got off topic (for this thread). Sorry! Be good to have the taxi to terminal working though at some stage...

All the best,

M