Owais Crawford
There are a variety of ways to edit airports in P3D. The Map dialog box provides a graphical representation of your route, airport information, and the ability to change your position, altitude, and airspeed. You can also use the Go to Airport feature to select from over 23,000 airports and place your aircraft at a specific location. Additionally, software such as Airport Design Editor (ADE) and Scruffy Ducks' Airport Design Editor can be used to create and modify airports, including runways, aprons, and parking bays. These tools offer flexibility in designing and enhancing airports to your preferences.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of airports to choose from | 23,000+ |
| Airport search parameters | Name, ID, city, country/region |
| Map features | State and country borders, latitude and longitude lines, navigational aids, airports, weather stations, airspace boundaries, airways |
| Map dialog box features | Graphical representation of route, information about airports and facilities, ability to change position, altitude, heading, and airspeed |
| Airport design editors | Airport Design Editor (ADE), Airport Design Editor from Scruffy Ducks, SketchUp |
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What You'll Learn
Using Airport Design Editor (ADE)
Airport Design Editor (ADE) is a graphical design tool that can be used to create and enhance airports for Microsoft Flight Simulators 9 and X. It is inspired by AFCAD2 developed for FS9 by Lee Swordy. ADE adds support for new features in FSX such as fences, jetways, and terrain. It also allows users to remove, move, or edit existing buildings and objects, as well as adding new ones. ADE has a visual Approach Editor to enhance the approaches to airports.
To use ADE for P3D, you need to download the P3D SDK, which is available for free on the Scruffy Duck website. It is important to read the manual properly and register at Scruffy Duck Software, as their forums provide answers to many common issues. When designing airports, you can use tools like Google Earth to help with the layout. There are also plenty of freeware scenery objects available for download, including custom jetways.
Extra libraries can be registered with ADE via Tools > Library Object Manager. This allows you to add objects from the registered libraries into your project. To make these objects visible in P3D, you need to put the library BGL file and associated textures into an active scenery area. ADE also offers flexible background images, allowing you to use different image types to guide your airport design. You can also create custom ground polygons and lines using supplied or custom textures.
ADE has built-in error checking and 'common sense' features to assist users in creating functional and aesthetically pleasing airports. It provides real-time connections to FS9 and FSX via FSUIPC. ADE separates each FS version into different compartments to prevent crossover between FSX and P3D. However, this separation can sometimes cause issues with other ADE versions, potentially leading to crashes.
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Using Scruffy Ducks software
Scruffy Duck Software's Airport Design Editor (ADE) is a tool for creating and editing airports in flight simulators, including Prepar3D (P3D). ADE offers a simple and graphical interface for designing airports, allowing users to add, remove, move, and edit buildings, runways, aprons, parking bays, jetways, and other objects. It also includes support for new features such as fences, terrains, and FSX models, providing a more solid and realistic look and feel.
The software is designed to work with P3D and FSX, and users can download the P3D SDK for free. It is recommended to read the manual and register at ScruffyDuck Software to access the forums, which provide answers to most problems. ADE offers a flexible design process, allowing users to utilise different types of images to guide their airport design. It also includes a visual Approach Editor to enhance the approaches to airports.
ADE Version 1.70, released in 2020, introduced full support for Prepar3D V3, allowing users to experience their customised airports in full detail. This version also included detailed footprints for library objects, improving the speed and ease of making comprehensive changes to the system. A new file priority analyser was added to ensure all adjustments work together, and a Snap to User function was introduced for easier placement of new objects.
ScruffyDuck Software maintains a library of over 24,000 free mods and add-ons for P3D, including aircraft, scenery, and utilities. These files are free to download and use without registration. Users can also sign up for a PRO membership to gain access to faster download speeds and a larger library of content.
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Editing existing buildings and objects
To edit existing buildings and objects in P3D, you can use the Airport Design Editor (ADE), a graphical design tool that allows users to create, remove, move, or edit buildings and objects within airports. ADE is inspired by AFCAD2, a similar tool developed for FS9 by Lee Swordy. While ADE is designed for Microsoft Flight Simulators 9 and X, it can also be used to edit airports in P3D with the help of the P3D SDK, which is free to download.
When using ADE, you can utilise flexible background images to guide your airport design. It also offers real-time connections to FS9 and FSX via FSUIPC, allowing for custom ground polygons and lines using supplied or custom textures. ADE provides support for new FSX features such as fences, jetways, and terrain, giving users more options to enhance their airports.
In addition to ADE, there are other resources available for editing airports in P3D. Scruffy Ducks offers an airport design editor specifically created for P3D and FSX. This software can be downloaded for free, but it is recommended to read the manual and register at Scruffy Duck Software to access their forums for support. Google Earth is another tool that can assist in airport design, allowing users to visualise and gather inspiration for their creations.
For those seeking to adjust older third-party airports for P3Dv5, there is a specific procedure to follow. It is typically not possible to change scenery files while Prepar3D.exe is running, so adjustments must be made outside of the program. Historical insights into the procedure mention a longstanding bug inherited from FSX related to Exclusion Rectangles, which caused some scenery elements to be excluded.
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Downloading custom jetways
To download custom jetways for P3D, you can try using the Airport Design Editor from Scruffy Ducks. This software is designed to work with P3D and offers a range of freeware scenery objects, including custom jetways. You will need to download the P3D SDK, which is free and easy to use, but be sure to read the manual properly and register at Scruffy Duck Software to access their forums and support.
Another option for custom jetways is to use SODE (Scenery Object Development Kit). This tool allows you to create custom jetways by naming the components as required by the program, and it will handle the rest. However, be prepared for additional work on folders and texture placement. You can download the SODE Jetway SDK V1.6 from their official website.
Additionally, there are other sources for custom jetways, such as HD Jetway and Airport Parking, which is compatible with Prepar3D v1 to v5 and FSX-Steam.
When working with custom jetways, it's important to consider factors such as the number of bridge nodes, stroke limit, and the relative position of the airplane to achieve smooth animations. You may also encounter issues with jetways not appearing due to specific settings or file incompatibilities, so be sure to consult forums and support resources for troubleshooting guidance.
By following these steps and utilizing the available tools and resources, you can successfully download and incorporate custom jetways into your P3D airport designs.
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Adjusting older third-party airports
To adjust older third-party airports in P3D, you'll first need to download the P3D SDK (software development kit), which is free and easy to use. It's important to read the manual properly and register at ScruffyDuck Software, as their forums provide helpful answers to common problems.
One user on the Prepar3D forum recommends using Google Earth to aid in designing airports, and notes that there are plenty of freeware scenery objects available for download, including custom jetways. There are also various sites offering scenery objects, such as simviation.com and flightsim.com.
Another forum user details a procedure to adjust older third-party airports for P3Dv5, noting that you usually can't change scenery files already in use while Prepar3D.exe is running. They also mention that P3D has inherited a longstanding bug from FSX related to Exclusion Rectangles, which has resulted in some scenery elements being excluded.
For creating and editing airports, you can try using the Airport Design Editor from Scruffy Ducks (http://www.scruffyduck.org/airport-design-editor). This tool is designed to work with P3D and FSX, and allows you to create and enhance airports by adding, removing, or editing buildings and objects, as well as adding new features like fences, jetways, and terrain.
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Frequently asked questions
You can edit airports in P3D by using airport design software, such as Airport Design Editor (ADE). ADE is a graphical design tool that allows users to create, remove, move, and edit buildings and objects within an airport environment.
You can use SketchUp to design airport buildings, but it is unclear if you can texture them as well.
There are several websites where you can find scenery objects, such as Simviation and Flightsim.
To install an edited airport into P3D, you need to follow specific procedures, which can be found on forums dedicated to flight simulation, such as Prepar3D and AVSIM.
With over 23,000 airports to choose from, you can use the "Go to Airport" feature to search for an airport by name, ID, or city.
