Here's a tip for you Obio for when you are ready to start tweaking lights or even when doing repaints (I use it for both).
In FS9 (and FSX too for that matter but FSX uses a different name) there is an unassigned key command that will reload just the aircraft and not reload the scenery, weather, autogen stuff etc. Using this shortcut can save you many minutes of waiting for everything to reload when you make a change to the .cfg file (or want to check a change on a paint).
Here's the bare bones from a post I made on the A2A forum explaining how to set up the lights:
It's done by adjusting the number values in the fore/aft, left/right and up/down axes. Let's break down a single line so that you can understand which value affects what.
light.1=3, -34.65, 81.00, 3.10, fx_shockwave_navred
light.1 = the ID number of the light listed in ascending order.
3 = the light type (nav light, beacon, landing light etc.)
-34.65 = the distance (in feet) from the Point of Origin (PoO) in the fore/aft axis.
81.00 = the distance (in feet) from the Point of Origin (PoO) in the left/right axis.
3.10 = the distance (in feet) from the Point of Origin (PoO) in the up/down axis.
fx_shockwave_navred = (NOTE: the .fx extension should NOT be included in the effect call) the type of lighting effect to be used at the specified location.
The PoO is in a different place on every aircraft as the model designer can place it wherever he/she likes but generally they are located just aft of the leading edge on the centreline of the fuselage somewhere in the vicinity of the Centre of Gravity (CoG).
In the example above to move the light fore/aft you would adjust the -34.65 value and to move it left/right you would adjust the 81.00 value. The '-' sign is used to move the light to the negative side of the PoO so in the case of the 81.00 value the light would appear 81 feet from the PoO on the port wing, -81.00 would place the light 81 feet from the PoO on the starboard wing.
You need to make an adjustment then save the .cfg file and check the light position in game to see how far it moved and repeat as necessary. There is a nice trick you can use to save time and that is to set up a key combination for a non-default command which in FSX is 'Aircraft (reload)' and in FS9 is 'Reload User Aircraft'. I personally use <CTRL+SHIFT+R> as that is not used for any other command. Once you have the key combination assigned use the following steps to place a light:
1. Start your flight sim of choice, select the aircraft you wish to add lights to and a suitable airfield and set the time to dusk as I find it easier to place lights at dusk rather than in full darkness.
2. Switch to 'windowed' mode by hitting <ALT+ENTER>.
3. Open up the aircraft.cfg file in 'Notepad'.
4. Make any adjustments necessary to the light values and then save but DO NOT close the .cfg file.
5. Go into the sim and hit <CTRL+SHIFT+R> to reload the aircraft.
6. Check how the light has moved and estimate how much further it needs to be moved (this gets easier with practice).
7. Return to the aircraft.cfg file and make the changes then save the .cfg file and go into the sim and hit <CTRL+SHIFT+R> to reload the aircraft.
8. Repeat steps 6-7 as required.
One more tip for you is to place a nav light (red is good) for any light you are working on as it is easier to see and accurately place a nav light than say a landing light or strobe. Once you have the nav light in the correct position switch the light effect call to the required light effect then save the .cfg file and test.
In many cases you just need to edit the [Lights] section of the aircraft.cfg file but if the aircraft in question has landing and/or taxi lights on the gear or gear doors then you will have to edit the panel.cfg file in addition to the aircraft.cfg file as you need to turn off the lights automatically as the gear goes up otherwise the 3D lights are left hanging in space. The following link is to a post by Scott on the A2A forum explaining how the changes are made to the panel.cfg file:
http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=11776&start=0
Hope that helps.
). They do improve the looks of the lights IMHO and as far as setting up the .cfg files it really is not that difficult once you grasp the concept of which value does what.
