This is wierd!

[Mick]

As I went from painting the B-45 to testing the water-alcohol tank automation I moved from RAF Sculthorpe, the main B-45 base where I was painting skins and taking screenshots, to Edwards AFB. That seemed to be the appropriate place for testing things.

When I got there I saw in the distance what looked like a building. Up close it was a sign asking me to "Please register this aircraft in the select aircraft dialog box." Huh? What does that even mean?

The object disappears if I get real close to it. When I thought it was an autogen building I thought I'd just make a little exclude file for it, but I can't get close enough, or see it in top down view, to do that. Anyway, it's not really a building. At least it doesn't act like one. By acting like one I mean it doesn't just sit there and let me see it to make an exclude around it.

I tried re-selecting the aircraft and changing to a different plane but it made no difference.

I've only had time to check a couple other airports but it doesn't happen there.

The image shows it as seen from the end of the runway prior to a B-45 test flight. The insert with the stock FS9 Cub shows it from up close. If I get much closer it disappears.

 

[jackryan172]

Well that is weird. There was some payware scenery that did the same thing with this huge 500 foot box in the middle of the airport scenery (Alaska maybe, I forgot where), until you registered the scenery.

Sean

 

[Mick]

Well that is weird. There was some payware scenery that did the same thing with this huge 500 foot box in the middle of the airport scenery (Alaska maybe, I forgot where), until you registered the scenery.
Sean

That sounds plausible, but I don’t have a payware Edwards. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had a payware scenery of anywhere.

This thing wasn’t there on my old rig. I have someone’s freeware Edwards. There’s more than one and after all these years I don’t remember which one. I do remember having to exclude a space shuttle that’s anachronistic for my c.1962 FS jet Age. I spent a lot of time setting up static aircraft and AI, so I surely would’ve spotted that big green thing out there.

On the new computer I installed FS9 from the CD-ROMs to set up the required registry entries, but then I copied my FS2004, FSJetAge, FS1954 and GW from backups, so nothing changed. I also took the FS files that live on the system drive from backups.

I should check to see if that thing is there in FS1954, where I have the same Edwards, just with different static and AI planes. I’m on a tablet now but I’ll try that in ‘54 when I get on the real computer later today or this evening.

 

[Mick]

Figured it out

OK, I didn't exactly figure it out. I stumbled onto the cause and the solution. Pure luck.

Well, I'd rather be lucky than smart any day.

I happened to notice an Abacus tab on my FsJetAge menu bar. I clicked it and the drop down contained a link to purchase a license to register the trial version of the Abacus Piper Tri-Pacer. I never even knew there was an Abacus Tri-Pacer and I certainly never obtained a trial version of it, or any other Abacus aircraft. I do have a couple Abacus software products but not any aircraft, at least not that I can recall.

I have two Tri-Pacers, one by Bill Lyons and one by Brian Gladden. I have an AI plane made from Brian's Tri-Pacer in JetAge (but not active in FS1954, where the big green block at Edwards did not appear.) I removed the AI Tri-Pacer and the big green block was gone.

Mysteries remain. Like, how did this happen in my present confutor but not the previous one, when I just copied JetAge (and my other sims) from backups of them made on the old rig? And why does the Abacus module think Brian's plane is one of theirs?

Anyway, I replaced the Air file in the AI Tri-Pacer with the one from the Lyons plane and Abacus no longer claims ownership of it. I presume that the same substitution will free the flyable Gladden Tri-Pacer from Abacus' clam on it, but since I never get time to fly I'll probably never really know.

Anyhow, mystery solved!

 

[Sbob]

That Piper came from the "Private Pilot" package.

I think I bought that CD on some kind of Amazon package deal.
I kind of miss Abacus. Arne would recycle old freeware with maybe an updated 2D panel and a couple of re-paints and sell it.
It wasn't really payware, more like aircraft for the extremely lazy.
That package also included an Aerostar from FS2K. You got a VC, but just barely.

 

[huub vink]

I'm glad you were able to solve it. It is weird. I thought perhaps something was hidden in the freeware scenery, where the developer had entered something by mistake. With "drag and drop" you can easily cause hard to find errors.

Cheers,
Huub

 

[Mick]

That Piper came from the "Private Pilot" package.
I think I bought that CD on some kind of Amazon package deal.
I kind of miss Abacus. Arne would recycle old freeware with maybe an updated 2D panel and a couple of re-paints and sell it.
It wasn't really payware, more like aircraft for the extremely lazy.
That package also included an Aerostar from FS2K. You got a VC, but just barely.

I never saw that package. I don't pay attention to payware because I never get time to fly, so I don't get my money's worth out of it.

I got Bryan's Tri-Pacer from AvSim. I know because I wondered about that myself, so I looked in my storage and when I opened the zip file AvSim's little ID file popped out at me. I also have the Bill & Lynn Lyons Tri-Pacer package. Their aircraft plus scenery packages are the only payware I've bought since the days of FS2002. I couldn't resist those, and a few of them are among the few planes I've actually flown.

 

[Sbob]

I never saw that package. I don't pay attention to payware because I never get time to fly, so I don't get my money's worth out of it.

I got Bryan's Tri-Pacer from AvSim. I know because I wondered about that myself, so I looked in my storage and when I opened the zip file AvSim's little ID file popped out at me. I also have the Bill & Lynn Lyons Tri-Pacer package. Their aircraft plus scenery packages are the only payware I've bought since the days of FS2002. I couldn't resist those, and a few of them are among the few planes I've actually flown.

You didn't miss a lot by not buying "Private Pilot".
All of the aircraft were available from Avsim and FS.com.

I wound up installing most of Brian/Byran's bug smashers in FS2002. Some of them are also going into my build of FS2004.
Check out his Super Cub sometime. Basically its the Pacer with a Cub wing and tail. Really cool idea and it comes with some tasteful smaller ATV/tundra tires.

The only problem with Bill and Lynn's Pacer is that kid in the back seat. He always creeps me out.
Like, I'm shutting down and do a look around and suddenly its "GAH!! Where did you come from??".

 

[ViperPilot2]

I've flown all of Brian's freeware airplanes, and they're great! His Tri Pacer and Super Pacer are a blast to fly.

 

[Mick]

You didn't miss a lot by not buying "Private Pilot".
All of the aircraft were available from Avsim and FS.com.

I wound up installing most of Brian/Byran's bug smashers in FS2002. Some of them are also going into my build of FS2004.
Check out his Super Cub sometime. Basically its the Pacer with a Cub wing and tail. Really cool idea and it comes with some tasteful smaller ATV/tundra tires.
The only problem with Bill and Lynn's Pacer is that kid in the back seat. He always creeps me out.
Like, I'm shutting down and do a look around and suddenly its "GAH!! Where did you come from??".

I'd forgotten that hat was an FS8 model! Now that I think about it, FS2002 was so long ago that I could have bought a payware plane and forgotten about it. But I don't have the other planes in the set. I probably have his Super Cub. I have countless planes parked in my hangar drive that I've never flown and probably never will since I spend all my hobby time painting airplanes and setting up scenery that I never have time to enjoy.

The kid in the back reminds me of the Lyons Grumman Goose, one of the few planes I've flown a few times, before I became obsessed with the modeling side of FS. The package was from Tales Of The Gold Monkey, one of my all time favorite TV series, and depending on what version of the Goose you flew you might have the secret agent girlfriend, the drunken mechanic or the dog in the right seat, and they all had something to say if you did anything wrong or scary with the airplane - and sometimes even if you didn't. Well, the dog didn't talk, but he would yap.

In Golden Wings I have Paul Clawson's CV-2 Lexington off the Marivellas where the secret Japanese base is, so I can fly a carrier plane to attack the base or fly a Japanese plane from there to attack the Lex. Or I could, back when I had time to fly once in a while.

I believe I have everything Bill & Lynn Lyons ever released.