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Text File | 1994-11-10 | 18KB | 419 lines

------------------------------------------------------------------------- About FINAL APPROACH ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most modern flight simulators have reached a level of realism that makes the use of real-world instrument approach plates a necessity. Unfortunately, only few charts are generally included with these programs. While ATP has a whole bunch of them, they are as rare as hen's teeth within the docs of FS4 or most of the Scenery Disks. And then there are all those scenery and/or adventure designers out there, who would like to make one or more appropriate plates available to all users of their work. These reasons lead me to develop FINAL APPROACH. With FINAL APPROACH you will display and, if you wish, design your own instrument approach plates on screen. You may also generate hardcopies in the highest resolution available on your printer. I could not do this project as a DOS program because, as a leisure time programmer, I simply have no way to include printer drivers for all those dozens of printers on the market. This is why I decided to use Visual Basic for Windows. The current version is freeware, which means that you are absolutely free to use it, encouraged to distribute it and _not allowed_ to charge for it or for the IAPs you may have created with it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Features ------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINAL APPROACH allows you to display, design and print Instrument Approach Plates for use with any PC-based flight simulator. Because the resolution of our current generation of monitors would hardly allow for a complete chart to be displayed and remain easily readable, FINAL APPROACH will only include the Plan View of the IAP. A Profile View (Glidepath) may be added in a future version. Available elements: - 1 runway - 1 approach line with optional procedure turn, localizer, middle marker. - 1 outer marker - 3 VOR stations - 3 NDB stations - 3 intersections - 6 connecting lines, starting at any VOR or intersection - 12 text strings of any length, 8-14 point, regular or bold - 6 shaded boxes to label VORs and NDBs, same options as above - 1 rounded box for the ILS approach, same options as above For your convenience: - Checkbox to overimpose a grid on the drawing surface - Checkbox to display 320x200 size (for AAF PCX files) - Checkbox to number the VORs and intersections on screen - Left border selectable before printing - Copy to clipboard (to export to Paintbrush or similar) - Undo button to erase the last element drawn ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revision history ------------------------------------------------------------------------- * * Version 1.0 (released 18.11.92) Basic version ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Setting up FINAL APPROACH ------------------------------------------------------------------------- A. Minimum configuration FINAL APPROACH requires Windows 3.1, installed on a PC with 286 or higher processor, 2 Mb of RAM, an EGA or higher adapter and any printer supported by Windows. The Visual Basic runtime library VBRUN100.DLL must be present in the Windows directory. You can download it from almost any BBS. B. Installation Copy the files included in FINALA.ZIP to any directory of your hard disk. They will take up less than 100K. C. Running Final Approach From within the Windows Program Manager, choose File - Run..., then type the path and name of FINALAPP.EXE into the dialog box. Click OK. To install Final Approach permanently into one of your program groups, choose File - New - Program Item and then enter a description and path to FINALAPP.EXE. From that moment on, you can run the program by double-clicking on the FINAL APPROACH icon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quick Start (just in case you don't like manuals) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you start the program you'll see an empty Instrument Approach Plate (IAP) with two rows of buttons to the right of it. Try all those buttons in sequence and keep an eye on the status line below the chart. For a first impression you can also load and print some of the IAPs that come with the program. To load an IAP, select the <LOAD> button. The IAPs are based on data files with the extension *.IAP. Ten IAPs are included with the program. Select one of those and click <OK>. Once an IAP is displayed you can print it, copy it to the Windows Clipboard or edit it directly on screen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The buttons explained ------------------------------------------------------------------------- A. <BASIC> Clicking the <BASIC> button opens a window which lets you define the header of your IAP (city, airport and approach, elevation, frequencies etc). Before filling in the text boxes, you may click the <Give model> button. It will fill out the entire dialogue window with default values, providing an idea of what is expected in the different text boxes. Then you can simply overwrite those values with the appropriate data for your plate. - Map Name: Location of the airport (ex: SEATTLE, WASH) - Airport: Name of the airport (ex: TACOMA INTL) - Approach: Type of approach and runway (ex: VOR Rwy 34L) - Main Nav: Type, frequency and identifier of the Nav station the approach is based on (ex: VOR 116.8 SEA) - Apt. Elev.: Elevation in feet above MSL, number only (ex: 429) - Cant Angle: Number with optional negative sign (ex: 5 or -5) Because of the geographic difference between Magnetic and True North the headings on an IAP are generally canted in one way or another. If you have an original IAP at hand, you can easily see that a line heading North is not always going straight up, as one might suppose, but that it points more or less to the top left or right. The Cant Angle allows to replicate this on your IAP. If you enter a positive number, your lines (runway, approach, VORs) will be canted forward by as many degrees, a negative number will cant them backward. - Frequencies: If a frequency is not available, just leave the corresponding text box blank, else type the frequency (ex: 118.45) AVAILABILITY: This button is available any time. If you decide to change a value later, simply reselect <BASIC>. B. <RUNWAY> Clicking the <RUNWAY> button opens a window in which you define the heading of your runway. Do so by moving the horizontal scroll bar with the mouse, the cursor keys (1° increments) or PgUp/PgDn (10° increments). Click <OK>. The windows closes. Now place the runway threshold by clicking at the appropriate location on the drawing canvas. AVAILABILITY: This button is available any time. If you decide to change the runway heading or location, simply select <REDO RUNWAY>. Beware though: Redoing the runway will erase the approach line and eventual intersections you may already have drawn! C. <APPROACH> Clicking the <APPROACH> button opens a window in which you define the direction of the approach, which defaults to runway heading. Change it by moving the horizontal scroll bar with the mouse, the cursor keys (for 1° increments) or PgUp/PgDn (for 10° increments). You have several more options: - Select "Procedure Turn left" of "Procedure Turn right" to include the corresponding symbol in front of the approach line. - Select "Localizer" for an appropriate representation of an ILS-approach. - Select "Middle Marker" to have the corresponding symbol drawn slightly ahead of the runway threshold. Click <OK>. The windows closes. Now click on the drawing canvas to define the length of the approach line (the distance between the start of the approach line and the runway threshold). Sounds complicated, but is quite handy, once you understand how it is done. Example: Suppose you have defined an approach heading of 090°. Now you can click at one inch from the runway threshold (anywhere in an 360° circle around it). The approach line will start at the distance from the runway you clicked at, but aligned automatically to the 090° heading that you defined in the dialogue window. AVAILABILITY: This button is available any time. If you decide to change the approach settings or length, simply select <REDO APPROACH>. Beware though: Redoing the approach will erase all eventual intersections you may already have drawn! D. <OUTER MARKER> This button is only available, if an approach line has been previously drawn. Select it, then click on the drawing canvas to define the distance between the Outer Marker and the runway threshold. The Outer Marker is automatically centered onto the approach line, even if you click outside. If the distance you indicate with your mouseclick is longer than the approach line, the Outer Marker is placed at the very end of the approach line. AVAILABILITY: This button is available any time, once an approach line is present. If you decide to change the location of the Outer Marker, simply reselect <OUTER MARKER>. The old OM will be erased and you can define a new one. E. <INTERSECTIONS> This button is only available, if an approach line has been previously drawn. Select it, then click on the drawing canvas to define the distance between the desired intersection and the runway threshold. A maximum of three intersections is allowed. If you accidentally misplaced one, select <UNDO> before placing any other element. The intersection symbol (a small triangle) is automatically centered onto the approach line, even if you click outside. If the distance you indicate with your mouseclick is longer than the approach line, the intersection symbol is placed at the very end of the approach line. AVAILABILITY: not available once the three intersections have been drawn. F. <VOR> Select <VOR> to place the symbol for that navigation installation on your plate. This symbol is canted automatically to match the Cant Angle set in the Basic Window. A maximum of three VORs is allowed. Place the symbol by clicking at the desired location on the drawing canvas. If you accidentally misplaced it, select <UNDO> before placing any other element. AVAILABILITY: not available once the three VORs have been drawn. G. <NDB> Select <NDB> to place the symbol for that navigation installation on your plate. A maximum of three NDBs is allowed. Place the symbol by clicking at the desired location on the drawing canvas. If you accidentally misplaced it, select <UNDO> before placing any other element. AVAILABILITY: not available once the three NDBs have been drawn. H. <LINES> Connecting lines (to a total of six) can be attached to any VOR or intersection. Select <LINES>, decide which element to attach the line to, then click <OK>. Now click on the drawing canvas to define the end point of the line. If you accidentally misplaced a line, select <UNDO> before placing any other element. AVAILABILITY: not available once the six lines have been drawn. NOTE: If you are unsure which one of your VORs/intersections is nr. 1, 2 or 3, you may select the checkbox labeled "Show Numbers" to the lower right of your screen. All VORs and intersections on the plate will then display their running number. I. <FREE TEXT> Select <FREE TEXT> to place up to twelve formatted text strings on the map. In a dialogue window, you may type the text to display, define the desired point size and whether you want the text bold or regular. Then click <OK> and place the text by clicking at the appropriate location on the drawing canvas. The text will start to the immediate right of your mouseclick. If the text doesn't fit (wrong point size or length) or you misplaced it, select <UNDO> before placing any other element. Then reselect <FREE TEXT>. Your old text string will still be there, so you can easily change point size, attribute or location. AVAILABILITY: not available once the 12 text strings have been drawn. J. <TEXT BOX> VORs and NDBs are generally identified by shadowed boxes, containing the two- or three-letter-code and the frequency of the station. Select <TEXT BOX> to place up to six such shadowed boxes on the map. In a dialogue window, you may type the text to display, define the desired point size and whether you want the text bold or regular. Then click <OK> and place the box by clicking at the appropriate location on the drawing canvas. Your mouseclick will correspond to the upper left corner of the box. If the box doesn't fit (wrong point size or length) or you misplaced it, select <UNDO> before placing any other element. Then reselect <TEXT BOX>. Your old text string will still be there, so you can easily change point size, attribute or location. AVAILABILITY: not available once the 6 text boxes have been drawn. K. <ILS BOX> ILS approaches are generally identified by long, unshadowed boxes with rounded corners and which contain the approach heading, a four-letter-code and the frequency of the ILS. Select <ILS BOX> to place such a box on the map. In a dialogue window, you may type the text to display, define the desired point size and whether you want the text bold or regular. Then click <OK> and place the box by clicking at the appropriate location on the drawing canvas. Your mouseclick will correspond to the upper left, rounded corner of the box. If the box doesn't fit (wrong point size or length) or you misplaced it, select <UNDO> before placing any other element. Then reselect <ILS BOX>. Your old text string will still be there, so you can easily change point size, attribute or location. AVAILABILITY: This button is available any time. If you decide to change the box text, settings or location, simply reselect <ILS BOX>. The ILS Box will be erased and you can then define and place a new box. L. <COPY CLPBOARD> This button allows you to copy the current drawing to the Windows Clipboard, so that you can paste it into Paintbrush, edit it there and save it in the format you prefer. To conserve space, only the actual chart is transferred to the Clipboard, whereas the heading section is cut off. M. CHECKBOX "SHOW 320*200" If this Checkbox is selected, two blue lines will be visible inside the IAP. They show the space available to design a chart in the 320*200 format required for use as an AAF-PCX. If you want to draw a chart for AAF, fit all elements into this reduced surface, then copy the IAP to Clipboard. Start Paintbrush, select Options, Image Attributes and set these to a width of 320 and a height of 200 pixels. Then paste the image from the Clipboard, edit it as you like and save it as a *.PCX file. M. CHECKBOX "SHOW NUMBERS" For each line you draw, FINAL APPROACH will ask for a connecting point (VOR or intersection). If the Checkbox "SHOW NUMBERS" is selected, all VORs and intersections will be accompanied by their running number (1 to 3), to take the guesswork out of the line placement. N. Other buttons The <NEW>, <LOAD>, <SAVE>, <SAVE AS>, <ABOUT>, <EXIT>, <PRINT>, and <UNDO> buttons speak for themselves. So does the "DISPLAY GRID" Checkbox. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- File Format ------------------------------------------------------------------------- All IAPs are saved into data files with an *.IAP extension. These are pure text files that can, with a little care, be easily edited with any text editor. Please be sure to back them up before manipulating the data they contain. The format is as follows: The first 10 lines are reserved for the IAP header section (Map Name, Airport name, Approach Name, Main Nav, Elevation, Cant Angle, Frequencies). NOTE: Be sure not to introduce a comma into any of these strings. If you want a comma displayed in the Map Name, the *.IAP file must contain a semicolon instead. Example: For a Map Name like CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, the IAP file would contain CHICAGO; ILLINOIS All other lines begin with a three-letter identifier that documents the specific data of this line. All following data is separated by a slash. The first two numbers that follow the identifier are always the coordinates, i.e. the horizontal and vertical screen position of the element. The position is indicated in twips, where 1440 twips correspond to an inch when drawn on paper. Example: VOR/00828/00444 would mean that this VOR is placed at 828 twips from the left border and at 444 twips from the top border. IMPORTANT: To erase an element directly from the data file, simply set its first coordinate to /00000/. Here are the elements one by one: VOR/x-position/y-position NDB/x-position/y-position RUNWAY/threshold x-position/threshold y-position/heading APPROACH LINE/starting point x-position/starting point y-position /heading/Procedure turn (N, L, R)/Localizer (-1, 0)/Middle marker (-1, 0) OUTER MARKER/x-position/y-position FREE TEXT/x-position/y-position/point size/bold (1,0)/string BOX TEXT/x-position/y-position/point size/bold (1,0)/string ILS BOX/x-position/y-position/point size/bold (1,0)/string INTERSECTION/x-position/y-position LINE/starting point x-position/starting point y-position/ending point x-position/ending point y-position ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any bug reports, suggestions or comments are of course welcome. Please address them to Georges Lorsche, CIS ID 100041, 211.