SurClaro Flight Simulator Resources

[harkonnen]

A few years ago when I was bootin' around in FS2002 I picked up a simple little utility by Chuck Dome called 'Runway 3'. You can slam a runway anywhere you want to in FS in about 30 seconds, and I just tested it in FS2004 and it works like a charm. No installing or activating the scenery is ever required...once you do the simple install of the program in FS, it builds your runway like a champ, and you never even have to go into the Scenery Library in FS' settings.
Now, I know that there are probably lots of folks around here that are already into scenery design, and can do a more detailed airport - complete with all the pertinent AFCAD stuff added....but this is a great utility to have a lot of fun with, especially if you are kind of new to flight sims and any kind of scenery design processes. With Runway 3 you simply use 'Slew' mode (the 'Y' key brings you into 'Slew' while simming...now you just use your joystick to navigate around the sim world in your plane, but you're not flying, you're slewing) to find a spot where you want a runway, go to 'Top Down' view by hitting 'ALT' and selecting 'View Options' in the top toolbar. Now slew around until the plane's nose and tail (depicting the two ends of your runway) are where you want, and write down the coordinates that are at the top of your screen in red.
Go get 'Runway 3' by Chuck Dome' at 'The Scenery Hall Of Fame' website.
http://www.scenery.org/design_utilities_d.htm
It's on this page, under 'R' in the Design Utilities pages at the SHOF.
Now unzip it in it's own folder on your PC, and install the program in your FS9 - Scenery/BASE/scenery folder...it should be sitting in there with the other files that you'll see in one of my example screenshots.

Now open the program up by double clicking on the icon...you'll notice it 'shaded' in my screenshot.
Runway 3 opens in a DOS-like box and you input your info with the keyboard, using the mouse to press the 'TARMAC/GRASS/DIRT/CONCRETE' button and the 'Make Runway' button.
Runway 3 automatically creates the needed .BGL file and stows it right there in the 'scenery' subfolder, where it activates automatically when you next fire up FS. You should see the 'Creating new scenery indices' progress box briefly upon firing up the sim.

The really fun and silly thing is that you can cruise out to any place in FS to get your desired coordinates...and when you are inputting the info to 'Runway 3' you can ask for a silly height (Altitude) for your runway and the program will drag the terrain UP to your runway and do an 'auto-flatten' for the runway itself at the same time. Go ahead, input 10,000' for your runway alt. and see what happens. Hee heee...if you put your runway amongst buildings and roads, it drags up the terrain and the buildings and roads, and even tries to make the roads still driveable up the hill. This only really works if you make the hill a moderate height. :roll:
Want some high altitude runway but want it to be realistically placed? Slew to a mountainside, way up, or a mountaintop...and grab the coordinates and alt. Some trial and error should be expected, as the program sometimes puts a terrain spike at one or both ends of your new runway...makes for some challenging approaches. (See screenshots.)
To fix it up, just fire up Runway 3 again and change the heading, or even the length of the runway...the auto 'terrain build' thang works with the heading, length and width of the runway when 'creating'.
Just want a normal runway somewhere? Forget all my goofy high up runways and put in an alt of 2, or 20 feet.

Lots of fun with very little work...I was playing with this stuff long before I did any modelling or texturing...it gets a bit addictive if you enjoy it.
The next step would be to grab 'Runway 12' a totally different type of program that lets you easily add scenery objects from a library into the sim...a great way to spruce up your sim in general or to build an airport around your runway. (Freeware.)

If you make a runway and like it, be SURE to go back into that 'scenery' subfolder where the program runs as well, and rename your 'RWYBGL', or it will be overwritten the next time you make a 'RWYBGL' with the program. Have fun!!!!

EDIT: If you read the Readme for installation, ignore the folder locations Chuck refers to...the folder structure is slightly different in FS9 compared to FS2002...just look at the file paths in the first screenshot for reference to where the program gets installed...my FS9 is on my 'E' drive..yours may be on 'C'.

EDIT: Thanks Chuck! This program is still rockin'.

EDIT: Forgot to mention...if you try some runways and hate them - don't worry, just go into that same subfolder and delete the offending .BGL's.

EDIT: To avoid any confusion, that's two different runways I was making when I took the shots of the program interface. :D

[americaneagle]

Ive used your link but on that particular page the design utilities only go up to "F" Im unable to find the program. can you please assist further

[harkonnen]

Sorry, SHOF only actually has 6 pages of stuff in their 'Design utilities' section. Instead of calling it pages 1 through 6 they've named the 6 pages with A through F. If you follow that link it should go right to the page that has 'Runway 3' on it...just scroll down slowly and when you get to the titles that start with 'R' you'll see 'Runway 3' just before 'runway 12, the other utility I referred to. Don't get confused by the SHOF 'A through F' interface, it's just 6 pages of stuff, arranged alphabetically - A thru Z. Google 'Runway 3 Chuck Dome' if you have futher difficulty finding the program. :)