Hi CEOs and DevTeam,
As we know, in Experimental version (28.1) we have only 1 direction for landing and take-off. Developers told us, that they done it, because wind can change to opposite in peak hour and players can keep jams on taxiways.
I want offer to you one idea, regarding active runway (landing/departure course in depend of wind direction.
How it can be realized:
We need some flags for each aircraft, which indicate they’re state (on approach, on taxiing to RWY, on RWY). This flags have a bool type (true or false).
Wind direction. It’s integer value, I guess, which will have actual wind direction (in example, 74°). This param will be changed according with a next parameter: wind change vector.
Wind change vector will be used as random value in range from -10 to +10(for example). This param will changed each hour and show target wind direction. For example: Actual wind direction = 47°, change vector = +5, that’s mean, that during to hour wind direction will be changed step by step from 47° to 52°.
Also we need to know actual runway. In game, at this moment, each runway may have only 1 actual value: 09, 18, 27 and 36. In real life courses may be different, but we will use next courses for each rwy’s: 90°, 180°, 270° and 360° respectively.
As in real life all aircraft trying to land and take-off with head wind, we need choose active runway, which will have course opposite wind direction. Below you can see a table with ranges of wind for each runways:
How points 1-5 can be used:
Let look it on an example.
We have:
actual runway 36 (landing / tack-off course 360°);
wind direction: 87°;
change vector: +9, that’s mean, that target wind direction will be 96°.
So, as we can see from table, when wind direction will be 91° or more, we need to change active runway from 36 to 18.
But, when wind direction will have 91° we can’t change active runway for aircrafts, which have state: onApproach, onTaxiing, onRWY, for other aircrafts, runway may be changed to opposite.
P.S. Sorry for my English. I hope, that you understand what I mean… )
I hope they will reconsider this when the weathersystem is fully functionable. Would add some extra thinking while designing your airport. May the wind system should be toggable in difficulty settings.
I think, that it’s not difficult to make system like this. I don’t know, do we need in game full weather system, with wind shear or storm, with wind speed around 200 km/h. It’s emergency conditions, when flights must be stopped or may have a huge delays.
Very nice and detailed description. This actually more or less how it actually already works in-game so this is not the main challenge here. The challenge is that aircraft gets their route to the runway already before pushback has been initiated. This way we can synchronize push-backs without having collisions. The problem arise when a direction change is made after this aircraft has received their path. Because it will taxi towards the wrong end of runway, possibly interfering with arriving aircraft on the new corrected direction. Of course we could send out notifications to all aircraft who are already heading towards the runway that they should re-plot their path, but that might lead to them having to do a 180 on a taxiway, possibly creating deadlocks and traffic jams. So the other solutions is to just let them take off in the “wrong” direction but then there are risks of collisions or deadlocks with arriving aircraft.
@Fredrik
I understand it. That’s why I told about special state of aircraft, when we can’t change active runway. And pushback may be one of them. In this case we can avoid deadlocks. Or not?
Yea, similar states do exists. But the problem is that if you have a large airport, it can take a long time before the aircraft taxi to the runway and by then “new” planes might already be landing in the opposite direction. So there are no easy solutions.
It can be solved, for example, you have 2 aircraft on route to runway, in this case, for landing aircraft you will give old course.
I think, it’s not a problem) Of course, it must be tested, but that’s why we here)
Fredrik, is it that much of a problem? Ok, timescale isn’t that real, maybe that could be improved as the other say.
BUT: … let’s be honest, real airports have the same problem. As long as an landed aircraft can’t leave the runway because there is only one taxiway which is already used by an aircraft heading towards the very same runway, the approaching one can’t land. It’s that easy, isn’t it? If an airport got that size that this results in problems in form of jams it’s the responsiblity of “THE AirportCEO” to build a taxiway network which solves these problems. You already gave us one way taxiway which are the best way to do that. “THE AirportCEO” just needs one taxiway in the main direction, another taxiway into the opposite direction.
To take account of the timescale you can still make wind changes more infrequently. Maybe even set an main wind direction where it mostly comes from.
In case of different runway courses, one-way taxiways may be a problem. In this case, we need have possible to create predefined path from each Entry/Exit point from runway. Only it can help avoid jams.I think about in, but at this moment I don’t how explain this moment).
This actually more or less how it actually already works in-game so this is not the main challenge here. The challenge is that aircraft gets their route to the runway already before pushback has been initiated. This way we can synchronize push-backs without having collisions. The problem arise when a direction change is made after this aircraft has received their path. Because it will taxi towards the wrong end of runway, possibly interfering with arriving aircraft on the new corrected direction. Of course we could send out notifications to all aircraft who are already heading towards the runway that they should re-plot their path, but that might lead to them having to do a 180 on a taxiway, possibly creating deadlocks and traffic jams. So the other solutions is to just let them take off in the “wrong” direction but then there are risks of collisions or deadlocks with arriving aircraft.