Permanent Home Airport FSX Server! (Idea) YOUR INPUT NEEDED!

[Travis]

I would like to propose an idea I had yesterday to our excellent community that we could use to potentially help bring our community together a little more! This idea would be choosing, editing, then implementing an MSFlights Default airport for our FSX Server! This would mean our sever would be the same airport most of the time unless change is requested temporarily by player request or changed by community request. This idea is very complex and will take possibly months to even completely happen but let me explain in further detail the goals I have and benefits this could have potentially in our future!

Please watch this YouTube video which sparked my idea! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M41bBEw7_OM
If you like what you see please read onwards!

While reading any of this post, please read everything in a "Possibly" state of mind, not a "Permanent" state of mind.
Due to this new software we haven't used, this project may take months to implement! please be patient with progress.
If anyone knows how to use any of this software and feel like teaching to me or some of our other community members interested in this project, please let us know below in a post! (or private message if you don't want it to be public knowledge)

Choosing an Airport:
Choosing an airport will be completely community based! Starting with a forum post asking you which airport you would like to be the home airport(fully knowing your suggestion may not be the final outcome). (note)If everyone chooses their own home airport (example mine is KMCO) then choosing a home airport will be a longer and more difficult process. Since Florida is generally flat and mostly boring except they keys and man made destinations,I will not choose a Florida airport(probably somewhere mountainous. Be aware when choosing the possible home airport you may want to keep in mind of scenery near by and size of the airport(editing and extentions)! The next step will be a Poll, taking your choices to a selection board to further eliminate less liked airports. Many polls may be required so be sure to participate with as many as possible. Making a fictitious airport with a community approved location is also an option!

Our New Home Airport!:
Our new home airport will be edited heavily with many objects and most likely be extended. Keep this in mind if you like your favorite airport and don't want it to be changed when choosing an airport. Downloading our airport BGL file is completely optional. Our airport is expected to have custom parking spots with your name on the ground at your spot!, custom signs and billboards, and other neat things that may spark interest and most likely not be at the airport in real life. Remember, the object of this project is to make a community airport that we can call our home. we will try to keep things some what realistic but some stuff may not be. I would like to again strongly point out this BGL file is optional. This airport is planned to be the default airport for the FSX server most of the time. I understand that some of our community pilots that spawn at the default airport like to test aircraft performance very close to some of us that wish not to be tested near(like f-18 fly-by's), so for this reason we will implement a testing phase based on the community. If the default spawn location needs to be changed for the server, we can do so and still keep our community airport.

More community enhancements!:
As I mentioned above, I would like to add player names to parking spots so we can each have a place to call home! My ideas on this which are not set in stone would be similar to this below.
Based upon forum registration: All with name tags
-3 Months Registered Player-Normal GA parking
-6 Months Awning spot cover aircraft
-12 months small hangar
-2 years large hangar
-3 years large hangar

These rules would be mandatory for everyone even the administrators. only the creators of the scenery MAY have special privileges (out of respect of the work). Special scenery may be requested but will have to be generally accepted. Example of scenery: C-130 Hangar for lazerbolts C-130 flights.
Please remember this is all an idea and not yet approved by our community. If you would like to see this please let is know below. If you don't want to see this, also let us know. We request any and all suggestions, changes, or anything else I may have missed!
Thanks for reading my long post and I hope this excites you as much as it has for me!

-Travis

[Kalo]

I think this sounds like a cool idea, but what would happen when people that don't have the scenery load into our server? Would they just be placed on a random hill somewhere? If that's the case it might be better to edit an existing airport so they are at least at airport if they don't have our scenery.

As many of you may know my favorite little airport is KHSP. It an airport in Virginia among the low lying Appalachian mountains and sits on top of a ridge (perfect area for low flying GA). Its got a 5600 ft rnw but could be extended to probably 8,000 ft and even add a cross runway if need be.

Since the terrain around KHSP would not afford much room, KROA might be a better bet. It's about 40nm away in Roanoke Virginia and is surrounded by the Appalachians as well which make for great sight seeing tours. The default scenery there looks pretty good, and there's enough room to make a huge airport. KROA is also a hub for the msFlights.net virtual airline: http://www.msflights.net/pilots/phpv...pages/routemap

[Sound]

I have those tools and have made some airports in the past. It is very time consuming and difficult to learn. It's not as easy as the video portrays. That probably took upwards of a week to accomplish what he had there. Just sayin'.

If you want an airport made to look like your local airport, you might ask real nice. :-)

[FlyingDude]

While I like the concept, I have to say I am opposed to modifying an existing airport as it could mean completely altering someone's favorite area.
My suggestion would be to pick an area in the middle of nowhere (Mongolia, perhaps a few hundred miles south of Ulaan Baatar). That way you could make it as big as you want, affecting any area that most people will never see except from 40,000'.
A talented designer could even break it into sectors. One section of short runways for GA, another with large runways for commercial , a third for military activities and yet a fourth for skunk works activities such as people testing new aircraft, showing off new paints or practicing maneuvers for airshows. Toss in a few grass/sand strips for bush pilots and a reasonable proximity to some good air for the glider pilots. Then you need a bunch of places for helicopter pilots to alight. If you are going to make it for the community , then you have to try to include something for everyone.
Then you need to make it big enough for every member current and future to hangar a 747, The advantage of putting it in the middle of nowhere means you have as much space as you need to expand. Put it straddling the border of Inner/Outer Mongolia and half the airport could be the "Inner, Outer Mongolia International" and the other half could be the "Outer, Inner Mongolia International" as a nod to George Carlin.

Then again, what do I know. I've only been in FSX for 4 days and my total time on the server amounts to minutes and I am definitely not a programmer or designer. All I know is that it would take way more work than I would be willing or able to commit ... but I would love to see airshows and fly-ins at such a mega complex.

It sounds like a lot of work, if it could be sold through the Windows store for $5-$10 (sort of like an app) people could still get it free through bing searches and the developer could get paid for their work.

[ROBERT DUNN 2]

What I like best about Travis's idea is that it can demonstrate the usefulness of member contributions, discussions and can result in the implementation of those ideas. I encourage all who read Travis's thread and idea to share comments and ideas. I was part of the original discussion of this msFLIGHTS.net home airport idea. We kicked around many scenarios, many pros and cons. I'm just happy to read these ideas making it into a public discussion. As I loiter on TeamSpeak a lot, I hear many ideas and contributions discussed. I often request that these worthy topics of member discussion make it into these forums for public comment. It is one of the best ways to make your simming desires known to all the FLIGHTS.net members.

As to the idea itself, I'm all for exploring it. I have no particular home airport suggestions or requirements but I'll follow this thread closely, hoping to read more members' ideas in similar threads. Thanks, Travis and all that comment here.

[Gimpy]

I think that it's a great idea! I'm 150% behind it (blame the caffeine). I don't know of any other online sim community that has anything similar to it. It would just be one more thing to set us apart from the others. Also, it would make for some awesome videos and screenshots. I'm all for figuring out how to get this project rolling. I'd propose maybe using KMCC as the template for the airport. It's got about 60 parking spaces on the ramp to start with, one nice long runway, and it's just kinda neat. It was an old AF base before BRAC. Let's do it! Maybe hide it somewhere in the Sierras or the Rockies? Perhaps somewhere more mountainous or exotic? It'd be great.