Splines suspended high above the ground are difficult to work with.

[JonMyrlennBailey]

A classic case of this would be invisible track set up on a route for aircraft to simulate flight.

The various Surveyor tools can't be used at a mile above ground to edit the track because of the warning: The current selected tool is not usable at this zoom distance.

Trainz was not really designed to work with splines high up in the air. It likes you to keep splines relatively close to the surface where most real-world railway trains operate. Aircraft, particularly fixed-wing airplanes, would need to be very high above ground at some point for realism and were created as "train vehicles" as an afterthought.

Setting up track for low-flying helicopters, about 10 to 100 m above the ground, is not too hard. The Surveyor camera has some height limit for editing.

It is hard to get Surveyor camera overhead zoomed close to something that high. I have to try to find the spline point on the ground for the sky track in order to even work with the track. I have found it is best to have the sky track close to the ground to get all the curves and track marks worked out BEFORE sending the track high with large spine height values to jack the track way on up high toward the moon. Once the track is sent up high, it is a royal PITA to edit later on.

The only way to edit a high track is to find a spline point somewhere on the ground below the track and bring the spline way back down close to the ground with a spline vertex number change as if, say, I want to add a track marker. Sometimes visible track even likes to play invisible to the overhead Surveyor camera also and all I can see is the navy blue line that marks the track's path in a birdseye map view.

Searching for spline points of a sky track on the ground below is like looking for a needle, well, you know the rest of the expression.

 

[cascaderailroad]

Lay an entire airplane track path on the ground, looking straight down from above ... wherever a track spline point is, place a unique house right next to it, or place a unique texture on it, or a re-nameable sign with the height text, to mark them all.

Type in a height numeral, and apply a height of @ 50m to the first takeoff spline point, and @ 100m to the next one ... etc ... you can go up to a +3000m maximum ... or a baseboard that is set at -3000m, you can soar up to 6000m in height

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

I discovered an easy way to bring sky track way back down to edit when spline points are impossible to find: Apply Gradient, set at 0 (zero), or some lower, negative gradient number as needed, starting at a low track area and working skyward.

 

[NormP]

Another thing you find is best do at ground level is install any speed signs and track marks needed and name them as well, for track marks in the air is to call them "Way Points"

Then raise the track up to the height required.

BTW any Junctions on sky tracks are a real pain in the butt , you may find that planes have a habit of slowing down and will STOP in mid air ---- looks funny but not realistic .

NormP

 

[davesnow]

I never place junctions on plane invisible splines. I just loop them

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

That is exactly what I do also Dave, have aircraft (really trains in disguise) fly (drive) on closed-loops.


The sky tracks can cross over or under each other at different altitudes (spline vertex heights), however, so planes can fly over or under their own path in like a figure 8 or something. On the ground, on the airstrip, I am going to try invisible junctions as sidings off the loop to park planes to the side of the taxiway. Hopefully AI 'pilots', with proper commands and track mark setup, will be smart enough to navigate in and out of these "parking stalls" in scheduled 'flights" (drives). Some real-world jetliners can back up on the apron using reverse thrust even. I don't think there is a way to animate pulling aircraft back from the gate with those airport tug tractors.

I don't name my track marks up in the air "way points" but simply use the prefix "747" in the mark's names so I know what they are.

The cool thing about most aircraft content is that the planes and helis usually bank in turns realistically based upon "airspeed" (ground speed??) and curve tightness. Going too fast on turns too tight will cause the "aircraft" to "crash" (derail) and plummet to the ground like a stone. When my 747s fly at 245 mph (213 knots) around curves of 1,000 meters radius, they still bank rather hard, but realistically.

 

[BuilderBob]

I don't think there is a way to animate pulling aircraft back from the gate with those airport tug tractors.

Why not? No different than locos shunting wagons (or other locos) around a yard.

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

There is an airport tug listed at the DLS as a drivable "train vehicle"? I will have to look that one up.