AERIAL ADVERTISING

In the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 career mode, one of the challenges that a user can take is to perform aerial advertising flybys. If you wish your aircraft to be used on this kind of activity you will need a preset that has been appropriately set up as part of the Modular SimObject, as explained below.

 

For more information on the various other career activities and how to prepare your aircraft, please see here:

• Career Activities

 

 

Aerial Advertising Constraints

When it comes to setting up planes for the available advertising activities, there are a few requirements that must be fulfilled:

 

• The plane will need to have the navigation_graph_pilot.cfg (as explained here).
• The aircraft will need to have the Apron.flt and ApronWithoutCovers.flt files (as explained below).
• The targeted_specializations must include the AAD-PLN dressing code.
• The object_class must be "Airplane".
• The operating_status must be either "in_service" or "experimental".
• The plane cannot be flagged as military.
• The plane cannot be flagged as premium.
• The plane ui_max_range must be greater than 1.
• The plane must be a light aircraft with either a piston or turboprop engine_type. This is then used in conjunction with either the max_rated_hp (piston) or rated_shaft_hp (turboprop) to determine what length of banner the aircraft can tow. As such all three of these parameters should be set up correctly.
• The plane can have wheels or big wheels, for landing gear.
• The plane cannot have skis or floats for landing gear.
• The plane model must accurately show the hook and pole assembly which will be used to attach the advertising banner, and there must be a "helper" node in the glTF called AD_ROPE_ATTACH. This should be placed at the point on the hook assembly where the rope for the advertising banner would be attached and should be present in all LODs. Note that if you are using the Included Attachments instead of modeling your own hook assembly, this constraint can be ignored as the included attachments will have this node included already.
• The cockpit model will require a winch pole control, and a Banner Release lever.
• The power-to-weight ratio must be over 0.113 (see below for details)

 

The last item listed above - the power-to-weight ratio - is calculated as follows:

• If the Empty Weight == 0, then the power-to-weight ratio is automatically set to 0 as well (to avoid a division by 0 errors in the calculations)
• If the Empty Weight is > 0 then the power-to-weight ratio uses the following calculation:
  $$PowerToWeight = {power \times 0.746 \over EmptyWeight}$$
  Where:
  • \(power\) is the max_rated_hp (piston) or rated_shaft_hp (turboprop) value multiplied by the engine count.
  • \(0.746\) is used to convert the power from hp into Kilowatt
  • \(EmptyWeight\) is the empty_weight value in kg.

 

Following these constraints will give the aircraft the AAD_Cabin type. See here for more information:

• Note On Cabin Codes

 

 

Mission Flow

The flow for an aerial advertising mission is as follows:

This flow will also require the aircraft to be setup for - and follow - the General Career Mode Requirements.

 

 

SimVars

The SimVars given below are those that will be used and checked to ensure that the aerial advertising mission is performed correctly. If you are setting up your own hook and pole attachments then these SimVars will need to be used (for further SimVars related to this kind of mission please see here: Tow Cable / Hook).

 

SimVar	Description
GRAPPLE HOOK SET	Check if the hook is open 1 or closed 0.
LEAD POLE SET	Check if the pole is extended 1 or retracted 0.

 

 

Included SimAttachments

To make things simpler when creating your aircraft, all the components required for aerial advertising are available as Included Attachments for you to use. These are:

 

• Asobo_Banner_Hook

  This is the pole and hook that goes under the aircraft fuselage and that will be used to hook the aerial advert onto the aircraft. This SimObject already contains the AD_ROPE_ATTACH helper node and all the model behaviors required to make it work.
  

 

• Asobo_Lever_BannerRelease

  This is the banner release lever that should be placed in the interior cockpit model of the aircraft. The lever SimObject already contains everything necessary for the release mechanism to work.

 

• Asobo_Winch_Pole

  This is the winch control for the advertising pole hook and is used to pull the advertising banner close to the plane. The winch pole SimObject contains all that is needed to use the winch control.

 

You can find out how to set these up from the following page:

• Using Included SimAttachments

 

 

FLT Files

When a user starts an advertising activity they will be going through the usual Preflight checks, and so they will need to have the Apron.flt setup in the activity preset as follows:

 

• Section [SimVars.0] must have the parameter SimOnGround set to true.
• All defined [Covers] need to be set to true (see here for more information).
• Section [Controls.0] must have the parameter ParkingBrake set to 100.00 (if the aircraft has a parking brake).
• Aircraft electrics and engines must be turned off.
• The aircraft flight parameters (trim, flaps, etc...) should be set for a cold and idle aircraft.

 

An additional FLT file is required - the ApronWithoutCovers.flt file - for those occasions when the user may skip the preflight phase and there is an RTC event, or when something causes a Back On Track event after preflight. This file should be set up like a regular apron FLT file, however you should ensure that these changes are made:

 

• All defined [Covers] need to be set to false (see here for more information).