by Fritz » Sun Jul 03, 2016 4:52 pm
My solution is using log files. After landing and taxiing to a parking position, I save the log file. For the next flight, I chose the last arrival airport (this is important, see below!), and after the plane is placed on the runway, I load the log from the last flight and replay it (usually only the last seconds of course). So I always start at the spot where I left the plane, like in real life. This also works with small airports that don't have parking positions at all - on a generic airport I can simply leave the plane on the taxiway.
Sadly this isn't as simple as it may sound: The placement of the plane after stopping the log seems to be depending in some strange way on atmospheric pressure, so the plane may drop a little bit or is pushed up into the air by spring compression. In some cases, it can happen that the nose or tail is pushed up and the DC-3 ends up on its nose or the Super Constellation ends up on its tail (in these cases they can be put back on their wheels by changing load and balance). But the same problem can lead to your plane dropping from great heights and ending up on its back, when your log ends at a different airport than the one where you were placed when loading the log, so it is really important to select the correct airport when starting the simulator! Activating "live weather" can lead to similar problem, so I always choose my weather after loading and stopping the log file.
Another problem (I dare to call it bug) is that the horizontal position of the plane is altered slightly after playing the log. This can also happen if you don't save and reload the log. To reproduce, just taxi somewhere, position the main wheels exactly on a taxi line or something similar, and replay the log. At the end of the log, your plane will be exactly on the line, like you would expect. But after ending the replay mode, the plane will move along its x-axis. The Super Constellation always moves about half a planes length in a forward direction, while the DC-3 is less affected and tends to move to the aft, but not so far (perhaps because it's a tail dragger?). This can be repeated: Play the log again, and the plane will have moved even more! This is especially strange because the log itself always replays exactly to the correct position.
I haven't checked this phenomenon with other planes. Usually this isn't a real problem when loading and saving flight logs, but it can be a problem if you leave your plane very near to a building or a jet bridge. So you have to chose your parking location with a little care if your plane is affected by this problem!