Airports With Flight Logging Issues

Whenever two (or more) FSE airports are in close proximity, the client may detect your aircraft's position as being at one airport when you intended to be at the other.

For example, you may have landed at Anchorage, AK (PANC), but when you shut down your flight the FSE client positioned your aircraft and all of your assignments at the nearby Lake Hood SPB (LHD). The result is that you don't get paid.

You may also go onto the support forums, trying to determine how to get your large aircraft out of a lake. The answer is usually simple: just start your next flight from the same spot, take off, land again, and shut down in the correct location to get credit for PANC. Your FSE log book will show a flight from LHD -> PANC, and you will get paid for those assignments whose destination was PANC.

Below are maps of different locations where this "phenomenon" is frequently reported. All of these maps are made with Google Earth, so they SHOULD work with most simulators and most scenery downloads. Be aware that different scenery authors may place the actual visual parts of a runway or airport in a slightly different location that what Google Earth looks like. If your scenery is off just a little bit, that might effect where FSE thinks you are at. See "How your location is determined" on the Aircraft Basics page.

If you have a problem location that is not listed below, you can create your own map by using Google Earth, importing the FSE Airfields.kmz file and using the following process:

Locate the two airport dots.
Draw a line between them, noting the "bearing" and the distance.
Divide the distance in half, and place a dot on the line at this "center point".
Draw another line through this center point that is perpendicular to the first line (using the bearing information).
- Example: if your first line runs left to right at 86 degrees, then your second line should run up and down at 176 degrees.
You now have the "dividing line" between the airports. FSE will recognize everything on one side of the line as being at the airport on that side.

The following groups of airports frequently have problems with FSE pilots getting flights logged at the wrong airport. The coordinates for one airport might be closer to the runway, parking ramp, or other property of the other airport. A very common question in the support forums is "How did my jet get put onto the lake?".... or, "How do I get my non-float plane out of the lake?"

The following images were created with Google Earth, and may not be an exact representation as seen within all simulators, or in specific scenery add-on products. You may need to adjust your location accordingly. Click any image for a larger image.

KLGA/4NY2

Laguardia (KLGA) pilots occasionally have an issue with 4NY2. Despite the fact that the below Google Earth image shows that 99% of KLGA should be free of 4NY2, there are still many people who get recognized at 4NY2, even while on the runway at KLGA. Starting or stopping your FSE flight more south should resolve that problem.

KMSO/MT49

Missoula International (KMSO) users are frequently frustrated by MT49. Avoiding the red area that represents MT49 in the image below, by starting/stopping your KMSO flights at the center of the main runway, or the eastern GA parking ramp, should get FSE to recognize KMSO.

PAHO/5BL

The Homer Airport (PAHO) occasionally gets recognized as the Beluga Lake (5BL) Sea Plane Base. To avoid this, start/stop your FSE flights at the eastern end of the runway, or on the south parking ramp.

PAFA/2Z5/AK28

Fairbanks International Airport (PAFA) frequently gets recognized as Chena River (2Z5) when FSE pilots start or stop at the northern end of the airport. Any part of the PAFA airport NOT within the two red zones should log at PAFA just fine.

PAKT/5KE

Ketchikan International (PAKT) users sometimes have their flights logged at Ketchikan Harbor (5KE). To prevent this, avoid the southern-most area of PAKT when starting/stopping your FSE flights.

PAMC/16Z

Starting or stopping your FSE flight at the northern end of PAMC main runway, or RWY 25, or the parking area east of the RWY 25 threshold, will result in your flight being logged at 16Z.

PANC/LHD/Z41

Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport (PANC) frequently gets recognized as Lake Hood (LHD) Sea Plane Base. And people trying to start on the north shore of the Lake frequently get recognized at Lake Hood Strip (Z43). To properly start or end your FSE flight at the correct "airport", use the following color segments: The red areas should all register as PANC, the blue areas as LHD, and the green areas as Z43.

WA93/WA58

Eliza Island, near Bellingham, Washington, can be especially frustrating for FSX pilots, because WA58 isn't even in the FSX simulator. The majority of the actual airport is recognized as WA93; however, FSE pilots wanting to go to WA58 should be able to start or stop at the extreme southern end of the runway, possibly on the beach, and have FSE recognize WA58. If that doesn't work, continue going further east along the beach, or just use the beach on the east side of the island.

WA90/0W7

Another Bellingham, WA, "problem child" airport is WA90. This is a N/S-oriented turf strip next to the water, and the water is also a recognized SPB. The SPB (identifier 0W7) lat/lon coordinates are located right on the shore, but the WA90 coordinates are located north-west of the strip by nearly 3/4 of a mile. Using both the water and the strip will result in FSE recognizing your aircraft as being at 0W7. In order to operate in and out of WA90, you will need to start and end the FSE flight somewhere "over there" by the WA90 lat/lon point. You will have to taxi down the roads, down the beach, or something. HINT: for operating OUT of the WA90, simply take off from the strip heading north and make a left turn after takeoff. Once you're abeam of the WA90 coordinates, hit the FSE "Start Flight" button in your client. Your WA90 passengers and cargo will "jump in" on the fly (so to speak), and your take-off from WA90 will be recognized correctly within FSE.

W55/0W0

In downtown Seattle, Washington, Union Lake has two designated SPBs on either side of the southern tip of the lake. The "split" between these SPBs should run mostly on a N/S line, which means anything on the western shore should get recognized as W55 and anything on the eastern shore should get recognized as 0W0. Since these two airports are so close (.3 miles), any shift in pixels within your particular scenery package might change this line location within your scenery. But, in general, if you get recognized at 0W0, but you want W55, just move a bit further west until the client finally recognizes W55. And vice versa for 0W0.

1N2/O00

These two airstrips sit side-by-side in East Moriches, New York. While most of O00 should be recognized properly by FSE, usage of 1N2 should be restricted to the north end of the runway only

EDTY/EDTX

The Adolf Würth Airport in Schwabisch Hall, Germany, has two FSE points located within 1/2 nm of each other. You should be able to successfully log a flight to EDTY by starting/stopping at the west end of the runway (or anywhere on the south side of the red line), and get recognition for EDTX north of the red line, or at the far east end of the main runway.

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