Alaska Power Project

[ualani]

Doug,
PP13 has several objects in it from the CeyX libraries which we aren't allowed to use:

CX_River_Houses_1
River_House_green_1
RTMM_DHC2.bgl

[ualani]

PP05 still has one of Xavier's boats in it that we can't use.

[Doug]

Thomas has given us an update on starts for Goat Lake, PP01 ... also a readme doc for the site. They are both
up in the new zip.

Doug

[Doug]

Added documents (readme) to Tyee Lake and Swan Lake. Changed out some objects in several of the earlier locations, added the "no float planes" sign to Reynolds Creek.

Sometimes we need to "cross" a shoreline. That shoreline is "hard", so a float plane will hang up on it. In the case of Reynolds Creek, we have such an area going from the upper lake into Rich's Pond where the intake for the penstock is located. Rich's Pond is too small to land on, so you land on the lake. But if you are in a float plane, you will not be able to cross that shoreline into Rich's Pond. If you have an amphibian, you can put wheels down and cross it safely.  Steve W made us a "no float planes" sign that we can put into an area like this that will warn people about the "hard surface."  We have added it to Reynolds Lake. (Thank you Steve!)

Doug

[corbu1]

Hi,
at Goat Lake hydro PP01 I see this structure in the river just under the lower hydro plant site.
I don`t know if it`s scenery related. Does anybody else see it?

[Doug]

Yes, that is fog.

D

[ualani]

Does anyone else have a z-fighting, texture flickering issues at PP08 and PP10?

[ualani]

Floaters etc. at PP01.

[Dieter]

I confirm all above mentioned problems (Steve).
(System: FSX)

[corbu1]

I confirm all above mentioned problems (Steve).
(System: FSX)

Me, too!!

[tomse]

Hi Steve,
Floaters corrected at Goat lake, will be up soon.
Th

[Doug]

The new file is "up" ... floaters are "grounded." I've begun to create a small series of  "dispatches" that will give people a quick route to "go see" the APP sites. These will be simple and easy to follow. With the PPxx we've created for each of the sites, we'll be using the GPS rather than a flight plan. (Maps will be available, but no autopilot for these!).

These locations are going to be amazing for the helicopter people ... lots of elevation changes and tricky approaches, and we've put (sort of unrealistically), helipads everywhere!  We know most of the folks flying the helos up there can land them anywhere, but this helps our people "find" where to land.

There will be a slightly altered instruction for the float plane people. Although you can land out on the water at many of these sites, the real flying is going to be in landing on the lakes and reservoirs. The first one, Goat Lake, is a good example. No place to land near the plant, so only the reservoir is available. It is a small lake and if you fly first over the plant, a hard left turn and quick landing.  Many of the lakes and reservoirs are VERY short and will take some skill to safely land and take off from.

Bottom line, these are going to be fun for both genres of aircraft.  In the "spirit" of this project, those of you helping us with the beta. Don't hesitate to "weigh in" on the dispatches as we make them. Is there more we need to say about a site's landing spots, or the trip to it, etc? (I don't fly helicopters, so I'm like a patient telling a doctor how to do a heart operation!) So "corrections" are welcome ... anything you want to add to make a dispatch better, let us know.

Doug

[Doug]

I've finished the "outline" for the second dispatch ... for the Juneau area, that covers 4 hydro plants. You can see the D02 "skeleton" on the new dispatch table on the APP page. Note that Salmon Creek does not yet exist, Thomas is still building it. I'll try to get the rest of the dispatches "outlined", then we'll start flying them and adding details to these "skeletons." The details might be warnings about a high tree or tower for a helipad, or a tricky approach for a short reservoir landing, etc. The idea is to make them more "human."

When the dispatches are finished, I'll make a pdf of them adding in the maps so a person could download it and have all the dispatches on the desktop ready to fly them.

When we get further into this, I really could use some help from the heli folks. What I'll be looking for is the "details" from the heli point of view.  I can handle the float plane side, but I'll miss details that should probably be added to the heli side of the dispatches.

Doug

[Doug]

Takatz Lake Hydro - By Doug Linn

Spent the day on this one and have it "up" in the zip. This is (like all of them) interesting. I included the original map from their document and the original PDF for the project so you can see how closely we follow their plan. All of the access roads are present, along with the access road to the dam and to the materials handling dock. This one is fairly "spread out", typical of these.  You will see a 1000 foot penstock coming out of the side of the mountain. They built a tunnel from the lake (lake tap)  down to the hydro plant, then capped it with a penstock that goes into a two-generator plant.  There are two dams in this one. The second dam is called a "saddle dam" ... there was a low spot just to the side of the dam that would have "let out the water" if the water was raised 200 feet. So a saddle dam was placed in that "saddle." You can still see them clearing away some trees that will be flooded.  (Lots of fun altering the terrain for this one!).

[Doug]

PP09 - Whitman Lake

Fixed the dock start so the tail of the aircraft doesn't hang over the dam. Made a longer dock and put the start point out on the end. Also had fixed the 026 starting position for the runway (which started on a hillside). Don't foget with this one you MUST download the update from the zip button in the "Whitman Lake" scenery location on the page ... it is NOT part of the APP zip (we kept it separate because it conflicts with PAKT Pay ware).

PP15 - Takatz Lake Hydro

Did some small "clean up" to the sites. Put in Thomas's new penstock that is slanted. We now have them slanted at several angles.

For those of you not knowing how these work. You have a lake or reservoir at a higher elevation (in this case 800 feet). You put a dam where the water runs out of the lake and raise the water level, (also the head pressure, the energy needed to drive the turbines far below). Then you put a "drain" (called a lake tap) in the bottom of the lake and dig a tunnel down through the surrounding hills/mountains to come out at the hydro plant, usually at sea level. From the tunnel, you connect a "penstock' a very big pipe. In the case of Takatz Lake, it is a 72" pipe (at Thayer Lake it is 42").  So the water rushes down the tunnel, and into the penstock that carries the water to the plant ... remember it is under big pressure because it is coming from above. The water is then in this case,  fed to two turbans. The pressure of the water turns the turbines and this generates the electricity.   What you see at Takatz is a lot of the debris that was taken out of the tunnel when it was being built, and you see the penstock slanting down from the tunnel inside the mountain and leading to the plant.

Takatz is interesting because there are (will be, it is proposed), two dams. The main dam will raise the water level in the lake by 200 feet. But notice to the right, there is a "dip" or a "saddle" in the terrain ... the water would run out of the lake there. So they have to build a "saddle dam" that will hold the water in at that point.  The "lake tap" (drain) will be located in front of the saddle dam (red "x").  That is where the tunnel will begin, and it will go all the way down under the mountain to the plant, where the penstock is then attached. Fun huh?

Doug