My friend and I are trying to both fly the Pilatus PC-21, however when spawning in, we appear as a the generic twin engine airliner for each other. We tried downloading different VMR files but there is no documentation for the PC-21 so we cant seem to find how to make the model matching work. Any tips?
Have you both purchased or obtained (i.e. freeware) a PC21 and added it to your AI library?
VMR files simply say (using the PC21 as an example) “I have an AI PC21 in my library, and I’d like to see other PC21 users with that AI”. But, obviously, you have to both have a PC21 in your library and a .vmr file that references that AI in order to successfully see another PC21 (using that AI).
If you add a .vmr file that looks for a PC21 that you don’t have, you may get an error saying something much nicer than “hey buddy, you told me to show you that PC21 over there as a PC21, but you don’t have a PC21 in your AI library, so I can’t show you something you don’t have, so the best I can do is show it as something else…”
We both purchased the PC21 but we don’t exactly know how to add it to our AI library or create a VMR file with it. I tried creating a VMR file:
ModelMatchRuleSet
ModelMatchRule TypeCode=“PC21” ModelName=“iris-aircraft-pc21”
ModelMatchRuleSet
(we used proper HTML but it wouldn’t show in the post)
However when we connect to Vatsim, we each show as a generic airliner. vPilot gives us an error saying “Your simulator failed to create aircraft (callsign) using model “iris-solutions-pc21”. The model files may be corrupt or not correctly installed in your simulator. vPilot will try to create the aircraft with a different model.” We both purchased the aircraft from the marketplace. Do we need to add the aircraft to the AI library? If so how do we do that?
Oh! You are referring to a flyable airplane, not AI! DO NOT try to install that as AI (strong suggestion, at least). Much has been written about that (see the vPilot Tips, Tricks, FAQ and Troubleshooting Guide, and the old forums).
AI is for model matching (flyable aircraft are not).
For you to reliably see each other as a PC21, you’ll have to obtain a PC21 AI model from somewhere (I have no idea if they exist – try a Google search maybe?) and both of you will have to install it.
If you don’t have them, vPilot will try to use something close, if its logic can identify something close. If not, it will show the default aircraft (e.g. Generic Twin Airliner).
Your other option, if you don’t have and can’t find a PC21 AI model is to create a .vmr file that references something that you already have in your AI library that you consider close enough, e.g. a PC12.
Downloading someone else’s vmr files for aircraft you don’t have (or haven’t guaranteed you have) in your AI library is a recipe for lots of errors.
Remember – first get and install the AI, second, create a custom VMR file ONLY IF YOU NEED TO.
If you haven’t already read them, definitely check out the vPilot FAQ on model matching and especially read the vPilot Documentation - Model Matching section.