Work on Aurora Sector Studio 0.5.0-alpha5 has focused on building and revising procedure geometry directly on the map. Arcs, holding patterns and procedure turns can now be calculated, previewed and written into SID and STAR files without assembling every intermediate coordinate by hand.
The feature implementation is complete and integrated into the release branch. The Windows release candidate has been built and checked locally. This is a development preview: visual and load checks in IVAO Aurora remain before release.
Draw arcs, holds and procedure turns
The new drawing tools start from the selected procedure. For an arc, you can enter a centre, radius and start/end radials, or define the curve using its centre and two endpoint positions. Both left and right turns are supported, with explicit true or magnetic inputs where applicable.
Positions can be entered precisely or picked from the map, with snapping to loaded reference points. Sampling controls determine how closely the generated straight segments follow the calculated curve, so you can balance the appearance of the route against its point count.
Holding patterns use a holding fix, inbound or outbound course, turn side, radius and straight-leg length. Legs can also be defined by time and speed. Procedure-turn layouts include a tangent course change, a 45°/180° reversal and an 80°/260° reversal.
Before applying a shape, the preview shows the proposed coordinate rows and segmented route. You can inspect the direction arrow and the joins to the surrounding procedure, then insert the shape or replace a selected range.
Two calculators for different turn-building tasks
The chart base-turn calculator fits a turn between an outbound VOR radial and an inbound radial, starting at a specified DME distance. It supports VOR station alignment and a separate DME position when the stations are not colocated. Where several solutions are possible, you choose which candidate to use and review its geometry before inserting it.
The TAS/bank-angle calculator works from true airspeed, bank angle and turn angle. It reports turn radius, rate, duration and path length. Its radius can be transferred explicitly into the numeric arc, holding-pattern and procedure-turn tools.
These calculators serve different purposes. The chart tool fits the entered chart constraints; the performance tool assumes constant TAS and bank in a coordinated, level turn in still air. It does not convert indicated airspeed to TAS or model wind.
Edit the route you can see
Map selection and source selection now refer to the same procedure rows. Clicking a point or segment identifies its source, while selecting a longer coordinate range in the editor highlights the corresponding geometry on the map.
You can insert a point between segment endpoints, move a coordinate numerically or by picking a position, and drag a selected point to preview a new location. Deletion previews the new connection between neighbouring points. Reversal changes the coordinate order and direction arrow, while resampling can add points along existing segments or reduce eligible intermediate points within a chosen tolerance.
Dragging and previewing do not commit an edit by themselves. Each tool presents the proposed change for review before Apply, including the connections immediately before and after the edited range.
Put the relevant tools under the pointer
The context-aware right-click menu brings the new map tools closer to the geometry. A point, segment, selected range, active procedure or pinned reference offers actions suited to that target.
That means you can open point editing from a vertex, insert a coordinate on a segment, reverse or resample a range, or start a drawing tool without returning to the toolbar. Both calculators are included in the drawing submenu.
The menu retains an existing range when you right-click within it. Overlapping procedures can be disambiguated, and a pinned reference must be activated explicitly before it becomes the edit target. The toolbar remains available alongside these shortcuts.
Compare procedures and follow geometry warnings
Up to six procedures can be pinned as subdued reference paths behind the active route. This makes it easier to compare variants, inspect shared portions and check how a changed procedure sits alongside another runway or route. The references follow current source changes rather than freezing an image of the map.
Geometry warnings also connect the Problems panel to the source and map. They help locate duplicate points, unresolved references and gaps, long segments, dense sampling and coordinates outside an adjustable airport area. The thresholds can be changed for the project; warnings identify places to inspect rather than modifying valid geometry automatically.
Keep the normal sector-file workflow
The tools produce ordinary coordinate rows in .sid and .str files. Applied edits participate in source-editor Undo and Redo, and guarded operations preserve attached fields and comments or explain why a proposed replacement cannot safely proceed.
The sequence is Preview → Apply → Save. Apply changes the open document; Save writes it to disk. Save the procedure changes you want to include before exporting a sector update.
The output remains segmented display geometry. It does not add ARINC leg semantics or a flight-dynamics simulation. After reopening a file, the geometry is edited through its coordinate rows rather than a stored parametric shape.
Guides for the new map systems
A quick start walks through a first arc and the Preview, Apply and Save workflow. The complete map guide covers the drawing modes, both calculators, selection, point editing, comparisons and common problems, with screenshots of the actual tools.
The documentation hub also links to downloadable browser guides and a Markdown bundle for offline use.
What remains before release
The Alpha 5 candidate passed 842 Release tests, and its desktop Release build completed without warnings or errors. The portable ZIP and installer have been generated, with packaged startup and updater checks passing. Generated SID and STAR examples have also been saved, exported and reopened with their coordinates preserved.
The remaining acceptance work is to load the examples and a representative exported sector in IVAO Aurora, check the linework and joins, and compare the chart-based turns in the target application. Those external checks have not yet been signed off.
There is no release date to announce yet. Once acceptance is complete, a separate release post will cover the final changes and download details.