A user of my XPL G5 gauges recently sent me a note saying that the CDI instruments found in the C172 do not automatically turn to the GPS desired course by default.  But we can make a little change to “activate” the G5 HSI to auto-slew to the front course.

Here’s how to do it:

Open the Cessna_172SP.acf with a text editor in the “\X-Plane 11\Aircraft\Laminar Research\Cessna 172SP” folder.

In the file, search for

P acf/_cdi_auto_crs_gps0 0
P acf/_cdi_auto_crs_gps1 0

Then change the last values in the two lines from 0 to 1 and save it.

P acf/_cdi_auto_crs_gps0 1
P acf/_cdi_auto_crs_gps1 1

This will give us an auto-slew CDI for NAV1 and NAV2 in GPS mode.

However, he adds that this modification doesn’t add to the realistic experience.