Author: Tom Tsui

648: My MSFS Vegetations Mod

| Tom Tsui

Vegetations in MSFS are generally regarded oversized and look unrealistically.  There are tips on the Internet to help improve the situation by reducing the MAX and MIN values of all entries in the 10-asobo_species.xml file under “/fs-base/vegetation” folder to about 60% – 80% (or about 4 – 8 points) of their originals.

Vegetations look more realistic with the mod

My personal preference after tests is to keep the minimum values unchanged but to lower the maximum values to the same values of the minimum; or to 5 when the minimum values are less than 5.

Reducing all the maximum values to the minimum values is also good.

Here’s the download link to the five Vegetation files Continue reading →

647: Logitech MSFS Plugin Won’t Work Alone

| Tom Tsui

When I installed the Logitech’s MSFS Plugin onto my two computers (one new, one rebuilt) a couple of weeks ago, I got puzzled because all my Logitech’s Pro Flight Panels worked nicely with MSFS, except the Flight Instrument Panels (FIPs).

There were nothing on the displays — no serial numbers, no product images.  All screens were blank.  And the most frustrated was Windows recognized them all and said they worked normally.

On my last computer I just replaced, the MSFS Plugin works seamless without any issue.  I just have the Plugin installed and off it goes.

It took me nearly a day to figure out that Continue reading →

646: G Flight Yoke 180° Mod Completed

| Tom Tsui

Remember Alexey’s G Flight Yoke 180° modification and repair project in Post 586 ?  He just notified me that the project has completed.

The last step was to install the Leo Bodnar’s custom controller board instead of the broken Saitek’s board. As the result, the yoke kept 90% of its previous functionality except for the mode switch and the timer display. With the new board the yoke’s input became smoother, so the 180 degree rotation mod applied earlier now allows better control of the aircraft. The last mod will also help people whose yokes are broken to bring them back to life with the help of Leo Bodnar’s controller board, said Alexey.

Anyone interested in his project could see the videos showing the last modification and testing here: Continue reading →

645: Auto-Slew G5 HSI in X-Plane

| Tom Tsui

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 Continue reading →

644: MSFS DR400 Engine Gauges Delivered

| Tom Tsui

The Engine Gauges for the MSFS DR400 was just completed before the scheduled deadline.   Those who ordered the DR400 pre-sale should have the download link for it in their mailboxes by now.  If not, contact me via email or the Comment Section below.

This Gauge should have been done earlier if I were not stuck by some issues from the simulator.  For example, the data of Fuel Pressure and Oil Temperature Continue reading →

643: My Cockpit Rev #23 – My New Rig

| Tom Tsui

It’s almost four years since I purchased my last computer for flight simulation.  It’s still working good.  However, it’s commonly agreed that hardware for flight simulation is just like the song in the “The Greatest Showman” movie – Never Enough.

Cannot say it’s the best timing to upgrade but since my work computer (nearly 10 years old) acted a bit odd lately, I decided to substitute it with my current flight computer and purchase a new one for flight simulation.

The specs are: Continue reading →

642: MSFS C152 Engine Gauges Delivered

| Tom Tsui

The Engine Gauges for MSFS C152 has been done today, which completes the C152 MSFS Gauge Set and is compatible with the MSFS C152 Acrobat version as well.

Those who ordered the C152 pre-sale bundle should have received the download link in their mailboxes by now. If not, contact me via email or the Comment Section below.

There’s one more DR400 Engine Gauges to complete the pre-sale offer.  Should be ready by end of the month as scheduled.

 

641: MSFS C172 Engine Gauges Updated

| Tom Tsui

The MSFS C172 Engine Gauges has just been updated with smaller fuel pump

and valve off indicators, so that they are not stressed too much and still significant enough to be noticed when activated.

Users of the Engine gauges could use the same download link to get the updated file and reinstall it to overwrite the older version.  If the link is discarded, Continue reading →

640: MSFS C172 Engine Gauges Delivered

| Tom Tsui

The Engine Gauges for the C172 in MSFS has been done earlier today.  This completes the C172 MSFS Gauge Set.

New elements, such as the flashing indicator for Fuel Pump, are added to the design to make it more interesting to use.

The Engine Gauges for the C152 and DR400 are being worked on and should be ready as scheduled before the end of month.

Continue reading →