617: My FIP Gauges and MSFS

| Tom Tsui

The update patch for MSFS is out, which claims to solve many issues in the first release.   I still haven’t tried re-installing MSFS yet due to various personal matters.   But surely will do it again very soon.

During these days, have received many emails questioning about the compatibility of my FIP gauges with MSFS.

Frankly, due to my current situation of not an MSFS user, I am really not a good person to give a proper answer.

However, some users of my gauges have reported successfully running FIP gauges in MSFS Continue reading →

616: Integrated Gauges for XP C172SP

| Tom Tsui

In a survey conducted last year regarding the format of FIP gauges, 68% X-Plane users were interested in the Integrated layout of the C172SP gauges.  After a year’s waiting, here it comes at last.

Instead of having seven gauges in the FSX/P3D version, there’s only 3 integrated gauges in the X-Plane version: ALVOR (Altimeter with VOR1 and VOR2); VSADF (Vertical Speed Indicator with ADF); and HDCMP (Heading Gyro with Wet Compass, Engine Hours and RPM Indicator).

Nevertheless, Continue reading →

615: My MSFS Update 4

| Tom Tsui

I got refund from Microsoft again and it was even faster than last time.  Good job MS Support.

During my wait for the refund, I kept searching similar issues on the Internet and Xbox forum.  I found that I am not alone but still my case seems to be a little different from others.

One friend in last Post told me not to go for the DVD version.  So, Steam may be the only choice left for me.

Some friends commented there’s really no need to rush for it.  Yes, after a second thought, why not? Continue reading →

614: My MSFS Update 3

| Tom Tsui

I got the refund from Microsoft Support in about a day after my request.  A thumb up to their quick response.

I immediately re-purchase the Standard Version again, hoping that it would solve the issue.  Sadly, no.  Same issue lingers and doesn’t go.

I really have my head scratched.  If it is my DIY PCs, the Surface Pro should be good and shouldn’t encounter the same issue.

There are two things I am thinking now: Continue reading →

613: My MSFS Update 2

| Tom Tsui

Here’s another quick update to my status with MSFS.   In general, I have tried every suggested fix I could find from the Internet and MS/FS site for the error issue I am facing.  Unfortunately, all are helpless.

I was suspecting if I had done something wrong to the two PCs, either before or during or after applying those potential fixes.  Then an idea “why not trying it on the Surface Pro?” popped up before I went to bed last night.

I immediately jumped out of bed and did it right away.  Although the installer warned me that my Surface Pro doesn’t meet the minimum requirement of MSFS and the performance would be poor, it still carried on to putting the initial part of the game to my laptop.

When MSFS was run to the Content Manager stage for update download, Continue reading →

612: My MSFS Update 1

| Tom Tsui

Received some feedbacks for my post yesterday regarding the under-par performance of MSFS on my computer.  One of the concerns is the spec of my PC.  It is as follows:

Asus Maximus VI Extreme
Intel i7-4770K OD to 4.0GHz
Corsair DDR3-2133 RAM 16GB
7 Samsung SSD Storages with various capacity
MSI GeForce GTX 780 x 2
Windows 10 Home 64-bit 2004

Surely not the latest and very high-end one but it’s still passes the minimum requirement listed by Microsoft.  And it runs P3Dv4 satisfactorily in general.

Bad things don’t come alone. Continue reading →

611: My First Impression on MSFS

| Tom Tsui

Just played the new Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) for about an hour after spending the whole afternoon downloading the files to my computer.  Frankly speaking, although many alpha players praised it highly on the Internet, my first impression on it is quite disappointed and even worse than my first time with X-Plane 10.

Maybe my i7 CPU is not fast enough, maybe my graphics card is not high-end enough.  The simulator severely stutters from start to end.  Even though I configured it to the lowest graphics settings, it didn’t perform satisfactorily.  All my drivers were updated to the latest.

Moreover, many of my flightsim gears, Continue reading →

610: Cessna Flaps Lever 3D File

| Tom Tsui

Have just recreated the 3D print file for the Cessna Flaps Lever I used on the Desktop Aviator.com’s Flaps module (see last Post) in my cockpit.  Surely nothing fancy.  Probably many friends with 3D printers know how to create one themselves.  Anyway, this is my first creation with a 3D printer for flight simulation.

Anyone interested could get a copy of it from the Freeware section in my store here: 3D-Files

609: My Cockpit Rev #22 – Flaps Lever

| Tom Tsui

I’ve been playing a lot with the newly bought 3D printer lately.   After many failures, I finally made a satisfied Flaps Lever to replace the little black round button coming with the Flaps Indicator by Desktop Aviator.

The 3D model of the Cessna flap lever I earlier sourced from the Internet wasn’t bad.  However, it is a bit small and the shaft hole doesn’t fit the metal shaft, which is flat, on the indicator.

Therefore, instead of modifying the file, Continue reading →