Poll: FIP Gauge Survey Final Result

Followings are the final feedback accumulated over the last 10 days for the survey of “How Many FIPS Do You Have?” posted on August 31.  Tentative results from day 1 and day 3 are included for comparisons.

Continue reading

512: The 2nd Batch of Back-Lit Integrated C172SP Gauges

The remaining ALVOR, VSADF and TCBAL of the C172SP Integrated series with back-lit effects (when the panel light is ON) have completed.

Again, these gauges will be installed onto the “C172SP_Skyhawk_INTG_R5” folder under the “FSX_Times_Gauges” directory as well.

For systems running FIPs with Continue reading

511: The 1st Batch of Back-Lit Integrated C172SP Gauges

The first batch of Integrated C172SP gauges revised with new back-lit effects (when the panel light is ON) is completed, which includes the ASCLK, ATTAN, HDCMP and INTFG.

Since this is a major update, the new gauges will be installed onto a new “C172SP_Skyhawk_INTG_R5” folder under the “FSX_Times_Gauges” directory.  The existing “R4” folder is left untouched. Continue reading

508: The “Back-lit” C172 Integrated Gauges are Coming

During the release of the C172SP “back-lit” version a few months ago, I mentioned that similar changes would be coming soon to the C172SP Integrated series and possibly followed by other gauges.

The plan was dropped because I couldn’t help thinking that the orange-tinted back-lit style used on small aircraft such as the C172SP is a bit exaggerated even though it does look good on bigger jetliners.

After months of exploring, a new black-lit style is devised again — I hope this one will last.   And this time, I will use it on the C172SP Integrated series first.  Then, the standalone version will be revamped with similar changes later. Continue reading

503: Robin DR400/180 Gauges Completed

The Robin DR400 may not be as popular as the Cessna C172 worldwide.   But friends in Europe told me that it is still a well-liked aircraft especially in the Southern continent.

I made the ASI for it 18 months ago.   Now, the ATT, ALT, HDR and Integrated Engines are finished as well.

Together with the VSI from deHavilland DHC-2, TCR from MilViz DHC-2, VOR1 and VOR2 from Cessna C172SP, they generally complete the instrument cluster on the Lionheart DR400/180. Continue reading

500: XP C172SP INTFG (Logitech) Released

Here at last the Integrated Fuel Gauges (INTFG) for the X-Plane C172SP running Logitech FIP drivers.   It is fully customized for the aircraft even with the adjustable EGT reference needle. 

Unfortunately, there is still a feature yet to implement — the fuel-flow needle doesn’t work properly yet.

Nevertheless, instead of keeping it away from the shelf,  I replaced the fuel-flow instrument with CHT (Cylinder Head Temperature, a common feature found on Cessna aircraft) as an interim option until the solution is found.

Both CHT and fuel-flow options are included in the gauge package.   When the fuel-flow option is chosen, users may regard it a failure, which adds fun too.

All current X-Plane C172SP (Logitech) users could contact me for discount if interested in this new instrument.

Lastly, since I am not a full X-Plane simmer, help on implementing the fuel-flow feature is welcome and appreciated.    In return, a full set of the XP-Logitech C172SP or B58 gauges (or any of my bundle gauges) will be given to the first person who help solve the issue as a gift.

Following is the implementation I did so far: Continue reading

497: Gauge-Switcher for X-Plane Plugins

An X-Plane version of the GaugeSwitcher is also developed for those who are using the Logitech X-Plane Plugins for my FSX Times Gauges.

It works similarly and can handle up to 60 FIP gauge setups for X-Plane as well.

The utility has been sent to all users of my XP_Logitech gauges by emails.   Should anyone who hasn’t received the download link in their mailboxes by now could Continue reading

496: Gauge-Switcher v8 Released

GaugeSwitcher is a handy program I developed a couple of years ago to help Saitek FIP Driver users to quickly switch between multiple FSX Times Gauges (say from C172SP to B58 to Mooney Bravo to RAS Duke or vice versa) to match with the aircraft being used or to be used in FSX, FSX-SE and P3D.

The utility was given to users of my Gauges once but stopped for some reasons.

Now, the utility is available again with many optimizations, including compatibility with both Saitek and Logitech Drivers, and Continue reading

495: New Generic Wet Compass Released

Unlike the current Cessna Wet Compass, a new generic wet compass for Saitek/Logitech FIP (Flight Instrument Panel) has been created to cope with a larger number of different types of aircraft, including BeechCraft, Piper, Mooney, Robinson, etc.   The compass has been requested for quite some times but I hadn’t had a good idea of how to do it right in the first place until recently.

In addition, the new compass comes with 4 slightly different designs so as to better match with the different layouts in various cockpit requirements.
Click me to Enlarge
Although the differences between these designs may not be significant; however, these little or unnoticable touches, are many of the essences I’ve been putting in my gauges.   Because I believe, many times, what makes somethings special are the little things we sometimes ignore. Continue reading