FIP

Flight Instrument Panel

344: Don’t Go Changing, to Try Reverse Me

| Tom Tsui

TechLevel02W
As mentioned in my last post, although Jack’s suggestion of reversing the order of the gauges in the SaiFlightSimX.xml list renders a more intuitive and logical user-button reaction, the “solution” still isn’t perfect.   Because the opposite associations of the “Up Button – Down on the List” and “Down Button – Up on the List” or vice versa basically have not changed.

Thanks to Alexey, who is the author of FIP Toolkit & FIP Customizer, I am now able to swap the functions of the Up/Down button “physically”.   Meaning that when I press the “Up Button” on the FIP, it really means “Going Up” the gauge in the SaiFlightSimX.xml list, and when I press the “Down Button“, it really means “Going Down” the list.

Alexey said that the two buttons cannot be reprogrammed because they are not handled by the device’s SDK.   However, we could swap the button masks of these two buttons to achieve the same result.

Followings are the steps.   NOTE that you are highly advised to make a system backup before you proceed. Continue reading →

343: Reversing Orders of the Gauges

| Tom Tsui

Over the years, I’ve been putting the order of my gauges in the SaiFlightSimX.xml file according to the start up order of the FIPs as shown below.
Cockpit_Order
I know by “pressing the UP button” on the FIP means switching to the “NEXT” gauge (Down one on the SaiFlightSimX.xml list order), and “pressing the DOWN button” means switching to the “PREVIOUS” gauge (Up one on the list order).

With these “UP button – Down One / DOWN button – Up One” arrangement, I can’t help falling into the confusion of Continue reading →

342: RealAir Duke V2 Gauges Second Release

| Tom Tsui

Following the un-announced Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI), the remaining Altimeter (ALT), Radio Altitude Indicator (RDA), Radio Magnetic Indicator (RMI) and VOR2 with GlideSlope Indicator (VOR2) for the Duke B60 & Turbine were completed earlier than expected.
RASDuke_ALT_GIF RASDuke_RDA_GIF RASDuke_RMI_GIF RASDuke_VOR_GIF
However, the Airspeed Indicator (ASI) for the Duke B60 version is still under development.   But it should be ready soon. (Done)

Actually, except a few, Continue reading →

341: First 4 Gauges for RealAir Duke V2

| Tom Tsui

The project for the RealAir Duke Turbine V2 gauges have been started for nearly a month.   At present, the Airspeed Indicator (ASI), Attitude Indicator (ATI), Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) and Turn Coordinator (TCR) are now ready, in which the latter three share the same gauges on the Duke B60 as well.
RASDuke_ASI_GIF RASDuke_ATT_GIF RASDuke_HSI_GIF  RASDuke_TCR_GIF
Similar to the last B58 Baron/Carenado project, Continue reading →

338: Video of Aircreation 582SL Gauges

| Tom Tsui

Per some friends’s request, here’s a short video showing what the Aircreation 582SL gauges look like on the screen.

BTW, many default FSX aircrafts are portable to P3D.   For example, I’ve been using FSX’s C172 SP in P3D for years without a problem.

Just copy the whole Airplanes folder from one platform to the other.  That will do.

Surely, for some aircrafts, you may need to copy their respective gauges and sound files from the “\gauges” and “\Sound” folders.

337: Gauges for the Low and Slow

| Tom Tsui

The Aircreation 582 SL is probably the very first aircraft almost all users start to fly with in FSX.   It once was my favorite too as it is not only simple to operate but also can fly low and slow.

Had thought about doing the FIP gauges for this tricycle ultralight long time ago.   With the Chinese New Year timeframe over the last few weeks in which I enjoyed a bit more free time from taking care of my little grandson (he is one-year-old now), I finally had the gauges done.
AC582SL_FULL
Now, I can fly very low and slow again to enjoy the view and scenery in simulator I missed a lot for a long time.   Continue reading →

335: The B58 Gauges are Ready Now

| Tom Tsui

The long waited B58 Gauges are ready now.

B58_Baron_FULL01
Click me to see the Extended Version

The B58 gauges come in two different versions — one for the default B58 and one for the Carenado B58.

B58C_Carenado_FULL01
Click me to see the Extended Version

Although the two gauge sets look similar in some ways, there are actually many subtle but notable differences between the two in terms of design and coding implementations.   And the same gauge from the two versions could act differently in many occasions.   It is one of the reasons dragging my original plan behind. Continue reading →

333: Switching Between Gauges

| Tom Tsui

With the addition of the new A36 and the coming B58 Gauge Series, a friend Steve (and others) who asks:

After installation, what’s the prefered method for choosing between the A36 gauges and the C172 gauges, when going back and forth? Will the C172 gauges remain the default, and then you just scroll through the gauge choices on each individual gauge using the FIP up/down arrows to bring up the A36 gauges?

Here’s the solution:

The switching in the video is Continue reading →

332: A36 Bonanza Gauges Now Ready

| Tom Tsui

The Installer Program for the Carenado A36 Gauge Series is completed.   Those who took the pre-sale offer should have received the download link in their mailboxes already.A36_ASI_ANIMATION

In this official release, an extra standalone gauge plate for the Turn Coordinator is included.   Local and Zulu Time Clocks are added to the AirSpeed Indicator.  The True Airspeed Digital Display shown in the last preview has been moved to a position overlaying A36_HSI_160110E_resizethe TAS button.

Besides the Flight Director features on the Attitude Indicator (see my Post 327), a Wind Direction Indicator on the HSI gauge and Centering Indicators for the Aileron and Pitch Trim Wheels on the ADF gauge are also added for easy adjustments.

All these last minute touches tend to render Continue reading →