FSX/FSX-SE Aircraft and Panel Design Forum - How To

I never understood why MSFS has such a lausy implementation of the turn&slip indicator, particularly in what concerns slip.If you're flying, say, a twin, such as the default Beech58, and you fail an engine, you'll have to kick the ball, maybe using full rudder deflection, and add some rudder trim too. In MSFS while the ball initialy moves towards the correct side of the indicator, it soon returns to the center simply by levelling the wings (???). I presume there are variables,accessible to xml, that might be used to program a better slip indicator. Is this true? Has anyone designed such an instrument?Thx in advance!!!

Dear gauge designers, I am having the problem compiling the files from fs2k2sdkwithgdi+.zip They are GDI Plus, so I have downloaded the Microsoft Platform SDK. Compiling a standard GDI+ application works, but not the B747 GDI+ gauge. I get the below errors. Yes, I have the updated gauges.h from Arne Bartels (I got it from sd2gau14.zip) I did not modify the file "GdiplusEnums.h" The warning regarding to dim appears occasionaly. Below are the errors. Any help would be greatly appreciated.C:Program FilesMicrosoft SDKincludeGdiplusEnums.h(28) : error C2146: syntax error : missing ';' before identifier 'GraphicsState'C:Program FilesMicrosoft SDKincludeGdiplusEnums.h(28) : fa…

Designers, Does anyone know where I could find any Cessna Citation Excel 560XL blueprints? I have been searching for them for ages, and I got none. Thank you in advance.Sincerely,Tiberiu Brasov

Hey i am currently working on my A318 model and i got something strange hapening.Seems like FS aint accepting the flasp postion animation, just the rotating. (as seen on the picture).In gmax the flaps are rotating and then sliding back but in FS they only rotate (same happens withe the slats) and then they look strange.Ive tried re-animating with restaing scale and transform. the flaps are named "l_pct_trail_edge_flap01" ""l_pct_trail_edge_flap0" and pylons "l_pct_trail_edge_flap0_03".Any ideas?Best regards,Avielhttp://aerodesigns.projectai.com/Images/banneraviel.jpg

Hi,I'm trying to add a clickspot to the PMDG 737 radio panel so that when you click the clickspot the radio panel closes. Am not having much luck on what should be a very simple piece of code, which I basically copied from another guy who made hidden clickspots for the PSS Airbus:XML Code:- - RADIO_STACK_PANEL (>K:PANEL_ID_CLOSE)Config Code:[Window08] // PMDG_RADIO_STACK_PANELfile=737NG_RADIO_BACKGROUND.bmp file_1024=737NG_RADIO_BACKGROUND.bmp size_mm=800,600position=8visible=0Background_color=0,0,0 ident=RADIO_STACK_PANELgauge00=PMDG_737NG_Main!RadioBackLight, 0, 0, 165, 455gauge01=PMDG_737NG_RADIOS!PMDG_737NG_RADIOS, 0, 0, 800, 600gauge02=737Clickspots!Close, …

I seem to have run across an unexpected and unexplained snag using GMax and the export plugin from MSFS.If the total poly count exceeds 28,000 the model will (most often) fail on export, crashing GMax with no explanation at all... The odd thing is, that 1 out of 30 tries to export will complete, and makemdl.exe will quite happily complete the compile to final model!BTW, the model is all 'editable poly,' and consists mainly of patches, splines and lofted parts. No abnormalities are detected or reported during the compile, so I'm confident it isn't a case of co-located vertices, etc.Does anyone have a clue to help solve this? TIABillAVSIM OmbudsmanFounder and Director,Cre…

Hey everyone,I did my first try at painting, it's not that bad if you have a paint kit, but the problem I'm having is that I can't get my computer to let me access the bmps for the default planes. If anyone has a paint kit that they've done for the C172, please let me know.One quick question, would you guys download this plane? I repainted that new Emb 170 to do a facke livery for my University.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/39049.jpgThanks,Allen

I am a newby and would like to know if it is possible for someone at my skill level to add a landing panel to Flight1's C152. My knowledge level can be described as someone with a good functional understanding of the structure and functions of panel.cfg and someone who has made modifications to mainpanel.bmps successfully.Can someone explain at the conceptual level how to convert a mainpanel.bmp into a landingpanel.bmp and get it to replace the main panel when it is called up? I say "conceptual level" because I would like to know if it's going to be something I can do with just Photoshop 6 and any freeware tools that are out there.TIA

Is it possible to "reverse engineer" guages and mdl files? If so please tell me how. I have been working with panels for a long time but have hit a wall and need the ability to go farther. Thanks in advance.James

An ethics question:I've created a landing panel for Dreamfleet's C152. In the spirit of giving back for all the things I've taken, I'm thinking I should upload it to share.I have seen the irate reactions and feuds generated over using other people's work and have no desire to step on any toes.If I modified a Dreamfleet panel bitmap but did not modify any gauges, can I upload this with out permission? Is this any different than someone uploading a repaint?Norm

Mach speed is a decimal number.How can you set a specific MACH speed using trigger_key_event?Thge problem is that trigger_key_event takes a UINT32 parameter for the value to be set. Something like:trigger_key_event(KEY_AP_MACH_VAR_SET, 0.81);will never work because 0.81 is not an integer...Any clue?Thanks in advance !!Eric

Anyone know the whereabouts of Fred Banting? I have been unable to contact him at his email address.Or, who made the panel and gauges for the Beaver, if it wasn't Fred?ThanksJohn Woodward

Hi,I'm busy with writing an autopilot for an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle. For the moment I'll be happy if I can write the software for it :-). The design is so that the software gets it information from an altimeter, compass, pitot tube and GPS to determine the position. The software controls the throttle, ailerons, elevators and if necessary the rudder.Now it would be great if I could test this in FS2002!I searched the FS2002 Panels & Gauges SDK for variables that I could change to control the ailerons, elevator, throttle, but I didn't find anything usefull (okay, some autopilot functions, but those are what I need to test!). I intend to use the gauge as follo…

Hi FolksAm trying to make the Bell206 start accurately, as opposed to just turning the Mixture control to rich. It should have a start procedure similar to a normal turbine, ie the Beech 350, where the starter spins the engines and the pilot hits fuel when the engines are spinning fast enough.Seems the Bell does not have a starter?? Can one be installed?Does anyone know where the start-up sequences for aircraft are stored, as it seems to me that each aircraft has a specicific start sequence, and that must be stored somewhere? If I knew how to see the various star sequences, perhaps I could decode the Bell206?Steve

I am in no rush to purchase FS2004 but the question of compatibility of my freeware FS2002 flight models with FS2004 has already arisen. Today I spent several hours testing this issue on a friend's computer. The preliminary results cause me sufficient concern to ask those of you who have substantial expertise in writing FDE to repeat my tests to determine whether you can confirm my findings set out below.Please fly all the initial tests with FS2004 default aircraft so that you are not testing for potential mistakes in imported third party FDE. Maximum realism should be set.Two key components of aerodynamics are wing twist and wing incidence. FS2000 reads these data fr…

How do I design and install a copilot figure in an aircraft?

Hello,Do you know which FS variable corresponds to the OAT (Outside Air Temperature)?Is it AMBIENT_TEMP_DEGREES_C ?Thanks.Eric

I downloaded an excellent FS2004 P-51 package (p51pkg.zip) at Flightsim.com. The planes are GREAT but the panel toggle switches don't turn on any lights. I edited the aircraft.cfg and was able to get the strobes, beacon and navigation lights to work OK. I can't get the taxi or landing lights to work. Are these lights coded into the model? There were no Lights or Electrical sections for the lights. I fixed these OK. There was no mention of the author in the file so I can't contact the author. Any help sure would be appreciated. Thanks, regards, Bob.

I have an animation on my aircraft which is tagged with the tick18 variable, this is constantly on and I was wondering if anyone knows away of activating/deactivating this with a gauge.I know nothing about building gauges but I do have easy gauge 2, and it does allow you to choose tick18 from the variable list, just not sure if it can do what I want.CheersAl

Hi,I am looking for a good panel (freeware) for the A320. Any comments or suggestions?Thank you,Tom

1) In particular, I'm trying to detect a mouse_btn_down vs. up condition. Namely so that I can program a button on a panel to stay down while the user is "pushing" it with the mouse click.I have succeeded in coding a button that will stay down briefly and then pop back up, but I want a button that will move in/out with the mouse btn.2) Second question: I've noticed that with helicopters (at least) that the mixture_rich is controling the start, vs. a "starter". So, merely closing a fuel_valve starts the engine, vs. just closing a fuel_valve. What controls which variable "starts" the engine???In other words, is it possible to change this?3) Third question: Is is possibl…

hi,i'm not too sure if it belongs -i'm stupid-in this forum,but A:does anybody know the rgb values for lufthansa blue and grey?and b:how does one repaint the engine,whilst retaining the panel lines...i managed to get it done on the tail and fuselage,but i just can't get the engines to show in grey ;-) (told ya i was stupid ;-) )http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/38786.jpgwell,what ya think....does it look a bit good(the fuselage?) i know,i have to add windows,the grey has to move up,the nose logo must go up a bit,and the name must be stretched a little,but hey,it's the first thing I'M painting,so i am just darn proud(as i am a complete computer analphabetic,you see)i thin…

When we return from vacation we will continue building our AI fleet of GA aircraft. One short cut I am considering, which you may not not like, is the use of existing paint jobs.What I would like to do is, after building the gmax model, use an existing texture map to paint it. An example would be the Legacy that BobC built. Right now I count at least 7 repaints. We can build a low polygon model with just a little effort. http://www.mtco.com/~rsam/LegacyNshop.jpgAnother example would be using all of the repaints that have been done for the various posky models. Over 300 hits when you search on - posky 74* repaint.To avoid the "don't use this without ....", I will not …

Hi,Does anyone know how to model the effect of air temperature to the aircraft performance? We currently have the airspeed tuned very close to the real performance figures in different altitudes, at ISA temperatures. The problem is, the performance does not change correctly when flying in colder/hotter conditions. Currently, if the temperature is lower than the ISA value, our airspeed will fall short of the real world figures, and vice versa if the environment is hotter.We'd like to know, if there is any way to adjust the flight model to take account this effect, and how it's done. Our plane is a turboprop, intended for use with FS2004. However, all tips regarding the mat…

In some panels, there is a problem with the autopilot heading or speed setting: when you try to increase or decrease the value, it changes 10 by 10 instead of 1 by 1.With the help of Pete Dowson, I found the explanation: the frequent use of "trigger_key_event" in the code generates key events and fools the acceleration system, making it believe the value change must be accelerated.I don't know how to avoid using "trigger_key_event". I am developing an FMC, which commands the autopilot heading to make the aircraft follow the route. The heading is calculated at each refresh (18 times a second) so that the aircraft follows the route accurately, and it is updated through a ca…