EXTENDED-All Members Check-In Weekend...

[blueskydriver]

Hey All Members,

Where are you? How about checking in this weekend? That just means you post a hey, hi, hello or whatever you want too say in this thread.

This is just something I used to do years ago, and thought it'd be nice to have everyone login and let us know you're still going in life...with or without a simulator. If you're a member great and if you're not one, but want to join, please do so.

Let's keep Cockpit Builders going strong!

John 

This is big news!

Hey All,

Going to extend this until after the coming 3 day weekend; it's Memorial Weekend in the USA, and we can continue too do the check-in in order to remember all of our fellow past, present and future sim builders...

John

[jackpilot]

Canadian 526 Checking In, out of 10 thousand for 25 hundred on approach.

[N4208T]

Checking in.  Just completed a VR flight in a Cub from San Diego to John Wayne airport.  Pure simple flying fun.

Still love the site even though I am not building anything at present.

Steve

[sagrada737]

Hello All,

Just checking in per John's request.  Things are fine with the Sim.  I'm still working on the new projection system, with some mixed results feeding the new Laser Projectors 4k data.  Although statically, the 210 degree wrap-around display looks great, and during a flight it seems to have much greater detail, upon further testing, I am seeing some display anomalies. 

This may be due to the fact that I am using a single PC P3D v4.5 operations, even though I am running a RTX-3090 GPU.  Continuing testing...

Display issues aside, the Sim is flying fine, and the 6dof Motion Platform is problem free.

All the best to everyone on the Forum.

Mike

[navymustang]

Hi all, Navy guy here and still working as fast as I can on my new SH-2H helicopter sim. I am slowly learning the ropes of OEM builds, and continue to discover how bad helicopters are really designed in P3D. I just look at it as another challenge.
Having a ton of fun using AirManager to build all of my custom displays. What a life savor. Can't wait to sell my old projection system so I can build the new TV-based visual for the helicopter.

[brianwilliamson]

Good Morning one and all. Good news appears to be that the release of the new series 30 video cards seem to be getting closer.

Hopefully the price range may get back to normal.

I can then get to work on tuning my new 5.2 Ghz computer and then test a single computer on 3 projectors.

....Brian W.

[jskibo]

Alive.  Not much done with any of the sims lately, too many cuts at work left me with everyone else's workload.  Recently brought two more aboard so maybe life will get more normal.

I did pick up a 3090 to run the three screens on, shockingly the 1080ti sold for $250 more than I paid for it 4 years ago

[FredK]

All well here....

Other than routine maintenance and chasing down the normal minor bugs that crop up every now and then I have not done much at all with any physical improvements in the sim in the past 6-12 months.  In fact, I am in sort of a quandry as where to take it next. I am happy with the stability of P3D4.5 with Sim Avionics, and therefore have little motivation to move on to something else there.  I do keep adding airport scenery though....well over 125 upgraded airports now, so I have a lot invested in the status quo. 

I would love to move to a single computer to drive my three visual screens to simplify my setup, so I am regularly following what is happening in that dimension.  I really do not want to move backwards regarding the visual fidelity of what I have now though.

Also have given some thought to conversion to a MAX.

But all that are sort of pipe dreams right now.

I have lost all hope that MSFS20 will ever be suitable for a cockpit environment.

Fred K

[bernard S]

I can't say that i really know anything about it but logically i can give you my educated opinion. Point of anti-g suit it to ensure pilot doesn't black out due to lack of oxygen (really blood) getting to the brain and vital organs and pooling in extremities and gut. The long term increase in hydrostatic pressure on the venous return system (called "right side of the heart") could possibly induce pulmonary hypertension or right sided heart failure I'd guess if it wasn't balanced by the increase in g's...but maybe not. Maybe the effective of the suit at normal 1g is minimal and actually induces venous return linearly at higher g's. That would be a more ideal suit design but I don't know anything about them...

[Trevor Hale]

I have lost all hope that MSFS20 will ever be suitable for a cockpit environment.

Fred K

Fred, have you ever played with "WideVu?" As you know it runs on the FSUIPC Platform for position information and passes that data over to other FSUIPC Clients to share positional information and synchronizing P3D/FSX multiviews (to a point).

Obviously the flight dynamics on MSFS suck, but I have seen some amazing progress with the release of one of Aerosofts latest additions. 

Things are moving in the right direction and Multi monitor support is coming in Q4 2021.

I have often thought of just using Widevu to "Slew" the outside View of MSFS2020 while the simulator systems would still run through P3D.

I believe that some Frankenstein setup could be done to accomplish this to be able to have the amazing outside views and still run the systems on P3D.


Alas though,  I have had some minor setbacks with MSFS2020 But I know of many Project Magenta Based installations that have sucessfully been converted over to MSFS2020 and with knowledge of the SDK flight dynamics can be sorted out.

Different then what everyone is use to.  (Obviously you need multi monitor support) that is coming, but don't discount it yet.  There is still a minimum of 9 years left on the support contract with Asobo, and you never know what will happen next.

Clearly your biggest Hurdle is the support from Sim Avionics and or ProsimAR, whichever you are using..  They need to update their simconnect portals to work with the new SDK, (which is currently available) and until they see a development of a anctual 737 with decent flight dynamics, I don't foresee them putting in the effort.

***  MY Ultimate goal ***
Lease the MSFS Engine back to Lockheed Martin as if it was the new version of ESP and let them have at it.  Then watch the fireworks fly.

Trev

[FredK]

Fred, have you ever played with "WideVu?" As you know it runs on the FSUIPC Platform for position information and passes that data over to other FSUIPC Clients to share positional information and synchronizing P3D/FSX multiviews (to a point).

Trev....Do you mean WideVu or WideView?

I have many years of experience with WideView, but I am not familiar with WideVu.

SymSync with ViewGroups works better for multi-channel than WideView IMO, particularly for AI traffic. However it is freeware that is specific to P3Dv4, and the fellow who developed it seems to have disappeared.

Tried Opus FSI but got frustrated with it and no AI traffic possible.

I have no direct experience with the built-in P3D Pro multi channel system, but from what I understand it is problematic.  Seems to be most suitable for military applications where scenery display per se is not important.

All of these multimonitor programs simply broadcast the position and attitude of the primary aircraft (and also AI aircraft) from the server machine for display of the identical aircraft on the visual clients. Weather overlays on that by different means.....in my case using FSGRW in a network bridge arrangement.  I am using Sim Avionics running on the server.

Regarding MSFS20...It is not only the cockpit environment aspect that needs to be implemented, but also the stability issue regarding bugs and crashes. Maybe someday of course.  I just do not hold out much near-term hope for it.

Fred K

[Mach7]

Iam still here as well....checking in..hope everyone is well.

[Neil Hewitt]

I have many years of experience with WideView, but I am not familiar with WideVu.

SymSync with ViewGroups works better for multi-channel than WideView IMO, particularly for AI traffic. However it is freeware that is specific to P3Dv4, and the fellow who developed it seems to have disappeared.

Tried Opus FSI but got frustrated with it and no AI traffic possible.

I have no direct experience with the built-in P3D Pro multi channel system, but from what I understand it is problematic.  Seems to be most suitable for military applications where scenery display per se is not important.

All of these multimonitor programs simply broadcast the position and attitude of the primary aircraft (and also AI aircraft) from the server machine for display of the identical aircraft on the visual clients. Weather overlays on that by different means.....in my case using FSGRW in a network bridge arrangement.  I am using Sim Avionics running on the server.

Regarding MSFS20...It is not only the cockpit environment aspect that needs to be implemented, but also the stability issue regarding bugs and crashes. Maybe someday of course.  I just do not hold out much near-term hope for it.

Fred K

Hi Fred.

Luciano now has a version of Wideview that works with MSFS, though how good it is I cannot say, as I'm still on P3D for the forseeable future. Like you, I have wide (forgive the pun) experience with WideView and WideTraffic. I've also tried Opus FSI and P3D Pro Plus Multichannel.

Multichannel works the best of all, and syncs a lot more stuff (LVARs etc) as well as weather and AI. But performance is a real problem. It's designed to be frame-synced and if you don't have hardware genlock (only available on NVidia Quadro cards etc which are super-expensive) then I've found performance to really suck. Some add-on aircraft just don't work with it. It's really designed for commercial sims where money is not an object. For those, I'm sure it works really well.

The problem with using P3D host and MSFS client would be that the positioning of objects like runways and taxiways would have to be identical between them and I'm quite certain it isn't. Also, MSFS can't do ViewGroup-style view frustums, or be used by the likes of Fly Elise if you're using projectors and a curved screen like me. It might just about be possible to bodge it with 2/3 PCs running MSFS and Wideview and playing with views manually or via config files, but I bet it would be ropey at best.

Until MSFS has workable multi-view support with definable view frustums, like FSX had and P3D has now, it's useless to me. They're saying 2022 for multi-view support but I'd take a bet it'll be inadequate. Asobo just doesn't seem to be wired in to the requirements of cockpit builders; and even if they are, I doubt we are a high enough priority to get what we want before 2025

NH

PS - coming to this late. Hi everyone, I'm still here :-)

[Trevor Hale]

Actually Neil,

I am using FlyElise and MSFS 2020, it does work and is spanned accross 3 projectors.

The multi monitor support is coming Q4 for 2020 I am hoping the frustrums will be available then.

Trev

[fsaviator]

Better late than never. Checking in.  I am well - been a little overwhelmed at work since moving here and have not been able to focus on my sim - or simming in general.
If it appears that I switch off when busy at work, it's because I do.  Don't take it personally - just the interaction in this forum makes me want to drop everything and sim, so I don't.
With all that said, about two weeks ago I decided to go all in on getting my sim back up and running in it's new home.  I blew everything else off, ordered in damn near every night, and tonight I got my first full flight in.  She is working again, and here I am again.

[Neil Hewitt]

I am using FlyElise and MSFS 2020, it does work and is spanned across 3 projectors.

Hi Trevor. I should have clarified that I meant you can't use Immersive Calibration Pro to create your views as I do for P3D, because there's no way to specify view frustums. Unless I'm missing a trick. I assume you did a manual warp on a spanned view? To what extent were you able to correct for the fish-eye rendering of the wider view in MSFS?

[thriller]

Hi, My name is Tony I will like to build my first home flight simulator I have a citation cockpit I need help thanks.

[blueskydriver]

Hey Tony,

Welcome to Cockpit Builders! Please post about your project and ask whatever questions you may have. If you post pics and videos that helps a lot....

John

[Trevor Hale]

I am using FlyElise and MSFS 2020, it does work and is spanned across 3 projectors.

Hi Trevor. I should have clarified that I meant you can't use Immersive Calibration Pro to create your views as I do for P3D, because there's no way to specify view frustums. Unless I'm missing a trick. I assume you did a manual warp on a spanned view? To what extent were you able to correct for the fish-eye rendering of the wider view in MSFS?

When Playing with the viewpoints and other configuration files I have managed to get it to warp correctly, HOWEVER....  There is still some oddities in the way the image is actually displays out on the "sides of the horseshoe" That will not be able to be corrected for until we get control of Frustums and viewing angles etc.


Trev

[thriller]

Actually Neil,

I am using FlyElise and MSFS 2020, it does work and is spanned accross 3 projectors.

The multi monitor support is coming Q4 for 2020 I am hoping the frustrums will be available then.

Trev

[FredK]

Trev and Neil....

I think you guys are arguing the exact same point....

The value of Immersive Calibration Pro is that it calculates frustums (if possible). But no frustums possible as yet with MSFS (so therefore the fisheye stretching effect).
 
Fred K

[dougsnow]

I'm still around - I have about 4 or 5 huge projects going on at work. Looking forward to Nov, hopefully the US borders will be open then and we can all get together in SRQ this Nov...

[blueskydriver]

This is great seeing members who haven't post in a long time chime in, thank you guys and ladies!

Now, let me appeal to the folks who login but never say anything and those members who don't login or non-members. Please login and let us know you're still on planet Mars...lol...Earth, just post a few words even.

Also, if you're not a member yet, but come to this website, why not join today? You don't need a simulator too be a member. Since there are so many other benefits on here, you'd be surprised as too all the things that members do in life. Be it their job, hobby or anything else just for fun, they love sharing and helping fellow members.

We're one big family! So, please chime in everyone 

John

[RayS]

Still here, still simming, although not as much. Our family has 2 very sick elderly moms and we're also working on moving my mom from Ohio to Seattle.

I expect my sim time will diminish further in the near future as we enter this new stage in life.

[Jon Boe]

Yes... it's been a long time.  I think my last post was back in 2019.  I finished up putting the  Boeing interior in the 744 and got Aerowinx PSX integrated to a reasonable degree.

I'm in the process of replacing the last of the hard drives in my system to SSD's and doing a major sim upgrade at the same time so still involved in the hobby.  Since I've been using Aerowinx PSX as my simulator and a custom program to interface it to P3D I really haven't had much to share on this forum lately.

Cheers,

Jon