| AVSIM Add-on Review RealCRT Gauges |
||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
I've been an avid user of Tony D'Ambrosio's RealCRT gauges for well over a year now. The original installment brought one gauge: a navigation display. The second installment brought a primary flight display, enhanced navigation display and an engine indication screen that depicted their real life counterparts on the Boeing 747 and 777. The last update brought a moving map display. The original panels Tony designed had display provisions for a moving map, so it seemed the logical next step. Now with the release of FS2000, Tony has modified the gauges slightly, allowing users of previous versions to enjoy them in their new sim. This time, he's also added a flight management computer (in a sense that is). But before we get to the actual gauges, let's find out about the man behind the program.
About Tony D'Ambrosio Tony is a 32 year old engineer from France. If you're wondering where the name "D'Ambrosio" comes from , his parents are from Italy. Currently, he's employed in the Industrial Computer Science sector. He's worked for Dassault Aircraft Manufacturing Company on the Rafael project. He loves aeronautics, and jets, particularly jumbos. He's been a Flight Simulator fan since version 4. How did he come up with the idea for RealCRT? Well, he says he was flying back and forth between towns for his job when he "discovered the beauty of the CRTs in the Canadair CRJ cockpit." Having been disappointed in the way FS98 depicted them, he set out to make his own. Discovering the FS98 SDK, he decided to use Vector Programming to develop a new kind of more realistic CRT gauges. May 16, 1998 rolled around, and Tony released RealCRT version 1.0, a simple HSI in Arc mode. Since then—with designers like Roy Chaffin supporting his work—Tony has never needed to look back. He pioneered "vectorial display programming," which is now being used by various other companies in their commercial Flight Simulator ventures. Very few people, including myself know what vectorial programming really is. So after putting the question to Tony, here's what he said:
On with the show Before we go on, let's get the downloading portion figured out. Tony released FS2000 updates for his two panels, the 747 and 777. He also released Navigation Data that includes a flight planning utility and the moving map part of the HSI gauge. On the other side, Roy Chaffin released updates for his Airbus and Boeing 717 panels, all using the newer gauges. All the panels come with the new gauges, so take your pick. Make sure you download Navigation Data 2000 as well from our library. Just a reminder to registered users to back up the VDREGISTER.EXE and VDKEY.XXX files before installing the gauges. The Gauges The gauges are no different than before. Just the code was changed for FS2000. If you used the older versions with FS2000, you would have noticed peculiar readings from your N1 and N2, and your MISC screen would have all been zero. This version fixes that problem. Your one stop shop for most of your aircraft information in terms of speed, altitude, climb rate, heading, and aircraft attitude is your Primary Flight Display. It's so clear and easy to read, no matter what the resolution of your screen. The background coloring is great. I particularly like the aqua color used to indicate a nose-up attitude. Moving over to the Navigation Display, it has the ability to display all the VORs, NDBs, Intersections, and Airports within up to a 160 mile radius, depending on what your range setting is. And it's very quick at displaying the information. It's also very easy to display the information, since the panels that Tony and Roy created take advantage of this by providing the switches and buttons on the glareshield necessary to do this. The EICAS screen provides a different look, depending on whether you're flying the Boeing 747 or the Boeing 777. With the Boeing 747, the engine information is provided in vertical white colored bars that change in height depending on the setting. No different here either. With the Boeing 777, the engine gauges are circular, and depending on the setting, the gauges fill with a bluish color. No different here this time around either. The other change comes to the radio stack. The stack looks more realistic. The knobs look rounder and have some depth to them. The major change is the inclusion of the FMC button, which when pressed, brings up a display covering the engine information screen. The FMC isn't EFIS98 or something that complex. It's a simple information tool, displaying your route, airport information and your route legs. The first screen you see allows you to load a flight plan, check the aircraft performance information and your current position. Clicking the RTE button brings up the airport information screen. Here is where you see your departure airport, runway, runway length, and ATIS frequency if the airport has one. The same information is displayed for the arrival airport. Moving along, the LEGS button displays your entire flight plan along with altitude and airspeed at the waypoint and distance to the waypoint. The final screen, PROG, gives you specific information in regards to your next waypoint. It provides a running ticker of the distance to your next waypoint, and the distance remaining to your destination. The map mode and plan mode give you a visual representation of your flight plan. The Map Mode is relative to your aircraft, while the Plan mode is displayed facing North. At this point in time, the FMC doesn't couple with the autopilot, meaning you have to make adjustments to the autopilot throughout your flight. You'll have to calculate the correct heading based on wind speed and direction and enter it into the autopilot. That's only if you don't use the Nav mode of the GPS system in FS2000 or another utility like EFIS98. According to Tony though, we can expect a full FMC in the next update.
The Flight Planner
The flight planning utility that is
included is simple and very easy to use. When first loaded, you're presented
with the database screen. Over 50,000 entries can be found here, including a
comprehensive Intersections database. At the top, you'll see options that allow
you to scan for new scenery, rebuild or restore the original database. Next to
these are the buttons used for the flight planner. The IMPORT feature is worth
mentioning. What this allows you to do is import your flight plans that you have
created using the FS2000 flight planner into the moving map display. The flight
planner also allows for generation of SIDs and STARs, and also incorporates Top
of Climb and Descent points based on the performance settings set in the upper
right hand corner of the flight planning window. Adding waypoints is as simple
as clicking ADD, selecting the waypoint, and double clicking on it. Piece of
cake.
And the survey says All things considered, this is a great set of gauges. Firstly, they're inexpensive. At $17USD, they're a steal—that's
because future updates are "on the house." That's right. You pay once, and future
updates are provided free to registered users. Considering that this is a technology
that can be incorporated very easily into any panel you use, it's something
definitely worth getting. In the future, look for a fully functional flight
management computer that will couple with the autopilot. But right now, you can
download the Navigation Data 2000 program, download the
B747 panel, and download the B777 panel. Also, head over to Roy's
R.C.S. Panels web site to download the updates to his Airbus and B717 panels.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| What I Like About the RealCRT Gauges |
|---|
|
| What I Don't Like About the RealCRT Gauges |
|---|
|
|
|
The review above is a subjective assessment of the work of the authors. There is no connection between the product author and the reviewer, and we feel this review is unbiased and truly reflects the performance of the product in the simming environment. This disclaimer is posted here in order provide you with background information on the reviewer and connections that may exist between him/her and the contributing party. |
© 2000 - AVSIM Online
All Rights Reserved