Is there any way to lessen the brightness of the Cessna 182 Skylane instrument panel? It makes it hard to see the outside view with the overpowering pink lighting of the panel. I tried to adjust using the panel switch but it just seems to turn it on and off with no varying brightness. Thanks, Tom

I will play around and do some adjustments and post you some instructions with values that you can use.

Thanks, Bliksimpie. I'm looking forward to what you find out. The bright pink panel makes it hard to concentrate outside and I still can't figure out what I'm doing wrong with the A/P. Tom

Same here...the panel lights are way to bright and that pink color is really tough to take. I love this plane, especially the old, beat up one that is a freebie from ORBYX.

Try this ( in the panel.cfg file)Day=255,255,255Night=205,147,147Luminous=147,147,147If you like it darker, divide all the night values by 2.

Sorry for only coming back to you guys on this one but I have had some other matters to attend to.Ok I played around and created a custom VC light for the cockpit that is dimmed down quite a bit.The RED instrument paneldo you want the colour still red as it is or just a bit more "faded" red or completely another colour.Before as with carenadoinbetween'er still with custom VC light but VC light moved a bit forward. (still able to see all knobs and switches thoughVery much dimmed down with custom VC light. (as you can see the cockpit has been dimmed down very much - dont know if you want lighter or still darker then this)What is nice about this one is that there is not so much front windscreen night glare

Thanks Bert and Bliksimpie,Those panels look really great. Whichever one is closest to the real thing is fine by me. The default seems more like a dome light in the entire cabin. I would like the closest to what the pilot would see when flying. I guess the middle picture is the most realistic?Bert.I'll play around with your values above and see what looks best. Thanks again, Tom

NOTE: just to make sure we are on the same level her. These instructions below is for the Carenado 182 skylane and NOT for the 182RG. It apear in the post about the AP that you guys might refer to the 182RG. If you want it for the 182RG, I will have to give you another set of intructions as I was under the impression you want it for the normal fixed gear 182.never been in a real 182 so I have no idea. I just made the "dome" light much more dimmed.to get the effect in 182.Download this effect filehttp://www.mediafire...8qm1qkzcv1uz9zbDrop it into the FSX effects folder.(for win 7 the std folder would be: C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft GamesMicrosoft Flight Simulator XEffects)Now open the 182 main folder.Find the file : aircraft.cfgMake a backup to another location incase you mess up so that you have an original to restore.Open the aircraft.cfg file under the 182 folder with notepadScroll down till you find the section [lights]Under this section will be a entrylight.2 = 4, -3.0, 0.0, 1.3, fx_vclightcarnow change the entry to readlight.2 = 4, -4.50, 0.0, 1.3, FX_vclight_JBSAVE the file and close and restart FSX to test.Explanation---------------you will see I moved the light a bit back from -3 feet to -4.5 feet.the -4.50 is the longitudinal movement adjustment you can make for the light - forward/backwardthe 0.0 is the lateral movement. Left /Rightthe 1.3 is the vertical movement. Up /DownYou can play with the -4.50 figure. When you make it -4.10 you will see the light move forward and will light up more of the instrument panel. if you make it -5.00 it will move the light more back and therefore it will less shed light on the instrument panel itself.If you want to increase the light strength (illumination) let me know and I wll show you how.

Hi Bliksimpie,Yes, my plane is the RG version. I never realized there was a difference between the two panels, but now I can see the different instrument panel color. Mine is much lighter, almost wihite. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that work. I thought I had included the RG in my post. Thanks for all your help. Regards. Tom

Hi Bliksimpie,Yes, my plane is the RG version. I never realized there was a difference between the two panels, but now I can see the different instrument panel color. Mine is much lighter, almost wihite. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that work. I thought I had included the RG in my post. Thanks for all your help. Regards. Tom

Not a problem. Most work has been done and to get it changed/put into the 182RG should not be that much work.I will jump on the 182RG to see what I can come up with.

Ok here is the setting for the 182RGto get the effect in 182RG.Download this effect filehttp://www.mediafire...8qm1qkzcv1uz9zbDrop it into the FSX effects folder.(for win 7 the std folder would be: C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft GamesMicrosoft Flight Simulator XEffects)Now open the 182 main folder.Find the file : aircraft.cfgMake a backup to another location incase you mess up so that you have an original to restore.Open the aircraft.cfg file under the 182 folder with notepadScroll down till you find the section [lights]Under this section will be a entrylight.2 = 4, -4.45, 0.0, 0.7, fx_vclightcar now change the entry to readlight.2 = 4, -4.80, 0.0, 1.3, FX_vclight_JBSAVE the file and close and restart FSX to test.Explanation---------------you will see I moved the light a bit back from -4.45 feet to -4.8 feet.the -4.80 is the longitudinal movement adjustment you can make for the light - forward/backwardthe 0.0 is the lateral movement. Left /Rightthe 0.7 is the vertical movement. Up /DownYou can play with the -4.80 figure. When you make it -4.50 you will see the light move forward and will light up more of the instrument panel. if you make it -5.20 it will move the light more back and therefore it will less shed light on the instrument panel itself and make it almost dark.If you want to increase the light strength (illumination) let me know and I will show you how.the above setting will give this effect (still light enough to see most every knob you need, so play around with setting as above explained. (remember that if you change the setting on the fly with FSX still open you need to save the file and RELOAD the aircraft otherwise it will not pick up the change)Regards

Thanks Bliksimpie! I'll let you know how I make out. Regards, Tom

Hi Bliksimpie,Well I made the changes and saved an image for you but I don't know how to include it in my post. My default Aircraft.cfg line is -3.0 instead of your -4.45. I changed it to -4. and although not as dark as yours, it is much better and looks more like only the panel is lighted rather than the whole cockpit as before. I guess I have to increase the -4.8 even more.Just curious, but what does the entry in the Effects folder do and where do you get it? I would like to learn to make changes like this myself. Also, how do I include a picture? I see the image icon above but it is looking for an internet url. Thanks for all your help. Regards, Tom

Edited January 2, 201214 yr by Flaps30