I also love RXP and have about everything that they offer, but I will be glad to start using Mindstar's version just as soon as it becomes available.

I'm sure that RXP has RW reasons for dropping support, but as was said, the product really works so good, it almost doesn't need support.....except in the area of making it available to X-Plane 64bit users.

OK, a couple of things that seem missing here amongst some of the "goodbye RXP" excitement.

 

The biggest "support" issue these days seems to be for developers looking to integrate to 3D panels for the first time (I'm thinking of the Twotter here), not for end-users. Most of the installed base has long since moved past any issues. The units just sit in our (many) panels and work. From an installed base perspective, other than navdata this is going to be a tough sell, and even on the navdata issue, quite honestly the biggest thing missing from the older data is newer WAAS approaches.

 

Off the top of my head, here's what I think will be needed for this to become the new "go-to":

 

1) Panel integration. Will this work on planes which currently support RXP 3D integration? If not, what plans will be in place to address the integration issue on a wide range of planes?

 

2) WAAS approaches. Will they be supported? US only? Canada?

 

3) Will data output fully support and drive other devices, similar to the relatively new LinkGPS=On flag in RXP?

 

4) Performance - the RXP gauges are very low impact, in many cases lower than default or 3D party devices.

 

5) And last but not least, will these really be full-featured, same as the real thing simulations, or just similar.

 

I don't mean to sound like an RXP cheerleader. In fact, I've recently commented that the RXP's have become very hard to recommend to new users as they are obviously an orphaned product. But for the installed base, there's going to be a tough bar to get over for Mindstar to become the new standard.

 

This is a very interesting development, but right now it generates more questions in my mind than it does pure "woo hooo!" excitement. Sorry if that sounds overly wet-blanket. Hopefully there are great answers to all of these questions.

 

Scott

With age and experience comes wisdom. . Good assessment.

 

Steve

@ twharrell

 

Todd,

 

A tiny bit off-topic but can you confirm;  on the Mindstar G1000's GFC700 unit, does the FLC mode work as it should? .... Eg, does it hold the speed of the aircraft in climb or descent, by adjusting pitch?

 

Thanks.

For me this is great news, as i havent bought rxp due to it being quite expensive imo and you only get one model + having latest navdata is kind of a petpeeve of mine.

 

So instead ive been using plan-g, which works great. But less immersion

 

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

 

Aaron, the existing RXP units do exactly as a real-world 530 or 430 does - they're based on Garmin's own trainer. 

 

Actually the RXP is an interface to the Garmin trainer, I mean that gauge is a front end to the G-Trainer, which needs to be installed for the whole system to work. AFAIK RXP gauges don't support any function that is not exposed by the trainer, which is the reason they never accepted a native FS flightplan import, just because the trainer doesn't have that funcion exported.

 

Is the Mindstar similar, conceptually speaking? Or is a custom development that principally uses Garmin Navdata and MapDisplay features as a reference within it's own logic? 

 

Tom

The Mindstar Aviation 430/530 products do not utilize the Garmin trainer at all.  They are completely independent simulations of the actual units that work without the Garmin trainer and are not the default FS GPS either.  They support full flight plan creation in exactly the same manner as a real Garmin unit would do.  They do not support 'native FS flightplans'.  The reason for this is simple:  terminal procedures (DP,AP,IAP) are defined by a rather complex set of waypoints that are anything but a 'line between point A and point B'.  To display and process terminal procedures accurately requires far more information than simply the waypoint's name and it's latitude/longitude.  No flight planner for FS provides the necessary information, nor does the native FS flightplan file support the large amount of additional data required for each waypoint in terminal procedure.

 

I am uncertain as to what TCAD is, however WAAS/LPV is already 'in the works' and should be available 'soon' (I have no idea when 'soon' is, but it's 'soon').  There are currently no plans to provide anything for X-Plane, however the future is ever-changing.  Regarding panel integration, the units are scaled to be exactly the right 'size', based on real-world unit dimensions.  However, that doesn't guarantee anything regarding fitting into a panel.  The RealNavData navigation database is a global database, not just the U.S.  There are no plans to provide 'data output' for an entertainment product, but yet again the future is still ever-changing.  The gauges have very good performance and cause very minimal frame rate impact (if any).  Most (not all) features of the Garmin units have been implemented.  Some of the features simply haven't been necessary for real world training on the Garmins.

 

I work for Mindstar Aviation and can officially speak on their behalf.

@ twharrell

 

Todd,

 

A tiny bit off-topic but can you confirm;  on the Mindstar G1000's GFC700 unit, does the FLC mode work as it should? .... Eg, does it hold the speed of the aircraft in climb or descent, by adjusting pitch?

 

Thanks.

The Mindstar Aviation G1000 has a fully functional FLC mode for it's GFC700 autopilot.

Thanks for the info.

 

When you say "there are no plans for data output for an entertainment product" what exactly does that mean?

 

Lee

@ twharrell

 

Todd,

 

A tiny bit off-topic but can you confirm;  on the Mindstar G1000's GFC700 unit, does the FLC mode work as it should? .... Eg, does it hold the speed of the aircraft in climb or descent, by adjusting pitch?

 

Thanks.

Indeed, it does. I used it last night, in fact and it held the speed perfectly.

 

Todd

I'd like to know how we are going to integrate these into VC of planes we already have... Carenado, miltviz, real air etc

Thanks for the info.

 

When you say "there are no plans for data output for an entertainment product" what exactly does that mean?

 

Lee

 

Ditto...  to me this means this product won't be coming out for FSX, and it won't integrate with addon VC's because it's based off the real size of the real unit.  To me this product appears to be for GNS hardware, something like this:

https://www.flyelite.com/shop/elite-ap-4000-garmin-gns-430-module/

 

...But the future is ever-changing...  hehe

Thanks for the info.

 

When you say "there are no plans for data output for an entertainment product" what exactly does that mean?

 

Lee

It was in reply to this:

 

 

 

3) Will data output fully support and drive other devices, similar to the relatively new LinkGPS=On flag in RXP?

 

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what he's asking about, but I got the impression he was talking about the GPS-out functionality that allows other devices to track GPS position.

Oh, that's better than I thought.  I thought you meant the GPS won't integrate into an addon's cockpit either via user edits or if the developer of said addon would create a spot in the VC specifically for the Mindstar unit much like RealAir has done with RXP products.

They look like this:

 

They look pretty good then