I've had MSFS since early Beta days, mainly to help John test the version of FSUIPC for it. However, apart from some brief test flights specifically to do that, i've not before considered using it for my real VFR flights using my GA28R cockpit (based on the Piper Arrow III.

But now that the Just Flight Arrow is out, I'm wanting to try some decent VFR flights around the UK.

With P3D5 on the same PC I have a default flight which loads me into a parked cold and dark situation at Sleap (EGCV), which is where I did my flight training (though in a Cessna 150 and 150A). But I just can't find a way even to set the aircraft to start at a parking position. With the EGCV selection I can choose "Gate/Park" but as soon as I save, or execute Fly Now, it changes back to the active runway.

How do I stop that happening? Is the only way to let it start on the runway then slew it to the parking position? If so what is the point of listing Gate/Park in the "runway" selection list?

After that I've got to work out how to make it "cold & dark", but that's more a matter of reading the manual for the Piper I suspect. Like the P3D version it seems quite comprehensive.

Thanks for any ideas.

Pete

P.S. The system in my sig is not my VFR setup, but my normal ProSim-driven 738 cockpit.

Edited March 29, 20215 yr by Pete Dowson

You should try saving a flight there and then using the load feature of the sim.

As for the piper, it will remember your cockpit state between flights and you can easily click the "cold and dark" button on the efb

14 minutes ago, xender said:

You should try saving a flight there and then using the load feature of the sim.

Yes, tried that, but the Gate/Park selection reverts to the active runway immediately I select Save, so the loaded flight is then on the runway in any case.

If the only way is to start on the runway then slew to the parking position, I'll do that for my default flight and save it there. But it will be a right royal pain having to do that at every airfield I might want to do a fresh flight from! 

I just assumed I must be doing something wrong, because MSFS seems not to be able to obey the Gate/Park selection at all.

17 minutes ago, xender said:

As for the piper, it will remember your cockpit state between flights and you can easily click the "cold and dark" button on the efb

Yes, I did read that when I browsed the manual. thanks.

Pete

 

Something is (going) wrong on your end. Whenever you select a gate or parking spot from the menu (you can also zoom in to an airport on the map and click on one of the white dots) you really should start there. There really shouldn't be a need to slew the plane anywhere! (EDIT At least not when you click FLY NOW: I never saved a flight from the main menu, only from within the sim while flying. See below for further notes about saving.)

Cold and dark can be selected with the 'tablet' that's in the Arrow: I do presume that option is saved automatically. You can also let the Arrow save it's current state so it will be like you left it the previous time. (Default planes will be cold and dark whenever you select a parking spot.)

The only thing that can NOT be saved is your starting point. At least I have no clue how to do it. Afaik you have to pick a starting point every time you start MSFS.

Yes, you CAN save a flight (with your plane in a specific spot) but the save flight feature is a bit flawed: you won't be able to change the weather properly anymore and you also won't see your newly created flightplan in the plane. Things like that. I wouldn't advice doing that. You also will be stuck with your saved starting position forever and ever. (You can't load a saved flight into the main menu and alter it: you can only load a saved flight and it will load immediately.)

The plane you pick on the menu is remembered though between sessions so that's a start already. 😉

Edited March 29, 20215 yr by tup61

39 minutes ago, Pete Dowson said:

Yes, tried that, but the Gate/Park selection reverts to the active runway immediately I select Save, so the loaded flight is then on the runway in any case.

If the only way is to start on the runway then slew to the parking position, I'll do that for my default flight and save it there. But it will be a right royal pain having to do that at every airfield I might want to do a fresh flight from! 

I just assumed I must be doing something wrong, because MSFS seems not to be able to obey the Gate/Park selection at all.

Yes, I did read that when I browsed the manual. thanks.

Pete

 

Make sure when you select the gate you click departure from "here", that is the key if not it'll just put you on the runway 

2 minutes ago, devgrp said:

Make sure when you select the gate you click departure from "here", that is the key if not it'll just put you on the runway 

That's only mandatory (and rather self explanatory) if you click on a spot on the map. When you select a gate or parking spot from the dropdown menu you should start from there automatically: the flightplan on the map should also show this.

I think  there is no gate/parking defined in the scenery. (Can't check, not behind MSFS PC). For some reason you can still select "Gate/park" selection but this shouldn't be selectable when there is no parking defined. When there is a gate or parking defined the list must be longer and there should be under the text gate/parking something like "PARKING GA SMALL".  

Just now, tup61 said:

That's only mandatory (and rather self explanatory) if you click on a spot on the map. When you select a gate or parking spot from the dropdown menu you should start from there automatically: the flightplan on the map should also show this.

I never use the drop down menu to select my gate. I always select from the the map just so I can see the airport layout 

2 minutes ago, MvT said:

I think  there is no gate/parking defined in the scenery. (Can't check, not behind MSFS PC). For some reason you can still select "Gate/park" selection but this shouldn't be selectable when there is no parking defined. When there is a gate or parking defined the list must be longer and there should be under the text gate/parking something like "PARKING GA SMALL".  

Sharp, good thinking. That could be it indeed!

1 minute ago, devgrp said:

I never use the drop down menu to select my gate. I always select from the the map just so I can see the airport layout 

I do the same whenever I only need a starting position and not a complete plan (like for my prefered VOR-flying). But whenever I want a complete plan I plan it in Little Navmap and load it into MSFS: when you do that clicking on the map for your starting point and selecting it there alters the plan (erasing all waypoints)! The only way to keep the plan as it is, is to use the dropdown menu for the starting position. So even though I prefer picking a spot on the map I am sometimes forced to use that dropdown menu. 😉

55 minutes ago, MvT said:

I think  there is no gate/parking defined in the scenery. (Can't check, not behind MSFS PC). For some reason you can still select "Gate/park" selection but this shouldn't be selectable when there is no parking defined. When there is a gate or parking defined the list must be longer and there should be under the text gate/parking something like "PARKING GA SMALL".  

Aha! That may well explain it!

54 minutes ago, devgrp said:

I never use the drop down menu to select my gate. I always select from the the map just so I can see the airport layout 

I never thought of that! Thanks. I've only been using the map to select the airport. I'll need to zoom right in! 😉

Meanwhile i managed to slew to an appropriate spot, selected cold & dark, and saved the flight. To make sure all was well I shut down MSFS and restarted it, then loaded the flight I'd saved, only for MSFS CTD as soon at it had finished loading it! 😞

Enough for today. Back to P3D for a bit of sanity! 😉

Pete

 

 

This is not Arrow but idea is the same. Zoom, select appropriate parking spot, set as departure

 

I just checked but I do have parking places on EGCV. If you don't see the parking places maybe they are from the UK update. Did you install the UK update?  You have to download it from the marketplace manually. 

 

Edited March 29, 20215 yr by MvT

13 hours ago, MvT said:

I just checked but I do have parking places on EGCV. If you don't see the parking places maybe they are from the UK update. Did you install the UK update?  You have to download it from the marketplace manually. 

Yes, I have the UK add-on.. I think I also have an add-on adding loads of small airfields like farm strips. i wonder if that's interfering? I'll check. Thanks.

Pete