I installed the NOAA P-3 Orion using an auto installer (stupid move) in my FSX directory. It copied over gauges in my main gauges folder with not FSX compatible gauges...so now I don't have instrument panels for the P-3 Aircraft (which is supposed to be FSX compatible)Could someone zip their main FSX gauges directory and send to me so I can get the right gauges back? I don't want to have to reinstall or do a repair and lose my SP1 update and mess up addons. If someone with SP1 could send me their gauges directory I would appreciate it!Thank you...You can send to me at: [email protected]

I installed the FSX specific P-3C via the auto-installer without issue.Are you sure you installed the FSX version?

The main P-3C file name is p3v29kbt.zip however it doesn't have an auto installer...you just copy to the Simobjects/Aircraft directory....The installer I am talking about is the WP-3C which is basically a re-paint of the same model and that filename is wp3dvol6.zip. It does have an auto-installer that installs into the FS2004 directory by default...I installed it in my main FSX directory which is where it then overwrote my gauges folder. When I loaded the aircraft up it gave me all sorts of warnings about incompatible gauges due to them being FS98 versions and I had no panels when the aircraft opened.What I should have done was auto installed it to a different directory and then manually copied the files. The problem now is that my gauges in the gauges directory are FS98 versions and I need the originals back without having to re-install.Brandon

Ahhh...gotcha.I tried using some old FS9 model and panel versions of this aircraft into FSX, but had no luck because of the gauges originally used (as you have found out), thus have settled for the FSX Orion version only.I would expect an update/expanded model(s) down the road...but who knows when that may happen...

Try a "repair" from Add/Remove Programs.

Hi Phil,I don't think his problem gauges are the default gauges. The problem is the more likely the 3rd Party P-3C gauges have been copied over, I believe. Which is interesting because I doubt the developers would have used the same gauge names. Chances are, they created a .cab file with the new gauges. Perhaps it is just the wrong panel folder that is being used? Or maybe it's just the NOAA repaint which needs to point to the new panel?No offense meant to the authors, but it would be pretty silly to use the same filenames for new files. Sorry if this is a stupid suggestion as I haven't loaded the NOAA repaint, so I can't confirm what is actually going on.Or, Phil, are you saying that running an FSX repair will also bring back previously written over 3rd party gauges? Or is there a repair option in all installers, so he should be able to run a repair on the original P-3C FSX installation? (Neither of these seems right to me).BTW, Phil, it's good to see you back here. Try not to take too many vacations as the board feels awfully quiet around here without your posts.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

ok, I got this thing semi working...maybe my gauges directory isn't messed up at all and I just assumed it was.I deleted the P-3 aircraft (both versions) and reinstalled. This time I put the NOAA repaint in a temporary directory first instead of installing it into the FSX directory. The panel still had the same errors but the main P-3 (FSX compatible) did not. So, I changed panel configs and copied the working panel to the NOAA one and I now have a working panel.I sure hope there is an update because there really isn't any capability built into the panel. I can't start the engines and nothing in the VC is clickable. Ctrl-E for engine start doesn't work either. I have to do that in the Learjet and then change aircraft into the P-3. Oh well, have to do with what I can. Tomorrow I'll be chasing some hurricanes.Thanks for everyone's help...I don't think the gauges folder is messed up at all now.Brandon

I downloaded the correct version and I also can't get the engines to start. Anybody have any ideas?TIA

As I understand, the inability of 'starting' may be an issue with some aircraft that have been 'patched' only, and not re-designed for FSX.This seems to be the case for the Orion.Hopefully a fully compatible version will be available in the future.

>As I understand, the inability of 'starting' may be an issue>with some aircraft that have been 'patched' only, and not>re-designed for FSX.>>This seems to be the case for the Orion.>>Hopefully a fully compatible version will be available in the>future.Thanks for the info.

Typically, I have seen this be a problem with something not having enough power to turn the engine over. Look for David Copley's P-38 and he wrote about something he had to do before he could get the engine's to start.Granted, David's is an internal combustion engine, and the P-3 uses turbines, but I think it's worth a look anyway.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

The starter code for turbine engines was "fixed" in FSX, with the result that the workarounds developed by gauge programmers for FS9 no longer works.

So are there any particular aircraft.cfg or other edits that can help a non-operative engine start routine? What systems are the problem systems? Is the engine not getting hot enough, fuel not injected at the right time or not enough?Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

>So are there any particular aircraft.cfg or other edits that>can help a non-operative engine start routine? What systems>are the problem systems? Is the engine not getting hot>enough, fuel not injected at the right time or not enough?No, the problem that was "fixed" is the actual key_event command (both C and XML) used to initiate an engine start for turbine engines.When it was "broken" the toggle didn't actually toggle-and-latch like it was supposed to, for example:KEY_TOGGLE_STARTER1 (C code)TOGGLE_STARTER1 (XML code)As a result, gauge coders (both C and XML) had to send the key_event repeatedly via a loop until ignition occured. Unless they did this, the only way the simpilot could start a turbine engine would be to repeated click on the start position until ignition occurred.Of course, now that the broken "toggle" has been fixed in FSX, such code merely "flips the toggle on and off repeatedly" with the net effect of never starting the engine!If the offending gauge is XML script, it may easily be corrected by editing the XML script and re-cabbing.If the offending gauge is compiled C code, no edit is possible. It will have to be replaced.

It appears to be using the Concorde!Engine?-Ignition-Switch gauges. Any ideas for replacements for these?Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180