Fenix A320 Block 2 is released

[jarmstro 2,404]

12 hours ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Then simbrief should be perfect for you. Just a few clicks then import into the plane. 

Thanks for clearing this up, got confused by conflicting posts. I usually add extra fuel in EFB after importing simbrief.

Fixed. I needed to update my Navdata.

[Orlaam 306]

2 hours ago, abennett said:

Anybody else not getting the Cabin Announcements?

Yes it’s enabled in the EFB, and yes I have turned on and up the PA knob.

I don’t hear them in the cabin either…

 

Many thanks.

They work great!  https://kb.fenixsim.com/cabin-announcements

[ethantoken 6]

On 2/29/2024 at 6:07 AM, martinboehme said:

I'm seeing various lvars that do look like they're exactly what you would need to drive a FCU display (i.e. what FenixQuartz was required for so far). These appear to come in pairs that tell you whether a given parameter is managed and selected, and what the selected parameter is.

I_FCU_SPEED_MANAGED
N_FCU_SPEED

I_FCU_HEADING_MANAGED
N_FCU_HEADING
(In TRK/FPA mode, N_FCU_HEADING is the selected track.)

I_FCU_ALTITUDE_MANAGED
N_FCU_ALTITUDE

N_FCU_VS
(In TRK/FPA mode, N_FCU_VS is the flight path angle times 1000 -- so an FPA of +2.5, for example, would correspond to 2500.)
This is the only parameter for which I can't find a corresponding "MANAGED" variable. Maybe this is because there is no concept of "managed vertical speed" -- but one would still need to know whether to display dashes in the vertical speed window, and I'm not sure how one would determine this. Maybe I just haven't found the right variable, maybe this is an oversight by the developers.

In any case, this is looking pretty good for being able to drive displays on a hardware FCU without FenixQuartz.

Edit: It looks as if the I_FCU variables already existed prior to B2, as there are existing entries for them on HubHop. The N_FCU variables appear to be new; I just added them to HubHop. 

 

I believe the B2 version introduced the 'N_' prefix for LVars, including N_FCU_, N_OVHD_BAT, etc. However, just like you, I still cannot figure out a way to determine if a dash is needed for display.

Also, it seems that the N_OVHD_BAT_VOLT values are always zero. I have already submitted a ticket to them.

[Jure 36]

6 hours ago, abennett said:

Anybody else not getting the Cabin Announcements?

Yes it’s enabled in the EFB, and yes I have turned on and up the PA knob.

I don’t hear them in the cabin either…

 

Many thanks.

Same here.... enabled in EFB and turned on the PA knob. Just to be clear: PA knob is ON when it it is lit right? I tried both states, turned vol all the way up and nothing happens except for a short buzz prior to take off.

What gives?

Thanks! 

EDIT: it's working: PA knob on the Pedestal, not on the Overhead! I can be quite dense sometimes! 🙄

Edited March 1 by Jure
Found solution

[pete_auau 1,163]

1 minute ago, Jure said:

Same here.... enabled in EFB and turned on the PA knob. Just to be clear: PA knob is ON when it it is lit right? I tried both states, turned vol all the way up and nothing happens except for a short buzz prior to take off.

What gives?

Thanks! 

cockpit door open  i guess

[martinboehme 493]

29 minutes ago, ethantoken said:

 

I believe the B2 version introduced the 'N_' prefix for LVars, including N_FCU_, N_OVHD_BAT, etc. However, just like you, I still cannot figure out a way to determine if a dash is needed for display.

Do you mean specifically for the VS display or for the other displays too?

For speed, heading, and altitude, the "MANAGED variables should tell you whether you need to display dashes, e.g.I_FCU_SPEED_MANAGED. So it seems as if really the only thing that's missing is an I_FCU_VS_MANAGED variable (or whatever one would want to call it).

32 minutes ago, ethantoken said:

Also, it seems that the N_OVHD_BAT_VOLT values are always zero. I have already submitted a ticket to them.

Interesting. Sounds like they may not have had much time to "bake" the feature.

But all in all, this does look very promising!

[ethantoken 6]

1 minute ago, martinboehme said:

For speed, heading, and altitude, the "MANAGED variables should tell you whether you need to display dashes, e.g.I_FCU_SPEED_MANAGED. So it seems as if really the only thing that's missing is an I_FCU_VS_MANAGED variable (or whatever one would want to call it).

I think using only the I_FCU_SPEED_MANAGED variable is not enough to fully sync the display status because when you rotate the SPEED knob in MANGED Mode the display would show you the preselected value not dashes. The I_FCU_SPEED_MANAGED should only affect the amber circle display I think. I hope they can provide more LVars to help us distinguish between them, or perhaps I missed something.

 

 

[techman 151]

9 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

A330 Driver comment from Youtube No words is all I will say.

Don´t take this guy serious it´s all I say.

[martinboehme 493]

30 minutes ago, ethantoken said:

I think using only the I_FCU_SPEED_MANAGED variable is not enough to fully sync the display status because when you rotate the SPEED knob in MANGED Mode the display would show you the preselected value not dashes.

Ah, makes sense - I hadn't considered that. Yes, then we do need a complete set of variables for the "dashed" state.

Did you already mention this in your support ticket too? 

Edited March 1 by martinboehme

[miguelpp 25]

I don´t want to enter into arguments, but I think that he´s a real life pilot. He begun his career with the B737 and now is in the A330 fleet. 

Best.

Miquel.

[Stearmandriver 2,304]

10 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

A330 Driver comment from Youtube No words is all I will say.

I would point out that he currently flies 330s, after years of flying 73s.  That definitely doesn't make him an authority on the 320... But probably more so than most on this thread 😉.

It's worth noting that there are different ways to judge how long an engine start takes.  Are you talking about the starter duty cycle time, or the time until the engine is fully accelerated to a stable idle?  I blessedly quit commuting many years ago so it's been forever since I've been in a bus jumpseat, but from getting curious enough to watch a couple YouTube videos, it does look like the starter disengages about 30 seconds after initiating the start.  Full accel to stable naturally takes longer.

So, hard to say what Emi might have been talking about, and I'm not a bus guy so haven't tried the Fenix so I don't know what it might do .. but just a consideration.

[Fiorentoni 4,252]

9 minutes ago, Stearmandriver said:

It's worth noting that there are different ways to judge how long an engine start takes. 

This. He‘s 100% talking about the starter, I mean he can‘t be that wrong, he‘s been starting engines day in and day out for several years, he‘ll surely know that no airliner engine goes from flipping the switch to fully stable in 30 seconds.

[El Diablito 328]

9 hours ago, Bobsk8 said:

Press the autopilot disconnect twice to silence the chime. 

Cheers, Bob. I'm pretty sure I tried that as my Boeing reflexes kicked in, but I can't be sure as I was coming into Lisbon at night with a crosswind and may have been distracted!

I'll give it another shot later.

While I'm here, just a question on Fuel & Payload - Do I enter these in the MCDU or is it all done through the EFB once I upload simbrief? I was tinkering with the mcdu page and sending loadsheets from the EFB and wasn't really sure what I was doing, it all worked out in the end but I'm still not sure how I did it?

[thepilot 579]

4 hours ago, Wise87 said:

I like the new announcement features. I was able to use my FSLabs announcements and with a little renaming per the guide, worked perfectly in the Fenix. 

Surely not a coincidence they also went with the .ogg file type 😅 

[threexgreen 3,142]

 

12 hours ago, JYW said:

Are you all remembering to click and turn up the volume knobs for 'cab' and 'PA' on the audio panel? ..... the PA announcements, and calls from the cain crew to the cockpit, are absolutely amazing. 

My only gripe with them and many other voice playbacks in other addons is they sound way too sterile, like a voice actor speaks them (which is probably what happened) instead of an FA speaking them for the 1000th time in their career on their 4th sector that day. They lack a more natural sound appropriate to the situation.

Edited March 1 by threexgreen