The iFly 737 has some great features controlled from the included EFB tablet in the cockpit… like the option to connect to ground power, open doors, add a catering truck, and airstairs.

Is there any possibility these things could be activated from my stream deck instead of poking around in the EFB? Are those options exposed/accessible?

Or, even better, is there any possibility the entire EFB interface could be mirrored as a web page so I could use my iPad as the iFly EFB?

28 minutes ago, Virtual-Chris said:

is there any possibility the entire EFB interface could be mirrored as a web page so I could use my iPad as the iFly EFB?

I'm not sure, but I think that I read somewhere that you can already do this with the iFly EFB out of the box?

In general, if the EFB is am ordinary HTML instrument, then creating a bridge package should be possible that either exposes the buttons or streams the entire thing. But that involves a lot of work...

Edited July 31, 2025Jul 31 by Lorby_SI

27 minutes ago, Lorby_SI said:

I'm not sure, but I think that I read somewhere that you can already do this with the iFly EFB out of the box?

In general, if the EFB is am ordinary HTML instrument, then creating a bridge package should be possible that either exposes the buttons or streams the entire thing. But that involves a lot of work...

I cannot find anything on using their EFB outside the cockpit. Any hints on what you saw?

Do you think some specific functions from their EFB could be bound to Stream Deck buttons somehow?

1 hour ago, Virtual-Chris said:

Do you think some specific functions from their EFB could be bound to Stream Deck buttons somehow?

The HTML EFB must communicate with the rest of the aircraft logic (WASM/Animations/...) somehow. That could be done for example with LVars, so I would look for those first.

Make sure to toggle the features that you are interested in on the EFB with the mouse first - LVars are often only visible when they have been used at least once. Then use the behvaior debug dialog in MSFS developer mode where you can see the LVars and their values "live".

Edited July 31, 2025Jul 31 by Lorby_SI

OK, so I've taken a look at the iFly. The EFB is a WASM - Instrument, not HTML. Like all the other instruments in the plane. 

The only thing that I can do with this is make another WebFMC, using the default Vol2 popout feature. That will take a while.

I take that back. I've looked into this too. Sadly, I don't think that it will be possible to make a WebFMC for this. The reason is the on-screen keyboard, I see no way of implementing this on an AAO WebPage. I can display the screen and make all the bezel buttons work, but that's it.

Edited July 31, 2025Jul 31 by Lorby_SI

1 hour ago, Lorby_SI said:

OK, so I've taken a look at the iFly. The EFB is a WASM - Instrument, not HTML. Like all the other instruments in the plane. 

The only thing that I can do with this is make another WebFMC, using the default Vol2 popout feature. That will take a while.

I take that back. I've looked into this too. Sadly, I don't think that it will be possible to make a WebFMC for this. The reason is the on-screen keyboard, I see no way of implementing this on an AAO WebPage. I can display the screen and make all the bezel buttons work, but that's it.

No worries. Do you think I can bind Stream Deck keys to some of the ground service items in the EFB? Like ground power, the air stairs, catering truck, and opening a couple of doors? It would save me diving into their kludgy tablet. 

Edited July 31, 2025Jul 31 by Virtual-Chris

59 minutes ago, Virtual-Chris said:

Do you think I can bind Stream Deck keys to some of the ground service items in the EFB?

Personally, I don't think so. There are no iFly specific controls for that, that I can see. Apparently, external controls were not on their priority list. It all happens inside their WASM module, from mouse click to something being available or displayed. A WASM is essentially a program, you cannot analyze it or even look "inside". 

Did you try the default SDK events and variables? Other than that, as I wrote above, you will find the odd LVar that corresponds to an animation, for example for the chocks. But there is no telling if changing that LVar will have any effect at all on the internal logic, since that logic expects the mouse click.

Edited July 31, 2025Jul 31 by Lorby_SI

1 minute ago, Lorby_SI said:

There are no iFly specific controls for that, that I can see. It all happens inside their WASM module, from mouse click to something being available or displayed. A WASM is essentially a program, you cannot analyze it or even look "inside". 

Did you try the default SDK events and variables? Other than that, as I wrote above, you will find the odd LVar that corresponds to an animation, for example for the chocks. But there is no telling if changing that LVar will have any effect at all on the internal logic, since that logic expects the mouse click.

Ok thanks. I’ll just use their EFB as intended then. 

20 minutes ago, Virtual-Chris said:

Ok thanks. I’ll just use their EFB as intended then. 

Or invest a bit (or a lot) of time on trial & error.

Example: TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_EXIT will open and close the doors when using different event values.

1 (>K:TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_EXIT)

2 (>K:TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_EXIT)

etc.

31 minutes ago, Virtual-Chris said:

Ok thanks. I’ll just use their EFB as intended then. 

Or - even better - write a nice email to iFly telling them about your requirement for controlling ground services etc. with an external device, and ask them to consider implementing Input Events for that (or LVars, if they must. Like they did for all other buttons)

An addon aircraft is just another piece of software. It can be redesigned, expanded and improved at any time.

Edited July 31, 2025Jul 31 by Lorby_SI

1 hour ago, Lorby_SI said:

Or invest a bit (or a lot) of time on trial & error.

Example: TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_EXIT will open and close the doors when using different event values.

1 (>K:TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_EXIT)

2 (>K:TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_EXIT)

etc.

Cool… How did you guess that? Is there any clue to make this a reasonable guessing game?

13 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

Cool… How did you guess that? Is there any clue to make this a reasonable guessing game?

Experience. These are the official SDK events, they have been the same for about 25 years.

When the behavior debug dialog in MSFS devel mode and the behavior XML files are inconclusive, I usually open the RPN Editor in AAO and the variable watcher. Then I filter the event list using suitable terms (like "door" or "exit") and simply try out the events that are listed and check if they change the expected variables (usually there is some clue in the behavior debug). The priority is MSFS IEs -> native SDK Events -> LVars. (LVars can be read from the simulator using the option in the "Scripting" menu). The most common aircraft where the developer published their own custom SDK are also available.

When the aircraft has been implemented reasonably close to the SDK you should have MSFS InputEvents and their bindings (BVars) for just about everything. So this is what you check first. 

In all other cases you are dealing with custom logic that the aircraft developer invented, outside of any specs and guidelines. That is where the detective work starts, and where one resorts to the behavior debug and ultimately trial&error.

IMHO the behavior debug is the best option - you click on the button/lever/knob that you are interested in, and the dialog tells you what events/scripts/whatever will be triggered when you are using the mouse on it. Then "just" replicate that in AAO.

It is probably not my place to say this, but I will do it anyway: ultimately, it is the choice of the customer if he accepts an addon aircraft that is next to impossible to control from the outside - when there are suitable mechanisms available in the official SDK to do just that (the MSFS InputEvents). If you are planning to use external hardware, I would recommend doing some research before the purchase if that particular aircraft does this well - or not.

Edited August 1, 2025Aug 1 by Lorby_SI