panel switch

[Guest]

just out of curiosity, how much work would go into take a panel out of one aircraft, and placing it into another aircraft? i have been thinking this over for quite some time.....would there be alot of coding involved? or would it be other things. this panel would already be built, however it would be just switched from aircraft to aircraft. would i have to modify the aircraft its self? thanks for the help!!!!!!!anthony

[Guest]

To swap out an entire panel from one aircraft to another is quite easy. The PNL files contain all of the system definitions for the gauges and layout of the panel. The PIT file identifies which PNL files to use for the panel. Make copies of the files in the world directory for your new aircraft, changing all the file names to reference your new files. For example, edit the SVH file to rename the PIT file referenced, edit the PIT file to rename the PNL file referenced, and so on. Basically, this operation only requires editing these configuration (text) files...no model adjustment required.The main problem I could see with this is the event when a panel references a system that doesn't exist in the new plane. Does Fly!II crash? I don't know. The PNL file just defines the look and behavior of the gauges...its the AMP file that actually ties the gauges to systems. Play around with it. I know this is how I started. I was making my own panel, but didn't have an external model yet. So I opened the Flyhawk up, copied a bunch of files, renamed them, modified the file references, etc. When I loaded my new plane, I saw my panel hooked up to the Flyhawk systems and using the Flyhawk external model. It was a lot of fun to get to that point.

[Guest]

so all i really have to do is take the .pnl and .pit files out of aircraft A (with the panel i want) and put it into aircraft B. just change the names of the .pnl and .pit files and that is all??? seems too easy, has to be a catch someplace. anthony

[Guest]

The catch would probably be the aircraft systems. The PNL file refers to entries in the AMP file. The AMP file deals with the actual systems for the aircraft. My comments on this task are primarily speculation because I'm not sure what happens when you put in a new AMP file for an aircraft that does not have systems described in that file. One thing is for sure, you have to copy the PIT, PNL *and* AMP files for the new aircraft. The closest I've come to doing this is swapping my custom panel in to the Flyhawk. My panel was pretty close to the Flyhawk's existing systems. I don't know what would happen if you tried to put a Flyhawk panel on a 737.

[Guest]

*evil grin* guess i will find out wont i? hehethanks dan for the help!!anthony

[Guest]

Anthony,If you swap the systems file as well (amp file) then this might solve the problem. I say might, because if other things are dependent on the specific amp file then these will break (e.g. fuel switches etc.)Cheers,Matthew.

[Guest andrewluck]

We discussed this a couple of weeks ago as well. Instructions for dropping the DC-9 cockpit and sounds into the MD82 are discussed in the thread titled 'cockpit for md-82).Andrew Luck18 miles SW EGSH