RemoteFlight – Flight Simulator Gauges for Apple Devices

I have had an Apple iPhone for several years now and love the form factor and capabilities. It is the small screen size that is rough on an old pilot’s weak eyes. I’m not really complaining as my son provides my wife and me with up-to-date phones and pays for the service. Good kid.

This good kid is also one of those techie-type, leading edge computer geeks according to his Mother. His dad refers to him as his only son that is a Director in a world-class international company that happens to also build computers and such.

Is this going someplace?

Sure is. I am leading up to the iPad that I received for Christmas. When you get to my age, there is really nothing out there that you need for a present, just a whole lot of stuff that you would like to have or maybe want. I added a renewal to my PC Pilot magazine subscription to my Amazon ‘Wish List’ this year (yep, same son gave it to me last year) and one of my grandkids thought it would be a good idea to add the digital copy for the 2013 season. Knowing I can barely read a phone number on the iPhone, a full sized iPad with a $25 iTune card seemed appropriate.

Can we get on with it, please?

OK, so I am an avid flight simmer with lots of FSX toys covering my desk. I have a full blown Saitek external cockpit with a few extras, 2 desktop computers, a laptop, etc. Well, you get the picture. The premise was I could get away from the desk/cockpit for a few hours from time to time and catch up on FS articles and stories and check my email and read the forums on the iPad.
 

It works, except I came across this app called Cockpit HD from RemoteFlight. The basic six flight instruments look absolutely stunning on the iPad screen. Now this is not the latest retina screen version, but an original iPad and it still looks great to me.

Take a look at this screenshot. I soon found there is so much more available for us flight simmers who have an iPad or iPhone.

www.remoteflight.net has a well laid out web presence to complement the images and descriptions of their products available for purchase at the Apple app store. You can review full descriptions and features of each of the apps, watch videos, download pdfs, and see full sized and oversized images. They recommend checking in on their Facebook pagefor the latest scoop.

Beautiful and efficient flight simulator gauges for Apple devices is the byline in the header at the website. Let’s see how true this statement may be.

As a verbal proponent of the external cockpit for our flight simulator hobby, these beautiful and efficient flight simulator gauges for Apple devices should fall into place and find a happy home on my FSX desk. Anything that adds additional real estate to my cockpit or simulator views will get my attention every time. One of the great advantages of the iPad and iPhone is that in addition to already terrific form factor for mobility and multi-use they are true ‘touch screens’

Until you personally witness the super sharp images, the smoothness of the gauges in operation with FSX, or FS9 or x-Plane, and the ease of selecting precise headings, scrolling frequencies or any of those simulated pilot type actions you may remain a skeptic. It took me only minutes to be sold on these HD gauges.

How about an overview of what is available today?

Great, a quick overview then I will follow up with a recap of how easy it is to download and install the apps to run with FSX. Everything at the app store is either for your iPad or iPhone or maybe both in some cases. Here is an introductory description straight from their website.

Cockpit HD is full-featured, touch enabled cockpit panel replacement for almost any of your Flight Simulator aircraft. Optimized for new iPad retina display from the very beginning but will look just as good on normal iPad screen. Enjoy your scenery on full screen and let your iPad do the job displaying the gauges. Customize your cockpit according to your preference, either for pure VFR or hard-code IFR training.
 

Radio HD is the ultimate radio panel for iPad. Period. All your favourite radio gauges in one place, beautifully drawn, animated and programmed with pilot's comfort in mind. Since all gauges don't fit on one screen you can now switch between different gauge layouts, and instantly get the instrument you need. Use multi-touch for more precision or faster scrolling (knob turning) through frequencies. RemoteFlight RADIO HD aren't just our iPhone apps packed together into one. Enjoy it, whether flying online in an airliner or in your IFR training with smaller aircraft.
 

Map HD is an ideal companion for long haul flights, as well as a tool for those, who like to explore the world while flying. Dragable and zoomable vector map moves with the aircraft and key flight variables are displayed on side-panel, which you can hide. You can choose from different types of maps, aircraft icons and units of measurement. Now you can sit back and relax, or chat with a stewardess, while still fully aware of the situation in cockpit thanks to iPad with RemoteFlight MAP HD.
 

Those are the three iPad applications. Now for the five iPhone apps.

For FSX and FS9 (9.1) you need WIN XP or later. I like Win 7 - 64 personally with FSX/Acceleration, but you can get away with SP2 and the 32 bit windows. You also need Microsoft.NET Framework 4. Prepar3D users get a maybe – try RemoteFlight LITE and see if it works. All these things are free except for the OS and FS.

How to connect

Rather than go through the steps, I will tell you it is super simple, easy, and worked on the first try for me. I suggest you read the step-by-step support article at the website. This not only explains how easy it is, but does it with pictures for those not too technically minded like me. It uses the ClickOnce installer. I had absolutely no hitches, no delays, just a buttery smooth installation and connection.

While nothing can replace actual flight with its associated sounds, vibration, turbulence, smells and visceral feel, the Saitek Hardware Cockpit gets very high marks. It creates a new atmosphere for the sim pilot with real switches, gauges, instruments, knobs, levers, pedals and yoke. This adds a totally new dimension to FSX flying, as you can spend more time using the external views while still having the flight controls and instruments available to you. As you can see in these photos and screenshoThis adds a totally new ts, you can fly the airplane with the same ease using the external view as from the virtual cockpit. The big difference is the vastness of the field of vision in the external views.

You can scroll the knobs for larger movements or changes or tap once of a single increment of change. This makes it so easy to set precise heading or unique frequencies with these apps.

And all this for $10. Oh my.

It starts with a nice glowing soft green Power button in the upper left corner and an illuminated 1, 2, 3, 4 button near the top right to indicate which of the four screens is active. Screen 1 has the transponder at the bottom; screen 2 replaces it with DME readouts with ID and distance. Screen 3 adds the ADF1 active and standby frequency box. Screen 4, replaces the DME readouts with ADF2.

The SET button in the upper right brings up a full screen for checking or setting the Server IP and Port with a Test button.

The balance of the page is a graphic tutorial on hints and tricks to make the best use of the touch controls and knob selections.

• The first row is the Server IP and Port number boxes and a TEST button.
• The Update Frequency can be selected as 1 second, 2 secs, 3, secs, 5 secs, 10 secs or 30 seconds. I selected 1 second updates.
• The Map style comes in as 3 choices – Apple, Apple Aerial, and Apple Hybrid. I chose Apple Hybrid for my review.
• The little aircraft icon choices are Simple arrow, Cessna, Beechcraft, CRJ, Boeing 737, Airbus 319, Boeing 747 and Bell 206. You can also choose the icon size as Big, Med, small and Tiny. I picked Tiny.
• Units are selectable as Knots/feet or KPH/meters.
• The Route color line can be Orange, Cyan, Magenta, Amber or Lime.
• This must be just to see if we are paying attention. The last choice is labeled Smooth Movement Yes or NO. I picked Yes.
• You press the SAVE button or the Back button to return to the active Map screen

Once you point to your saved flight plans folder in the setup you can then choose an existing FSX flight plan at any time by touching the Flightplan button. Selecting an existing flight plan will bring up an Activate Flight plan button and when touched will bring up a new banner across the top with the next waypoint, track, distance and time to the waypoint.

The basic airspeed indicator has the red and blue radial lines for Single Engine Minimum Control Speed (VMCA) and the Best Single Engine Rate of Climb speed. The top end VNE speed is also selectable with the moveable long barber pole needle. These three needles are individually selectable and can be set by the user for visual reference. Settings are remembered for the next time your run the app.
 

I was especially pleased to see the two additional choices of Airspeed Indicators – a very typical Cessna 172 and my favorite GA twin, the Beech Baron 58. Both of these A/S indicators have temperature adjustment features at altitudes for direct readout of True Air Speed on the dial.

The RemoteFlight BE-58 airspeed indicator uses a linear dial whereas the real BE-58 and the Carenado edition that I in fly in FSX have the non-linear dial that aids in displaying the red and blue radials more prominently for emergencies with single engine operations and a horizontal needle placement at normal cruise speed. As usual, I like the addition of the TAS ring, but I prefer the non-linear dial. I can see a need for a similar advanced airspeed gauge for those aircraft with another 50 knots of top end speed, like the Lancair Legacy from RealAir.
 

The Electronic Altimeter has the selected barometric pressure setting and the full digital readout of pressure altitude showing at all times. Both altimeters are selectable for hectopascals for the flying in Europe or where In Hg is not used.
 

The 2 minute Turn Coordinator is labeled as DC Elec and is what one would most likely see in most any modern aircraft. Only the old military aircraft or really old general aviation planes have the needle and ball.

The Horizontal Situation Indicator, HSI, is a work of art. It probably deserves its own owner’s manual. If you want one, then you probably understand how it works and how to read it. It provides a ton of good navigational information.
 

The RPM gauge appears as a single engine piston gauge but dual needles labeled 1 and 2 if twin engines are detected (1 is the Left or forward engine if center-lined). An hour meter records the hours the engine is running to the 1/hundredth hour. This only works with piston propelled aircraft.

The final advanced gauge is the VOR/ILS gauge with horizontal and vertical needles. Not in service barber poles indicators are present for Nav and Glideslope. A Nav button at the bottom is used to select Nav1 or Nav2 as the source.
 

With the exception of the VOR/ILS and the HSI gauges, all should work with practically any or all add-ons with the exception of those products that are designed outside the FSX design parameters. These would typically be more advanced add-ons from PMDG, Aerosoft, A2A Simulations, and several airliners types. I’m sure the forums will be full of chit-chat about the ones that will not work.

All the gauges seem to work just fine in my RealAir Simulation Legacy.

All of these gauges or instruments are very pleasing to the eye, movement is fluid and steady. Adjustments are made by finger movements typical of any Apple device.

A wish list PFD for consideration

Maybe a simple PFD type instrument with moving tapes for Airspeed with V1, V2, VR indicators and flap indicators, Altitude tape with selected altitudes highlighted and a VSI tape with a digital readout of positive or negative FPM. Of course, it would have a attitude indicator in the middle with a slip/skid feature. Along the bottom would be the Heading Indicator with the Heading Bug highlighted.

Also an all in one type twin piston gauge that has all the normal stuff about RPM and MP, but then have fuel on board readings for each tank, fuel consumption by each engine, oil pressure and fuel pressure, oil and pressure temperatures, some electrical indications for Amps and Volts, Outside Air Temperature, Flap positions and movement, cowl flaps positions, landing gear positions and movements, pitch, rudder, and aileron trim settings and finally a warning for gear extension at too high speed and spoiler or speed brake position. Did I miss anything? Sure did, EGT readings.