frantzy

Happy to help Randy. I can't tell you how long I struggled to figure out how to change the range ring distance on the EHSI Map view. And I still have trouble with engine start.My standard procedure has become: click Accept on the INIT page, then go to FPL page, and enter only the Origin Airport and the Destination Airport. Then I select the SIDs and STARs if applicable. Then I insert intermediate waypoints between the end of the SID and beginning of the STAR.To be honest I can't remember whether I do it this way because of something with the Dash 8. In the real world I fly a Cirrus with a Garmin GPS, and there's a rudimentary VNAV feature which works better if I enter the destination before the intermediate waypoints. So it's a habit.

Hi Randy,I've got my Dash 8 fired up so hopefully I can help now. For the squawk code, I see 0000 on my transponder display. When I push the center of the button on the right, the left-most 0 blinks and I can click the outer ring of the button left or right to select the first digit. I push the center of the button again, and the next digit flashes. Does this work for you?When I put KPIH and KSLC into the flight plan and click on the departure page, like you I see no SIDs but 4 runway choices. It's ok to choose a runway but just leave the SID field blank, and then click FPL (lowest right LSK) and return to the FPL page. Does yours not allow you to leave the SID blank? For SLC, I actually do see a list of approaches (22 of them) as well as STARs into SLC. Two possible differences, I'm using the payware Pro version, and I applied the available patches from the Majestic Software site.But regarding outdated AIRAC and missing waypoints, I feel your pain. I'm trying to fly to Santa Rosa / Sonoma County (KSTS) but it doesn't seem to exist.Mikeedited to add: To me Fanda's Dash 8 has all the highs and lows of a flight sim add-on. It's a wonderfully detailed and complete simulation, particularly in the high end payware models. I have friends who fly Dash 8s for airlines and they're impressed. The developer was clearly passionate and resourceful but English might not be his native language, so the documentation can be hard to follow. And although he seems very committed to ongoing support, the effort to bring it up to "state of the art" and expand to other variants is too much for one person. Other add-ons I love have these same traits.

I'm not at my sim desk right now but lets see what i can do from memory on the first issue. On the INIT page don't type anything, just hit accept. Then go to the FPL page and enter your airport ICAO. Does it take it? Then hit Menu and see if the SIDs are there.

Today's headlines feature a spelling mistake that plagues aviation

I really appreciate this thread because authentic-flying aircraft matters more to me in simming than does visual fidelity, scenery, or other factors that appeal to other simmers.But your specific point again reminds me of something I've never understood: why we don't have a great B777 available. Especially considering it's the predominant long range aircraft in real-world use these days.

...and by the way, for simmers interested in flying real-world IFR procedures, the IFR hold is one of the most challenging aspects of obtaining an instrument rating. Four factors make it hard:1) Visualizing the oval position in relation to the waypoint2) Entering the hold while staying within the oval3) Adjusting the outbound leg of the oval to compensate for tailwinds/headwinds so the inbound leg is exactly one minute long4) Compensating for crosswinds in the straight parts of the oval and in the turns, so the airplane remains within the oval.All of this is important because staying within the boundaries of the hold ensures terrain clearance. If you want to improve your flying skill, mastering the real-world holding pattern is a great way to do it.

>To hold with the G430, all you need to do is press the "OBS">button when you get near the fix you want to hold at (this>assumes you are holding over a waypoint already in the GPS>flight plan). The GPS will then "lock on" to that fix and>won't sequence past it once you cross that point. Once you are>finished holding, just hit OBS again and the GPS should>sequence to the next waypoint in the flight plan. >Note that circling and holding are different. If you're looking for a practical solution (like you need to mow the lawn and you want your plane to stay at your initial approach fix so you can come back later and finish the flight) the above method is effective.If you instead want to simulate the real-world instrument procedure of holding, you need to fly an oval rather than a circle, compensate for wind drift, and follow either published or verbal instructions about where the oval should be relative to the waypoint. The method above would not do that. If I recall correctly, the real world G430/G1000 and real-world autopilots will fly a holding pattern when it exists on the missed approach procedure (but without compensating for wind), but elsewhere you would manually change autopilot headings to make an oval. I'm not sure what the FSX version of the Garmins will do.

I've been using three Dell 20" (2001FP or something like that), which I like because:1) Fast response time2) Easy to adjust ergonomic positions (up, down, sideways rotate, tilt)3) USB connections available on the side of the monitor. I don't use them currently but have before4) Good price from Dell Outlet

Beautiful work! What's your visual system? And how do you like the GF throttles?

The real thing is pretty ugly as well... http://arvamont.com/AK-Images/04-07%20olym...20mt%20hood.jpg...although I guess the sim doesn't make it dense or smooth enough to look realistic.

Sounds like perhaps it was low hanging fruit. Why make easy fixes wait for the harder/bigger ones? I'm not affected by this one but I'm encouraged by the precedent...

My faith in a post drops with every exclamation point contained in the subject line

I appreciate the front page status report today (and offer to cancel) but I really view an FS version upgrade as a big, long project. Waiting a few extra days or weeks really doesn't matter to me...in fact, letting others wrestle with and solve issues while I wait will make my experience easier. And the last thing I want to do is cancel an order that supports Avsim. For the next couple years when I'm building my FSX world, I know Circuit City and Best Buy won't be of any use to me, but Avsim will be invaluable.

>>How does the airplane get the info about windspeed/direction>in the first place? Is there a datalink to weather station>systems or something? I mean, the plane itself isn't gonna>detect it, right?Wrong. The GPS knows the ground speed and ground track, and the primary flight instruments + pitot system know the air speed and heading. So the wind speed and direction can be derived on board.

>I'm sure there will be "another way" to get>these setups to work for you guys.If so it would be nice for Mike aka Taildragger to provide more than a 1-word, 2-letter answer.Maybe a better way to ask the question is, "How are multi-monitor scenarios supported in FSX?"