Muklum

Hi, If you haven't checked already, it's worth looking at programs that run automatically at system startup. My frame rates recently dropped suddenly from the 40-60 range to around 20, and sometimes even single figures. Various attempted fixes, including rebuilding fsx.cfg and turning graphics to very low settings, didn't lead to any significant improvement, so I checked my startup items with msconfig.exe. I found that Java Platform SE Auto Updater had somehow become included in the startup items, and when I disabled it, my fsx performance was immediately restored with no need to turn my settings down. Dugald

Frank, Thanks, that's very helpful. I actually used Acronis to clone my C: drive when I got my first SSD, and like you I regularly make a backup clone, but it didn't occur to me to try dual booting. So I'm off now to check the current SSD offers in the UK! Dugald

This sounds like a great idea. I'd also like to know how to install it. Do you need two separate Windows licences? And how do you answer when you download an add-on that asks (if I remember rightly, Flight 1 software does this) whether it's to be installed on this computer or on a different computer? Thanks, Dugald

I've found that since the update, my Saitek Cessna trim wheel no longer acts like an axis in the sim - it's more like a series of button presses, but with a seemingly random sequence. I can trim just fine if I assign the trim operation to yoke buttons. I have the trim wheel calibrated via FSUIPC (now using 4.938c), and the action seems perfectly smooth in the FSUIPC calibration page. I have the problem with all aircraft, both default and add-on. The trim wheel worked normally before the update, and it still works correctly in boxed FSX and in X-Plane. Can any trim wheel user confirm that theirs is working normally in FSX-SE? Dugald

A2A Cub + Accusim are fine. On a system with both versions of FSX, UTX Canada appears to be installed correctly when pointed to the FSX-SE directory, but when enabled, it activates its features in the boxed FSX version, so there's no change in the FSX-SE picture. According to the UTX configuration interface, the "registry" location is the original FSX location, and the "installed" location is the FSX-SE location. The "registry" location appears to be the only one that matters when it comes to activating features. Dugald

Hi Dean, I now have the updates. Thank you very much for your help. Dugald

Thanks, Dean.

Hi Dean, The Carenado X-Plane aircraft in question are the Bonanza F33 and the Cessna 172N. Thanks for your help, Dugald

I've been trying to get information from them about the version 3 updates of some Carenado aircraft for X-plane that I bought from PC Aviator some time ago. Their website is still showing the version 2 packages, though version 3 for these aircraft has been available on the Carenado site for some time now. When I contacted PC Aviator to ask about version 3, I had an automatic response saying that I would receive an answer within 24-48 hours. That was over a week ago, and still no reply, so I'm not impressed with their customer support. Dugald

I have an LG 3D monitor, which came with its own grey 3D glasses and Tridef 3D software, and I find that 3D makes FSX very immersive, especially when flying low and slow or in cloudy weather. It's also very impressive in outside views (but I still prefer the VC cockpit view with TrackIR). There is some FPS loss, but not enough to worry me. The display is very slightly darker than without 3D, but the difference isn't significant. One slight disadvantage is that since the mouse pointer isn't 3D, it appears as a double image, so it can be slightly difficult to position it correctly to operate small switches or buttons. Text in any 2D message panels (VoxATC) and menus is also slightly fuzzy, I think because of the faint horizontal lines that are always visible (if you remember to look for them) in the 3D image. All in all, I think 3D makes a worthwhile difference to the sim.. Note that the LG TV glasses (and cinema glasses) don't work with this monitor, so the 3D TV technology may be different, but if anything I'd expect it to be better than the monitor technology. Also, other installed software can stop the Tridef 3D from working, though I don't know how common this is. Internet Explorer 9 was a known culprit, and the only way to restore the 3D was to uninstall IE9 completely (simply turning it off under Windows Features wasn't good enough). IE8, 10 and 11 are all OK. Dugald

Open Windows Explorer, then select Tools from the top menu, then Folder Options from the drop-down menu, then open the View tab. Untick "Hide extensions for known file types". You should then be able to see your ini file in the Modules folder. Dugald

I use multiple copies of the file X-Plane.prf (in the Output\Preferences folder) with different values for _tex_res, but that means selecting the particular copy for the Malibu before any X-Plane session using this aircraft, then changing it back before a session with other aircraft. Dugald

As reported above, I originally had serious stutters with the Malibu Mirage. However, Daniel K. at Carenado pointed me to a forum thread in which Ryan reported success with the C90 after reducing the Texture Resolution setting. I did the same, and I've had no stutters or fps problems with the Malibu Mirage since making this change. I'm now very pleased with this purchase. Dugald

Ryan, I'm having the same problem with the Malibu. I don't have the King Air to compare it with, but I have several other Carenado aircraft in X-Plane and they all give good, steady frame rates (as do all my other X-Plane aircraft). I've raised a query with Carenado, but if the King Air is doing it too, it's maybe a "feature" of their latest work (HD textures?). That would be a real pity, since I enjoy their earlier offerings, but for me, the Malibu is a waste of money as it stands (or stutters). Dugald

As advised by Mike W, it should just be case of loading (or creating) a plan for your next flight once you've landed - there should be no need to exit FSX. However, you must remember to save your flight after loading the new flight plan (I always name the new flight "x", unless I think I'll want to use it again at some time). Edit: You may also have to disable VoxATC and then enable it again so that it can recognize the new flight. Dugald

+1. I have no Orbx add-on airfields, but my A2A 172 starts rolling very easily at the Orbx airfields in their Scotland scenery and in their North American scenery, so the Orbx "problem" doesn't seem to be as fundamental to the C172 as some of the above posts seem to be suggesting. I do sympathise with those who are having the problem, but I can't see any reason to heap blame on A2A for not spotting it before release. Dugald

The reply from the Administrator on the Flightstore forum was that these discontinuities are present in the Google map data, which is used for the VFR photoscenery. I have checked these areas in Google maps, and the discontinuities really are there. You probably won't notice them until you zoom in very close, but as I zoomed in one area I actually saw a colour switch from normal "Google maps green" to the washed-out pink that I saw in the GenX scenery. So don't blame Playsims - and I still think this volume is worth the price. Dugald

Thanks, I was afraid of that. I'll report it on the Flightstore forum and see what happens. Dugald

I received my copy a few days ago, and after a smooth installation I spent about 2 hours exploring the eastern area between Edinburgh and Aberdeen. I was very happy with what I saw there, as the scenery was of the high quality that I expected from the other GenX VFR volumes. However, my next trip was from Inverness down the Great Glen to Loch Linnhe, and I was very disappointed to find several very abrupt colour changes, particularly along Loch Ness. Some of these might have been taken for cloud shadows, except that the edges were much too sharp. There were also a few sharply bounded areas of very washed-out colour - so pale that it was difficult to see whether the textures were sharp, or in some cases even whether there were any textures. Since I didn't have the slow installation experience reported by some users, I wonder whether I have a faulty installation. Has anyone else noticed these or similar poor colour transitions? Thanks, Dugald

Hi Christopher, I'm using Win7 64-bit. They've certainly been consistent for me. I have complete coverage of England and Wales, and now Scotland. The only problem I've ever had (other than the long wait for delivery of this volume) was that Scotland South interfered slightly with the Cumbrian coast, and a fix was provided within a couple of days on the forum (fortunately, they did have a working forum at that time). Dugald

Received my copy today, and it installed without issue. My DVD drive is a Samsung SH-S222A, and Autorun is disabled on my system, so I do use the setup file for all installations from removable discs. Installation took about 15-20 minutes per disc, and after a test flight of about 2 hours, I'm very happy with what I've seen so far. Sorry to hear that the installation speeds are slow for some. Maybe a faulty batch of DVDs? Dugald

There's also an Android app called Avilution Checklists that can do audio checklists. It's not very expensive, but you do have to add your own checklists to a single "checklists.txt" file. I find it works well, but I don't use the audio feature, so I don't know how good that is. Dugald

Currys are currently offering good savings on many Saitek controllers and switch/panel units, in comparison with other UK retailers. It's well worth looking at their web site if you're thinking about buying any Saitek stuff. Dugald

I haven't tried that, but I can avoid the dropouts by hand flying or by nudging the controls every now and then when flying on autopilot. When I do that, the dropout is most likely to occur while I'm setting up the cockpit and the flight plan pre-flight. It's then just a matter of remembering to check before takeoff (but naturally I often forget). Finding out whether the controllers are active in the FSX menu would be of no value to me, since it wouldn't tell me how to stop the problem from happening in the first place, rather than having to rely on dodgy memory. Dugald

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm aware that USB3 ports automatically default to USB2, but the fact remains that removing any devices connected via USB3 ports stopped the PC as a whole from losing the USB connections. Also, I hadn't been using the USB3 ports earlier, and I'm fairly sure, with hindsight, that the problem started at about the time that I rearranged my setup and started connecting the printer and scanner through the USB3 ports. My PC is less than a year old, and I deliberately opted for a large power supply, so that shouldn't be the problem. I did suspect a fault in the yoke for a while, but it has happened at least once to the pedals, and, as I mentioned in my earlier post, when occasional dropouts do occur now, the device that appears to have dropped out (nearly always the yoke) is still recognised by TrackIR when I press the "pause" or "centre" button, and also by FSUIPC4 and by the Windows calibration tool. Moreover, I don't suffer from dropouts in X-plane now. This suggests to me that the device itself is not in fact dropping out, but for some reason FSX "thinks" it isn't there. Dugald