PSX Instructor: Mac and Vista

[Richard McDonald Woods]

I may be missing something, but....

I thought PSX was going to leave all external environments i.e. suns, stars, wx, etc, to other products, such as FSX, Active Sky, and their non-Windows equivalents?

Cheers, Richard

[Walter Kranl]

Hi Richard,

As far as I understand, PSX will have a basic environment simulation to display day, night, dusk, dawn, fog, runways and some basic weather simulation, so you can use PSX right out of the box with no other program (and computer) needed. Of course you can use other programs as scenery and weather generators (MSFS, XPlane, FlightGear or any other). But you need another PC then.

Cheers
Walter

[Pierre Theillere]

Hi Richad and Walter!

I guess we have to understand PSx (as PS1 was intended to be) as a "CBT", that is a Cockpit Based Training! Hardy explained some time ago (I don't remember where and when) that, when he programmed PS1, he never intended to make it used for "fun" flights and hobby, nor for making complete flights and even huge online events like WorldFlight. It was initially targeted towards pilots and training schools. Thanks to many talentful freeware developers (Hoppie, Ivan, Garry, Tom, Matthew, Urs, Markus, Joërg...) motivated by Matt's incredible setup, and WorldFlight "crazy" event, PS13 could be used more widely, kept in life quite longer than expected, and deal with online flights, eye-candy visuals, external hardware...
I guess PSx will follow same scheme... with (probably) the difference being that many addons (FSX interface, hardware support...) might already be done when PSx is released...
Just to correct Walter... I guess that the only things that are "basic" in PSx is "what's outside of the flight deck"... Everything that is inside will probably be done with great details... For example, even if weather has a "simple" appearance in PSx, I guess it will be finely simulated, with all associated effects on airframe and aerodynamics. Entering a cloud may "just" darken the flight deck.. but it may affect quite deeper what is pending to your flight, like icing, turbulence, rain, who knows?
Anyway, theese are just my guesses... hope they're close to what's going on "under the hood"!

[Phil Bunch]

Just a quick thought, probably without merit --

Would the sliders be sufficiently accurate to initialize the airplane at cruise altitude and speed, which can be very sensitive to speed and altitude accuracy as I understand it?  I'm thinking specifically about the "coffin corner" effect where one can't be very far off the target mach number and altitude if one wishes to avoid a stall.  Perhaps this or other "near stalling" conditions would require a numerically accurate parameter set.

I'm sure others would have thought of this hypothetical concern if it had merit but I thought it would still be best to mention it just in case it's worth considering.

[Hardy Heinlin]

P.S.: But not with a semi-transparent white layer. That's too expensive. I have to make another color algorithm inside the existing (3) color transitions ...

Wrong. Not too expensive. I forgot that the outside view background bitmap is just 1 pixel wide (1500 pixels high), so the semi-transparent area to be drawn is not bigger than a thumbnail actually. Pretty cheap. The bitmap (1 x 1500) is being generated in the background, and when rendered in the outside view its width of 1 pixel is scaled up by factor 7000. – Scaling a small bitmap up is much cheaper than using a big bitmap at scale 1.

...

Will the instructor station (and PSX itself) support touchscreens?

Yes. Actually, any program that can be clicked by the mouse can also be clicked by touchscreens. It should have an ergonomic layout, however.

Cheers,

|-|ardy

[Walter Kranl]

Hi Pierre!

Yes I know that PS is a professional CBT used in flight schools and other institutions and many enthusiasts around the globe (I'm PS1 user since day one). With "basic" I meant the graphical representation of the environment and not the different effects on systems and aerodynamics.

Walter

[Hardy Heinlin]

Would the sliders be sufficiently accurate to initialize the airplane at cruise altitude and speed, which can be very sensitive to speed and altitude accuracy as I understand it?

The TAS slider has a resolution of 1 knot. At high altitudes this is equal to approx. 0.5 KIAS. So, way enough precision.

The altitude slider is in 100 feet increments. Also fine enough. If somebody really wants to start at, say, 24070 or 5230 feet, then fly there and save it then :-)

The change is also directly visible on the flight instruments.

Cheers,

|-|ardy

[Hardy Heinlin]

Perhaps this or other "near stalling" conditions would require a numerically accurate parameter set.

How do you do this in PS1? Do you pick up an aircraft flying on the ILS, then go to the Instructor and put it at FL 390 with TAS set to 570, then leave the Instructor and fly the aircraft at FL 390 with TAS set to 570?

No.

You wouldn't even know what TAS to enter.

Instead, you use the Instructor to make minor changes to an already loaded situation. In PS1, you click here and there, hit EDIT, type in numbers, press OK, press ESC. And then check what happened.

In PSX you move the slider while the aircraft is flying, give a little more airspeed, or little less and you see the change directly on the flight instruments. No clicking and no typing and no pausing.

The stab trim slider has a special function. It's there simply because the stab trim rate is so slow when controlled by the trim switches.

|-|

[Pierre Theillere]

Hi Hardy!

I was the one who had suggested a "numerical indication" of the values... but you finally just managed to convince me that the resolution of the sliders was quite enough for efficient simulator use! And... I guess that getting rid from any numerical entry will make the use of touchscreen even easier!!! Same kind of interface for weather settings could be great!!!

[delcom]

Hardy,
any chance of an a/c on jacks button on the instructor's page? I really wouldn't have a clue how difficult or easy to make that. Just an idea...Please educate me on this.

cheers,
delcom

[Hardy Heinlin]

And... I guess that getting rid from any numerical entry will make the use of touchscreen even easier!!!

Eeexactly :-)

any chance of an a/c on jacks

To make the tire changes easier? :-)

What else? Demonstrate gear transitions on the ground?

No problem, I think.

|-|

[delcom]

To make the tire changes easier? :-)

What else? Demonstrate gear transitions on the ground?

These two examples are good, too. But the main benefit would be the other thousand system tests that could be performed without having the bird up in the air. Air/ground logic is a good friend of mine.

cheers,
delcom

[Qavion]

It won't quite be a maintenance simulator, Delcom There will be no CMC (impossibly complex).

I expect that pulling the overhead CB's will be as close as we will get to simulating air mode on the ground : )

[Walter Kranl]

But there will be some CMC functions - according to Hardy's post ?

http://744.hoppie.nl/forum.cgi/read/17717

Walter

[Hardy Heinlin]

I said "I rather like to" in context of an addon discussion, I didn't say "there will be" :-)

Developping a CMC model is impossible within the next 4 or 6 years, if at all.

If the complete FMS is already as fat as the Mount Everest, the complete CMC is the Himalaya.

PSX may get some CMC ground test functions like in PS1. But that's just a drop in the ocean (or a snow flake on the Himalaya).


Regards,

|-|ardy

[Walter Kranl]

Roger - I guess programming the CB's alone will be a huge task.

Cheers
Walter

[Hardy Heinlin]

Perhaps this or other "near stalling" conditions would require a numerically accurate parameter set.

I forgot to add:

It's even easier to do this with the slider: While moving the slider you'll see on the PFD – live and in color – your airspeed changing between the red limit bricks. It's direct and live at your finger tip.

If you would try the same with a numerical entry box you would have to make a dozens of trials and errors, and you would have no trend indication, no flow, nothing.

Even Airbus has a joystick instead of a numerical entry :-)

...

The same is true for daylight and season. You move the slider and you'll see immediately the daylight change. – However, if you want exact real time, just click on the real time button.

...

How good this slider system finally is can only be checked in a long practical test ... We'll see ...


Regards,

|-|ardy

[Will]

Cal you use the sliders to distribute fuel amongst the tanks?  (Fuel imbalance!)  

Can you use the sliders to distribute pax and cargo?  (Or are you limited to just ZFW and percent MAC?)

[martin]

To make the tire changes easier? :-)
What else? Demonstrate gear transitions on the ground?

For the Repo Man !
[size=8][Just happened to see the movie*: Repo Man sneaks in to take away a car without the owner noticing, cracks lock, short-cuts ignition, engine roaring - but no locomotion: prudent owner has set the (driven) rear wheels on jacks...][/size]

Cheers,
Martin

PS. Yes, doesn't work for a jet   :roll: -- but then we can at least demonstrate that!

* highly recommended

[Hardy Heinlin]

Cal you use the sliders to distribute fuel amongst the tanks?  (Fuel imbalance!)

No. Refueling will be automatic like in PS1. If you want to have special tank distributions, you need to use the fuel panel on the overhead – and perhaps the sim speed factor slider to accelerate the fuel flow.

Can you use the sliders to distribute pax and cargo? (Or are you limited to just ZFW and percent MAC?)

Just ZFW and percent MAC.

PSX doesn't know what a homo sapiens or an elephant is. It just knows what a pound or a kilogram is.

The graphics in PSX show the flight deck only.


|-|ardy