How do I setup Jeehell FMGS on dedicated computer?
Please read this tutorial on how to run FMGS and all its components on one computer, and a visual computer (P3D/FSX) on another.
How do I setup the weather radar?
Please read the Weather Radar Tutorial.
I do not have an Integrated Standby Instrument System (ISIS). How do I link the barometer on the ISIS to the Captain or First Officer Barometer?
Use the “Aircraft Options” available on the FMGS_Server module. Select ‘yes’ for the Link ISIS baro to CPT EFIS.
How do I setup EIS2 type displays?
Use the “Aircraft Options” available on the FMGS_Server module. You can change the EIS model to 1 or 2.
The runways do not line up with the FMGS navigation database.
FSX/P3D maybe using outdated navigation data. Download ILS/RWY regional updates at Hervé Sors website. In addition A320FMGSnavdatafsscenery.cfg must be configured correctly. The scenery pathway must point to the exact flight simulator filename – e.g. scenery.cfg=c:programdatalockheed martinprepar3d vxscenery.cfg
How do you get accurate fuel planning using TOPCAT?
It is essential to use the TOPCAT configuration files by ToTom to inject the correct fuel levels into the aircraft. The configuration files can be downloaded at Resource.
Is FMGS really free?
Jeehell FMGS is free for non-commercial use. If you would like to use FMGS for commercial application please contact Jean Luc. Fixed based turn key solutions are also available from Simnest.
Reading through that list may give you a preliminary indication of the program’s range and scope.... Buying PFPX (and perhaps TOPCAT) The prices that I quoted above for PFPX cover the program itself and some initial database information. Here is a link to the Aerosoft purchase page (please bear in mind that whilst the following link, and all links given in this review, are valid at the time of writing, things can change on the Internet, as we know — as, indeed, can the prices): Link (Near the bottom of that page you can find links from whence you can download the program’s manual, and also an example “flight briefing package”). |
Then there is the two-part tutorial. My prayers — and, I have no doubt, those of many others — were finally answered by the provision of a really excellent two-part tutorial (in pdf format), which goes a long way towards remedying the deficiencies of the official manual. Entitled “ETOPS and Oceanic Procedures” and written by Belisar Hoxholli, part 1 covers the activities in the dispatcher’s office, whilst part 2 covers what happens on the flight deck subsequently. Quite frankly, I learned more from reading very carefully through this two-part tutorial than from the sum total of the videos and the official manual: Mr. Hoxholli has done the flight sim community a huge service. The links are to be found pinned on the PFPX forum page here: Link |
Clicking on the grey globe gives you a dropdown with access to the data manipulation and editing facilities, although the small symbols on the top line to the right of the globe give you the same access without using the dropdown. As you can see, this area of the program is where you can add your own aircraft, configure weather sources, and generally do all the housekeeping tasks associated with defining and editing the data upon which the program relies. This also gives access to the main program options, where you define what weight units you wish to use and the source for your weather information (i.e. PFPX or your existing weather program). On the General tab you can see which version of the program you are using, and get it to automatically check for updates each time it is opened. | ||
Easily overlooked, since it's on the far right of the top line away from the rest, is the Style dropdown which has options for the program “skin” colour, as well as a useful facility to reset the position of the windows if you have dragged them into a tangled configuration. The Help dropdown alongside it gives access to the manual and the PFPX forum, as well as the ability to directly open a support ticket. Immediately below the quick access toolbar are four tabs: Schedule, Flight, Traffic, and Browser. Selecting any of these will cause the main panel below to change accordingly. So the close-up above showed its configuration when Schedule is selected, but selecting Flight changes it to this:-- | ||
The airline shown is a fictitious one (Brian’s Charter, BRC) but you can choose any airline you like from the dropdown — or invent your own and add it, as I did. Then it’s simply a matter of filling in the blanks (I left the commercial flight number field blank, since this is not a scheduled flight). | ||
I chose my own 777 aircraft, which I added using the Aircraft Editor the first time I used PFPX, and checked the box for a random payload. I then clicked Save, and the new flight was added to my schedule. |
Clicking the circled button results in the Flight tab opening, with an accompanying change in what is displayed on the main panel, and we now have a two-tab screen (General and Advanced), and a new proposal in the suggestions bar: | ||
You will see that the various fields such as the date and time of the flight have been carried across. The Flight, Aircraft, and Payload sections on the main screen have green buttons (and our random payload has been included), whilst the Alternates tab is red, so there is work to be done there. But first, the suggestions bar indicates that I should do a quick find (advanced options are also available as required) to get a preliminary route, so I clicked the button. The Route tab button now turns green, whilst the suggested route is also displayed on the world map. | ||
The resulting route shown on the map has some features which I should point out to you: | ||
Although the final stage of the flight shown will not be over land, it will nonetheless be continuously within 60 minutes’ flight of various adequate airports along the American east coast. But notice also the words (ENTRY) and (EXIT) along the route, which refer to the points at which we enter and leave the ETOPS portion of our flight. Which is all fine, but, of course, it isn’t as simple as that — we also have to take into account the North Atlantic Tracks, so I click the button above the PFPX world map and select westbound tracks, to see how we are doing. | ||
Oops! Well, as you can see, in this case we currently don’t conform to the track system. Clearly, Quick Find may be OK for some flights, but in this particular case we need more control. So I click on the lower half of the Find icon in the Route section of the main panels, and select the Advanced route finder. | ||
The above options seem good to start with, so I click on Find. That uses the NAT system all right -- | ||
But let’s assume that I would really prefer to use the most southerly track, track E. Clicking on the Tracks tab below the map tells me that the gateway (i.e. the first waypoint) of track E is SOMAX, so I now repeat the advanced find, this time specifying SOMAX as a Via point (as shown, right), but leaving the other options unchanged. This ensures that I now get the route I wanted: | ||
So far, so good: the next suggestion from PFPX is “Find Destination Alternates”, so again I simply click the button (PFPX actually makes all this seem like fun, which is no mean achievement). The Alternates tab is then populated for me with four quick possibilities, and its button turns green: however, hovering the mouse over each one in turn indicates that their runways are distinctly on the short side for a 777, so instead I once again opt to use an Advanced Find option, this time via the dropdown in the Alternates section on the main panels. | ||
That duly brings up the Advanced search options, in which I can specify a minimum runway length. I opt for 10,000 ft, and I am immediately presented with a list of possibilities, sorted into order of increasing distance from my destination. I decide to opt for KTPA: so I click on the checkbox next to it, and then click on Apply, and that’s it — Tampa is now my first alternate in the list: |
The reason for that warning is that when it comes to ETOPS we usually need to manually intervene. PFPX will do its best to help us, of course, but we need to make the decisions about Adequate and ETP Airports. As you can see (left), the Advanced tab is fairly empty when we first meet it, and in order to populate it we will need to understand a few more ETOPS concepts and definitions. The first thing to do is to specify our “ETOPS scenario”, in other words the ETOPS rating of our selected aircraft. My 777 has ETOPS 180 certification, so I opt for that: |
The ETOPS and Advanced buttons turn green to indicate that PFPX is happy with our choice, so the ETOPS section is complete. | ||
Looking at the map once again, you will see that PFPX has drawn the large 180 minute circles around our two ETP airports, and also the 60 minute circles around our Adequate Airports. The important thing is that there is now complete coverage of our route both using the adequate airports and our chosen ETP airport pair, which is why PFPX has turned the button green for us to proceed. |
We could now compute the flight, but just before doing so I’d like to return to the fuel tab to check the fuel policy being used. |
Once you have finished checking your fuel requirements, all that remains for this phase is to click on the Compute Flight button in the suggestions tab, and allow PFPX to crunch the relevant numbers for us. That has been a very quick tour of the flight planning phase, I’m afraid: but on that basis PFPX will generate your flight plan for you, so it now shows us the Results tab. | ||
If you look at the main panels at this point you will see some interesting possibilities. Release, Re-plan, and Delete are all pretty obvious, but the next two enable you to send the details directly to TOPCAT (if you have it) in order to calculate the take-off performance data, including the all-important de-rate, and the landing data. But unfortunately, in this particular case there’s a snag. |
Most unfortunately, there is no 777 in TOPCAT as yet, so both modules can’t be used together for that aircraft. (Obviously, TOPCAT can’t calculate 777 performance standalone, either). If I was using the PMDG NGX, for example, then all would be well, but until the data for the 777 is made available, then TOPCAT can’t be used, which really is a pity. Since the 777 is probably the best long-range aircraft currently available to simmers, the inability to use it with TOPCAT is keenly felt. |
There’s one thing I should mention before we move on: if you are using the PMDG NGX or 777, prior to exporting the route you must ensure that it contains no SID or STAR information, since otherwise it will be rejected. To make certain of this, just open the Route Editor and change the SID and STAR box information to blank ( -- ), then click Apply. Once you are ready, and have printed or saved your route, you can then export it to your various add-ons, as mentioned above. You have a wide choice of export targets and formats, as you can see. (Xplane is also included, but wouldn’t quite fit into the window) -- |
I haven’t tried this myself, but allegedly you can click the Evaluate button and then enter the relevant figures into the Bias Evaluator (right) — as you can see, there are a number of them, and you need to take those readings whilst in stabilised cruise flight at your normal cruise altitude. Having entered the figures, click on Apply and the new Bias figure will be calculated (the figure in use is shown on the OFP as “BURN ADJ”). But to be honest, so far I haven’t got too worked up about a few Kg of simulated fuel, although it’s great to be able to know before take-off that your fuel predictions will be more or less spot-on. |
Verdict: | |
• Ease of use: | 9.5/10 |
• Features: | 9.1/10 |
• Documentation: | 8.6/10 |
• Performance: | 9.3/10 |
• Value for money: | 9.8/10 |
Mutley’s Hangar score of 9.3/10, 'Highly recommended' and a Mutley's Hangar Silver Award. |