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Version
1.3
This review concerns a gauge.
That’s right, a gauge.
Not an aircraft, not a panel or tool. Simply a gauge.
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Above,
below: The Real Thing |
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So, it better be not just any gauge, and it isn’t.
We are talking about a realistically modelled INS (Inertial Navigation System)
unit. In fact, after I first downloaded this freeware gauge over a year ago (then
still version 1.1), I looked into the documentation included in the download
and was discouraged by the amount and complexity of it. It then rested on my
hard disk for over a month. But curiosity got the better of me, and for good
reason.
Before I bring the review itself upon you, let me
introduce the concept of INS. Real-life pilots are aware of what an INS is, and
how it works. With one or two exceptions I have not seen INS before in MS FS
(apologies to those I wrongfully have overlooked).
So here we go…
INS
FOR THE MASSES
Aircraft navigate by keeping track of where they
are. In the early days, this was done by flying VFR. At night and overseas,
celestial navigation using sextants proved successful. Later, navigation
emitters (VOR, NDB) appeared. And then there was GPS.
But in between all that, there was, and still is
INS. INS works by very precisely and very often per second measuring the
accelerations of an aircraft in all directions (the three translations forward,
sideways and upwards and three rotations pitch, yaw and roll). One can then
process this acceleration data into changes in speed, and then into changes in
position. I won’t go into the mathematics.
It means that, if you start from a known location,
you can keep track of where you are. The big advantage is that this system is
extremely accurate, at least for short periods of time, up to several hours.
The two big disadvantages are that accuracy decreases by the hour (a phenomenon
called ‘drift’), and that if you somehow lose the measurement due to some kind
of error or malfunction, your position data is permanently lost.
Is INS still being used, now that there’s GPS and
so on?
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Dual Delco Carousel INS unit as
installed in a real B747. Photo by Air Nikon, with permission. Via www.airliners.net.
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Yes, it is! Almost all aircraft are equipped with
some form of INS. In fact, INS and GPS together make an excellent combination;
using long-term accuracy of GPS, with short-term accuracy of INS. INS is important
in areas without VOR/DME coverage as well:
On
INS also forms the heart of the ‘AHRS’ (Attitude
and Heading Reference System). Every modern airliner has two or three of these
and they actually provide the data for the pilots’ instruments and Flight Data
Recorder. Apart from these, INS is available as a stand-alone navigation system
in many airliners since the 1950’s and up to the 1990’s. And that’s exactly
what this gauge represents. The specific model for this gauge is the Delco (Now
Northrop Grumman) Carousel IV-A (hence the filename CIVA). The developers are
Gianfranco Corrias and Marco Ravanello
from
So if you preferred until this moment to fly the
big jets on autopilot and from your GPS display, then this is the time to get
into some real navigation. Read on!
The package in its latest version (1.30) is called
CIVA130.zip, and is available only at the following sites:
The package has been remarkably robust. Compared
to earlier versions, version 1.30 has undergone only minor modifications and a
SDK has been made available.
After unzip, the package contains an executable
installer that creates a folder called ‘civa’ in your
FS main folder. In this folder, you find a documentation folder, panel
configuration folders, SDK folder, text files and the gauge file itself. The
gauge works with both FS2002 and FS2004. For this review, version 1.10 was
tested with FS2002 and 1.30 with FS2004. Screenshots in this review are from
both FS2002 and FS2004.
Pre-made installations include single, dual and
triple INS set-up. This means that there can be up to three INS systems in the
cockpit for you to control, and they can work together as well. Read the
manual...
A manual specifically for panel developers is also
included. And indeed, panels are appearing with specifically-tailored
integration of the CIVA INS. The pay-ware “Ready for Pushback” Boeing 747-200
is such an add-on.
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CIVA installation in the
RFP 747-200.
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You’ll find no less than twelve documents in PDF
format, although two are duplicates.
You will not be able to use this gauge at all without consulting the
manuals!
Take an evening to read through. If you’re really in a hurry and a
little bit clever you might be able get to away with just reading the user
manual and the quick reference guide. But then you’ll miss a fine description
of the real-life gauge in the operations manual, and much more. The developers
really made a great effort in creating the documentation. They even included a
suggested learning path, by indicating which documents you should read first.
They also stated that once learn how to use the CIVA gauges in FS then you
would be almost ready to control the real units on a real flight! The
developers maintained a no-compromise attitude in recreating this instrument.
Now, don’t be scared off. You’ll get there, and
it’s well worth the effort. I hope I’ll be able to show you…
Finally, the developers are maintaining a forum
specifically for this gauge, to report experiences, ideas and problems (www.simufly.com/ins). And that’s great
support for freeware!
The INS unit is represented by two additional sub
panels to bring up, the MSU (mode selector unit) and CDU (control and display
unit). They are brought into view by additional icons on the panel. You’ll do
most of the work with the CDU. The gauges are clear, sharp and colourful, with
a nice complex-looking touch. Rotary buttons have a very clever pull-then-turn
mechanism to prevent accidental switching. I only found the MSU on some
installations to be a bit large initially, making it look like a toy. You can
manually resize the panel window as any other to fix it to your liking.
Next there are additional gauges: the INS DME
updating flags, autopilot couple switch and battery parallel switch. Don’t
worry about these now.
For the default B737-400 installation, the MSU is
integrated in the overhead panel.
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Included single-INS set-up
installation in the default Learjet VC. Top left
are the MSU (top) and CDU (bottom). MSU size has been reduced.
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The documentation states that the gauge will take
some CPU power. In the low-end test system we suffered some crashes and
hang-ups. Increasing RAM does miracles. There are plenty reports of completely
trouble free use in FS2002/FS2004.
For the purpose of this review as well as
afterwards, I conducted many flights using the INS gauge, and will describe two
of them in some detail. The first is the tutorial flight included. If all goes
well, this will take you from
The tutorial document gives a very good
description, and teaches you basic INS operation and in-flight updating of the
INS (increasing accuracy to compensate drift) by VOR/DME stations. There is too
much to repeat here. A major change from flights without this gauge is that the
INS needs 10-20 minutes of time during which the aircraft is parked, to align
the INS for operations. For those in a hurry, a short-cut alignment button is
available. This period is very useful to do your normal pre-flight checks as
well as start entering waypoint data in the INS.
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CIVA dual INS installation in the default Boeing
737-400 for the tutorial flight. Note that the autopilot is slaved to the INS
#1, and that the DME-update for INS#1 is active. Both CDU#1 and DME show 61
miles. The right CDU shows deviation
from the planned path.
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In flight, the autopilot may be slaved to the INS,
and the INS displays give you position, waypoints, wind, desired angle,
time/dist and much more. The developers provided for both purpose and random errors
and failures, and after around one hour you start noticing the effects of
drift.
And that brings, at least for me, one of the best
things of this gauge. It is certain to keep you busy on those long-haul
flights! You will have to input new waypoints, update accuracy, watch for
errors, check with your other navigation instruments, and optionally do manual
waypoint switches.
Note that the developers recommend not using time
acceleration.
But then, about halfway into the flight, I wanted
to save the flight and continue the next day. Unfortunately, this is currently
not possible. If you reload the flight, INS data is lost and… INS cannot be
started in flight, since alignment requires the aircraft to be parked.
According to the forum, the developers are aware of this, and have received
requests to include a save option in next versions. They’re right now figuring
out how to do this.
For my second flight I took my favourite B727-200
from
Well, what more can I say. It proved to be a great
but demanding flight. I didn’t use the GPS, and with constant updating and
using the CIVA INS (and with almost zero visibility below 8000 feet), I was
extremely busy throughout the entire flight. But it got me there alright, and
it appeals to your orientation skills. The only minor issue I found is that in
the FS2002 set-up, the INS gauge is difficult to read in darkness whereas the
rest of the cockpit is fully lit, but this is personal preference.
With a sharp eye you will discover that there are
no DME updating flags in the RP 727 panel, and indeed they are not there in
reality. The developers have really maintained maximum realism.
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En-route with dual INS in a Boeing 727-200. You’ll find yourself to be quite busy, even during cruise. |
So, what can this gauge do for you?
The CIVA INS gauge will surely provide you with something to really
dive into and discover an essential flight instrument that has so far been a
major omission in Microsoft flight simulator aircraft.
It will make boring long-haul flights busy, and
navigation challenging. And it will add an essential ingredient to the ‘as real
as it gets’ experience.
The rest is for you to discover.
Some tips to help you on the way
1.
Remember that some knobs must
be pulled before they can be rotated.
2.
In FS2004, do your INS
alignment before starting your engines. With engines running and the aircraft
on the parking brake, the aircraft will move, although not noticeable. It will,
however, be enough to upset the alignment process. Also don’t forget to set the
INS to ‘NAV’ mode before pushback or taxi.
3.
Dim the lights of the display,
so it will be easier to see the bright warning and alert lights.
4.
For flight, extract waypoint co-ordinates
from your saved flight plan in C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\My
Documents\Flight Simulator Files
The Carousel IV-A INS v1.30 is an excellent flightsim add-on, well designed and presented, and
essential in recreating real flight. Sim-navigation will
never be the same.
The documentation is truly outstanding. Because
it’s a complex instrument, with a very steep learning curve it might not appeal
to everyone. I have not uncovered any significant bugs or issues, apart from
the impossibility to save the settings with a flight.
Software used:
System specs:
Low end system:
High-end system:
Review by Eric van der Veen,
fsnerd@tiscali.nl
Download Carousel IV-A INS v1.30
