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Screen shots by FS Widgets |
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Global navigation is doable in today's versions of home flight simulators such as Microsoft Flight Simulator® 2004 and FSX, as well as X-Plane. Acquiring and managing the aviation charts and other information are distinct challenges, however. That's why FS Widgets offers digital charts and chart viewing software for these popular home flight simulators. Its Electronic Flight Bag is a means of storing these documents, much like a real-world pilot's real flight bag. Although I reviewed the FS2004 version, the developer says its Electronic Flight Bag offers the same features for FSX and X-Plane.
FS Widgets describes itself as "an Australian-based software development team specializing in add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator and Laminar Research X-Plane." Its two founders are experienced in creating add-ons for MSFS and have been active in the community for over a decade, they said. The Electronic Flight Bag for MSFS was inspired by an advertisement in an aviation magazine for an electronic flight bag for real-world aviation.
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PURCHASE FEATURES |
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Instant download from the Pilot Shop |
YES | |
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Installation program |
YES | |
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License key required |
NO | |
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End user license agreement (EULA) required |
YES | |
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Registration required |
YES | |
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Uninstall program included |
YES | |
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Manual included |
YES | |
FS Widgets advertises the following among many features of its Electronic Flight Bag:
Unstated in the product description is that the Electronic Flight Bag is only a means for holding flight documents. It is not a source of flight documents, and the included documents are only samples. It is an open-ended program that allows users "to add unlimited amounts of their own content," according to the developer. The basic installation includes a few samples, and users can add their own manuals, checklists, reference data, charts, and similar items.
This product is easily downloaded in a few minutes from the
FlightSim Pilot Shop. A license key was provided via email, but the installation program never asked for it. An end user license agreement are required. The installation program extracts all needed files quickly and deposits them in the correct folder.
The program installs without requesting a license key or registration. Then a demonstration version appears for 20 minutes or until the product is registered with the developer. Registration is done separately and is explained in the product manual. After registration, the product works just fine.
After installation, "EFB2004" appears in the top-line menu (see screen shot).
A launch window appears after EFB2004 is selected.
Upon launch, a blank window appears. You must click on the PWR (power) button in the lower left to activate the program.
A menu screen appears from which you may select the features you want to use.
Because the program is a separate module and not a gauge, it works with any aircraft and any instrument panel.
An uninstall feature is included for those who decide to discontinue the Electronic Flight Bag.
Top Line Menu |
Launch Window |
Main Menu |
Settings Page |
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Screen shots by Bill Stack |
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Manuals for operating the Flight Bag and for operating a Beechcraft Super King Air 200 are included.
The generalized data are nice to have, but specific data (such as V speeds) would be more useful. The weather data would be more logical in a separate manual for that topic. The HTML files can be updated by users who know HTML code to include whatever they want. Updating the Adobe files requires a program for that purpose.
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Page 8 |
Page 22 |
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Manual Pages | ||
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Screen shots by Bill Stack |
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A map of the area around your aircraft appears when the "Map" then "Vector" buttons are clicked. Users can zoom in and out and choose what data to show. It's like the Garmin GPS map, but not as sophisticated.
A list of flight plans saved in the simulator can be displayed for selecting a flight plan to file for this flight.
The Google Maps (GMAP) feature is not available in the basic program. It must be downloaded (free) from the FS Widgets web site.
"The GMap moving map is a stand-alone application, but can also be used as a module under EFB2004 which enables other enhancements," according to the operations manual.
Map of Knoxville Tennessee Area |
Map of Boston Massachusetts Area |
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Screen shots by Bill Stack |
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Three sectional charts are included with the basic product: Anchorage, Alaska; New York; and Seattle, Washington. Users can zoom in and out, pan around, and see full screen or within the Flight Bag window.
The manual explains how to install additional charts, but it doesn't say where to get them. Presuming they must be available at the FS Widgets web site, I looked there and found a few others available for free and four compact disks for sale. Two CDs offer sectional and terminal charts for the United States in JPG/DAT format, and the other two CDs offer the same in BMP/XML format.
New York City |
Grand Canyon (Arizona USA) |
Hong Kong Instrument Approach |
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Examples of Aviation Charts | ||
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Screen Shots by Bill Stack | ||
Easy-to-use checklists for a Cessna 172 and a Learjet are included. The Cessna 172 checklist is accompanied by voice readouts. This is the "heads-up audio checklist" referred to in the product description and in the manual. The heads-up display appears in the flight bag, not in front of the windscreen as the term usually means. The Learjet checklist doesn't specify which model it applies to. Its checklist doesn't have voice readouts.
A comprehensive checklist for a Super King Air B200 is available, but not where expected. I happened to find it in the FS2004 folders while examining them for the program's content. Unable to find it in the flight bag's Checklists section, I asked the developer for guidance. He explained that this checklist can be found by going through the Manuals section and selecting the HTML option. As a checklist, this would be more logically stored in the Checklist section.
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Checklist Pages | |||
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Screen shots by Bill Stack |
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The program retrieves weather data from real-world sources on the Internet.
Regional Radar, Southeast USA |
Local Radar, Mobile Alabama USA |
Terminal Forecasts, Pennsylvania USA |
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Weather Radar & Briefings | ||
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Screen shots by Bill Stack |
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Navigation Log. The navigation log for the flight plan currently loaded in the simulator can be displayed. This is the same navigation log that is available through the simulator's top-line menu (File, Navigation Log) after a flight plan has been made and filed with the simulator's flight planner. A page with an error message "There is no active flight plan" will appear if the Nav Log button is clicked while no flight plan is active in the simulator.
Flight Plans. From the Flight Bag's Map page, users can select from a list of flight plans that have been saved in the simulator.
Minimum Equipment Lists. Minimum equipment lists are mentioned in the product description and in the manual, but I found no option in the Electronic Flight Bag and no explanation in the manual. In response to my question, the developer said "The reference to the Minimum Equipment List in the description is simply an example of the kind of documents that the EFB can be used to display." I guess they would logically be added to the Checklist section.
My screen shots were made with FS2004 display settings on "default" because that's what I presume most flight simmers would be using and the developer does not recommend any special settings. I tested with the frame rate set on "30" and "unlimited" to see what rates were possible while using this add-on, and they were always within acceptable range.
FS Widget's Electronic Flight Bag enables us home flight simulation pilots to find important information for making our simulations as realistic as possible, and it does it easily. There's nothing complicated about installing or using this program. If you have questions, they are answered in the manual, and the developer responds quickly to inquiries. The inclusion of data that are readily available from MSFS, such as the navigation log, is unnecessary by itself, but having it in the same place as all the other data makes finding and using it easier. Being able to add items is a major advantage.
For a world in which flying is purely electronic, the Electronic Flight Bag is a logical form of a real pilots' flight bag. Based on FS Widget's attention to consumer needs, accuracy, and ease of use in its Electronic Flight Bag, I have no reason to doubt that the FSX and X-Plane versions are as good, even though I didn't review it. The simple layout, the logical and clearly identified buttons, the ease of use, the operating manuals, and the ability to add to the "bag" make this among the better flight simulation add-on products I have reviewed. There's no question in my mind that this product is well worth the asking price.
Bill Stack
Learn More Here (FS2004 version)
Learn More Here (FSX version)
Bill Stack is author of several books about flight simulation, a regular author in flight-sim magazines, and a contributor to Flight Sim Com. His website is www.topskills.com
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