What is the FSX virtual cockpit used for?

You can gaze out the windows but the instruments are too small for me to read while flying. Maybe switch to it after setting the autopilot?

What do people use it for vs 2-D view?

Humm, I only use VC, didn't use 2d panels for years !

With VC, you can look anywhere around, using the hat switch on most controllers or,

like many of us, using track IR(a "head motion" sensor device).

I think it's a must for GA flights at low level.

By the way, if you find the gauges too small to read, just zoom with the + key.

...but if you have trouble reading the panel, perhaps you have it zoomed out too far.

OR, like me, you need to use reading glasses :rolleyes:

Have fun!

Pat☺

You can gaze out the windows but the instruments are too small for me to read while flying. Maybe switch to it after setting the autopilot?

 

What do people use it for vs 2-D view?

You can control the zoom, the pan, even the relative position. One cannot do that with a 2-D panel.

If the instruments are too small, get your eyes tested, a bigger monitor - or learn how to use those functions above.

2-D panels are on the way out - most modern addon aircraft don't have them, so you'd better learn fast!

I dunno.

I can see where this Track IR headset thing would be a big help, but even so, my instruments are so fuzzy in virtual cockpit mode as to be of little use. Even fully zoomed in, I can barely make out the gyro compass on the DC-3, or the air speed and altimeter on the LearJet. The LearJet clock, warning messages, and autopilot controls are completely illegible (note that the 2-D cockpits are very clear).

Perhaps there is something else that needs to be done in FSX:SE to improve the resolution of the virtual cockpit?

I dunno.

 

I can see where this Track IR headset thing would be a big help, but even so, my instruments are so fuzzy in virtual cockpit mode as to be of little use. Even fully zoomed in, I can barely make out the gyro compass on the DC-3, or the air speed and altimeter on the LearJet. The LearJet clock, warning messages, and autopilot controls are completely illegible (note that the 2-D cockpits are very clear).

 

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Perhaps there is something else that needs to be done in FSX:SE to improve the resolution of the virtual cockpit?

Try the following during a flight ,

1. Click " Alt " on your keyboard , a menu bar should appear on screen.

2. Click " Options " .

3. Click " Settings " .

4. Click " Display " .

5. Select and Click " Aircraft " .

..... on this page you will see a small ' box ' followed by

....... High resolution 3-D Virtual cockpit .

ensure that a Tick appears in the small box .

Then check if your instruments are now clearer .

Cheers

Karol

I used to use 2D all the time, but I couldn't pan left and right to see out the windows right away for traffic while taxing or flying. And it reduced realism. So now I fly VC all the time.

If you have blurry textures, then that's a resolution issue or some other setting in your Sim. The comments before this one should help you out.

I should add though that I have used aircraft that by default had poor resolution gauges in the VC.

About the Lear 45. Check out the following files. You might be pleasantly surprised with the upgrade. I use it myself.

fsx_lear45_upgraded.zip

forgotten_gauges.zip

That fixed the fuzzy VC display, many thanks:

Try the following during a flight ,

1. Click " Alt " on your keyboard , a menu bar should appear on screen.

2. Click " Options " .

3. Click " Settings " .

4. Click " Display " .

5. Select and Click " Aircraft " .

..... on this page you will see a small ' box ' followed by

....... High resolution 3-D Virtual cockpit .

I agree this certainly improves realism. Therefore I will need much more practice to land without the airspeed indicator right there in my line of sight.

Therefore I will need much more practice to land without the airspeed indicator right there in my line of sight.

Spend some time in the air flying around approach speed, looking out the window and notice what your pitch attitude is with power steady. briefly check what your airspeed is (or use the Z key to put the red text indicators on the screen). Now make a very slight change in pitch attitude (using outside visual references, not gauges) and after it's settled note the airspeed change. Do this again and again for both raising and lowering the nose.

Now go back to the original pitch attitude and, once it has stabilized then make very slight power changes, both adding and reducing, and note the various airspeeds -- again, do this by outside visual reference.

The above is a variation on what I've had all my students do (after learning how to make airspeed changes and fly "slow flight"), that is, learn how to estimate airspeed by pitch attitude and power setting, even when my coat was covering the instrument panel. They'd usually be within a couple of knots each time.

Once they'd demonstrated this for me a couple of times, I'd have them fly the traffic pattern and do landings and takeoffs, still with my coat over the instrument panel.

In other words, learn to fly the aircraft by visual references, only double checking once in a while on the gauges, in all phases of flight. It's actually a bit tougher to do this in the sim than in real life, but it's still quite doable. It might be beneficial if you start doing this in something like the C-172, then once you're comfortable move to the Baron and repeat and then, if you're into the big stuff, try it there.

Guaranteed that you'll be more comfortable in all sim operations once you've mastered this -- it's NOT a 30 minute process, though -- and it should increase your overall enjoyment.

Along this line, you could also go to the Real World Tutorial stuff towards the bottom of the forum selection page, and read through what we've collected there, especially some of the flying exercises described.

*** A hint for the above exercises -- sound, as well as visual, can aid you in your flying at guessing speeds, etc.

Old thread, but I have the same blurry VC panel even though all of the above settings were already implemented. I sim at least half the time in IFR conditions and use ground based nav systems more than GPS, so good quick and precise vision of instruments is important.

The other problem with VC panel is how it moves vertically with aircraft pitch changes. I can't imagine the reason for this. It often makes it very hard to mouse click anything on the panel when it moves like that. I avoid VC panel whenever possible.

I fly the sim with two monitors one above the other. Upper one in VC mode but shifted eyepoint way up (Shift-Backspace) out the roof of the cockpit to make the VC panel go away and get a clear view with no panel. Then I put 2D panel and GPS, radio, etc. on the lower monitor. Even with one monitor, shifting the VC eyepoint above the roof and putting 2D panel below it works well. You can then pan and zoom the scenery view without losing sight of your instruments. Depending on the way the windows are constructed this technique works better on some aircraft sims than others.

As for learning the airspeed by sensing pitch and throttle, that's fine and necessary for real aircraft where you get both of those inputs from the feel of the seat and sound of the engine - but in the sim you only get those inputs from other gauges on the panel, so you may as well be looking at the actual airspeed instead of two other gauges on the panel to estimate airspeed.

The other problem with VC panel is how it moves vertically with aircraft pitch changes.

Unless you have something weird, I think it only does that if you have the "bounce mode" selected -- I don't recall what it's called, but it lets things move with bumps on taxi or with turbulence. Turn that off and it won't happen.

As for learning the airspeed by sensing pitch and throttle, that's fine and necessary for real aircraft where you get both of those inputs from the feel of the seat and sound of the engine - but in the sim you only get those inputs from other gauges on the panel, so you may as well be looking at the actual airspeed instead of two other gauges on the panel to estimate airspeed.

Nope, with the "bounce" problem solved, you can do exactly as I said without looking at the panel at all, just out the window. You can see the pitch change from the VC and you can hear airspeed and power changes just fine in the sim, not needing the "seat feel" though that would make it a little easier. "those inputs" are the change in the relationship of the nose of the aircraft with the horizon out the window, and the sound of the engine (and relative wind in some aircraft) that works fine with your ears, unless you have the sound settings messed up. "Seat feel" does not give you sound, nor does it give you a sense of the power setting. It DOES give you a sense of rudder coordination, though, and that definitely is missing from the sim.

Thanks for the advice. I tried to find a setting that solved the sliding instrument panels in the VC, but the only thing that sounds possible is "G-effects". Turning that off did nothing. Then I set aircraft realism option to "Easy". That also didn't solve the problem.

I'm running FSX Steam Edition - maybe that is different somehow.

I tried landing on the carrier w/o any instruments - I usually look at airspeed to keep it very close to 120 or 130 knots at the deck. Pretty hard to do w/o instruments but I did get some feel for airspeed looking at visual pitch angle vs. response from the elevators. Lots of fun!