Airbus throttle calibrations.

[bwilliamson]

Well maybe I am a little thick in the brain department, but I have just spent days trying to work out how to set up the throttles in FSUIPC, without success. and I have read the latest FSUIPC: Application interfacing module for Microsoft Flight SimulatorFlight Simulator Universal Inter-Process Communicationby Pete Dowson, © 28th August 2009

pages 41 to 53 and am unable to find a step by step instruction of how to impliment the Airbus throttles and detents plus reverse thrust.

So perhaps there is someone on this forum that has done this, that can help me out. It is completely frustrating that such a brilliant bit of software is so hard to get going.

I guess that someone else should always write the instructions !!

I am running brand new install of XP 64 bit, FS2004 and the only add-on is REX. Widefs and FSUIPC are up to date etc.

I am also running Magenta for the full cockpit with 7 computers for the A320.

Even trying to do a calibrate, I can enter the first figure in reverse ok, but then neither the idle or max will enter at all.

Then trying to figure out the detents is another matter!

So if anyone has a step by step, blow by blow method of doing this, I would certainly appreciate it.

Regards...............Brian W.

[Pete Dowson]

Well maybe I am a little thick in the brain department, but I have just spent days trying to work out how to set up the throttles in FSUIPC, without success. and I have read the latest FSUIPC: Application interfacing module for Microsoft Flight SimulatorFlight Simulator Universal Inter-Process Communicationby Pete Dowson, © 28th August 2009

pages 41 to 53 and am unable to find a step by step instruction of how to impliment the Airbus throttles and detents plus reverse thrust.

There is no information on Airbus "detentes" because there was never any real Fly-by-Wire thrust detentes in FS. Presumably you are using an add-on aircraft which simulates an Airbus properly, in which case you'll first need to work out how to use it from their documentation. If it needs different controls or keypresses sent to it for the different thrust modes, this can be done, but it isn't anything to do with calibration. It is an entirely different and more advanced subject.

Calibration of throttles is merely the setting of end points, and idle zone if reverse is being included on the same axis. The currently supported version of FSUIPC for FS2004 is 3.96 and the User Guide for that is dated 10th January 2010, so you are out of date in any case. The numbered steps for axis calibration are on pages 49-50 in that edition, so they must be close in the one you have. There's also a separate guide written in a different style by "SIM SAMURAI" which you may prefer. It was included by permission in the recent release.

You would be best calibrating your axes in Windows game controllers first and making sure they work well in FS before even looking at FSUIPC. Then when you calibrate in FSUIPC do it with default aircraft, not with any add-on which might be utilising the standard FS axes in weird and non-standard ways. Once you have all that sorted out, then you can start to think about more advanced stuff liker the thrust modes used in a well modelled Airbus.

Even trying to do a calibrate, I can enter the first figure in reverse ok, but then neither the idle or max will enter at all.

The numbers must increase from left to right. You cannot have a minimum value which is greater than a centre value or a centre value greater than a maximum value. The words "minimum" and "maximum" should be a strong clue, though "Reverse" is substituted for "Minimum" as an extra guide on the throttles page. Full reverse is certainly the minimum (most negative) value.

Then trying to figure out the detents is another matter!

There are no detentes in throttle calibration in FSUIPC, excepting the idle position when including reverse.

So if anyone has a step by step, blow by blow method of doing this, I would certainly appreciate it.

The step by step approach to calibrating axis is laid out clear and easy in the User Guide. Please look again. If you cannot find it I don't understand as it is there in black and white. Many thousands of users before you have found them and used them, and the instructions have been helpful to all over a period of 11 years or so, albeit with some improvements derived from constructive user feedback -- certainly not from unhelpful attacks.

Please make sure you are using supported versions of my software before asking for support. It does work better that way. There's an announcement at the head of this Forum which tells you what is current. There's also an interim update released since 3.96 available in the Updates and Other Goodies announcement.

For assistance on Airbus thrust mode assignments, by all means come back for specific help on that when you've got ordinary calibration done. I don't know much about the Airbus, but if you ask specific questions and can give specific answers easily and willingly. Or, if you really find my style so obscure, possibly you might find others who've licked it over on http://www.mycockpit.org/forums .

Regards

Pete