Advice needed. Q400: displaying the localizer deflection on the pilot's MFD

  • That is not working anymore, cause the right click is no longer supported for buttons.

    We are aware of this and plan to fix this by implementing the one second hold function of the real aircraft to get the HSI format thingy back. I liked that feature quite a lot, would be a shame to lose it.

    Hi Jan, thanks. I thought it was only me.

    This neat feature, combined with the other one that was lost after one of the updates, I'm referring to condition levers (CL) mapped to joystick buttons, which indeed is very useful due to the frequent use of the CL in the Q400, and not very easy to manage with the mouse wheel or mouse-drag actions, is something that needs to be recovered as quick as possible, instead of having a growing list of pendings. I'm sure you'd agree.

    Cheers, Ed

  • I'm referring to condition levers (CL) mapped to joystick buttons, which indeed is very useful due to the frequent use of the CL in the Q400, and not very easy to manage with the mouse wheel or mouse-drag actions

    Agreed. IIRC before the change I could set the CL to another detent with a single click. The way you have to move them now is cumbersome, specially since you have to drag two levers around. The Majestic Q400 has a nice option: you can drag BOTH sliders at once with a the right mouse button held. That helps already. You only set those levers differently during startup of the engines: from then on you always move them both. But setting the levers to the next detent with ONE mousewheel scroll, like with the flaps, would also be more convenient already. I also miss that option for the parking brake. Being able to use the scrollwheel on that one is rather useless. All in all I am not too happy with some of the controller changes (specially since I don't use the VR hands for which the changes were made).

    Makes me wonder btw who is actually using the VR hands?

  • i could only reach for the overhead panel and throttle with vr-hands. all other positions collide with my desk. especially the FCP and Pedestal. if i have flight control hardware in front of me, vr-hands is counterproductive. on the other side my mouse sometimes lags while in VR flight, this is where the hands could shine in a tight situation

  • I only have the hands. So I do not fly some planes or I will fly with wheels downs and/or flaps set for take off. On some the controls are to close together others your have to hold your hands in a strange way, sometimes my hands will go right thru the control. Switches are easy. Buttons are either too small or my fingers are to big. VR is so real to me that the ones that I fly a lot mean a lot to me.

  • i could only reach for the overhead panel and throttle with vr-hands. all other positions collide with my desk. especially the FCP and Pedestal. if i have flight control hardware in front of me, vr-hands is counterproductive. on the other side my mouse sometimes lags while in VR flight, this is where the hands could shine in a tight situation

    The VR hands are designed for you to be out of your main desk, seated in a chair, totally away of your desktop, otherwise you'll get into trouble interfering with them. That's why is so impractical, in my opinion. I cannot imagine myself flying for more than 20 minutes with my hands in the air with one controller in each hand and not feeling absolutely tired.

    Of course, this is just an opinion.

    Cheers, Ed

  • I think very very few people. The serious simmer has invested money on controllers like throttle, joysticks and pedals and wouldn't like to stop using them.

    Cheers, Ed

    Well I fly with yoke/stick (saitek/warthog), throttle and Saitek 'combat rudder pedals'. Last night I took the Lear for a spin over a few hours, just short hops around my local area of NY/NJ and I must say.......Using the VR hands (at least one) to operate the parking brakes, gear, flaps, nav radios and the various modes of the autopilot was awesome! I found it so much easier and natural than fumbling around with the mouse. BTW, I'm not jet rated IRL, but damn that Lear is sweet!!!:thumbup:

    Redtail

    KFRG, KTEB, KEWR, KLGA

    ~Straighten up and fly right~

    DESKTOP: i7-7700k @5GHz (water cooled), Nvidia GTX 1080Ti FTW3, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 Home 64 bit,

    TM HOTAS Warthog (large spring removed), Saitek PRO Flight Combat Rudder Pedals, YOKO yoke!

    Laptop (gaming): Acer Predator Helios 500- Intel Core i7-8750H @4.1GHz, Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB DDR4, 256GB SSD/1TB HDD.

    Gametrix JetSeat FSE (Flight Sim Edition)-USB Vibrating pad. Nextlevel V3 Motion Platform / Sim cockpit.

  • Well I fly with yoke/stick (saitek/warthog), throttle and Saitek 'combat rudder pedals'. Last night I took the Lear for a spin over a few hours, just short hops around my local area of NY/NJ and I must say.......Using the VR hands (at least one) to operate the parking brakes, gear, flaps, nav radios and the various modes of the autopilot was awesome! I found it so much easier and natural than fumbling around with the mouse. BTW, I'm not jet rated IRL, but damn that Lear is sweet!!!:thumbup:

    VR is the only way to fly and the Lear is one of my top 5 to fly after work to relax.

  • I do have minor tracking issues when I reach down for things like spoilers, flaps and brakes, but that's probably due to my placement of the IR receivers. I have to experiment a bit more and possibly get a third sensor (rift).

    Redtail

    KFRG, KTEB, KEWR, KLGA

    ~Straighten up and fly right~

    DESKTOP: i7-7700k @5GHz (water cooled), Nvidia GTX 1080Ti FTW3, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 Home 64 bit,

    TM HOTAS Warthog (large spring removed), Saitek PRO Flight Combat Rudder Pedals, YOKO yoke!

    Laptop (gaming): Acer Predator Helios 500- Intel Core i7-8750H @4.1GHz, Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB DDR4, 256GB SSD/1TB HDD.

    Gametrix JetSeat FSE (Flight Sim Edition)-USB Vibrating pad. Nextlevel V3 Motion Platform / Sim cockpit.

    • Official Post

    I do have minor tracking issues when I reach down for things like spoilers, flaps and brakes, but that's probably due to my placement of the IR receivers. I have to experiment a bit more and possibly get a third sensor (rift).

    Well under the desk the sensors just cant see your hand, maybe sit back a little

    • Official Post

    Yes Aerofly motion control works best with 3 sensors and sitting back away from your desk. If you are using the VR Hands you don't need to be close to anything anyway.

    When testing the VR Hands I set up a 2 hour flight and sat in the middle of the room using the motion controllers and it was a very comfortable, smooth experience.

    IPACS Development Team Member

    I'm just a cook, I don't own the restaurant.
    On behalf of Torsten, Marc, and the rest of the IPACS team, we would all like to thank you for your continued support.

    Regards,

    Jeff

  • Well under the desk the sensors just cant see your hand, maybe sit back a little

    Both sensors are on top of my desk. I angled one sensor down slightly in an attempt to improve tracking of my hand, but a third sensor is probably what I need.

    Sitting back anymore than I do, is not an option. If I sit back anymore, my feet won't reach the pedals and my hands won't reach my yoke. And I'm 6 ft tall :D

    Redtail

    KFRG, KTEB, KEWR, KLGA

    ~Straighten up and fly right~

    DESKTOP: i7-7700k @5GHz (water cooled), Nvidia GTX 1080Ti FTW3, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 Home 64 bit,

    TM HOTAS Warthog (large spring removed), Saitek PRO Flight Combat Rudder Pedals, YOKO yoke!

    Laptop (gaming): Acer Predator Helios 500- Intel Core i7-8750H @4.1GHz, Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB DDR4, 256GB SSD/1TB HDD.

    Gametrix JetSeat FSE (Flight Sim Edition)-USB Vibrating pad. Nextlevel V3 Motion Platform / Sim cockpit.

  • Sitting back anymore than I do, is not an option. If I sit back anymore, my feet won't reach the pedals and my hands won't reach my yoke. And I'm 6 ft tall

    Imho using the VR hands together with hardware like rudder and yoke isn't a good idea. VR hands are meant to be used on their own and (far) away from a desk. The combination simply doesn't work too well. Imho. I prefer hardware anyway: keeping those touch controls in the air all the time, trying to get a grip on things, etc. it's all too cumbersome for me. Nice effect and probably innovative but not my kind of thing for now.

  • Imho using the VR hands together with hardware like rudder and yoke isn't a good idea. VR hands are meant to be used on their own and (far) away from a desk. The combination simply doesn't work too well. Imho. I prefer hardware anyway: keeping those touch controls in the air all the time, trying to get a grip on things, etc. it's all too cumbersome for me. Nice effect and probably innovative but not my kind of thing for now.

    I disagree. I think the combination of hardware with VR hands is an excellent idea. When I fly IRL, I'm not looking at the yoke or rudder pedals (same in VR), but I am indeed looking at the gear and flap levers, radios, autopilot, etc. prior to manipulating them. That's exactly how I use the VR hands when I'm under the hood (HMD) of my rift. While at the same time enjoying the tactile feedback I get from using a physical yoke/stick, throttle and pedals.

    Redtail

    KFRG, KTEB, KEWR, KLGA

    ~Straighten up and fly right~

    DESKTOP: i7-7700k @5GHz (water cooled), Nvidia GTX 1080Ti FTW3, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 Home 64 bit,

    TM HOTAS Warthog (large spring removed), Saitek PRO Flight Combat Rudder Pedals, YOKO yoke!

    Laptop (gaming): Acer Predator Helios 500- Intel Core i7-8750H @4.1GHz, Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB DDR4, 256GB SSD/1TB HDD.

    Gametrix JetSeat FSE (Flight Sim Edition)-USB Vibrating pad. Nextlevel V3 Motion Platform / Sim cockpit.

    Edited 3 times, last by Redtail (May 6, 2018 at 9:10 PM).

  • I disagree. I think the combination of hardware with VR hands is an excellent idea. When I fly IRL, I'm not looking at the yoke or rudder pedals (same in VR), but I am indeed looking at the gear and flap levers, radios, autopilot, etc. prior to manipulating them. That's exactly how I use the VR hands when I'm under the hood (HMD) of my rift. While at the same time enjoying the tactile feedback I get from using a physical yoke/stick, throttle and pedals.

    I think you're a lucky guy who found the way to use those VR hands.

    I abbandoned the idea using the hands, since I prefer to use my control hardware, and haven't figured out how to combine such hands with the hardware without interference, apart from the fact that I don't really see myself with my hands in the air for more than 10 minutes.

    Could you provide a picture or something similar to show your setup?.

    Cheers, Ed

  • I disagree. I think the combination of hardware with VR hands is an excellent idea. When I fly IRL, I'm not looking at the yoke or rudder pedals (same in VR), but I am indeed looking at the gear and flap levers, radios, autopilot, etc. prior to manipulating them. That's exactly how I use the VR hands when I'm under the hood (HMD) of my rift. While at the same time enjoying the tactile feedback I get from using a physical yoke/stick, throttle and pedals.

    How do you switch controllers then...? Or do you keep one hand on the hardware yoke and the touch control in the other? How can you reach buttons that are low (and hence ‘underneath’ the desk) when you are using that yoke and pedals? I am curious how you are coming the two.

  • I think I'm being misunderstood. What I'm saying is..... I am still experimenting with the idea of using both (hardware & VR hands). So far, I like the concept of flying with the yoke in my left hand while manipulating switches, flaps, gear, etc with a VR hand (right hand). Just like I am in my profile picture, which is me flying a C172SP. I AM getting interference with my current setup, so I'm not really all that lucky...yet. That is why I'm thinking that a third rift sensor, strategically placed, may give better results.

    Fatigue is not an issue in the way I utilize the controller (right hand), because when I'm flying I rest that hand on my lap (like real life) and only raise it to press buttons, flip switches, raise gear, flaps, etc. I use the wrist band to keep it from getting away from me. I find the VR hand to 'feel' much more natural and lifelike than playing around with the mouse to do those things. Maybe that's just me, I don't know. Of course the ultimate would be the ability to track your actual hand without needing to hold a VR controller! Perhaps we will have that feature one day.

    Redtail

    KFRG, KTEB, KEWR, KLGA

    ~Straighten up and fly right~

    DESKTOP: i7-7700k @5GHz (water cooled), Nvidia GTX 1080Ti FTW3, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 Home 64 bit,

    TM HOTAS Warthog (large spring removed), Saitek PRO Flight Combat Rudder Pedals, YOKO yoke!

    Laptop (gaming): Acer Predator Helios 500- Intel Core i7-8750H @4.1GHz, Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB DDR4, 256GB SSD/1TB HDD.

    Gametrix JetSeat FSE (Flight Sim Edition)-USB Vibrating pad. Nextlevel V3 Motion Platform / Sim cockpit.

    Edited 2 times, last by Redtail (May 7, 2018 at 12:53 AM).

  • I'm also experimenting with Voice Attack and a profile made for AFS2, which greatly reduces the interaction with keyboard keys. Works great for accessing the menu, switching views, pause, etc. as well as operating various systems in the cockpit (autopilot, gear, flaps, lights, etc). I like using it in conjunction with the VR hands. However, when it comes to gear and flaps, I prefer the VR hand. Unless I'm simulating having a co-pilot. Voice Attack is great in that respect!

    Hard to reach switches/buttons (with VR hands) are easily controlled with Voice Attack. At least it's a temporary solution for now.

    Update: 5/7/18

    I moved my right sensor from my desktop over to a stand about a foot right of the desk and lower (roughly parallel with my leg). The result is a much better tracking of my right controller/VR hand and much more accuracy flipping switches, levers, etc. I'll play around with it some more when I have more time.

    Apologies for taking this so far from the original topic.

    Redtail

    KFRG, KTEB, KEWR, KLGA

    ~Straighten up and fly right~

    DESKTOP: i7-7700k @5GHz (water cooled), Nvidia GTX 1080Ti FTW3, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 Home 64 bit,

    TM HOTAS Warthog (large spring removed), Saitek PRO Flight Combat Rudder Pedals, YOKO yoke!

    Laptop (gaming): Acer Predator Helios 500- Intel Core i7-8750H @4.1GHz, Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB DDR4, 256GB SSD/1TB HDD.

    Gametrix JetSeat FSE (Flight Sim Edition)-USB Vibrating pad. Nextlevel V3 Motion Platform / Sim cockpit.

    Edited 2 times, last by Redtail (May 7, 2018 at 9:09 AM).