FlitePro
Frequently Asked Questions
What
kind and how much time can I log on the FAA approved FlitePro?
Currently, under provisions detailed in Advisory Circular 61-126,
you can log 10 hours of flight time towards the existing requirements
for the Instrument Rating. In addition, it can be used towards
meeting the requirements for private pilot and/or instrument
ground school training.
What
is the benefit of using the FAA approved FlitePro?
Recent studies have shown that positive transfer of learning
occurs when a PCATD is used as part of an overall training program.
A University of Illinois study found that subjects who trained
solely in PCATD's, completed instrument training 4 hours sooner
than those who trained solely in airplanes. The FAA approved
FlitePro excels at teaching instrument scanning procedures,
situational awareness, and how to think ahead of the aircraft.
Can
I use the FAA approved FlitePro at home and log time?
The FAA approved FlitePro can be used anywhere. However, the
requirements of AC 61-126 stipulate that to log time, the instruction
must be conducted by a CFII and a maximum of 10 hours may be
applied towards an Instrument Rating.
Can
I use the FAA approved FlitePro to log time toward instrument
currency requirements?
At this point in time, the FAA has only made provisions for
utilizing PCATD's toward a rating but has not established guidelines
for using a PCATD for instrument currency requirements.
How
is the FAA approved FlitePro superior to is competitors?
The instrument panel is the most photorealistic software on
the market.
The system has been designed from day one to completely integrate
the software and hardware resulting in a seamless, turnkey solution.
Because of this design, this system runs better and eliminates
the need for the user to put the system together from components
obtained from multiple manufactures.
Skill Enhancement Modules - these modules are ATC software packs
that enhance the realism of each simulator session and further
increase the training value.
The FAA approved FlitePro is now available in a Windows 95 version.
This version is a true 32-bit Windows 95 program that loads
and runs quickly and easily in windows.
An entire Jeppesen Worldwide NavData database is included.
The FAA approved FlitePro allows you to replay flights and analyse
your performance.
The FAA approved FlitePro is integrated with many of Jeppesen's
other training products including the Instrument Rating Syllabus
and PCATD Instructor's Guide Materials.
What
aircraft does the FAA approved FlitePro offer?
The FAA approved FlitePro currently offers a Beechcraft Bonanza
and a Cessna 172. Future upgrades will be available and will
include other common training aircraft.
What
approaches can I fly with the FAA approved FlitePro? Are there
database updates available?
The FAA approved FlitePro includes a database that has all of
the IFR airports and navaids available for the entire world
allowing you to practice flying instrument approaches into unfamiliar
fields BEFORE you actually have to fly them in the airplane.
Database updates are available individually, or by subscription
and are update four times per year.
Can
I customize the panel on the FAA approved FlitePro?
Yes, you can select from a variety of panel options that are
often associated with the Beechcraft Bonanza and Cessna 172.
Some of these options include an HSI, directional gyro, radio
magnetic indicator, and slaved or fixed ADF.
Can
I use flight controls that I already own with the FAA approved
FlitePro?
Possibly. AC 61-126 stipulates very precisely what kinds of
flight controls may be used with an approved PCATD. You may
be able to use your own yoke or rudder pedals, provided they
meet the requirements of AC 61-126. Call your Jeppesen Sales
Representative for more details.
What
kind of control do I have over environmental variables such
as weather, wind and day/night?
You have tremendous control over weather variables. This includes
the ability to specify day or night, variable visibility and
ceilings, variable wind speed and direction, wind turbulence,
tailwinds and altimeter setting.
What
kind of flexibility do I have in controlling instrument failures?
Can they be randomized?
One of the most important features of any PCATD is its ability
to simulate instrument failures. The FAA approved FlitePro stands
out from the competition as a sophisticated and highly capable
performer in this respect. You can fail specific instruments
and fly partial panel. You can choose to be surprised by a random
instrument failure or select a group of instruments that can
be set up to fail at randomly selected times. You can even introduce
a variable NDB signal to add realism to ADF navigation.
Can
I replay a flight for discussion and critique purposes?
Certainly! A significant advantage of the FAA approved FlitePro
is the ability to replay a flight as many times as you like.
This allows the instructor and student to analyse a flight and
give the instructor the ability to point out precisely where
the student encountered trouble and how to correct it. The student
can practice flying a troublesome approach or particular phase
of flight over and over until they get it right.
Can
I stop a flight and start over again?
You can stop a flight at any time and freeze it for analysis,
reposition the airplane or start all over again. Flights can
be saved for replay later.
Can
I save flight parameters for frequently flown approaches?
Yes. For example, you can set up a common teaching scenario
or approach and use it over and over again without having to
set it up every time you want to fly it. Set the aircraft position,
weather conditions, panel preferences, potential instrument
failures, and fuel quantities and save these preferences as
a configuration file. Thereafter, you can reload this configuration
with a menu selection and all these parameters will be reset
for your next flight.
Is there a manual available for FlitePro
that is more extensive than the one packaged with the software?
The FlitePro program includes a complete online help file for
use with the Windows Help system. This file has a full Operating
Handbook for the software and optional hardware. Also included
under the help menu are manual options for detailed usage of
the Apollo GPS as well as ATC packages and Skill Enhancement
Modules (SEM).
Why
is the GPS database in FlitePro out-of-date?
The FlitePro Databases for the program and GPS are scheduled
to be updated once a year. The first update for the Nav Database
should be available some time in 2000.
Can
you update the Navdata on FlitePro with the FliteStar?
FlitePro Navdata is formatted much differently than is FliteStar
Navdata. As a result, it's not possible to update FlitePro Navdata
with Navdata from FliteStar.
Why
do I get an 'Out-of-Memory' error when I try to print the approach
plate off the main chart view in FlitePro?
The approach plates need to be printed from the dialog box,
prior to being actually overlaid on the chart screen. The reason
being, that the program is trying to print out the entire chart
view and not just the approach chart when you hit 'print' off
the main screen. Hence, this is why the 'Out-of-Memory' box
comes up on-screen: your printer really doesn't have enough
memory to do what you've asked it to do. To correctly print
the chart, go into the 'Chart' menu, then 'Load', 'Approach
Charts' and type in the city for the correct airport. Then,
once you've got the airport selected, highlight the chart you
want to print and click on the 'Print' button on the right side
of the selection window. Note, that if a specific chart is not
highlighted, the 'Print' button will not be available. If you
still want to pull up that specific chart and overlay it on
the main chart screen, then double-click on it to do so.
Why
do the ATC Scripts I just ordered say they're for the FS-200
and why does the installation tell me I need to have the FS-200
version 2.x or later to install? I thought I was running FlitePro!
FlitePro is compatible with the older FS-200 ATC and SEM (Skill
Enhancement Modules) script packages, but the installation is
slightly different from the old DOS installation. To install
or 'Import' the ATC/SEM scripts, you must be inside the FlitePro
program in the Map Mode. Select the 'Flights' menu that has
an option to 'Import Script'. Choose that option and the program
will prompt you for the first disk of the script and the subsequent
disks. To run the script, go to the 'Flights' menu again and
select 'Load Script'. The next time you go into the instrument
panel, you'll be in the script.
Are
there plans for a Multi-Engine or other aircraft models?
Multi-Engine aircraft are on the drawing board, but are not
currently available.
Are
external views for terrain, weather, aircraft and airports going
to be included?
External graphics are also in development for a future version
of FlitePro.
Why
does the program stay in 'Demo' mode even though I've got the
CD in the drive when I start the program?
The 'flitepro.ini' file in the 'c:\windows' directory is probably
corrupted and needs to be refreshed. The best way to do this
is to uninstall the program completely, delete the 'flitepro.ini'
file, reboot the machine and reinstall he program from scratch.
This should restore the .ini file to a normal state and allow
the program to run normally.
The
installation of the version 6.1.1 patch seems to run normally,
but the version number shown in the 'Help' and 'About FlitePro'
menus aren't updated nor does the FlitePro program appear to
have been upgraded by the patch. Why?
Cases where the FlitePro patch runs but nothing appears to have
been updated usually result from more than one copy of FlitePro
being installed on your machine. The FlitePro that you run normally
is the copy that isn't seen first by the installation program,
so it isn't patched. To fix the problem, uninstall FlitePro
from the Windows 'Control Panel' and the 'Add/Remove Programs'
area, then delete the 'flitepro.ini' from the Windows directory.
You can do this by going to the 'Start' button and selecting
'Find', 'Files or Folders'. Make sure you're looking through
all your hard drives and type flitepro.ini in the 'Named' area.
More than likely, there will still be a copy of this on the
machine. Once you've found it, go into the Windows Explorer
or other directory window and delete the folder where you found
the copy of 'flitepro.ini'. When you're done, re-boot the machine
and reinstall FlitePro from scratch, applying the v6.1.1 patch
after the installation. Version 6.1.1 of FlitePro should function
normally at that point.
Does
FlitePro run under Windows NT Service Pack 5 or Windows 2000?
Windows 95 and Windows 98 are the only operating systems recommended
for use with FlitePro at this time. FlitePro is not recommended
for Windows NT4, and technical support is not available from
Jeppesen for customers using FlitePro with Windows NT4. At this
writing (January, 2000) FlitePro has not been tested with Windows
2000 and technical support for customers using FlitePro with
Windows 2000 is not presently available.
What
is DirectX and why is it so important these days?
DirectX is a computer resource called an Advanced Programming
Interface or 'API' from Microsoft for use with the Windows operating
systems. Simply put, an API is a collection of software drivers
for computer hardware and their programming commands that make
them function within programs. The importance of these APIs
is that software developers can make common 'calls' to all the
hardware in the machine from one source. Whether they need basic
video, sound, input, 3D video, etc., they can program the code
all from a common list of commands making the hardware more
compatible with other programs and operating systems. Flite
Pro uses calls from DirectX 5.0, currently, but it is best to
have the latest version of DirectX on your comupter.
Can
I use Dual Monitors in Windows NT or Windows '98 so I can have
an 'Instructor Station'?
With a dual monitor setup under Windows 98 you can put the map
screen on one monitor and the instrument panel on the other
monitor. However, you can only interact with one screen at a
time. For example, while in any mode on the instrument panel,
the map screen is frozen, preventing you from working with that
screen. Conversely, if you're working on the map screen you
can't also be flying or manipulating things on the instrument
panel.
When
I'm shooting the ILS approach at my favorite runway I get reverse
sensing on the CDI and the HSI. This isn't a back course approach.
What's going on?
This runway probably has ILS transmitters sharing the same ILS
frequency at the reciprocal ends of the strip. In real life,
the controllers at the airport will select which end of the
strip is active for ILS approaches at any given time. They throw
a big switch in the tower that turns one end on and shuts the
other end off. They make the selection based on weather or to
facilitate traffic flow. In FlitePro, you get to select which
end is active. Start by zooming in on your airport. Once you
can start to see the airport separating from the clutter of
everything else around it, place the cursor directly over it
and left click. If FlitePro understands that you are trying
to select the airport, FlitePro will highlight it in pink. Once
it is highlighted, right mouse click on the airport and select
Properties from the popup menu. If there is more than one item
close to where you clicked, FlitePro will display a menu of
airports and navaids to choose from. Select the airport that
you are interested in from this menu, and then click on the
Info button. A new window will appear that gives detailed airport
information. Click on the ILS/Localizer tab. You'll see a schematic
diagram of the runways at the airport, and ILS localizer fans
to indicate which ILS transmitters are active. To the left of
the schematic will be lists of the enabled ILS transmitters
and the disabled ILS transmitters. At the bottom of that tab,
you will see a big button labeled 'Switch Localizer Configuration'.
Pressing that button switches the enabled and disabled runways.
For airports like O'Hare, where there are 4 runways that share
one ILS frequency at reciprocal ends, you can press that same
button sixteen times to cycle through all of the different combinations
of active and inactive ILSs. Finally, this mistake should be
a gentle reminder that you really do need to check the audio
IDENT on a station before using it for navigation.
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