Haversine Forums -> AirPlugin - The Haversine Air X-Plane Plugin

Compliance with x737FMC

Posted on October 27, 2011 09:37 by likepassion

Hi,
is Airtrack compliance with the x737FMC plugin for the x737 plane?

Thanks.

Posted on October 27, 2011 10:17 by haversine

I'm afraid not :(

AirTrack is compatible with the x737 but only when using the default FMC.

This is because AirTrack uses the X-Plane's standard FMC API and the x737FMC implements its own more complex FMC engine.

Unfortunatelly the x737FMC doesn't write back to the X-Plane FMC data structures which are then sent to AirTrack and last time we checked the x737FMC datarefs don't allow us to easily access the flight plan either :(

Yours,
joao @ The AirTrack Team

Posted on October 27, 2011 13:05 by likepassion

So, with xplane i've to use the bad default and unrealistic fmc and on fsx i only can receive data from the plane but i cannot load flight plain from AT to FSX, and only on the stock planes and not on addon like 737ngx...

Now i've realized that i've throw away 20€...surely you have changed my point of view about the app store piracy -.-

Posted on October 27, 2011 14:08 by haversine

I'm sorry to hear about your disapointment. I can only try to explain things a bit further so that you can maybe understand what's behind it.

The X-Plane's FMC, although unrealistic and with limited functionality, is provided in a documented and accessible API. This means that we can read waypoints from it and write waypoints to it. So any plane that uses or respects this API works with AirTrack.

The x737FMC is a third party developed closed product; it implements an advanced FMC, which AirTrack does not and is not meant to. The only way we have of accessing what's on the "x737FMC mind" is to use its datarefs, i.e. what the developer makes accessible. And these, in the x737FMC case, only give us what's on screen and the button matrix to press.

Having said this, provided x737FMC writes to the X-Plane FMC API, you will have some sort of functionality. In actual fact I just tried setting up some legs in x737FMC and they do appear in AirTrack, so it works somehow! You will probably find that flights created in x737FMC will appear just fine in AirTrack, and that it may be that flights created in the 737NGX also appear in AirTrack, I don't know, they might very well do!

What you can't expect is for AirTrack to be able to program and understand every kind of FMC addon that every third party company, individual or project develops (x737FMC, xFMC uFMC, vasFMC, 737NGX, etc...) especially when we have no access to their internal data structures and each of these is programmed differently.

Concerning the possibility of AirTrack creating flight plans in FSX, we're working on this but there is apparently a limitation in the FSX SDK which is not accepting external flight plans and that's the reason why it doesn't work yet. We clearly state this in the notes which you were advised to read before purchasing AirTrack.

Please note that in all case you can use AirTrack with any of these products and addons as an independent "limited" FMC by itself. And please also note that AirTrack does a lot more than just an FMC.

Now, we've put literally *thousands* of hours of hard work to make AirTrack what it is today. If you think that not working with a certain FMC addon or plane justifies app store piracy and stealing, then I'm sorry for you, but by all means, go ahead and steal. Maybe one day you'll be out of apps to steal, or maybe one day someone will steal your work and you'll live to regret it.

Yours,
joao @ AirTrack / IP Objects

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