Many things have to be changed because of the XML synthax. The starters for example are now switches and no longer toggles (or the other way round). Because of this I had to change the code for each starter (1 - 4) and the annunciator lights for the starter. Same to the sequence of the illuminated text for each gauge. FSX uses another priority of the code sequence why a lot of gauges are completely covered when they have digital text (the Radios for example) or the illuminated gauge text is not visible when the lights are on. The other things are just minor changes which don't have to be done necessarily (except the new sound gauge of course).
You're welcome to rework the panel. I'm very happy if you do so. Just one thing I would like to ask you. Please post a short message here in the forum with the info where you want to upload the panel just before you do it. Thank you very much for taking care of this small request.
Unfortunately I didn't know the new version of HJG and I haven't installed the Flight Simulator at the moment to check it. But as far as I know HJG has a good FDE designer (Mike Mounce) who always update the flightdynamics of the 146. Here is a small list of the things which could happen when the FDEs aren't made for this panel:
The standard FDEs of the MS jets have always switched on Spoiler arming in the airfile. A lot of people forget to disengage this function. With this function switched on you could not control the spoilers correctly with the mouse.
When the aircraft weight and CoG were changed in the aircraft.cfg, it could happen that the aircraft will not hold the correct speed with the pitch.
When the engine values are modified, it could happen that the TMS will not control the correct thrust.
When the electric values are not always available in the aircraft.cfg, it could be that you loose power for the radios after 20 minutes.
Those are the things which could happen with modified flightdynamics when they are not made for this panel. Maybe you could monitor those things when using new model and flightdynamics and give a small feedback. Would really be great!
I'm very sorry for this long delayed answer. Unfortunately I'm not very often online these days why I couldn't answer you sooner.
About your problem: When the problem still exists after this long tome, I think that it is because of too much given power. The FADEC of the ARJ returns power when the engine gets too warm or N1 is too high. Could it be that you've combined the ARJ panel with the BAe 146 FDEs or the ARJ FDEs with the BAe 146 panel? The BAe 146 normally shouldn't do this because of its missing Autothrottle.
Sounds very strange. Maybe you can try pressing cntrl - shift - F4 before pressing the red button. This will open the standard fuel valves of the Flightsimulator. If this won't help I have no idea of what could be the reason. Then I just could recommend to go through the startup procedure.
"Is there a list of switches to throw on the Overhead Panel, before the engines can be started, or are there any short cuts, other than CTL+E"
Both. There's an invisible automatic engine starter (an invisible mouseclick area on the red button in the APU section of the overhead panel) and a detailled description of the startup in the manual. Please open the enclosed PDF manual and search for the detailled engine startup checklist. I'm sure you will find what you are looking for.
Sounds great. I'm very happy that everything works at the end. I know that it is a lot of work to understand everything when you are using the panel for the first time. But believe me, after three or four flights with this plane you don't need the manual any longer.
Wish you a lot of fun with the panel and your next flights.
The airbrake problem is very mysterious. I do not know why it haoppen on a lot of systems and why not on other systems. Before I have uninstalled the Flight Simulator I was using FS2004 and FSX together. I was able to deploy and retract speedbrakes with FS04 and FSX. With the last version it was just possible to retract the spoilers with the mouse.
There is one thing which is maybe the reason. What flightdynamic files do you use? I remember that I have to make some modifications in the airfile (*.air) and aircraft.cfg to bring the spoilers to work as they should. One of it was to disable the spoiler arm function. But I know that there was another entry I had to modify. When you download the panel and aircraft from HJG I would like to ask you to check the model with the flightdynamics from this website. Maybe this could be the reason.
Great, I'm happy that you could solve the problem with the TMS.
"I also recieved help from Mark at HJG forum regarding having the ARJ panel and the BAe panel in the same aircraft config file,"
Just one thing you should know. The ARJ and BAe 146 are not the same aircraft and have different engines and so two different Flightdynamics. One of the important thing is, that the BAe 146 has a much higher TGT temperature than the newer ARJ. When you are using the FDEs of the BAe 146 panel with the ARJ panel, the FADEC system of the ARJ will retard thrust much too soon to prevent an overtemperature. It will never be possible to fly with an acceptable thrust. Also the TMS of the BAe 146 will not work correct with the Flightdynamics of the ARJ and the TRP of the ARJ will never work with the Flightdynamics of the BAe 146.
Because of this I highly recommend to make a seperate folder for the BAe 146 and one for the ARJ. Each with its corresponding Flightdynamics (aircraft.cfg and airfile *.air).
There are just two Models available for the Flightsimulator at the moment. The first one is from Jorge Sanchez and the second one from the Historic Jetliners Group (HJG). HJG didn't have their J31 on their website any longer but you could still find some models when searching for HJG and J31. The same for Jorge's model. Just search for Jorge Sanchez on Avsim or Flightsim.com. I think you should find some models from him.
Unfortunately I've never checked if those aircraft work in FSX so I could not say anything about this.
First of all thank you very much for your compliment and the kind words about the panel. I'm very happy that you like it.
"but the TMS doesn't appear to function, when test is pressed nothing happens."
This seems to be a problem of the electricity. I think the necessary electric bus has no power. When pressing the TMS test button on ground you should see the display and lights as mentioned in the manual. Otherwise there's no power. Please check the MWS and see if there is an amber light for the electric system. If yes, please open the overhead panel and see which bus is not working. A not working bus is shown with a corresponding amber light in the electric unit of the OH panel.
"I also do not have windows when viewing sideways."
This is normal when using FSX. Unfortunately FSX did not support 2D sideviews (only VCs are possible). When you are using FS9 you have installed the Version for Aircraft with VC. For the cockpit inside views you must install the version for Aircraft without VC.
"Another question I have is will the panel work with the payware Eurowings 2004 as I tried without success?"
Yes it works. Unfortunately I must not post the aircraft.cfg and airfile to bring the aircraft to work with my panel as it is a payware product. I also don't have installed the Flightsimulator at the moment, so I could not check which parts have to be changed. What you have to do is to replace the airfile and aircraft.cfg with the ones which are shipped with my panel. After this you must replace the entries for the lights, views, flaps and ground position (the position of the wheels and CoG) with the entries of the original aircraft. As far as I remember this should be enough. But please forgive me, it's been a while since I made this so it could be that I forgot something.
Thank you very much for the info about the finished BAe 146 of PAD. I'm looking forward to test this aircraft. The previews of the PAD site are looking very good. Detailed enough for a good look but not too detailled to have low frames.
dominicmahon>Matthias - if you get a chance it would be great to get your view of this new model and whether you could do a special airfile to work with your panel?
After your first posting of the new PAD BAe 146 I'm thinking of making an adaption of my panel for this new aircraft. I hope that PAD did not include too much systems in their panel and VC. Otherwise it would not be possible becausse my panel has own systems and it will not work together with other custom systems. Also the autopilot will be a problem when another autopilot is included. So at the moment I'm not too optimistic that it works. But I'll try it soon.
>You said that you did know two devlopers that working on the BAe, but who are them? Sorry, I cant find any, or information out Eurowings, and thats just the 146 and not ARJ that I love.
I definitely know about two payware designers or payware groups. Aerosoft is one of them. You can find some information about their upcoming BAe 146 in the Aerosoft forum. The second designer (designer group) is the Fly Away Project. I do not know if they have a homepage but I already saw screenshots of their BAe 146 in the web.
There's a rumour abroad that two further designer groups, IRIS and QualityWings, are also working on a BAe 146. But I don't know if there is any truth in this rumour.
Thank you very much for the information about Premier Aircraft Design. I didn't know that Barry or someone of his team working on a BAe 146. That's really great news. A good frewware model is still missing. Maybe it's possible to combine the aircraft with my panel. It would be no problem to add the aircraft file (FDE) for it.
Souds like a problem with the hydraulic system. Please check your hydraulic system and the illuminated lights of the MWS. You will find more informationabout it in the hydraulic chapter of the included manual.
>Where Do You Put The Aircraft Configuration file That Adds Gauges To The virtual Cockpit
Sorry, but I just made the 2D panel, so you will not find a config file for gauges for the VC. As far as I know no aircraft designer made a VC with gauges yet.
Thank you very much for your compliment. I'm very happy about it and that you like the ARJ panel.
Well, I very often thought about starting again making FS panels or at least updating the ARJ panel with the latest parts of the current BAe 146 panel. However there are two payware models (BAe 146) in the pipeline at the moment and as far as I know both models will also have all systems realized. Not sure if they also realize the Backup systems, but I think most Flightsimmers don't use it or take care about it. That's why I think it would be better to start with a completely new project when I decide to come back. But there is still the problem with the Virtual Cockpit. So it would be necessary to have an aircraft designer in the team who could make the aircraft and the VC while I'm doing the gauges and maybe the 2D panel. Let's see what happens.
The Altitude Horn / Altitude Alerting which is included in the BAe 146 panel is part of the BAe 146 AFGS system. It could not be used without using the complete AFGS of the BAe 146. Even if you want to include it, the AFGS is part of the BAe 146 electrical system. That's why you better look for an autonomous gauge which could be included. Unfortunately the same to the J31 weather radar. If it would be possible, I recommend to use the weather radar of the BAe 146 panel which is more realistic in the ARJ than the one of the J31. But for both things it's a problem of the independent aircraft systems which could not be exchanged.
Maybe it helps. Otherwise I recommend to post your request or question in Ernie's forum http://fsbuild.com/forum/index.php?c=3 I think a completed config file would also be interesting for Ernie's download site.
What version of the BAe 146 panel do you use in FSX? You must have installed version 4.1 because all other versions won't work correct and you will never be able to start the engines with an older version than 4.1.
The BAe 146 panel is very complex and close to the real aircraft. That's why it is not possible to write a quick startup guide here. When the flaps and the spoilers don't work for example, you have no hydraulic pressure or the hydraulic system is switched off. Please check this on the MWS and overhead panel. The MWS shows you a not working system with a separate caution light. Only when all amber caution lights and red warning lights are off, you're aircraft is ready to go. As soon as a caution or warning light goes on, you must check what happens. For this you must take a look at the corresponding system light (in the overhead panel for example). You will find all information about the system and the reason for an illuminated caution or warning light in the corresponding chapter of the manual.
I'm very sorry, but if you want to use this panel there's no other way than to study the manual.