John--A question... (Ellie ND)

[stevehookem]

Hey,

I saw your photo from your cockpit sitting at Kai Tak. I noticed that you have a magenta departure route displayed on the ND (correct?)

How do you get that to display there? I have not been able to get any supplemental info on the Ellie ND. Basically, I just have a big electronic compass. No arrivals, No departures, No weather.

It's frustrating!

Also, I have the FlyTampa Kai Tak too. How do you get a line of traffic to wait behind? I've never seen that either. I usually go from a gate to the runway without any delay. I would actually like a lineup!

Steve

[JBaymore]

Steve,

Go to the Ellie site and download the manual for the ND.

[stevehookem]

So you load a new "flightplan.sbp" before each flight or will it keep all your flights and use them as you need it?

For example, I want to fly Houston to JFK. I plan the flight and save it as "flightplan.sbp", right? If I then want to go JFK to Toronto, I have to make another flightplan called "flightplan.sbp" and overwrite the first?

Also, I can't find anything at the FlyTampa website. Also, you said these would be added to the bgl's. What is that? I thought they would need to be sbp files. (sorry for my ignorance. I am getting this for my son. He probably knows exactly what this means!)

Right now, we're flying a PMDG 747 from Hawaii to LAX. On the ND in the game, the magenta route is appearing. I thought that the info in the game was supposed to translate onto the Ellie ND. Is there a way to make the Ellie use the FMC data from PMDG?

What do you use to make the flightplan sbp files?

[JBaymore]

Steve,

I use Flight Sim Commander (payware) as my flight planner.  It is like a real flight planning package.  It too is a complex piece of software and has a steep learning curve.  It CAN act like a moving map and radar if you want it to (I don't).  It has the ability to save across the network.  I have the primary output folder for it's Squawkbox flightplans as the Ellie ND directory on the ND machine.  I plan in FSCommander, call the plan "flightplan", and then save the plan directly into the Ellie ND location.  Sorted.

I also save the Commander flightplans into categories of my "standard routes".  Those are in heiarchical folders by departure airport.  So if I an flying my typical KBOS to KLGA route, I just load that plan into the Ellie ND and go fly.  SIDS and STARS are stored in FSCommander, and with the latest edition can be updated via Navigraph.  (As can the nav data in the Ellie ND.)

No, the Ellie ND cannot and never was designed to "pick up" the flightplan out of either the sim nor third party add-ons.  I don;t know of any external gauges that can do that.


As to the FlyTampa AI traffic at Kai Tak, there is a section in the manual that led me to set that up.  There is a traffic bgl file that has to be added to the main sim.  Kai Tak was / is CLOSED, so the sim does not have traffic flights going in and out of there by default.  You have to add a traffic bgl file that causes that to happen.  It is is simple download.


best,

......................john

So you load a new "flightplan.sbp" before each flight or will it keep all your flights and use them as you need it?

For example, I want to fly Houston to JFK. I plan the flight and save it as "flightplan.sbp", right? If I then want to go JFK to Toronto, I have to make another flightplan called "flightplan.sbp" and overwrite the first?

Also, I can't find anything at the FlyTampa website. Also, you said these would be added to the bgl's. What is that? I thought they would need to be sbp files. (sorry for my ignorance. I am getting this for my son. He probably knows exactly what this means!)

Right now, we're flying a PMDG 747 from Hawaii to LAX. On the ND in the game, the magenta route is appearing. I thought that the info in the game was supposed to translate onto the Ellie ND. Is there a way to make the Ellie use the FMC data from PMDG?

What do you use to make the flightplan sbp files?

[stevehookem]

How do you use FS Commander with an FMC? I probably don't understand the functions well enough to know. I see my son entering data into the FMC that includes flightplan info.

Do you know what I am asking?

[JBaymore]

Here's the AI traffic info for FlyTampa's Kai Tak:

http://www.flytampa.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3116

best,

.................john

[JBaymore]

How do you use FS Commander with an FMC? I probably don't understand the functions well enough to know. I see my son entering data into the FMC that includes flightplan info.

Do you know what I am asking?

My aircraft, the 146-200 does not HAVE an FMC.... so I don't use one.

You'll have to go to the FSCOmmander website to check that out.  Plus as I understand it . every FMC out there (in the sim workld) has it's own idiosynchrosies.  In the real world, pilots download the flight from the home office computer and then just check if the details are correct.  I know that you CAN input the entire flight plan by hand though.  And the Navdata IN the FMC has to be kept up to date with the navdata in the sim.

Unfortunately you are on your own on that one.  

best,

...................john

[stevehookem]

I have FS Commander running on the same machine as FSX so I can use the large projected screen for the flight planning.

How do I get my sbp files to the other computer that runs Ellie? I know that the networking is correct since Ellie pops in immediately when my son starts FSX.

i just don't know how to tell FS Commander where to send it.

[stevehookem]

One more: what is your exact path to your flightplan file? I want to make sure my path looks the same so the ND will see it.

Currently, my path is:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Aerosoft\FSC\FSplan\SquawkBox\flightplan.sbp

This is where FSC saved the file. I don't know how to tell the ND to look here since this is on a different computer than my Ellie ND!

[JBaymore]

Steve,

Here is the info on where to locate the Ellie information of various types (like navigraph data, weather bitmaps, and flightplans) so that the ND can read them:

http://www.elliesystems.com/store/Produ ... tions.ASPX

It is easiest to have the flightplan saved into the Ellie directory rather than have the Ellie ND look on another machine across the network.  If you want the ND to read across the network, look at the "Network Gurus Only" parts of that page.

[stevehookem]

OK, I can manually move theflightplan.sbp file to the other computer and put it into the Ellie Directory.

More questions:

When I make a flightplan, I see it listed on the sidebar as "KIAHSFO", or similar. I have options for many ways to save it. I selected "Squakbox Old" to get the sbp file. It also has FS Flightplan that is always selected.

Will FS Commander always keep a running list of the flightplans I create so I can go back to them later? If I want to fly to SFO again, I would just highlight that plan and "save as" flightplan.sbp again, right?

Also, how do I make FSX (in your case FS9) see the flightplan too? I need it to show up obviously so it will match the Ellie.

Thanks for all the help!!

Steve

[JBaymore]

FLightsim Commander will simultaneously save the plan to the default FS directory (in .pln mode), it's own directory (and format) and the Squawkbox directory (in .sbp format).... if you specify all of those in the FSCommander setup.

So to re-use a plan you retrieve it from the FSCOmmander flightplans directory, and tyhen re-save it to ALL of the directories.

best,

................john

[stevehookem]

OK, that's what I'm doing. Still can't get it to show up yet. I put the sbp file in the same folder as the BoeingND.exe and refreshed the ND. Nothing.

Still playing with it today.

One other thing I can't make work is starting at a gate. How do you make the gate selection stick in the flightplan of FS Commander? When I load it in FSX, I'm starting on the active runway.

Do the sbp and pln files need to be called "flightplan.sbp and flightplan.pln" or "FLIGHTPLAN.SBP and FLIGHTPLAN.PLN"? Does the case matter?

EDIT: silly thought here----is the file ACTUALLY called "flightplan.sbp" or are they using the word flightplan in place of what the paln is called like KIAHSFO.sbp?

[JBaymore]

Steve,

For the Ellie ND the flighplan MUST have the actual name "flightpan.sbp".  YOU should not have to put that file extension on there; it should be the default extension made by FSCommander.  Make sure that you are saving in the OLD Squawkbox 2 format.... not the newer 4 version.  BOTH are available in FSCommander.  Ellie takes the old version, CONTRARY to what the online docs currently say.

To be hoonest I don't remember if the Ellie flight plan filename is case sensitive.  I THINK it is.

The flightplan for the main sim to read can be whatever you wish to call it.  They don;t have to match; ther is no "connection" between the external gauge and the internal gauges.

Did you hit the "Show Flightplan" key in the Ellie ND?

Hum...... to be honest I don;t know how to "lock" the gate selection in a flightplan for FSX.  I don't use "The X" so I can't tell you.  In my sim I am always starting the aircraft at the gate parked where I last left it.  So not something I have dealt with.

best,

....................john

[JBaymore]

Steve,

Copy the flight plan text below and put it into Notepad.  Then save it as a text file with the name "flightplan'sbp" and put it into the Ellie ND directory where the ND.exe file is located.  Go into the sim and go to and park anywhere at KBOS.  Turn on the Ellie ND and hit the "show flightplan key"

Dese the Magenta Line show up?

best,

......................john

---

KBOS:CYYZ:340
I:CELTS:42.213050:-70.814450:0:0:0:153
I:DRUNK:42.081670:-70.656110:0:0:0:255
I:BURDY:41.955280:-70.951940:0:0:0:284
V:PUT:41.955280:-71.843890:0:0:0:306
V:CTR:42.291110:-72.949170:0:0:0:319
V:ALB:42.746940:-73.803050:0:0:0:298
V:UCA:43.026390:-75.164440:0:0:0:291
V:SYR:43.160280:-76.204440:0:0:0:309
I:LERAK:44.054160:-78.516940:0:0:0:287
F:FIX 10:44.086270:-78.851580:0:0:0:249
F:FIX 11:43.953770:-79.175430:0:0:0:237
F:FIX 12:43.764000:-79.476810:0:0:0:234
F:FIX 13:43.679250:-79.597180:0:0:0:274