Hi John,
I think the answer is 'yes', based on the fact that if you put an 'invisible' gauge into a panel (for example a switch that turns engine smoke on automatically) then you have to cycle through the 2D panel view at least once to activate it, or the effect doesn't work. So if the autobrake gauge is not actually in the panel, then FS wouldn't know that it had to use it?
Does this make sense?
As an alternative - why not write an invisible XML gauge that sits in the panel.cfg which does the mechanics (if you'll excuse the expression!) of applying the brakes but it wouldn't be seen on the panel?
