Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you your very own VFR maps that you can easily bring up in front of you WITHOUT showing your location on the map - while inflight!
I modified this which Staiduk posted within my post of "What's your favorite Historical Flight"; which by the way got very little conversation going ???
The following is so HOT it demands that we all get an opportunity to at least try it :)
FS9 has an inflight map; but it has 2 major problems: 1) it pauses the sim while you look at it and 2) it shows your position. Nothing destroys a VFR flight by being able to look at the map and saying "oooh - just a bit more right."
So since I don't use the GPS very often anyway; I input my own map(s) instead by using the Shift key and a designated number, i.e. 5, 6, 7, 8, etc depending on which one is free. If you want to try it (in any plane); here's how you do it. (Adjusted so you can keep the GPS in the plane and all the other panels in place, as well.)
1) On the aircraft of your choice; open up the Panel.cfg
2) In the Section [Window Titles] add the following:
Windowxx=VFR_background {Advanced users know to replace the xx with the next number in the sequence}
3) Directly under the last Window heading (before the Virtual Cockpit section, if it has one) add the following lines:
[WindowXX]
file=VFR_background.bmp
size_mm=545,377
position=2
VISIBLE=0
ident=VFR
Again, change the 'XX' to the next available window number.
Now; once you decide where you're gonna fly; go looking for a good map. I use Google; or I'll scan in a piece of sectional or atlas. I prefer to Google (I use Mapquest a lot for coastal areas) since you tend to wind up with sharper images.
Once you have a good map of your flight area; use your graphics software to size it to 545mm wide; I use Fireworks, but most simmers are using Paint Shop Pro. Save it as a bitmap - NOT a JPEG; and rename it 'VFR_background'. Place this new pic into your aircraft's Panel folder(s).
This method is so effect that I use multiple maps if my journey is going to be long and adventurous and it provides me with more detail. For instance, the Reeve Aleutian Airways, 1948 Historical Flight within Flight simulator 2004, I used this method.
Remember each map that you create has to have its own unique name [just sequence them 0, 1, 2, etc.] and place them into your panel.cfg file(s) using the same method mentioned earlier in this file. Now when you want to use one or more of them just press Shift + [number that represents the needed map(s)]; example Shift + 5 and voila your map is right there for you and it does not show your position :-) - AT ALL!
Enjoy you new maps and get to flying those VFR adventures ;D
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