Citation X Build- Help appreciated

[Danielk]

Okay, the citation FMC is so advanced with the FADEC, SID/STARS, VNAV etc.. So its hard to let go of that!

Im not giving up on the citation just yet! I've got some education to do the next year or so, so I wont be able to start before after that anyway. I'll have plenty of time to research and think!

I tried to post a status update yesterday, that didnt go through, so ill try again:

-Jon, who sent me a PM earlier in this thread, helped me tweak the panel.cfg file to make all the displays undockable! And he also answered a lot of questions. Big thanks to him!

-I am also checking out mouse macros to flip the switches via FSUIPC, and that seems to work fine as well!

-Vince is like you say is a magician with his CNC machine and has offered to make the frames for all the PFDs, NDs, EICAS and RTUs. Mounted and tested with buttons and backlighting! Looks really good! And the price is right too. (They are the same as in the Lear45)
-He is also thinking about making a generic FMC, which is very interesting as well!


Right now there is one question that remains un-answered: Will i be able to read the status of the different buttons in any way, so that the hardware buttons will display the same thing?
E.g the Ground power button (AVAIL, ON) or when the Engine start buttons go dark after the engine starts up?

I did some more research on that last question, and used the logger in FSUIPC to find out what functions were sent when pressing different backlit buttions,
Here's what i found:
- The battery switches that switch between NORM and EMERG doesnt tell FS anything so i cant read the status of them. Maybe they can display NORM by default and EMERG if i press them? that should keep the status sync'd

- Same goes for the XTIE Switch.

- The Ground power buten has an AVAIL light and an ON light, it doesent tell FS anything either when i press that. But i could perhaps make the AVIL light be on whenever the parking brake is on? and ON whenever push it?

- The Engine start switches send a TOGGLE_ENGINE_STARTER1 (or 2) when it is pressed, and then when the engines have started successfully it sends the same message again. It should be possible to make the buttons light up according to this i guess.


Any opinions anyone?

[WhiteStar01]

I defenitely don't want to discourage you in any way. I really hope you have success!

On the FMC- There are available stand alone FMC that will do all above. The FADEC is actually DEC in the Lear so not required.

Mouse Macros should work for all switches. I have heard of many people having great success.

Yes Vince does AMAZING work. He is just getting ready to move so he will not be building for some time. I have to wait for my PFD bezels until he gets settled in his new home. Good to hear they are the same in the X- at least there is something available already.

With respect to LED output etc- I did speak with a programmer for the X (Not sure if it was ES or Wilco) and he discouraged me completely. He warned me that some functions such as display states were not a function of FSX- they are actually built into the model/panel/display only. I have no knowledge of how this works whatsoever but I took it to mean I would never be able to use output boards to drive LEDs etc. If this is true- It greatly complicates some functions. Simple Switch state LED's would be no problem as long as they do not interact with any other aircraft system (which many do). The easy ones can just be hard-coded using the board software (FDS boards make this super easy)

Your testing backs up what I was told if there is no interaction between the functions and FSX itself.

I wish you good luck in your project. The X is a fantastic bird. All the best.

[Danielk]

Thanks for the kind words and advice

As i said I'll have plenty of time to resarch this, so I won't rush into anything i can't complete.

I'll keep updating this thread as i find out more.

Do you have a blog or anything to follow your progress?


Cheers
Daniel.

[WhiteStar01]

No prob at all. I hope you make it work as there are many people who love the X. They like to go fast

I have a build thread on Hangar45 you can check out (same username). It starts right from the beginning when I wanted to build/design everything myself. Several pages in- you will see I had totally switched over to using the methods/parts supplied by other members. I finally got it through my thick skull that building a new model from scratch is a tremendous undertaking. I haven't done much in awhile, but panels are arriving daily so I will get the bug again.

Best of luck!

[Danielk]

New reply from Eaglesoft... seems i might as well give up too. We'll see!

I'll say it again... what you want to do... the aircraft won't support. Period.

You aren't going to get any of the information out of the sim with regards to our indicators. They are 'run' by 100% custom code on many levels. This aircraft is far more complex than FS itself is and it wasn't designed to support a home cockpit with custom switches and indicators. Not at this price point.

_________________
Ed Wilson - Team Eaglesoft

[WhiteStar01]

That is exactly what I received as well. I did not want to breed animosity toward Eaglesoft, but they have a long way to go with customer relations.

I think if you search their forums, you can find the response they sent to me as well. I remember biting my tongue as I wanted to blast them for posting such a rude response. I have no problem at all with the fact that their product is not suited to our vision, but they should be more appreciative to their customers and not post rude responses.

Too bad really, but I'm glad I took the path I did. I'm gonna wire up some LEDs this afternoon, as you have prompted me to get moving on my build again

Got your msg about my vid- I'll send you the link to the no audio version. Apparently Pink Floyd is banned in your area. It's just a vid of the sim tossed together for it's first flight. It's an ugly setup, but I had to test it out

Cheers!

[Danielk]

I totally agree. They have a long way to go with customer service. They should be humble that anyone is THAT in-depth interested in their products.

Instead they answer really short; "That can't be done, and we won't help you". It was hard for me as well not complaining about their rudeness.

Anyway, as I've said before, i have a long timeframe for this build. I can't start for at least a year. Lots of things can happen in that time, and new interesting products can and will show up in that period.

The plans for FMC on the Lear45 avionics suite is really exciting. And if that gets done, I will really consider going for the Learjet! It's perfect with all the friendly help and support you can get from the hangar45 guys!

Have fun with your LED wiring WhiteStar, glad i bumped you back on track

Cya

[brynjames]

This youtube video seems to show a Citatation X (is it?) with a GoFlight MCP Pro. I wonder if the link to the MCP Pro is done with some clever LUA programming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTXqcWEyq2g

Can anyone tell if this is the Eaglesoft or the Wilco version?


--
Bryn

[Farkaskoma]

Its a Citation xls, freeware Aryus works version, with some costum panel. Citation x have T tail, larger engine, longer fuselage, angeled wing ect...