Cold and Dark starting with optional guided aid

[danielg]

All aircraft should have the possibility to start them as Cold & Dark.
P3D it's a serious simulator to train seriously pilots. To train a pilot, you need also train the pilot when starting the aircraft. The thing of the engines running is something inhereited from Microsoft Flight Simulator in the more pure style of gaming.
When configuring P3D you should have two options:

[ ] Start flight with engines running
If you tick it, all aircraft will start with engines running, like right now.
If you don't tick it, all aircraft will be placed in the airport with everything off, avionics, batteries, etc.

When don't you tick the option [ ] Start flight with engines running, the following option should appear

[ ] Cold & Dark aid
If you don't tick this, the aircraft will be with everything off, and you'll have to start it yourself just following the procedures in the aircraft's manual.
If you tick this, then, the aircraft will be with everything off, but you'll see a little transparent window in the cockpit, indicating you what you have to start. When you start something, the window move to the next element you need to start.
For example:

Click battery switch

When you click it... the window move to the next position...

Click avionics switch...

And so on... helping you to start the aircraft from scratch.
The window must move to the position of the element to touch in the cockpit, showing also a pointing arrow.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT THIS SINCE A PROGRAMMER'S POINT OF VIEW

Every aircraft must declare in a TXT file how to start it from scratch, indicating what switches must be turned on or off.

If an aircraft don't declare how to start it from scratch... when you press Cold & Dark aid, the transparent window won't show any help, just referring you to the procedures in the manual.

You'll be able to close this window at any time.

Due every aircraft declare how to start it from scratch in a TXT file, this is like a macro file of commands, that simply the simulator will follow. However, it won't start anything, just show the user how to proceed step by step.

This is something similar as saving a flight. The file remember important things for the flight, like altitude, speed, kind of aircraft, position of the levers, the way the switches are turned on or off...

In this way, every aircraft should provide a file indicating how the switches should be manipulated to start the aircraft.

This would help considerably to train rookie pilots scared from the Cold & Dark.

Cheers

[Snave]

I see two immediate difficulties:

1: the correctness of the aircraft simulation itself.
2: the desire to reveal how to steal this aircraft.

Cold and Dark is easily achievable within current constraints. And can be made to accommodate both comprehensive simulations as well as more lightweight replications.

At our flying club we give `lessons`to non-flyers on the desktop simulator including small groups of school-age kids. We don't use it at any time as a tool to `teach` them starting procedures, we want to accelerate their progress to `flying` not ground-schooling. Ctrl+E works fine for these air experience flights...
On days we can't fly, I've seen several of the real pilots load up an A2A `system simulator` and go through the full complex start procedure for a 172 or 180.

The developers role here is to deliver the PLATFORM. What you, or I, chooses to DO with it is a matter for you - and the aftermarket.

If you want a full simulacrum of a startup then you must first start with a model that accommodates it. There are only a handful, maybe a hatfull, that do. That suggests that the demand isn't there. Is it worth the L-M team using precious and finite developer time to accommodate what is an arbitrary request?

[clcmbtn]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum. Where do I find the configuration page?

Thanks,
Chris

[jostytosty]

When landed switch everything off, save flight as default flight. When you start your sim again you will have to use the start up procedure to start (or - default P3D planes) use ctrl+E. Plenty addon planes have to be started using the proper procedure.