Working TCAS gauge

Questions about deployment and use of Air Manager Instruments

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Drewsta
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Working TCAS gauge

#1 Post by Drewsta »

Hi all, just wondering if there is a working TCAS gauge for air manager that will work with FSX AI traffic? A VSI that shows traffic and the audible alerts and even the red and green bands for avoidance. Is this a gauge that exists or a gauge that is payware?

Kind regards
Drew

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Ralph
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Re: Working TCAS gauge

#2 Post by Ralph »

Everything we have is on our website. But it would be very unlikely that you'll find something like this, especially for FSX.

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jph
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Re: Working TCAS gauge

#3 Post by jph »

Ralph wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 9:48 am Everything we have is on our website. But it would be very unlikely that you'll find something like this, especially for FSX.
Hey you ! ;) Get back on holiday your beer is getting warm :o :mrgreen:
Joe. CISSP, MSc.

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Sling
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Re: Working TCAS gauge

#4 Post by Sling »

Drewsta wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 1:09 am Hi all, just wondering if there is a working TCAS gauge for air manager that will work with FSX AI traffic? A VSI that shows traffic and the audible alerts and even the red and green bands for avoidance. Is this a gauge that exists or a gauge that is payware?

Kind regards
Drew
Hey Drew,

The instrument is totally doable but for one big caveat. That being that you can extract AI traffic data from FSX. Its a shame you can't get a Mallard for X-plane because it has the tcas type data including altitude reporting built in as default. That being said there is one instrument in the store that has traffic for FSX but it uses add-on aircraft LVAR's and is listed as being for an ATR 72-500.

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Ralph
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Re: Working TCAS gauge

#5 Post by Ralph »

No worries about the temperature of the beer, it's nearly freezing here. Not much of a summer this year :(

JackZ
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Re: Working TCAS gauge

#6 Post by JackZ »

Hi Drew.

TCAS feature/data is not something that is available in the standard FSX Simconnect environment variable list, but FSUIPC had at the time found a way to retrieve this information, so some XML or C gauges were able to use this data back then.
But the TCAS table that FSUIPC produced were about the Surrounding AI trafic, not that much one can impact to in order to create scenario for training for example. And the TCAS traffic/resolution advisory logic itself it EXTREMELY complicated as it involves real time computations of the intruder projected trajectory and normally the intruder TCAS should react accordingly, meaning that the AI aircraft has to be controlled as well to be realistic.

Unfortunately we have no way to interface with FSUIPC via AM so the only way I see is to dump FSUIPC data through custom LVars via an intermediate Lua script for FSUIPC, then exploit these Lvars to develop an AM gauge. Quite an endeavour.

I am not aware of such a « hybrid » gauge in AM. Not simple to develop also.

Jacques
My YouTube Chanel on the A320 (Real SOPs by an Airline Pilot IRL):
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JackZ
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Re: Working TCAS gauge

#7 Post by JackZ »

I had a look at the ATR TCAS gauge that Tony mentioned, and as I suspected, it can display the trafic only, without resolution advisory. (no climb/descend or green/red sectors)
Here's what I found in the gauge description.
This gauge is the same as my ATR VSI (vertical speed indicator). In addition it can display up to ten AI aircraft in a 6 or 12 nm radius (use RNG button).
NOTE: This has no TCAS functionality, so no alarms. The aircraft symbol will change color and display altitude difference according to proximity.
The dev for this TCAS gauge Jean Luc Perrot was a hell of a developer, he has made a lot of cool gauges back in AM2.X, so bad he has apparently given up.
For this one it requires a sort of man in the middel, read an intermediate gauge that extracts AI data of surrounding planes. So contrary to what I said, such "hybrid" gauge exist, but with limited capabilities.

So in short, yes this gauge could be used to display the surrounding trafic ONLY in FSX. Are you planning to add a TCAS gauge to your Mallard sim, Drew? :D
My YouTube Chanel on the A320 (Real SOPs by an Airline Pilot IRL):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 0Q6SBASRqJ

Drewsta
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Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 2:33 am

Re: Working TCAS gauge

#8 Post by Drewsta »

Thanks for all the replies, yes we would like to the ability to the mallard sim if it was possible.

Kind Regards
Drew

JackZ
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Re: Working TCAS gauge

#9 Post by JackZ »

Hmm.
As I said, having a real TCAS gauge with resolution advisory is extremely complicated to create, as it relies not only on the plane itself but also on the other’s plane TCAS.

Both are exchanging data and coordinates via mode S transponders to try and avoid conflicting orders throughout the envelope of detection, envelope itself which is constantly changing and has a teardrop shape.
I don’t think such thing ever existed in the FSX world and in XPlane as well, even though some position data is available from the AI planes, meaning accurate enough to work like the real thing. That would require not only access to AI plane data, but also actually moving the AI airplane accordingly as both player’ and intruder’s airplane are supposed to react and perform an escape manœuvre.
My YouTube Chanel on the A320 (Real SOPs by an Airline Pilot IRL):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 0Q6SBASRqJ

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