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Here's a RW snapshot of (I think) the same plane. The pic was taken in Fiji about two years ago. The plane is owned by a local and is based in Savu Savu.

 

i-L4pVrGR-L.jpg

 

Great review, Andrew. It was interesting to see that the #3 livery in your review is very close to the livery displayed by this RW example.

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Great review Andrew, you really put that plane through it's paces. :thum:  

 

I have been concentrating on other purchases lately, instead of aircraft,  but this one is still tugging at my tobuy strings. :cool:

 

One thing you mentioned and that I have noticed in some planes I've bought, is that they do not link the info to the kneeboard. I wonder why that is, it has always been a convenient feature. :huh:

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One thing you mentioned and that I have noticed in some planes I've bought, is that they do not link the info to the kneeboard. I wonder why that is, it has always been a convenient feature. :huh:

 

Is it difficult to do? Is it just an .xml file or some such? Especially since a lot of the available checklists are erroneous anyway, mostly through missing information rather than incorrect information.

 

I should do some research. or, maybe someone on MH already has the answer.

 

There is some third party software out there that does a good job of linking .pdf files. One is PDFKneeboard.. The other is a bit more sophisticated - EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) - http://fswidgets.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=44. EFB has several iterations that can be loaded to tablets or Android devices, thus linking up through a LAN and providing mapping/approach charting/checklists/etc. I prefer this route because you really do have no need to drop the flight view to see the checklist.

 

I have used both and prefer EFB.

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I always thought they were .html's March and I am not sure how to create them myself.

 

I tried PDFKneeboard and had some trouble with some of the pdf's loading up so I got rid of it. I usually fly in windowed mode and have everything I need set up and minimized under FSX so I can grab them from the tray during flight. I can also run PlanG and John's plates together on long or crazy flights. The gadgets seemed more trouble than they were worth, imo, I preferred to keep it simple.

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@Brett,

 

I had a look and sure enough they are HTML files as you noted. Here's an example from the stock B737 file:

 

<html>       <head>   <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">   <title>BOEING 737-800 PROCEDURES</title>   <STYLE>   <!--   .dotted {background-color:#FFFFFF; background-image :url('../../dots.gif'); background-repeat: repeat-x;}   .notdotted { background-color:#FFFFFF; }   -->   </STYLE>   </head>       <body>       <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">   <font face="Arial" style="font-size: 9pt"><b>BOEING 737-800 PROCEDURES</b><br>   <br>   For detailed instructions on how to fly this aircraft, see the Boeing 737-800 Aircraft   Information articles in the Learning Center. For suggested speeds, see the <b>Reference</b> page of the   Kneeboard. Note that most   actions can also be performed using the mouse.<br>    </font></p>

 

I'm not sure what will happen when I post this as it might be translated by the MH Forum software back into it's intended form. Let's give it a try..............

 

Edit:

 

The forum software didn't convert it but it did screw up the format as soon as I posted it. HTML files are usually structured so that the "tags" are vertically aligned. In the above example, the text should be shown so that the tags (words enclosed in <___>) are lined up thus:

 

<head> (beginning of header)

---stuff in the header---

</head> (end of header)

<b> (begin bold text)

---bold text---

</b> (end bold text)

 

Let's see how this translates if I post it............

 

Second Edit:

 

OK, that showed up as it was intended.

 

In the example, other tags are:

 

<title> Title

--stuff in title--

<end title>

 

etc

 

The tags are stacked so that:

 

<head>

    <style (style attributes go here)>

       <title>

       Title text

       </title>

    </style>

</head>

 

Again, it is necessary to post this second edit to make sure that it comes out as intended ......

 

Third Edit:

 

OK - that posted fine. The tags are staggered so that they are easy to keep track of. This is the same in the .XML files and other similar computer language files used by FSX.

 

As you can see, I'm not used to describing this sort of thing. One way to see the structure is to right-click on any HTML page and choose "View Page Source" from the pop-up menu.

 

There are many HTML generators available that are WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) so that those of us who are not programmers can produce HTML files for posting on the internet - Mutley's Hanger posting software is a good example - see the box that surrounds your reply, the one that has various tags for inserting smilies  :D  or making underlined text or strikethrough text etc.

 

The HTML file that contains the kneeboard stuff is located in the same sub-directory as the other aircraft-specific files such as panel.cfg, aircraft.cfg, sound.cfg.

 

If you want to give it a try, see: http://lifehacker.com/5579328/five-best-wysiwyg-html-editors for some free ones.

 

In any case, thanks for pointing me in the right direction - I can think of a few checklists that need editing,

 

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Last hijack note; I use something called PageBreeze, a freeware .html editor that works good. You just have to add another small file in the folder along with the .html file.

 

The question still remains, why don't designers add this simple addition to their products. They are, after all, creating something for FSX which has a kneeboard included. To me it just makes their products look incomplete.

 

Sorry Andrew, didn't mean to take away from a well written review that deserves praise for the time and energy required to write it. Many people rely on these for use in deciding on a new purchase. I often wait for the reviews here before purchasing a product.

 

I have been wanting the C195 and just to let the company know, in this instance, that this small detail(kneeboard) can effect whether or not someone like me will buy their product. Why should users have to complete the work on planes, that they just bought, to bring them up to the normal standards of FSX. Pettiness in a way, but true non the less.

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Agree with Brett, I should have started a new topic. Hope you'll forgive the intrusion, Andrew.

 

Not that we don't do it all the time anyway, me being one of the worst culprit. It's what keeps this place fun, friendly and entertaining. 

 

Darn'it, just did it again. :D

 

Sorry Andrew. :(

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Guys,

 

You so do keep the Forums interesting.

 

Now, to the issue of the "Kneeboard".  The main point with Alabeo and their product pricing model is they keep the price down whilst maintaining a focus on the fun and joy of flying.  In approximate terms the pricing is slightly less than 50% of the products from their sister company, Carenado.

 

All the procedural and specification information is provided in PDF format.

 

In all, the lack of the information being available on the "Kneeboard" is compensated for in the price.  Something has to give in the development process somewhere!!!

 

It's a simple value for money equation.

 

Cheers

Andrew

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