Bruce (a.k.a. brian747)
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Posts posted by Bruce (a.k.a. brian747)
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Hi Jim!
Yup, it is a bit complicated, and of course the "layer cake" solution means that you will probably end up buying several of the underlying layers, at least, to get the full benefit — with the result that as time goes by you can thereby experience a certain degree of "lock in" to Orbx. (Good marketing strategy for them, but a simmer needs to know what they're getting into). In a way I'm lucky since most of the time I'm at 40,000 feet, and it's only on the occasions when I start pootling about in a Turbine Duke that I start lusting after some of the GA airports that Orbx do so well. Although I also have to admit that they do them very well indeed.... <sigh>
But having said that, in all fairness don't overlook the fact that their regions include many airports which have been reworked and improved considerably, over and above the FSX originals. I vly a lot in the Orbx Norway region (having done so in that lovely country in the RW), and frequently utilise airports that I haven't paid any extra for, but which are nonetheless very nicely presented. Here, for example, is Hammerfest (ENHF) in northern Norway, a cute little field with a runway just under 3,000 ft long (ideal for a quick trip to nearby Alta, which has also received the Orbx treatment):
Mind you, you're so near the Arctic Circle around there, that at this time of year you'll be lucky to see the place in daylight.
> " I think eventually I will have to ditch my photoreal scenery at some point."
Photoreal scenery does have a certain performance hit attached to it, as we know, and I have to admit that I know several simmers who have done just what you are suggesting and become all-Orbx — so getting sucked in to the Orbx experience, I suppose. Which is fine, as long as you know in advance....
But I'm guessing that photoreal doesn't really mix with Orbx — however, by arranging the priority of files in your scenery.cfg there should hopefully be a way of using both (but not in the same area at the same time, of course)! I can't help you with that question, unfortunately, since I've never utilised photoreal scenery, but others may be able to offer their experience.
There's certainly a lot of think about, that's for sure!
Best of luck!
Cheers,
B.
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Hi Jim!
Ah, 'tis not a simple question that you ask, I fear. So this is going to be a rather long answer, but I'll try and provide as much information as I can.
Many have struggled to comprehend what Orbx themselves refer to as the "layer cake" of terrain mesh, landclass data, texture layers, vector and data layers which together comprise the "scenery" that you see when you look out of the windshield of your chosen aircraft at an Orbx landscape. Here's a slightly simplified picture of the layers, although much more information is needed to fill in the details (see the links I provide, below):
Happily, though, Orbx did eventually understand (perhaps as a result of thousands of questions from puzzled simmers on their forum) that some explanation of their methodology is needed, and they have provided it in the form of a document called "FTX Definitive Guide v2". The whole thing is full of useful information to enable you to understand the Orbx offerings and how to use them. Here's an extract from the contents page:
Flight Simulator Addons
Understanding your Simulator............................................................................................................. page 12
The Simulator "Layer Cake".................................................................................................................. page 12
Terrain Mesh.......................................................................................................................................... page 13
Landclass Data....................................................................................................................................... page 14
Textures & Autogen............................................................................................................................... page 15
Vector Data............................................................................................................................................. page 16
Custom Scenery..................................................................................................................................... page 17Orbx FTX Products
FTX Global Products.............................................................................................................................. page 18
FTX Global Visual Differences.............................................................................................................. page 20
FTX Regional Scenery Packs................................................................................................................. page 25
FTX Regional Airports............................................................................................................................ page 26
FTX Freeware......................................................................................................................................... page 26Product Use
Downloading......................................................................................................................................... page 28
Installation............................................................................................................................................. page 29
FTX Central............................................................................................................................................. page 31
Patches & Service Packs....................................................................................................................... page 35
FTX Product Configuration................................................................................................................... page 36
Orbx Libraries........................................................................................................................................ page 37
Simulator Scenery Library Configuration........................................................................................... page 38You can download the document from their web site — the obvious snag being that you need a login. So just in case you haven't got one, I'll attach the file at the end of this post. <sound of Joe gnashing his teeth as his bandwidth gets clobbered again>
[@Joe — I was going to add the document to our Library, but I'm not sure how Orbx would react to that?? ]
[@Jim] All the information you need is in there (including the answer to the most frequently asked question of all — the one about Hybrid mode), so all you need is the time and the patience to work your way through it.
If FTXG is FTX Global, then the clue is in the name — it's *Global*. So it would underlie your PNW ( or, indeed, any of the other Orbx NA offerings — CRM, NCA, NRM, PFJ, SAK, or SCA — or, for example, Norway). To quote from p. 18 of the Orbx document —
"FTX Global Base Pack
This is the starting point for all FTX Global upgrades. This base pack is required for complete functionality of subsequent FTX Global products. The FTX Global Base Pack fully updates all the simulator's default 1km x 1km textures tiles, replacing them with more accurate, photographic textures with a much deeper and more realistic color palette. The textures are created using photographic material, however they are NOT photoreal textures. They do not provide 100% photoreal representations of the world, so are still subject to the same limitations of the default texture tiles. That said, they are obviously a huge improvement over default, in both color, depth and general appearance. FTX Global Base Pack texture tiles also include fully hand crafted autogen placement and a newly developed night lighting system that adds actual 3D lighting to the entire globe. Finally, FTX Global Base Pack also includes some limited adjustments to Standard Landclass for certain parts of the world where the default data is particularly poor. See the FTX Global Guide (when released) for additional information."The FTX Global Guide is available from this link.
Then you should also download the FTX Vector Guide (a.k.a. The FTX Global Vector Guide, just to be confusing — and not to be at all confused with FTX Global OpenLC, of course — the LC indicates that this is LandClass).
(You see what I meant about this not being a simple question?).
Finally, I'm not too sure what you mean by GenX, but in general I would suggest that mixing textures and/or landclass from two different suppliers wouldn't be a tremendously good idea (if that's what you were asking?). Oh, and in answer to your question about UK2000, I have never found any incompatibilities between UK2000 airports and Orbx's England region (or any of the rest of the, er, layer cake in its UK incarnation). Well, incompatibilities that can't be fixed by deploying the FTX Vector Configuration Tool, anyway, but this is definitely the final paragraph so I won't go there...
I hope this helps,
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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A member of the Aerowinx PSX forum has posted an excellently-done 40 minute YouTube video about the 747-400, which covers a cold and dark startup, followed by a very brief flight from Tahiti back to Tahiti.
Not supposed to be perfect, but it's extremely instructive for those who would like to understand the 744 operating procedures better.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0F4ZZyvcapo
Enjoy!
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Not tried the CS777.
Plenty of hours in the PMDG, and I wouldn't want to investigate any alternatives.
Just my two cents....
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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No easy answers, my friend! Good luck.
Cheers,
B.
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I've been using DX10 (with the Fixer) exclusively for a long time now without any problems.
Which isn't much help, I know — other than to suggest that it might not be entirely fair to assume that DX10 is the cause of your errors? There is such a thing as coincidence....
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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It's a big step up from the in-built avionics, that's for sure. The ease of installation depends on whether your aircraft's config tool allows you to install it onto the panel automatically. (But if not, there are lots of suggestions around the 'net from people who have found a work-around). The workings heavily utilise Garmin's own PC trainer, so to see what the Flight1 product is like (but not in an aircraft), you can simply download and install the Trainer from the Garmin site here. (You have to have it installed for the Flight1 product to work anyway — but *beware*, the Flight1 product requires a specific version which at present is not the one currently available for download, so if you buy the Flight1 product you'll have to uninstall the latest and use their approved version — unless they've upgraded it by them, of course).
Also, if you search YouTube you'll find plenty of videos which feature the Flight1 GTN 750....
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Thanks for the heads-up, Joe.
@JG
I asked myself exactly the same question, John. So here's a minority report.....
The Aerosoft page says this:
"SIMstarter NG is based on the well-known SIMstarter ... the following changes have been made to create SIMstarter NG:General: New beautiful GUIGeneral: Platform supports FSX, FSX-SE, P3Dv2.4, P3Dv2.5, P3Dv3 and P3Dv3.1General: More flexibility because each configuration set can be used in one ore multiple profilesGeneral: Added dialog if you want to close the simulator if its runningGeneral: All dialogs follow the same user interface logicGeneral: Use of FSX/FSX-SE/PREPAR3D in parallelGeneral: Assign Configuration Sets directly to a profile (very useful)General: Add, Copy, Rename and Delete profiles and Configuration SetsSceneryManager: Reworked Editor. Let you edit everything scenery related.SceneryManager: Colored overview for a better overviewSceneryManager: Moving one or multiple sceneries below another entry (very useful)SceneryManager: Export an overview of all sceneries to a HTML pageSimObjects: Reminder if new SimObjects are foundSimObjects: Fully compatible with P3Dv3 nowLiveryManager: Improved performanceLiveryManager: Import library to import liveries to a repository. Makes it very easy to import new liveries.LiveryManager: Source directory can be defined nowProfiles: Use different FSUIPC.ini filesProfiles: Load a FlightPlanProfiles: Startposition improved dialog performanceProfiles: Autodetect changes on a aircraft.cfg and reload aircraft cacheProfiles: New SplashScreensProfiles: SplashScreens will work for P3Dv3 as wellProfiles: New Start ScreenProfiles: METAR / TAF dialogRunManager: New interfaceRunManager: Select Affinity for each programRunManager: Wait to start a program until the simulator has been loadedXML-Manager: Complete reworked interface allows you to manage all DLL.XML and EXE.XML settings.DiffManager: Assign changes to every SimulatorConfiguration SetCleanDesk Manager: Define programs that should be stopped at the beginning of the simulator session and restarted if simulator is closed (good idea for programs that are not need for your simulator)Logbook: Complete new logbook of all user changes. You’ve done a change to the configuration and don’t know anymore? No problem for the logbook!"Ohhhhhh Kay. So to me it looks like —* the old freebie version of SimStarter* plus some elements of the old Alacrity freebie ("CleanDesk Manager" <sigh> )* with a heavy helping of some elements of the TweakFS scenery freebie* with further hefty borrowings from the TweakFS XML toolbox freebie* not to mention yet another implementation of FSUIPC's profilesTBH, I can do without a "beautiful" (?) GUI, and new Splash Screens. And since I only vly one sim, multi-sim support isn't useful in my case.So do I really need to pay €15 for this (I ask myself)? No disrespect to those who have already bought it and whose needs are evidently different to mine, but all in all I reckon I'll await Jess's review before I decide.
Just my 2ȼ / YMMV, and all that jazz.
Cheers,brucea.k.a. brian747-
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@Jim
Glad you got it sorted!
@Dean
I always add all my FSX directories (on all drives) to the AVG list of exclusions, so they don't get scanned.
I like to think it doesn't do any harm to performance, either (bear in mind that FSX scans a *lot* of files as you go along, not to mention at startup...).
Just a thought....
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Hi Bryan!> "...i had to reinstall my flight Sim 4 times in the past 3 weeks"Ouch: it sounds as though perhaps you might need to try to stop working harder and start working smarter, to establish what's going on.
TBH, I'm not sure that SE is necessarily a factor here (although Windoze 10 might be, but I wouldn't know about that, I'm afraid). It's just that these crashes certainly occur on other versions of the sim, too, so I'd suggest not limiting your search to SE issues.I assume that you have checked out obvious candidates such as UIAutomationcore.dll; and also looked through your DLL.XML and EXE.XML files for any duplications or errors which might creep in during the reinstallation of all those aircraft and scenery packages?You don't tell us when these crashes occur (if there is any pattern to them) — are they always at the end of a flight, for example, or when you have left the aircraft to itself for a while?You say that you have an "Intel i7 4790 (not the K)", so I assume you're running at 3.60GHz? OK, not blazingly fast by today's standards, but with care it should be fast enough to run the fairly hefty packages and scenery you list with the hardware you have — always providing that you keep the sliders to moderate values, of course. Winding them too far to the right will definitely trigger this crash.(You also mention a Dell motherboard — is this a Dell machine? It's just that, if so, that may limit your hardware upgrade options).TBH, you don't give us a lot to go on (these are *many* possible causes of this error), so perhaps your first step should be to log in to Avsim and download their CTD Guide from there: http://www.avsim.com/files/file/65-avsim-crash-to-desktop-guide-for-fsx-p3d-fs9/That guide, even though v2 is two years old now, has helped many people to get a grip of what's going wrong, and should enable you to discover where to start, at least.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on!Cheers,brucea.k.a. brian747
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I enjoyed the tour very much, Matt.
Many thanks!
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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> "... the accelerated decrepitude is annoying"
I find it so.
Or.... were you talking about the aircraft?
Cheers,
B.
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Well done for overcoming that, Jim!
I know I've said it before, but for me vlying without a realistic level of failures would feel unreal, and curiously empty, so I guess I'm fortunate in that PSX provides a huge range of both random and selectable failures in every one of the 744's systems. It certainly keeps you on your toes!
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747 -
Hi, Matt!
Yup, couldn't agree more!
Although I guess it's a bit like the SODE thing. Each developer wants to push the boundaries, so they are tempted to exploit technologies which are fine for them, but may cause mayhem in sceneries from other sources. Whilst I'd love to see the functionality you describe, if I had to choose one or the other I'd prefer to have airports that don't require me to run some config tool (or worse still, have to move files around or edit configs) before landing or taking off from them.
But who knows? For some time now FSX (especially in DX10) has been looking and running better than its creators could ever have imagined, so maybe the best is yet to come?
Flyable volcanic tunnels, though? I don't think I fancy trying that in a 744....
Cheers,
B.
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Great video, Jeroen!
@Matt
Not sure about the hangars specifically, but the claimed features include this item: "Animations bring the airport to life, including animated people". Other intriguing features which caught my eye included 3D snow (?!): "Special highlights are the seasonal variations, including 3D snow that in combination with the customized terrain mesh provide an impressive atmosphere especially in winter."
@potential purchasers
As a frequent Norway vlyer I should perhaps mention that Alta is a loooong way north, folks (think Hammerfest and Tromsø sort of north...). <insert emoticon of shivering polar bear here>
Incidentally, v1.01 has just been released:
Improved AFCAD for P3Dflashing strobe for initial visual circling lights addedsequence lights for the VOR-E approach addedAnd one final thing to mention, which might be significant to some — it utilises the notorious (when it's not working) SODE.... See, for example, this thread: http://forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?/topic/108707-alta-x/#comment-742803
Cheers,brucea.k.a. brian747-
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Hi, Richard, and a warm welcome to the forum!
Wow, I suspect you're going to get a lot of different opinions on this question!
Anyway, FWIW here's my 2ȼ, but bear in mind that I moved straight to FSX (from FS9) as soon as it was released, hence have been using it for getting on for ten years now....
I have admired P3D from afar, but TBH the only significant change that I notice onscreen is the presence of cloud shadows (and from 40,000 ft they are not too important to me, although if you mostly vly low 'n slow I can well imagine that they could be a factor). Much is made of claims concerning fewer OOM errors and less VAS depletion with P3D, but the same benefits are also available within FSX providing you run in DX10 mode with the assistance of Steve's Fixer (see http://www.mutleyshangar.com/reviews/bc/dx10/dx10.htm ).
But this could get quite technical very quickly, so instead, let me attempt to sketch in a high level summary for you.
You say you are new to flight simming, and are mostly interested in simulating the Turbine Duke using RealAir's excellent version (see http://mutleyshangar.com/reviews/joe/rtd/rtd.htm for our founder's opinion of the original v1 TD — and here is an FSX shot of the v2 over Norway, en route to Orbx's recently-released ENSD):
OK, so let me suggest a few things which you might wish to consider (please ask again in a new thread if there any specific aspects which you would like to know more about — the girls and guys here are a great bunch who will be happy to try and help you):
- Both FSX and P3D come with a certain learning curve (yes, in addition to the aviation aspects!). It also helps if you are reasonably familiar with how to move files around, edit configuration files, and so on — or are willing to learn.
- Both FSX and P3D require a computer with a fast CPU (a 4GHz i5 or i7 is generally quoted as the minimum for smooth flying when using advanced add-on aircraft like the Turbine Duke v2 along with additional scenery and complex airports), and also a reasonably powerful nVidia — AMD kit doesn't work so well since it tends to choke on cloud textures — graphics card. You ideally need an SSD for your O/S; and your flight sim files situated on a fast internal HD with lots (think Terabytes) of space — today's scenery and airports chew through disk space with a rapidity which will amaze you!
- Because FSX has been around for so long, there is an abundance of add-ons (aircraft, scenery, you name it) available for it. This might be significant if, for example, you prefer to vly out of one of the smaller airports which may not yet be available in P3D. Modern releases of add-ons these days routinely come with installers for FSX, FSX Steam Edition, and later versions of P3D; but older releases which were only for FSX may need massaging — or running through a Migration Tool — before they will work in P3D. I don't know anything about Oculus Rift support, but I believe that one of our members, John Guest, is looking into it, so he's probably the best guy to ask (you can also check out the posts in this thread http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/topic/18708-oculus-rift/#entry145320 for some initial discussion about OR).
- If you are starting from scratch then there is no real reason not to consider P3D from the outset, especially when some companies charge you twice if you buy both an FSX and a P3D version of the same thing (something which applies to the RealAir Duke, as well as the later PMDG heavies, and others). Although the P3D pricing may perhaps be a something of a disincentive.
- Be aware also that the pace of development of P3D means that they do tend to break some things in existing add-ons when they move up a version. Patches soon become available, but you will need to keep everything up to date. FSX releases, on the other hand, continue to work because Micro$oft has dropped out of the flight simulation business with the result that FSX has had an extraordinarily stable and long life. But not such a long life that I and many others feel impelled to move to P3D — well not yet, anyway (although the large number of FSX add-ons which we have bought over the years will also inevitably be a factor).
- Whichever of the two you choose is capable of giving you a great experience of simulated flight, especially if you use add-on hardware (yoke, throttles, rudder pedals, large monitor(s), and so on). And although all that stuff in addition to a fast PC will initially be expensive, it still won't really compare with the cost of a course of flying lessons (and all the rest of it) at your local airfield — well, not in England, at least....
I hope that helps a little. I'm sure others of the inmates will be weighing in with their opinions, too!
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Lovely shots, again.
The warm colouration when the sun is low in the sky is especially attractive, IMO.
And I defy any non-simmer to realise that those shots are taken in FSX! Hmm, dare I say — many simmers, too....
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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A warm welcome to the Hangar, Frank!
> "This means that it is almost ready for release."
<grin> Traditionally. And no one could accuse them of rushing it, that's for sure!
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Great flight, Micke!
*And* you managed to get some sightseeing in, too. Just as well you had the old box Brownie camera with you.
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Hi Fintan!
And a warm welcome to the Hangar!
I'm with Joe, having moved from UK2000 to the newer competition a little while ago — and I'd also echo his comments about the textures. Which is not to put UK2000's version down, since it is a tad easier on framerates.
But (statement of the obvious coming up) — any decent version of Heathrow is going to be.... testing, for your computer. All the more so if you have a reasonable amount of AI going on (which will translate to a *lot* of movements at any of the world's largest airports, and, some would say, especially at Heathrow).
Incidentally, if you're flying one of the heavies into EGLL, don't forget to visit our Commercial Airliners section at http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/forum/128-commercial-airliners/ At the top you'll find a pinned item about downloads and documents, some of which you may perhaps find useful.
Good luck! If you really are "FSX Mad", then you're in good company, here! (Although some of the inmates are FSX-SE mad, or P3D mad, or even X-Plane mad.... but you get the picture).
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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<Tries to adopt New York Jewish accent> ... "This is livin'?"
Many congratulations to all who took part in today's festivities (especially to those who were timezone-challenged) :-) , and condolences to Micke for the technical problem. 8-\
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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<grin> Understood. I have to admit that I'm happiest vlying with no financial implications to lessen the "immersion" (or whatever you want to call it). Don't need screaming pax, either, but whatever floats some people's boat....
Cheers,
B.
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If you like some additional pressure whilst you're flying, then this freebie might appeal to you. (It didn't come up in a forum search, so I assume that this isn't old news).
The 'Maintenance and Income Tool' (MIT) seems to be (I <*cough*> haven't actually tried it yet) an option for adding additional.... interest (?) to your flights:-
- "Need a purpose for your flights?
- Tired of people stealing your airplane in FSEconomy?
- Tired of that annoying flight attendant in FSPassengersX?
- Tired of wussy passengers who panic during the slightest bit of turbulence?
- Tired of having to purchase airplane paints and repurchase the whole darn thing when you want to switch repaints?
- Tired of hunting down payload configuration files?
- Tired of being permanently, financially screwed after a particularly bad flight?
- Tired of that first officer that chews you out for not switching off the landing lights at exactly 10000.0000 ft?
- Tired of running separate tools for passengers and cargo?
- Broke?
Then MIT is the perfect solution for you!- This tool is actually only two gauges(!) to add some purpose to your aircraft. They install as any other subpanel and gauge can be used with any aircraft* having one to four engines**, so you can use it with everything from an ultralight to an A380.
- Payload is just that: Payload. It doesn't discriminate between cattle, humanoid cattle, weapons or boxes. If it possesses weight, it can be hauled.
- No whiny passengers. Hit some turbulence? Enjoy the ride! Your payload won't care.
- No annoying flight attendant to scare you out of your sleep while on a transcon.
- You're in charge of payload distribution with FSX' or the aircraft's payload manager. No hunting down bloody payload configuration files.
- The only thing that counts for making revenue is arriving at the destination set in the flight plan. So fly where you want and take as much time as you need (as long as you can pay for the fuel).
- Not in the mood to buy your plane? Turn the purchase requirement off.
- Buy a panel variation or an entire aircraft type. It's up to you.
- Watch the condition of the engine(s), flaps, landing gear and airframe degrade over time. The worse you fly, the quicker this will happen.
- Failures are probability based and dependant on the plane's condition.
- If a system fails, the particular type of failure will be randomly chosen.
- Your reputation influences the amount of payload you're allowed to carry. Treat your plane well, fly well and watch your reputation (and thus income) grow.
- Earn funds to pay for mandatory aircraft checks. Miss a check and your reputation is going to suffer.
- Not in the mood to haul stuff? Use "free fly" mode to simulate positioning flights, training flights or simply to screw around and watch your aircraft's condition degrade.
- Money is tight and there's an expensive check coming up? Cheat. MIT won't judge you.
- MIT is written in XML and configurable, so you can tailor it to your liking.
- Persistence across sessions and aircraft and more kindly provided by XMLTools."
So there you go. If you're interested, the announcement thread containing the above details is at http://www.avsim.com/topic/471960-mit-maintenance-and-income-tool-freeware-fspax-airhauler-fse-alike/In that thread you'll see, also in the first post, a link to the docs (available in various formats). However, the utility has been upgraded several times since first release, as you will see in the rest of the thread.Inside the docs you'll find a link to the latest version. (Files dated 26th Jan, 2016)Well, if nothing else, the price is right.
Cheers,brucea.k.a. brian747
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Hi Wayne!
I don't know that particular aircraft (although inter alia I have flown the PMDG MD-11), however....
A sudden nose up at rotation does sound as though you may have the trim wrongly set (that one is very literally a killer, IRL).
Also, unless you're setting take-off power manually (quaint, but possible, I suppose) I can't imagine any reason why you wouldn't have authothrottle on for take-off (most companies have a checklist item to turn it on once you're on the runway and ready to go). Without A/T, your throttles won't advance to take-off power when you press the TO/GA button (you *do* press the TO/GA button?), so that could certainly explain why you are taking a while to get going, not to mention the stall when you try and wrench the thing into the air.
Do you ever reach the required rotation speed (while still on the runway and before you enter the golf course at the end, that is)?
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
EZDok and P3D v3.2
in Prepar3D Series
Posted
Hi John!
I've never seen that problem myself. The only thing that occurs to me at the moment is — if the message means (as it seems to) that it can't find EXE.XML, then presumably it can only be one of two things:
a) It's looking in the wrong place. (Does P3D squirrel it away somewhere weird that EZCA a.k.a. EZDOK wouldn't know about??)
or
b) It's one of those dratted permissions things. (Have you tried TakeOwnership and so on?).
Just a suggestion — sorry I can't be of more help (but it's P3D... aaargh!).
Good luck,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747