Simulation Instruments

Plugin

The Simulation Instruments plugin is how Studio and Panel enhance communication with the simulator. Some basic values already come across without it. The plugin exposes the data a cockpit actually needs: arrays, strings, and commands with a begin, a continue, and an end. It is also how a flight plan from ForeFlight is sent into the simulator.

The plugin is available from the downloads page.

  1. Download the plugin for your operating system.
  2. Quit X-Plane. Copy mac.xpl, win.xpl, or lin.xpl into X-Plane 12/Resources/plugins/sis/64/.
  3. Start X-Plane.
  4. The light is green when the plugin answers on 127.0.0.1 port 4730.
  5. A panel on another computer talks to Studio or Panel, not to that port. The plugin does not draw instruments.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, A: variables and key events use SimConnect. L: variables, H: events, and calculator code need the WASM module in the Community folder.

Test Pilot is for the hour before any of that matters. It is built into Studio and runs the instrument with no simulator open. Load a flight plan, move the aircraft on the map, and the instrument sees position, heading, and altitude. A needle, a caption, or a breakpoint can be checked without waiting for the sim to boot. When the plan holds, point Panel at the simulator and fly the same instrument.