This last week, we fixed a few bugs and added a few new features to TFM. One being that the glide slope indicator for the new ILS system reads up/down instead of above/below. We wanted a more consistent flow of information telling the pilot what needs done, instead of telling them were the plane is located. The FDU, offsets for the PMDG 737, and 737/777 cross-grades take up the rest of this post.

The FDU

The FDU or flight display unit gives key information about flight systems. This post only covers parts of the MCP or mode control panel. In the PMDG 737, requesting an autopilot instrument value such as heading, or altitude announces the aircraft component in charge, the value of the instrument, and the navigation aid controlling the instrument’s flight mode. An example for altitude might look like the below output.

MCP altitude 8000 VNav.

We upgraded the 777 series to show these values when requesting readouts from the autopilot.

PMDG 737 offsets

Last fall, we started rebuilding support for the PMDG aircraft. One of the processes includes reorganization of the PMDG offsets. The new way of accessing them gives us the ability to add one within a short period of time. Each PMDG series like the 737 can have up to 250-300 offsets. Adding these to the 737 will take time, especially when adding them in consideration of future updates.

PMDG 737 and 777 equality

Since TFM started PMDG support, the 737 and 777 were not on equal ground. Either the 777 had better support, or the 737 had more of it. This time in the near future will focus on bringing the 737/777 up to the same level of support. As the PMDG rebuilding process continues, we will get closer to rebuilding the support for the 747 series. Since these upgrades and rebuild processes take time, TFM may not have a release until the second half of June 2022.

We look forward to your feedback. If you want to make a bug report, press Ctrl+Shift+I while TFM is running to launch the issue tracker in your default browser. If you have any questions or need help getting started, feel free to fill out the contact form on the website.