PANEL GUIDE: TO GET THE MOST ENJOYMENTOUT OF THE FEATURES IN THIS PANEL SET, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PILOT'S NOTES. PRINTING THIS OUT WOULD BE EXTREMELY USEFUL. A. DESCRIPTION B. CONTROLLING INDIVIDUAL PANEL ELEMENTS C. PURPOSE OF INDIVIDUAL PANELS D. REMOVING THE PANELS AND MAXIMISING VIEW E. PREPARING THE LEFT-HAND MFD F. PREPARING THE RIGHT-HAND MFD G. GENERAL A. DESCRIPTION: This is a Panel Set for the FIREFOX, a fictional aircraft featured in the Clint Eastwood film and in the original Craig Thomas novel on which the film was based. It has been created by Mike Eustace, using a collection of frame grabs taken from the DVD of the film as a guide to accuracy. It is designed to be used at 1024x768 resolution, and in CFS2 only. B. CONTROLLING INDIVIDUAL PANEL ELEMENTS The Cockpit is split into several separate panel elements in order to increase the colour palette, and in order to make use of the three MULTI-FUNCTION-DISPLAYS (MFD) which dominate the cockpit. There are two main ways of accessing the panel elements: 1. ASSIGNED KEYS METHOD: The Panel elements can be individually accessed, providing you have set up your keyboard assignments in the CFS2 SETTINGS/ CONTROLLER ASSIGNMENTS screen to control the appropriate commands. I have completely configured my own keys, and my suggested settings are set out below. YOU MAY ASSIGN WHATEVER KEYS YOU WISH. DISPLAY/HIDE PANEL WINDOW 1 assign key 1 DISPLAY/HIDE ECU assign key 2 DISPLAY/HIDE PANEL WINDOW 3 assign key 3 DISPLAY/HIDE PANEL WINDOW 4 assign key 4 DISPLAY/HIDE PANEL WINDOW 5 assign key 5 DISPLAY/HIDE PANEL WINDOW 6 assign key 6 DISPLAY/HIDE PANEL WINDOW 7 assign key 7 DISPLAY/HIDE PANEL WINDOW 8 assign key 8 Keys 1-8 normally control engine power settings, but who flies without a proper throttle these days? 2. MENU BAR METHOD: The Individual Panel Elements can also be accessed by using the Menu bar: 1. Hit the ALT Key to bring up the Menu bar. 2. Mouse click on "Views", and select "Instrument Panel" 3. Click on an individual item from the Panel list to either Select ON (Tick) or select OFF (No Tick). C. PURPOSE OF INDIVIDUAL PANELS The Panel window descriptions and their initial status are as follows: Panel 1: Background ON Panel 2: Main ON Panel 3: ADI OFF Panel 4: Gear/Flap OFF Panel 5: GPS OFF Panel 6: HSI OFF Panel 7: Engine OFF Panel 8: HUD OFF Panels 1 and 2 are permanently ON and create the main Cockpit view. It is recommended that you do not change the status of these in normal use. This Main Cockpit view features three MULTI-FUNCTION-DISPLAYS (MFD). The smaller, central MFD displays a non-functional weapons loadout as seen in the film, but the Left and Right MFDs can be made to function as TAC display and Camera/Moving Map display, as required. Please SEE BELOW in the appropriate section. Panel 3 is an overlay for the Left MFD, which incorporates the ADI, including digital readouts for altitude and speed. It is normally OFF, but can be switched on with key 3 or your equivalent. Panel 4 is an overlay for the Central MFD, which shows a graphic of the aircraft and the status of flaps, gear and airbrake: red for retracted, green for extended. It is normally OFF, but can be switched on with key 4 or your equivalent. Panel 5 is an overlay for the Right MFD which features Chuck Dome's GPS gauge. It is normally OFF, but can be switched on with key 4 or your equivalent. The gauge can then be activated by clicking your mouse on the I/O graphic and cycling through the airfields with the up/down arrows. The airfields currently programmed into the GPS are from FOX-FOUR's KOREAN WAR Theatre, but you can re-programme them with Chuck Dome's GPS 100A display. Panel 6 is a second overlay for the Right MFD which features the HSI. It is normally OFF, but can be switched on with key 6 or your equivalent. Panel 7 is a third overlay for the Right MFD which features Digital Tachometer, Jet-pipe temperature and Fuel Flow meters. There is also a Total Fuel readout. The display is normally OFF, but can be switched on with key 7 or your equivalent. PLEASE NOTE: Panels 5, 6, and 7 overlay each other sequentially. If you have Panel 7 showing, then hitting keys 5 or 6 will not display those panels. You must remove Panel 7 before you can switch on and view any panels beneath it. Panel 8 is the Helmet HUD. Reading clockwise, it contains displays for airspeed, heading, elevator trim, altitude, radar altitude. The display is normally OFF, but can be switched on with key 8 or your equivalent. D. REMOVING THE PANELS AND MAXIMISING VIEW If you wish to remove the entire Cockpit Panel set in order to maximise your view during combat, it is recommended that you use the key combination Shift + [ (Instrument Panels On/Off). Alternatively, you may wish to use the Panel cycle key "W" which removes the panels in favour of the M$ HUD E. PREPARING THE LEFT-HAND MFD This feature involves opening the TAC Screen and sandwiching it between Panels 1 and 2, beneath the Left-hand MFD. Once placed, the TAC screen will remain in that position every time you use CFS2, unless you decide to move it again. The TAC screen is not available in Free Flight; you must choose a combat Flight. METHOD: 1. Once in the Cockpit, remove Panel 2 by pressing the appropriate key. Alternatively, use the menu bar to navigate through the Views/Instrument Panel list, and un-tick Panel 2 ("Main"). Now you have a clear view of the rectangular area that has been marked out on Panel 1 for the TAC screen. 2. Open the TAC screen and drag & resize it to fit the marked rectangle drawn on Panel 1. 3. Press key 2 again to restore the main panel. Alternatively, use the menu bar to navigate through the Views/Instrument Panel list, and tick Panel 2 ("Main"). The TAC screen will now be viewed through the Left MFD, simulating a working radar. F. PREPARING THE RIGHT-HAND MFD This system involves creating a second view window, and sandwiching it between Panels 1 and 2, beneath the Right-hand MFD. You may place any view in this window, such as rear-view, external view or map display. If you are familiar with manipulation of extra windows in CFS2, you should find this very easy. CAUTION: This must be done at the start of each mission, because M$ forgets where you have positioned any extra windows in any previous mission. METHOD: 1. Once in the Cockpit, remove Panel 2 by pressing the appropriate key. Alternatively, use the menu bar to navigate through the Views/Instrument Panel list, and un-tick Panel 2 ("Main"). Now you have a clear view of the rectangular area that has been marked out on Panel 1 for the View Window. 2. Open a View window, and drag & resize it to fit the marked rectangle drawn on Panel 1. 3. Press key 2 again to restore the main panel. Alternatively, use the menu bar to navigate through the Views/Instrument Panel list, and tick Panel 2 ("Main"). The View window will now be seen in the Right MFD. Normally this defaults to a duplication of the forward view, but you may decide to place a more useful view in the window by hitting the appropriate keys. In the Movie, this MFD was used to display a view taken from the aircraft's rear-facing camera, but depending on which Firefox aircraft you use, the rear view may just show the back of the Pilot's seat. in this case, it is recommended that you use the chase view of your aircraft, looking backwards. Once you have decided on your view, click the main area of the panel again to re-activate the main window, so that any on-screen messages will show in the main window, and not in the second view-window. F.GENERAL This panel set is designed to be an accurate representation of the FIREFOX cockpit as seen in the Clint Eastwood movie. I have not attempted to model the back-up analogue instruments situated below the MFD displays, but have incorporated their readouts into the various MFD overlays. This has enabled me to place the Gunsight reticle at centre screen, which helps prevent scenery distortion. I have also created a Helmet-HUD, which I believe the Firefox Pilot would need, since there is no evidence of a Gunsight-type HUD incorporated into the movie cockpit. Minor differences from the movie panel include a VSI gauge at Left, a Speedbrake light in the lower right of the centre warning-light panel, and various labels that may not carry accurate cyrillics due to their unreadability in the DVD. It is also evident from viewing the movie, that Clint's character Mitchell Gant, used the Left MFD to display a futuristic 3D flight path ladder at all times, whilst using the Right MFD to switch between rear-camera view and TAC Radar Scope. Because it is not possible to overlay TAC and View windows successfully in CFS2, I placed the TAC scope in the Left MFD WARNING: The Panel Set has been tested for use at 1024 x 768 resolution in CFS2 only. Because of the large colour palette created by multiple panels, it will not display correctly in CFS1. Mike Eustace IndioBlack@aol.com 2.10.03