These Frequently Asked Questions are here to help to evaluate FSCaptain and solve problems you may be encountering with installing or using it.

1. Pre-Installation Questions.

  • 1.1 Will FSCaptain run under Windows Vista?
  • 1.2 Will FSCaptain run under Windows 7?
  • 1.3 Can I install FSCaptain in both FS2004 and FSX on the same computer?
  • 1.4 How does FSCaptain affect my windows registry?
  • 1.5 How do I uninstall FSCaptain?

    2. Installation and Configuration Questions.

  • 2.1 If I have both FS9 and FSX, can flights in either one apply to the same career?
  • 2.2 How do I make variations of the same aircraft type?
  • 2.3 The Log file is not a text file. Is there a way for me to access that data in a spreadsheet?
  • 2.4 Can I play different music?

    3. Flying with FSCaptain.

  • 3.1 How do I choose between cargo and passenger flights?
  • 3.2 How do I fly a scheduled flight?
  • 3.3 What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different special flags on cargo flights?
  • 3.4 I sit at an airport gate but FSCaptain doesn't realize I'm at that airport, or it thinks I'm at a different one.
  • 3.5 Why does FSCaptain think my airplane is/isn't pressurized?
  • 3.6 Why does Dispatch gives me unrealistic flight times?.
  • 3.7 Why does Dispatch gives me unrealistic fuel burn numbers?.
  • 3.8 Why do the weather stations I inquire on so often say "Weather station not set in FS"?

    4. Troubleshooting.

  • 4.1 I'm using FCOM with FS2004 - it's very slow and my cursor is an hourglass much of the time.
  • 4.2 My MP3 music won't play under FSCaptain.

    The FSCaptain FAQ

    Question 1.1: Will FSCaptain run under Windows Vista?

    Answer: Yes, FSCaptain has been tested and will run under Windows Vista.

    Question 1.2: Will FSCaptain run under Windows 7?

    Answer: FSCaptain has not yet been tested Windows 7.

    Question 1.3: Can I install FSCaptain in both FS2004 and FSX on the same computer?

    Answer: Yes, there is no limit to the number of installations of FSCaptain you can make on a single computer. You may install in both FS2004 and FSX and even in other copies of either of these, or both.

    Question 1.4: How does FSCaptain affect my windows registry?

    Answer: FSCaptain does not make any changes to your Windows registry in any way, shape, or form. It does place an 'FSCaptain' folder in the root folder of your FS installation, two gauges in your 'Gauges' folder, two icons on your desktop, and a menu in the 'all programs' part of your startup menu. All this is removed with an uninstall.

    Question 1.5: How do I uninstall FSCaptain?

    Answer: There is a simple uninstall program placed in the root folder of any FS installation (FS2004 or FSX) that you install FSCaptain into. Executing this will delete the entire install of FSCaptain, except that it will not automatically remove any FCOM devices you have installed in your airplanes -- you must do that before you un-install FSCaptain, because once you do the uninstall the FCOM installation/removal tool wil be gone.

    Question 2.1: If I have both FS9 and FSX, can flights in either one apply to the same career?

    Answer: Yes! You'll need to install FSCaptain in both FS9 and FSX sim folders normally, and install the FCOM in your airplanes that will use FSCaptain in both sims. But you can select one of the installations as the master log. On the other (non-master), go into the "Options for all Airlines" tab of the Administrator, and change the Log location and Backup locations to point to the folders in the other sim version. Then both sims will access the same log database as if they were one. In order for you to share a career like this, you must be flying the same airline with the same pilot number in both sims. Also, the airline and aircraft databases remain separate, just the logs are shared.

    Remember the databases for airlines and aircraft are just text files in folders. You can copy them from one sim installation to another with Windows Explorer.

    Question 2.2: How do I make variations of the same aircraft type?

    Answer: You can designate individual exceptions to the general rule of an aircraft type. When you create a new aircraft configuration, base it on the general type, but append an underscore and the registration number to the type in the name field. For example, the generic type DC3 might be convertible, but the specific type DC3_N733DC might be cargo-only. This is how could you fly cargo missions for a passenger-primary airline in a passenger-primary airplane.

    Question 2.3: The Log file is not a text file. Is there a way for me to access that data in a spreadsheet?

    Answer: Yes! There's a program in the FSCaptain\Data folder (where the logs live) called Cvtlog.exe. Run that program and a console window will appear asking you for your airline. Enter an airline file name (minus the .cfg extension) and the cvtlog program will write out the log from that file as a comma-separated text file with the extension .csv -- this can be imported into Excel or just about any other spreadsheet.

    Question 2.4: Can I play different music?

    Answer: Sure. You can play almost any MP3 music file as your background music. In the current version you'll need to copy the MP3 files you want to play into the FSCaptain\Sound\Music folder, then use Notepad or another text editor to open the file FSCaptain\Config\Sound.cfg and edit it to add your music to the list there. The Sound.cfg file contains many comments to help you fighure out how to change it. the pilots!

    Question 3.1: How do I choose between cargo and passenger flights?

    Answer: The aircraft configuration determines it. Regardless of the primary role of the airline if you fly a passenger-configured airplane it's a passenger flight. If it's cargo-configured, it's a cargo flight. If it's convertible (which all planes are by default unless you override them with the aircraft characteristics) then any specific preference you have on your pilot profile will determine the type of flight. If you specified no preference (you chose "Either"), then the primary role of the airline determines the flight type.

    Question 3.2: How do I fly a scheduled flight?

    Answer: It's a matter of showing up at the right place, at the right time, and in the right airplane. Look at the schedule for your airline (use the Administrator, airline definition tab, 'Schedule' button). Pick the flight you want to fly. Note the minimum size aircraft -- you'll need to be in one at least that big to fly the route. Note the airport, days of the week, and the departure time. That's what you need to know. In flight simulator (either version), be sure you're in an airplane large enough and place it at the departure airport (any gate), about 10-15 minutes before the scheduled departure time. You should see the flight you want on the FCOM when you select your mission.

    Question 3.3: What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different special flags on cargo flights?

    Answer:

  • Priority - arrival time window is narrowed, and points are doubled both for on-time and early/late. Bigger loss or gain - arrive within that window for extra points!
  • Fragile - Damage parameters are narrowed significantly, you must fly and land more carefully but extra points awarded for safe landing with no damage.
  • Live - You are carrying animals. Damage parameters are narrowed somewhat, and you must avoid high flights in unpressurized airplanes.
  • PAX - You have jump seat riders. Same effects as Live plus the live cargo in this case can and will comment on the flight, thus gaining or losing points based on their perception of your performance. No FA's or cabin service.

    Question 3.4: I sit at an airport gate but FSCaptain doesn't realize I'm at that airport, or it thinks' I'm at a different one.

    Answer: This is caused by two potential issues, one fixable and one we have to live with in the world of MSFS. It may be that you've customized or added airports. The FSCaptain databases are configured with all the airports that are distributed with FS, but these are not automatically updated when you add or change scenery in FS. To fix this go to the "Options for All Airlines" tab of the Administrator and click on the "Rebuild Airports Database". If this is the source of the problem it should disappear.

    A second issue which we can't do much about is the situation in MSFS where two airports are located so close to one another that when sitting at a far-out gate of airport A you are geographically closer to the center point of airport B. This particularly shows up at PANC (anchorage AK) where a water strip is located so close that FSCaptain (which always looks for the closest airport to your airplane) will sometimes believe that some of the gates at PANC actually belong to the water strip. Because of the way MSFS works there is no perfect solution to this problem. You can simply relocate to another gate further away from the "bogus" airport. Brave and knowledgeable tweakers can make a scenery mod that deletes the unwanted minor airport near the major one.

    Question 3.5: Why does FSCaptain think my airplane is/isn't pressurized? Question 3.6: Why does Dispatch give me unrealistic flight time estimates Question 3.7: Why does Dispatch give me unrealistic fuel burn numbers?

    Answer: These are all caused by the same problem: a mis-configured airplane. When FSCaptain sees an aircraft type that isn't in its database, it adds it to the database with default settings in its configuration based on assumptions it makes. Sometimes these assumptions are accurate, sometimes not.

    From the 'Dispatch Online' page just after you log in, press the F5 key to get Aircraft Characteristics. The title will say something like "B737 Aircraft Characteristics". The B737 in this example is the aircraft type which is defined by the designer as the 'atc_model' parameter in the aircraft.cfg. This is the data item FSCaptain uses to access its characteristics file, in this case B737.cfg in the FSCaptain\Aircraft folder. You should use the Administrator Aircraft Characteristics tab to load and correct these characteristics.

    Question 3.8: Why do the weather stations I inquire on so often say "Weather station not set in FS"?

    Answer: It's most probably because you have a weather add-on such as ActiveSky. By default if you use the built-in weather, almost every weather station in the world will be set if you download "real weather". But weather add-ons just set the stations within a certain radius (usually about 60-100 miles) of the user's aircraft. Thus, if you inquire using the FCOM's weather facilities on your destination airport which is, say, 200 miles away -- it hasn't been set yet by your add-on. It will be set as you get closer. For this reason even though I have ActiveSky I usually just use the MS Real Weather download when I fly using the FCOM.

    Problem 4.1: I'm using FCOM with FS2004 - it's very slow and my cursor is an hourglass much of the time.

    Answer: You are using the FCOM that's made for FSX, possibly because when your FCOM gauge was installed the installer was executed inside an FSX folder. One solution is to remove the FCOM using the Installer and re-install it. Another is to manually use Notepad or another editor to open the panel.cfg file for the airplane and search for the string 'FCOM!' and replace it with 'FCOM9!' ... there will be three or more of these strings be sure to find them all.

    Problem 4.2: My Mp3 files won't play with FSCaptain.

    Answer: The program uses the Windows MCI (Media Control Interface) to play MP3 format files. The MCI is known to have issues with some formats of MP3 files that play with other software. You can test an MP3 with the "MP3 Tester.exe" program in the FSPCaptain\bin folder. It uses the same MCI system. If it will play an MP3 then FSCaptain should and vice versa.