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RealSimGear X-Plane Plugin for Linux

About the Plugin

What it is

This plugin maps input controls of RealSimGear flight simulator devices to X-Plane simulator commands.

What it is not

This plugin doesn't help you detaching simulator windows and automatically placing them onto the screen of your flight simulator device.

Showcase

Installation

The following software is required:

  • GCC C Compiler
  • GNU make
  • Lua 5.1

To build the plugin, open a terminal and just type make in the root directory of this repo. You will find the compiled plugin at build/realsimgear/64/lin.xpl

Copy the plugin to you X-Plane folder.

$ cp -r build/realsimgear "/opt/xplane/X-Plane 11/Resources/plugins/"
$ cp realsimgear.lua "/opt/xplane/X-Plane 11/Resources/plugins/realsimgear/"

We assume X-Plane is installed at /opt/xplane/X-Plane 11. Replace the path according to your installation location.

Usage

Before flying, you need to configure the plugin according to your flight simulator setup. The configuration is done in the file realsimgear.lua. The configuration already contains samples for all supported devices. You just need to insert the device file paths for the simulator devices you want to use.

The configuration consists of the Lua list devices containing a table for each simulator device.

devices =
{
  -- G1000: Pilot PFD
  {
    device = "/dev/ttyACM0",
    mapping = {} -- Insert mapping here
  },

  -- G1000: Co-Pilot PFD
  {
    device = nil,
    mapping = {} -- Insert mapping here
  },

  -- G1000: MFD
  {
    device = nil,
    mapping = {} -- Insert mapping here
  },
}

Each devices has the following attributes:

  • device: the linux device path
  • mapping: maps the input actuators to X-Plane commands

Just insert the path of the serial device file of your simulator device into the relevant block. If device evaluates to nil, this device is considered disabled. So you don't need to delete the devices blocks which are not applicable for you.

Each time you push a button or turn a knob on your simulator device, a specific control string is sent via the serial device. This string has to be mapped to a X-Plane command. You will find a list of available simulator command at https://www.siminnovations.com/xplane/command/. This mapping is done with the mapping-attribute, which is itself a Lua table.

This is a sample mapping for a G1000 primary flight display (pilot side of the) cockpit. Not all mappings are shown here for reason of simplicity.

devices =
{
  -- G1000: Pilot PFD
  {
    device = "/dev/ttyACM0",
    mapping =
    {
      ["ENC_NAV_VOL_DN"]   = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_nvol_dn",
      ["ENC_NAV_VOL_UP"]   = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_nvol_up",
      ["ENC_COM_VOL_DN"]   = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_cvol_dn",
      ["ENC_COM_VOL_UP"]   = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_cvol_up",
      ["BTN_NAV_VOL"]      = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_nvol",
      ["BTN_NAV_FF"]       = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_nav_ff",
      ["ENC_NAV_INNER_UP"] = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_nav_inner_up",
      ["ENC_NAV_INNER_DN"] = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_nav_inner_down",
      ["ENC_NAV_OUTER_UP"] = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_nav_outer_up",
      ["ENC_NAV_OUTER_DN"] = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_nav_outer_down",
      ["BTN_NAV_TOG"]      = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_nav12",
      ["ENC_HDG_UP"]       = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_hdg_up",
      ["ENC_HDG_DN"]       = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_hdg_down",
      ["BTN_HDG_SYNC"]     = "sim/GPS/g1000n1_hdg_sync",
      -- further mappings
    }
  },

  -- more devices
}

A G1000 MFD would send the same control strings, because it uses the same hardware with the same actuators. But they actions to be performed are different und thus have to be mapped to diffent simulator commands. In our case the term g1000n1 has just to be replaced by g1000n3 to route all input events to the MFD instead of the pilots PFD.

Miscellaneous

Disclaimer

This plugin is not officially linked to RealSimGear. It's was founded by a user of the hardware independently from the vendor. Thus it comes without warranty.

Limitations

The configuration of your input devices is global. Currently there is no way to define profiles for different aircrafts. You have to edit the configuration file by hand each time you alter you simulator setup, for example when changing between a C172 with a GNS430 and and one equipped with a G1000.

If you use multiple devices, please ensure the device paths are stable. You can ensure this by plugging in the devices in a fixed order.

Currently the following devices are supported:

  • G1000 XFD

Virtually no modification of the plugin should be necessary to support other devices. The configuration file just needs to be extend. Please contact me if you own an unsupported device.