2. Getting Started: Part II

After completing your controller setup, this section walks you through the essential steps of launching and operating SeligSIM. These instructions cover startup sequences, controller calibration (which you likely already did in Part I), and basic simulator operations.

• If you use any of the native FS One V1 or V2 setups: Plug in your controller first. Confirm it is connected and working, using the Windows Game Controller gadget. Start SeligSIM, select the FS One interface, and calibrate before you fly. You can probably skip the rest of these instructions.

• If you are not using native FS One gear: Start on this page (Part II) after you have created your controller remapping in per Part I.

• Start Joystick Gremlin if you are using it. Calibrate your controller in Joystick Gremlin. Click on the gamepad icon in Joystick Gremlin to ‘activate’ it, turning the icon green to send your controller inputs to SeligSIM via your USB interface selection: vJoy Device.

• Start SeligSIM. Go to the Single Pilot -> Freestyle window and click on the transmitter. The vJoy Device interface should be selected. From the transmitter screen, calibrate your controller. The red sliders should move when you calibrate, and after that, the red “NOT CALIBRATED” banner should go away.

• When you calibrate, follow all the on-screen prompts. Your goal is to move your controls so that they move the red sliders in the simulator. If you are using all 8 axes with your controller, then you should be able to move all 8 red sliders, each in turn, when you calibrate.

• After calibrating, you can check that your inputs follow the standard axes order (Part I). Follow the link and apply full inputs in the directions indicated to check.

• When you make an airplane selection in SeligSIM, the simulator will automatically select the correct transmitter. So you do not manually select a Tx in the sim, unless you select one of your edited/customized Tx setup in the sim.

• When you click Fly to start a Flight Session, the simulator does not use a top-bar menu. SeligSIM makes extensive use of the keyboard. Nearly all keys have some function during a Flight Session.

• If you are using vJoy/JG, sometimes you will need to move all your controls (sticks, switches, knob) in order for them to “wake up” and be seen SeligSIM.

• To exit a Flight Session, press the Esc key once (upper left keyboard key).

• To exit the simulator from any user selection screen, either press the Esc key or click the “X” in the window’s top-right corner.

• To see what controls are used on each airplane, see the Flight Manual. Alternatively, go to the Aircraft Selection screen, select an airplane, and then click on the Flight Manual button on the left. That will take you directly to the Flight Manual information for the currently selected airplane.

• For user help when running SeligSIM, click on the “?” button on any screen in SeligSIM, and that button will take you directly to the online version of the User Manual, specifically to the help page for your current screen in the simulator.

• Installing SeligSIM also includes the SeligSIM Power Tools program. Running that unlocks additional useful features of SeligSIM. Using the Power Tools program is optional, but it is useful enough that eventually it may be how you routinely launch the simulator.

Disconnect Other USB Interfaces

For simplicity, disconnect all USB interfaces except what you are going to use. Have your USB controller plugged into your computer before you start SeligSIM.

Start Joystick Gremlin

If you are using Joystick Gremlin (explained in Getting Started: Part I), start Joystick Gremlin (JG). Select the JG Profile for your USB controller. Click on the gamepad icon to turn it from black to green, to make your vJoy Device active. Use JG Input Viewer to ensure that your USB controller and virtual joystick (vJoy Device) are working as you expect.

Start SeligSIM

Start the simulator by clicking on the SeligSIM icon on the desktop or by selecting it from the Start menu. The Main Menu is then displayed as shown below.

The Main Menu above shows the main flying options available - Single Pilot categories, Two Pilot categories, and Help. Additional features are listed along the bottom (Log Book, Recordings, Options, and About) and in the upper right corner (Help and Quit buttons).

2.1. Calibrating Your Controller

From the Main Menu, click on Single Pilot Freestyle which will take you to the Fly Screen.

2.1.1. Selections

USB Interface Selection: On the Single Pilot Freestyle window, click on the USB Interface name (blue button) to select the interface that you are using. If you are using vJoy/JG, then select vJoy Device.

Aircraft Selection: The Alpha 40 trainer is the default airplane. Click on the 3D rotating Alpha 40 airplane. It will take you to the Aircraft Selection window. On that window, click on the OK button on the lower left to return to the Single Pilot Freestyle window, leaving the Alpha 40 airplane selected.

2.1.2. Transmitter Is Automatically Selected

• When you make an airplane selection, the sim will automatically select the correct transmitter (“software radio” with rates, expo’s, and flight modes), i.e., you do not need to enter the Transmitter Selection window when you pick a new airplane to fly.

• On a Fly Screen (like below), the transmitter icon should automatically have the name of your airplane on the icon. If that is not the case, then click on the airplane (Aircraft Selection window), reselect the airplane, and return back. Then the name of your airplane should be on the icon (the name may differ slightly). If that is not the case, see next item.

• If you do make a random selection of a different type transmitter, e.g., a “Free Flight” controller, to get back to the normal transmitter, exit the transmitter selection window and reselect the airplane. The default transmitter should then be selected when you return to the Fly window.

• If you want to learn more about transmitters, see the chapter about transmitters.

• Note that a “Transmitter” in SeligSIM is the “Software Radio” for the airplane that you have selected to fly. It will include flight modes and any associated mixes, expos, and rates for the airplane selected.

• As described in this section, when you select an airplane, SeligSIM automatically chooses a transmitter setup. However, if you’ve created, edited and saved a custom transmitter for a specific airplane, you’ll need to manually select that custom transmitter rather than use the automatic selection.

2.1.3. Two Transmitter Icons

Case 1: You selected the vJoy Device, an FS One V1 interface or your own Tx’s USB name:

If you are using the vJoy Device virtual joystick, an FS One V1 interface or your transmitter USB interface, then your page should look like the next screen shot. The transmitter icon will show the black controller picture. The transmitter icon is named after the airplane name. It will show “NOT CALIBRATED” over the transmitter icon when you first install.

Fly Screen for a vJoy Device interface. The same Tx icon style applies to an FS One V1 interface or other Tx USB interfaces.

Case 2: You selected an FS One V2 Interface:

If you are using a V2 interface, the page should look like the second screen shot. The transmitter icon will be the silver gray “Universal Tx.” It will show “NOT CALIBRATED” over the transmitter icon when you first install.

Fly Screen for an FS One V2 interface selection.

For owners and users of a V2 interface: What if you see something different?

If you do not see the proper “Universal Tx” transmitter icon described above, click on the airplane and then OK to return to the Fly Screen. The proper “Universal Tx” icon should then be selected automatically.

2.1.4. Calibration

If you are using vJoy/JG, you should first calibrate inside Joystick Gremlin. In JG, see the menu item Tools | Calibration. Re-save your JG Profile after you do the calibration.

When you run SeligSIM, step-by-step instructions are given for calibrating, depending on your USB interface type.

To calibrate, start by clicking on the transmitter icon. Then on left, click Calibrate. Follow the pop-up instructions. If you miss a step, finish and start over. When you successfully calibrate, the sliders in SeligSIM should match the behavior of the standard axes order in Part I (the blue SeligSIM axes column).

Some details about calibrating are worth noting, depending on your case:

Case 1: You Selected the vJoy Device, an FS One V1 Interface or your own Tx’s USB name:

1. Using all 8 axes: If all 8 axes are used (i.e., you have remapped each one), then move all red highlighted axes when prompted, each in turn.

2. Using less than 8 axes: If you have not remapped all 8 axes to your 8 axis virtual vJoy Device (e.g., using a 4 Ch setup), the axes that you have not remapped (not used) can be skipped during calibration. The function of those skipped axes will be controlled by the keyboard keys as described in the Flight Manual.

3. InterLink® and similar, as it may apply: For the InterLink controllers and others where the Reset-To-Home and Reset-In-Place may be driven by two separate controls (e.g., a switch and button), when you are prompted to calibrate the Resets axis, be sure that you press/switch both “sides” of the inputs so that the axis covers the full low/middle/high range. Otherwise, if you skip one, when you fly, the simulator may constantly reset (airplane will not move).

   For the non-DX InterLink controllers, it can be easy to forget and leave the two-position switch in the Reset-To-Home or Reset-In-Place position (i.e, a high or low position and not the middle). If you do that and start a Flight Session, the airplane will be frozen in a constant reset. Flip the switch to get out of the constant reset.

4. If you are unable to map or calibrate the reset axis properly (in a constant reset condition), you can disable that axis reset control function. Run the accompanying SeligSIM Power Tools program and find the section named Controller Options (near the bottom of the list). In that section, check the box for “Disable Controller Reset”. In so doing, that will disable reset-via-controller function. Use the keyboard to reset ( Spacebar and U key), or in the simulator Options window, use “Auto-Reset after Crash”.

5. Gamepad: If you are using a gamepad, when you calibrate, SeligSIM will ask you at certain stages to center the flap knob and sticks. There is a trick to getting that done right. First, for the flaps, press the half-flaps button. You should see the red axis slider center when you do that. When you are asked to center the sticks, you should move the throttle thumb stick up until the red slider is centered on the screen in the sim.

Case 2: You Selected an FS One V2 Interface:

The calibration instructions follow a different pattern and are simpler. When you click to finish, the calibration information is saved to your PC and also copied into the memory of the V2 USB interface.

Recalibrate

If the controller is not responding as you expect, recalibrate. If any questions persist and you are using the vJoy Device interface, review your remapping.

2.2. Running SeligSIM

Before you fly, the Single Pilot Freestyle window (a Fly Screen) has buttons to make selections for your flight, such as:

• Aircraft: Airplane.

• Transmitter: Transmitters, mainly used for calibrating.

• Flying Site: Panorama or 3D fields.

• Sun/Sky: Skies for 3D fields.

• Wind: Steady wind, turbulence/gusts, thermals, wind shear for dynamic soaring.

• Recordings: Recorded flights to playback while flying.

• Takeoff Options: Ground, hand launch, hi-start, or winch.

Beware: The volume may be too high. If you need to lower the volume, you can do that from Options | Sound/Music or adjust your speakers directly.

To fly, click on Fly. The loading pane will show the progress bar. When that finishes, you should see the fly window with your airplane ready to fly. If you selected “Hand Launch”, “Hi-Start”, or “Winch” as the takeoff method, launch by pressing the Spacebar .

You can save your favorite selections by clicking the Save Flight button. Then next time, you can load the same selections with the Load Flight button. Using these save/load buttons can be handy if you fly in many different scenarios.

To learn more about your selected airplane, e.g., control setup for the airplane, click on the Flight Manual button on the left side of the Fly Screen.

Need help on one of the screens? Click the green “?” button at the top of the window. It will take you directly to the relevant section of the online User Manual for your current simulator screen.

Changing Your Options Settings

You can also click Options from the top bar to change your global preferences.

2.3. Using Keys while Flying

To change your view (camera), press function keys ( F1 , F2 , etc.). The F1 camera key is the normal view from the ground. Key F5 will follow the airplane. Key F8 are FPV-style views attached to the airplane. Press these F keys multiple times to cycle all the way through all the cameras assigned to each key. There are over 75 specialized camera views (cameras) available via all function keys combined.

Print out and use SeligSIM Key Commands to interact with the sim while you fly. For example, press the P key to pause the simulation. To unpause the simulation, press the P key again. Press the / key to display keyboard commands while flying (think “?” since “/” and “?” share the same key). Press / again to cycle through the full keymap overlay. Toggle the E key to show/hide the on-screen Transmitter Display Almost all keys on your keyboard perform some function while flying.

2.4. Resetting and Quitting

To quit flying and return to the Single Pilot Freestyle menu, press the Esc key once on your keyboard (upper left key on your keyboard, see the keymap card). Pressing Esc again will quit SeligSIM.

If you setup axis 2 (second from last in the standard axes order), then that controls the resets. With a 3-position switch, use the middle position to fly, and switch it high or low for Reset-To-Home or Reset-In-Place.

If you are using the TacCon controller from V1, you can use the Reset-To-Home (“ResetPlus”) button on the controller (lower left) to reset to the starting point or the Reset-In-Place button (upper left) to reset the airplane at its current location after a crash. Alternatively, you can also press the Spacebar (Reset-To-Home) or U (Reset-In-Place) key on the keyboard to reset the airplane.

2.5. Flight Manual

To see how your airplane controls, see the Flight Manual.

2.6. Setup Tips

Some specific settings are recommended.

• If you are running a 4K monitor, see the tip about that in Part I.

• Run the simulator in auto fullscreen mode for normal flying. Select Options, then Video to see the current settings and options. However, depending on your computer, SeligSIM may run better (or only) in one of the other two modes: Manual Fullscreen or Windowed. If running at fullscreen resolution, all modes should be equivalent, but on some systems the performance and behavior is not equivalent. Test all methods to see what works best for your computer setup.

• For more visual realism with all-around everyday kind of flying, use Lagged views (the default install setting for the F1 camera view). Select Options, then General (see below) and choose a Lagged view for the primary camera. A lagged camera view slightly lags the view relative to the airplane and produces more fluid visuals. In some situations, such as pylon racing, the non-lagged views, called Perfect views (the default install setting for F2 camera view ), are often favored by pylon racers when the pilot’s eyepoint is locked onto the airplane.

• Select Options, then Graphics 2. For best graphics, keep all sliders to the maximum settings (sliders to right). If you are using a less capable graphics card (old or HD integrated graphics), you might achieve a higher frame rate at the lower settings (sliders to left).