CockpitSonic Airbus ECAM Control Panel

This document describes the upgrade that make the Airbus Series aircrafts compatible with the CockpitSonic ECAM CP hardware.
This excellent hardware, fitted for cockpit builders and armchair pilots, will make your flight much more realistic.

Installation

This document is about the ECAM Control Panel software module that links the ECAM CP device with the Wilco Airbus Series aircrafts, it is not about the installation of the ECAM CP hardware device itself. You are supposed to have the device correctly installed and configured. If you have any problem with this, please contact CockpitSonic support.

Before running the installer, please make sure you have the latest Service Pack installed. If you want to make sure you have the latest Service Pack, a way to check this is explained here.
Then run the installer and follow the instructions. The last step of the installation is a specific installer that patches your existing gauges to make them compatible with the CockpitSonic ECAM Control Panel.
This part of the installation will only work if you have the latest Service Pack installed.

When you click START, the patching process begins to apply all the necessary changes to the gauges, the aircrafts and the panels.
Don't be surprised if you see DOS windows appear and disappear during this phase of the process, it is normal.

When this process ends, a message is displayed in the message window and you can press END to finish:

Installation finished

Whatever happens during the installation, all the messages displayed in the window are stored in a log file called Installation.log, located in the 'ECAMCP' directory.
Don't hesitate to use this file if any kind of support is needed from the authors.

Usage

No instruction is really needed to use the ECAM Control Panel. You just have to know that pressing any button displays the corresponding page on the SD. The 2 rotating knobs change the brightness of the upper and lower ECAM, that are the E/WD and SD. You can still use the ECAM Control Panel modeled in Flight Simulator, in the 2D panel or in the Virtual Cockpit.

FAQ & Support

If you have any problem with this software, contact the author here.
If the problem is about the installation phase, please attach the log file "installation.log" located in the "ECAMCP" directory, which is in the Flight Simulator main directory.

Before contacting the support, please read the following FAQ:

How can I know if I have the latest Service Pack installed?

Look into the 'panel' directory of each aircraft of the Airbus Series. You will find a gauge there that has the .gau extension (in FS2004) or the .dll extension (in FSX).
Right-click this file and watch the file properties. In the 'Version' tab, check the version number. It should be 3.3.0.99 as shown on the image below:

Many errors occur during the installation process, what can I do?

Before contacting the support, please make sure the gauge files are not in read-only mode. As the gauges need to be patched, they must not be in this mode.
To check the read-only mode, look into the 'panel' directory of each aircraft of the Airbus Series. You will find a gauge there that has the .gau extension (in FS2004) or the .dll extension (in FSX).
Right-click this file and watch the file properties. Make sure the 'Read-only' box is unchecked, as shown on the image.

After this is done, you can re-run the installer to try again. There is no risk in running the installer as much as needed.
If it still doesn't work, contact the support.

I see many DOS windows appear and disappear during the installation process. Is there anything wrong?

Nothing is wrong, this is absolutely normal. It is just because the installer invokes a program that pops a DOS window when it runs, and the window closes when this program is finished.
You don't have to worry about this.

Additional Upgrade

This upgrade does not only contains the ECAM CP upgrade, it also contains many upgrades that improve the global quality of the Airbus aircrafts.
It is described in the table below:

SID/STAR Management
Exhaustive management of the leg types	Almost all the leg types are now handled, making the SID/STAR much more realistic without having to enter them manually. The new leg types now covered are: Fix to Altitude, Course to Altitude, Heading to an Altitude, Course to a fix, Course to a DME distance, Course from a fix to a DME distance, Heading to next leg.
	BEFORE (existing A320 PIC)	AFTER (ECAM CP upgrade)
	Example: Toulouse, France (LFBO)	Runway 14R, SID LACO5A (AIRAC 0813)
	Example: Brest, France (LFRB)	Runway 25L, SID DIN4X (AIRAC 0813)
Improved filtering of the SID/STAR according to the selected runway	When a departure or arrival runway is selected, only the SID/STAR procedures that apply for the selected runway are displayed. Hiding the useless procedures reduces the list of the displayed SID/STAR, making the selection easier.
Implicit selection of the transition, when possible	When the transitions have the name of the runway (which is often the case in the Navigraph database for FeelThere aircrafts), the transition that corresponds to the selected runway is automatically selected.

	No transition is selected and the SID is correctly selected (appears on the ND)
Better management of the transition names	The transition names are managed in a better way so that double-displayed names do not appear any more.
MCDU / FMGC
Improved DIRECT TO operation	When a DIR operation is engaged, it appears in the temporary flight plan and must be validated. The aircraft trajectory is now properly drawn on the ND insrtead of a straight line.
	BEFORE (existing A320 PIC)	AFTER (ECAM CP upgrade)

Flight Plan EXPORT	A new MCDU command has been added to export the flight plan in the FS2004/FSX format, for the FS flight planner and GPS. This is useful if you want to use FS ATC (or FeelThere Map!)
FMGC Data Persistence	The AIRAC Cycle is always persisted, even when the flight plan is empty. This avoids the display of an error window upon startup because of an AIRAC cycle mismatch between the persistence and the database.
Flight Plan Edition	When a new waypoint is inserted on the F-PLN page (immediate waypoint insertion) at the place of a discontinuity, the discontinuity is shifted down and no discontinuity is added.
	There is a flight plan discontinuity between TOP and CAS	The VOG waypoint is added at line 3, the discontunuity is shifted down, now between VOG and CAS
Flight Plan Display	As the aircraft flies toward the next waypoint, the displayed distance to the next waypoint is updated in real time.
Holding Patterns	The management of holding patterns has been improved. The aircraft now flies the pattern trajectory almost perfectly, as shown on the pictures below (made with the FS2004 track recorder).
Holding pattern without wind, some turns have been made...	...without wind, more turns. The trajectory is still good.	With variable winds, the trajectory is not perfect, but still good.
Approach	The managed speed now depends on the flap handle position instead of depending on the flaps position, like in the real aircraft. This makes the approach the approach smoother with less variation of engine power.
Navigation Display	The number of symbols displayed on the Navigation Display is now limited so that it is always readable (especially when visualizing intersections).
	Before...	...After.
Pseudo-Waypoint Calculation	The pseudo-waypoints (Top of Climb, Top of Descent, Deceleration Point, ...) are now properly re-calcualted when the flight plan is changed. This is much better, especially when the arrival runway and STAR has to be changed.
SYSTEMS
Electricity - Lights and EFIS	All the lights (landing, taxi, beacon, strobes) are now properly managed and can be switched on only if the appropriate electric source is available. Same for the 6 EFIS screens (PFD, ND, E/WD and SD), available only if electric power is available.
Fly-by-Wire (auto-coordination)	The FBW system provides auto-coordination, but the rudder pedals are now active, even if auto-coordination is active. This allows you to "kick" the aircraft, very important with crosswind, like in the real aircraft. [FS2004 only]
Computed Speeds	The FACs (Flight Augmentation Computers) are in charge of computing the Green Dot, F and S speeds. Consequently, these speeds are not displayed on the PFD speed tape if both FACs are off.
Fuel Tank Management	Center tank fuel feeding is active only when the slats/flaps are not extended. During take off and landing, each engine must be fed by its own tank. In case of a problem in the fuel, both engines would not stop at the same time.
FADEC	Users of multi-throttle devices could control each thrust lever independantly, but the 2D pedestal display was wrong: both levers were moving when left lever was moved, and no lever was moving when the right lever was used. This is now fixed.
Radio	The radio master switch is now efficient and the radio stops when the switch is off.
Hydraulics - Yellow Electric Pump	The yellow electric pump now has its own sound, which is familiar to all the A320 passengers.
Landing Lights	A specific sound is heard when the landing lights are deployed.
OTHERS
Cold & Dark	A key can be defined to engage a cold & dark situation (Shift-Ctrl-D by default). This is especially useful for the FSX users because the aircraft configuration menu is not available in FSX.
TCAS with IvAp/SB3	The TCAS mode is now compliant with the IVAO/SquawkBox TCAS specifications, very useful for network flights. The AUTO mode is now implemented so that the TCAS is automatically set to C-mode when the aircraft leaves the ground, and set back to standby when the wheels touch the ground upon landing.
32-bits Rendering	The EFIS screens (PFD, ND, E/WD and SD) are now rendered in 32-bits instead of the standard 8-bits mode used by FS. Rendering is improved without any impact on the refresh rate. See the zoomed parts of the images below:
	PFD in 8-bits	PFD in 32-bits
Front-Right view	Since the latest Service Pack was released, the EFIS screens were not updated when looking in the front-right direction. This is now fixed (FS2004 only)