Extract the zip file into a temporary folder and read the Readme.txt -- especially if you want to use BZB-Quickstarter with both simulators, FSX and P3D. Then start the program "Install_BZB-Qickstart" as administrator and follow the instructions. If you have installed the flight simulator in the system program folder (programs, programs (x86)), you must also always call up the BZB-Qickstarter and the Qickstarter-Configurator in administrator mode.
Needless to say, a backup of the Flight Simulator should be made before installation.
In order to use the BZB-Quickstarter, it is not necessary to read the complete manual. It serves more as a reference if questions arise, and for those who, like me, want to know everything.
Since version 1.5 the BZB-Quickstarter also works with Prepar3Dv4. Therefore, the following applies in this manual: Whenever the term simulator or FSX or FSX.cfg is used, both simulators are meant. Unless there is an explicit distinction.
Basically
The BZB-Qickstarter doesn't just start the simulator, but more precisely: flights. During installation, a file named "Standard-[airplane].flt" is created for each selected aircraft. These files contain default values for a flight file - such as Position, engine status etc. After successfully installing the BZB-Qickstarter package, you can start these flights once, set cockpit positions and position on the airfield as desired and save them again.
On this occasion, you can also customize the key assignments for each of the aircraft, provided you have selected the multi-standard option. With this option, a key assignment file (standard-[airplane].xml) was also created for each of the aircraft.
If you want to use the airline mission, it is essential that the aircraft is parked at the start of a mission or partial mission, i.e. the master battery switch must be set to Off, the parking brake set, the engines off and the doors must be closed.
Before each start of the simulator, BZB-Qickstarter writes a number of variables in the FSX.cfg. Programs/tools requested by the user are also started. You can change them using the "BZB-Qickstart Configuration" (see below).
The "BZB-Qickstart Configurator" program is primarily used to create the data files (airplanes, airport and runway data, waypoints, etc.). The complete data for a naked simulator is included, without any add-on. However, there are even differences between the flight simulator versions, so that, for example, the simulator could assign a different start runway than the BZB-Qickstarter calculated based on different data. It is therefore recommended to run modules 1 to 4 of the configurator once. More about the individual steps under the heading "BZB-Qickstart Configuration".
During installation, your previous PC performance-demanding graphics settings were transferred from the flight simulator's configuration file FSX.cfg to the BZB-Qickstarter in one of the "Scenery Sets". You can now start the simulator, change the appropriate settings for the sets that can be selected in the BZB-Qickstarter and then apply them to the sets with the Qickstarter-Configurator. You can also - which is faster - open the resource file BZB-Qickstarter.rsc in AppData\..\KneeboardTools\BZB-Qickstarter with an editor and edit the values yourself. As a third option, you can also simply work with the preset values.
Incidentally, you will find the FSX.cfg and other configuration files as they were before the Qickstarter installation in the backup that the BZB-Qickstarter does daily, in the daily folder with the addition "do-not-restore".
The Airplanes menu initially only has a few default aircraft. With the help of the Qickstart-Configurator, you can replace them with others or expand the menu to up to 10 aircraft. Suitable repaints are included for a number of aircraft, but have not yet been set up. If you want to use it, start the Qickstart-Configurator and click "Choose aircraft for using with Qickstarter". If you then add another aircraft and choose the 4th integration option "With BZB extensions and repaints", the existing repaints will be used.
The BZB-Qickstarter also contains data and sources from some freeware aircraft that can be easily integrated (refer to "Data-Files/Aircraft.inc").
With the checkmark activated (default), the FSX starts without a start screen directly into the cockpit of the aircraft, whose flight file (*.flt) is displayed under "PreSelected".
If direct start is deactivated, the following menu settings are ignored. However, variables are written to FSX.cfg, programs started or ended. The normal keyboard control Standard.xml is also activated. This ensures that if the multi-standard option is activated, one of the keyboard controls belonging to an aircraft will not be overwritten if you want to try out any aircraft in the FSX Start menu.
Technical: Which aircraft is selected in the BZB-Qickstarter menu "Airplanes" is based on the value of "Situation=" in FSX.cfg, which the BZB-Qickstarter reads out when loading. When exiting, he writes the name of the flight file of the aircraft active under "Airplanes" back into FSX.cfg. If an aircraft is entered there that is not listed under "Airplanes", the BZB-Qickstarter activates the first aircraft in the list.
The file selection box in the flight directory opens and you can select any of the *.FLT files. Time and date as well as the weather are taken from the flight file. Now you can set the desired time, date and weather for this flight. However, it is not possible to choose another aircraft at this point.
If the selected flight file is a (saved) BZB mission, you will receive a message that you have to use "Continue Mission (BZB)" instead.
If the flight file has an ObjectFile entry for the ApInfoMission ("Just one flight", see below), Qickstarter only looks in the mission folder to see if there is a flight plan. If so, he asks if you want to use it. If you click here "No", a file selection window opens for the selection of a new flight plan. If you click Cancel, an input window opens in which you can write the ICAO codes for the start and destination airports; in the format e.g. "EDDV-EDDP". The FSX then provides briefing information on the departure and arrival airports in the kneeboard.
Start a BZB Qickstarter mission, but not one of the missions included with the FSX.
A BZB mission (also called a tour or route here) consists of a series of flights from the home airport to at least one destination airport and back to the home airport. A tour consists of at least 2, maximum 6 flights. After each landing you have to save the flight and close the FSX. The mission can then be continued immediately or on another day (Continue Mission). For the procedure see below the excursus.
During a BZB mission, useful information is displayed on the kneeboard: first the runway data of the departure airport, then the start runway with SID in text and image and finally the data of the destination airport.
Clicking on "Begin Mission" opens a sub-window with the options:
The prerequisite is that the flight begins with a "cold" aircraft (everything off, in particular battery switch to "Off", doors closed, the parking brake should be "On" respectively "Set" (prepare standard aircraft.flt accordingly).
Departure:
When prompted at the top left, set Battery to "On"; follow the airline representative's instructions, which will then be heard. Close the doors when the flight attendant calls "Boarding completed". The order of the actions is important because each action unlocks the next one. If you follow the wrong order, the following actions will not take place and the mission cannot be completed correctly.
After or during boarding, you can load the flight plan, "load" the aircraft according to the data on the "Mission" kneeboard page, communicate with the ATC and prepare nav instruments using the "Briefing" kneeboard page. After loading or creating a flight plan, the simulator asks if you want to be transferred to this airport now. You should answer that with "NO", otherwise you would be standing directly on the runway, probably with engines Off.
After the takeoff and the handoff of the tower, set the station mentioned, but do not contact yet! Only when you have successfully flown over the final waypoint (will be announced acoustically and by text at the top left), call the station. Often you will hear a nonsensical heading instruction first that you ignore. But pay attention to the required height. Pay attention both to the approved height when the flight is approved and the height of the final waypoint specified in SID (bold, height as superscript). Try to comply with both requirements (ATC is a max value, do not skim; waypoint is a min value, the waypoint height may be exceeded by 3500ft).
Arrival:
After landing, do not use the parking brake until you are in the assigned parking position (gate). You will then be greeted and when you open the door (s), deboarding begins; when this is done, close the doors and put the aircraft in parking mode (all off); the last thing to do is turn Battery off. If the mission was successful by then, the save dialog of the FSX should appear automatically. At this point, the naming of the flight file (*.flt) to be saved is important. This is how BZB-Qickstarter recognizes the parts of a mission.
All names of BZB flight files are "BZB Airline Tour - StageX-ICAO.FLT". At the end, the name contains the number of the completed flight (X) during a mission, as well as the ICAO code of the destination airport of this flight, for example "BZB Airline Tour - Stage1-EHAM.FLT". Select the flight file with the name of the ICAO code of the airport where you just landed. This file is a dummy that the BZB-Qickstarter created at the start of the flight. So of course answer the question whether you want to overwrite the existing file with yes.
Once this is done, you can still have a good look at the airport. No matter what you do now, you may not save under the same name again. The tour/mission can only be continued to the next station by starting the BZB-Qickstarter; the FSX must first be ended.
Actions essential for the progress of the mission are summarized here:
Sequence Departure: Battery on, Door open, Door close; Meet end waypoint.
Arrival order: landing, parking brake, door open, door close, battery off.
* --- end of excursus --- *
A selection box appears that offers available BZB flights. Usually you choose the last one in the order. However, you can choose any other flight of this tour as often as you want. However, if you "crashed" a mission and the last flight was not completed, you should not try to select the dummy flight file (see above).
If you want to repeat a saved flight, you should know that the dummy flight file overwrites the saved FLT file. If you want to keep them, you should archive this mission first. The Qickstart-Configurator contains a function for this (see there). In general, it is advisable to clean up the flight folder after a tour (Flight Simulator X Files in MyDocuments) and delete the stages of the completed tour/mission or move them to the archive.
To continue a saved stage, it is necessary that the associated mission file (.XML) is located in the added folder "Missions\MyMissions\BZB Airline" in the FSX program directory. Otherwise the Qickstarter shows an error message. The Configurator's archive function backs up this XML file and restores it again if you want to repeat an archived tour.
The data displayed in the Kneeboard are always in the form of HTM files within the FSX installation in the "Missions\Mymissions\BZB Airline" folder; even if the saved stages are stored in "Flight Simulator X Files".
When continuing a mission, the weather setting is taken from the flight file and can still be changed. Time and date are fetched from the associated XML (or SPB) file of the same name and can also be changed, but the departure time and date remain the same.
Select an aircraft for the session. 10 entries are possible. A "Standard-[aircraft].FLT" must exist for each active aircraft ("[aircraft]" is the name of the aircraft as it is pre-assigned in the BZB-Qickstarter data, e.g. "Standard-Mooney Bravo.FLT"). Entries marked with brackets with "[]" or "()" are inactive.
If you choose one of the active aircraft, Qickstarter tries to load the associated flight file called "Standard-[aircraft].FLT". If this does not exist, Qickstarter stops.
When the program starts, Qickstarter first loads the standard flight, which is entered in FSX.cfg under "Situation=", and takes over the time/date and weather variables stored in it. If this flight contains an aircraft that is not activated for BZB-Qickstarter, a message appears and Qickstarter aircraft 1 is selected.
For the FSX, 5 aircraft are set up during the installation of the BZB-Quickstarter, all of them twin-engine. This variety is unfortunately not available in Prepar3D. Theoretically, 6 planes are set up, 4 of which are free and payware products. If you do not have these aircraft, BZB-Quickstarter for P3D may only start with 2 aircraft set up in the Airplanes menu.
Airplanes can be added to or deleted from the Qickstart menu using the Qickstarter-Configurator.
If no box is activated, IFR mode applies. Otherwise the selected set. Several combinations are also possible:
VFR over water, airport sightseeing in VFR mode; a set for very problematic sceneries or planes can be reached by activating any 4 boxes; a set for testing, where everything is set to the lowest level by checking all. A detailed listing can be found under "Resource file 'BZB-Qickstarter.Rsc'".
With the setting "Flight at Night" not only the parameters in FSX.cfg are set, but also the existing Night Environment installations in the Scenery.cfg are activated or deactivated according to the check mark. In the case of the Prepar3Dv4, the add-on SH SlimLights from Simmershome is activated if available.
Different sets are hidden behind the sets, which are stored in the resource file BZB-Qickstarter.rsc. The file is created during installation. These are performance-relevant parameters that are written to FSX.cfg when you click the "Start" button of the BZB-Qickstarter. With these sets, different configurations for different applications and scenarios can be created and easily selected.
1. Static Themes are the static weather themes that can be set in the FSX in the menu under World/Weather. Here they can be selected for direct start without having to use the FSX menu. If activated, you can click through the available themes in the button on the right. If the 6 themes from Orbx are found, they can also be used. It is not known whether these add-on themes can be different. This would have an impact on the calculation of the start runway for BZB mission flights; it is better not to use the Orbx themes for BZB missions - or to check whose wind directions and strengths and, if necessary, change in the RSC file (see below).
2. and 3. The second and third options are manually set weather conditions; the weather files "Standard-Wetter_OstY.WX" and "... WstY.WX" exist for them. They mainly offer the two wind directions east and west, after which Qickstarter then selects the runway for the start.
In addition, these two are available for different seasons (Y).
4. Real weather only works if an appropriate tool is started before the FSX start, the simulator's own modes for real weather are not supported. Here for testing the freeware "FSrealWX Lite" was used (see http://www.fsrealwx.net under Downloads/Archives and under Tips & Tricks & FAQ). The BZB-Qickstarter starts the program if the corresponding program4 variable is set to 1 in the resource file. The option can be switched on and off with the configurator under "Set BZB-Qickstarter options". In the same way, you enter a (different) real weather program in the resource, if this was not already done during installation.
The BZB-Qickstarter gets the current wind direction from the Internet at the Aviation Weather Center (www.aviationweather.gov), the same source that FSrealWX also uses. The wind direction is necessary for the calculation of the departure runway, which the FSX will assign later.
First, the date is taken from the flight file just loaded. The time and date are also adopted for every setting in which a new flight file has to be loaded (under Begin/Continue Mission and Airplanes). Only at the end it makes sense - if desired - to change the time and/or date. In the time and date setting boxes, the digits can be edited directly or increased/decreased using the arrow keys. To take over the current date and time, it is sufficient to activate the box.
This modular program is used to adapt the BZB-Qickstarter to the PC and simulator situation of each user. The Qickstarter requires various data pools from the flight simulator: airports, runways, waypoints. However, each PC is equipped in terms of performance and each FSX with addons differently, so that it is not possible to deliver everything ready and complete.
4 different resource files for PCs of different performance classes were supplied as well as a complete data set for a naked FSX, without add-ons. That's enough to try it out. However, if you want to use the full range of functions, you have to adapt the data record to your own installation using the Configurator. This consists of a series of modules that can be called from a dialog window. In detail:
Here you can manage the aircraft that are listed in the Qickstarter window under "Airplanes". The same applies here as for the Qickstarter and Configurator: If you have lost your way in the options, simply close the window at the top right and start again. Nothing is saved before you press the "Start" or "Ready" button.
In addition to the "Delete" button, there is also the "Change Home" button, which can be used to change the home airport for the activated aircraft. If you click on the "Ready" button, the list of static routes for this aircraft will be adapted to the new home airport. This may take a moment.
You can also delete one plane, insert another, expand the list up to a maximum of 10 planes. When inserting a new aircraft in the menue, remember to start the flight (standard-xyz.flt), prepare the cockpit as desired and save it again.
After inserting a new aircraft, you have to decide in which form the aircraft should be integrated into the data pool:
If you do not plan to use the BZB airline simulation, select "... as is", after which only the name will be added to the list. Otherwise you have to select the "With BZB extensions...", which includes all 4 options. If you have made a choice, this also applies to any other aircraft that you want to integrate in this session. This does not apply to aircraft that are not included in the BZB-Quickstarter pool (see Aircraft.inc). The integration option is reduced for these. Airplanes in the pool can be recognized by the bold print of the entries in the right window. When choosing a variant (special livery), those in bold are to be preferred. It is not advisable to integrate more than one variant of an airplane (out of one "Airplanes" folder) into the BZB Quickstarter menu.
The "Get extended aircraft.cfg`s" adds some entries regarding the BZB Airline in the configuration file aircraft.cfg of the aircraft. And "With detailed payload stations" replaces the often rudimentary payload stations (station_load.x) in aircraft.cfg with more detailed ones. The aircraft is "loaded" with the help of these stations.
The last option finally activates provided BZB airline liveries (see Program Files (x86)\KneeboardTools\BZB-Qickstarter\Data\Repaints). If none is supplied for an aircraft, the program uses the basic textures (those in the "Texture" folder without extension). With some add-on airplanes, this base folder does not contain a complete livery, so the aircraft e.g. stays black. In this case, open the file aircraft.cfg in the folder of this aircraft with an editor (FSX\SimObjects\Airplanes\aircraftfoldername) and enter one of the other texture extensions in the line "texture =" in the fltsim block of the BZB variant.
If you add an aircraft that is in the list of the BZB-Qickstarter (currently 37), the input dialog specifies a suitable name that should not be changed.
When taking an unlisted aircraft, you have to observe the naming rules (in the left window). Take care of very similar names, (such as Transall C-160 vs. Transall C-160F), note that the shorter name is in front of the longer name in the menu. It would be even better to use names such as Beech B1900 and Beech 1900C instead of Beech 1900 and Beech 1900C.
Some data must also be added for an unknown aircraft. Some are queried directly from the "Choose aircraft ..." module, some do the module try to read from the aircraft.cfg. The rest is needed if you want to use the BZB-Airline function and also want to manage the cargo there, as with the listed aircraft. The files Routes.inc and Airplanes.csv must then be edited, possibly also AircraftStations.rsc.
In this process, 10 static routes are generated automatically. A random algorithm is selected from these whenever you check "Use one of stored routes" in "Build a new mission". If these routes do not please you, you can improve them in the files Routes.inc and Airplanes.csv or add more.
The options are
Multi-standard.xml
Activate "Multi-standard.xml" if you want to have a separate key assignment file (standard-[airplane].xml) for each of the aircraft listed in the BZB-Qickstarter menu under "Airplanes". If you change a key assignment in the future, consider whether the correct file is also active. If you change planes in the flight simulator or launch without the BZB-Qickstarter, this may not be the case.
Program 1 to 5
When you click on the buttons assigned to the program options, a file selection box appears in which you select the program that must exist and must be an .EXE.
Program position 4 is reserved for a real weather tool, position 5 for a flightplanner. The spaces should not be used for other purposes.
The following are some variables from the FSX.cfg, which are independent of the scenery sets. They already have the most suitable values, but you can change them here if necessary.
The last block consists of variables from the sets that cannot be accessed via the FSX settings dialogs. Before you edit them, you must first select the set in which the new values are saved. When selected, the current values of this set are read out and displayed. Default at the begin is the set "[IFR_Land]".
You have already saved the variables of the current FSX.cfg during installation. If you want to prepare further sets, proceed as follows: Think about a scenario and a suitable set of the menu.
Start the simulator; set everything in whose settings menu as it is best for this scenario. Then exit the simulator; not only the flight, the simulator must be completely finished, only then does it save the parameters in the FSX.cfg. Then start the Qickstart-Configurator, click on "Get/Set performance-related variables" and choose the appropriate set. In this way you can equip all sets.
The assignment between the menu entries of the BZB-Qickstarter under "Scenery Sets" to the config program is as follows:
| Normal IFR flight (mostly above land): | no box activated |
| Normal VFR flight: | "VFR Flight" activated |
| IFR flight, mostly above water: | "Flight across water" |
| IFR flight, with airport sightseeing: | "Airport sightseeing" |
| Flight at Night: | "Flight at Night" |
| DirectX 10: | "DirectX 10" |
| Now the combinations: | |
| VFR flight, with airport sightseeing: | "VFR Flight" + "Airport sightseeing" |
| VFR flight, mostly across water: | "VFR Flight" + "Flight across water" |
| Very complex scenery or aircraft: | any 4 boxes activated |
However, some parameters cannot be accessed via the FSX settings dialogs. You can change this with the Configstarter module "Set BZB-Qickstarter options" -- what is recommended for P3D -- or you load the resource file "BZB-Qickstarter.rsc" into an editor and change the values manually. The file can be found in the %AppData% directory (C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\KneeboardTools\BZB-Qickstarter).
The default values for TREES and BUILDINGS per cell can be used as an upper limit and reduced accordingly in other sets. In any case, this saves quite a few fps. The BZB-Qickstarter generally sets the SmallPartRejectRadius to 4, which means that only objects from 4 pixels in size are displayed. One and two pixel small objects make little sense and only cost unnecessarily fps.
The variable LOD_RADIUS is present in fsx.cfg, but setting it to maximum in the FSX dialog corresponds to the default value 4.5. However, if you have a powerful computer, you can significantly increase the display quality by increasing it to 6 or even 8. But be careful: The crash due to insufficient memory (00M error) is not far then.
If you have installed one or more airport addons, some data (frequencies, closed runways, coordinates etc.) may not match the data pool integrated in the BZB-Qickstarter. If you want to rely on the data in the kneeboard during the approach, you must perform this function once; and also every time you install or uninstall a new addon. This also applies to the following three modules, which are best carried out one after the other.
The "crosswind technique" is used by some addon designers to make the runway allocation of the simulator more realistic. They simply insert dummy runways to influence the runway calculation of the simulator. These dummies are closed for landing and takeoff. You only notice them when you switch on the ATIS at such an airport. This module removes these dummies from the runway table.
These two modules must always be executed both in succession as soon as you have installed any sceneries that could contain waypoint data. The first module reads all waypoints from the simulator and creates a CSV database.
The second module then inserts the waypoints in the SIDs.xml file with the SID data. Each SID contains a final waypoint that must be met on departure for the mission to continue. This waypoint is marked in bold and is not always the last of the SID, e.g. if the last is too far away. The marked waypoint contains the flight level (superscript FL) which must have been reached; the height can be exceeded by 3500 ft.
The SIDs were compiled from publicly available charts. It therefore happens that waypoints are not available in the simulator. During the BZB-Qickstarter installation, the Waypoints_NewAdd.bgl file was copied into the "Addon Scenery\scenery" directory of the FSX. This adds all waypoints called in SIDs.xml and not included in the simulator.
If you insert your own waypoints in the SIDs.xml file, these could also be ones that the FSX does not know. In this case, the module tries to get the data from the Internet. Depending on the internet connection, there may be slight delays.
The waypoints found there are prepared in an xml file, then compiled with the BGLComp.exe of the FSX SDK and copied into the directory "Addon Scenery\scenery" of the FSX. The previous file Waypoints_NewAdd.bgl located there will be overwritten.
You had to select a backup directory during installation. Important config files of the simulator are backed up here, but only once a day. With this module you can restore these files in case of problems. To do this, the module first asks for the file and then for the date on which it was saved. The corresponding target file is renamed to a BAK file before being overwritten with the previous one. If the restoration did not solve the problem or made it worse, call "Restore backed up FSX files" again and click the button "UNDO".
Under certain circumstances - e.g. the FSX.cfg is damaged or contains an incorrect value - the simulator creates a default configuration in which everything that you yourself or what BZB-Qickstarter has edited is missing. The BZB-Qickstarter would the inserted variables are missing and it would abort with an error message. A still functioning FSX.cfg can then be restored using the Qickstarter-Configurator.
If you are flying a BZB airline tour, the flight files at each station (stage) are stored in the directory "%MyDocuments%\Flight Simulator X Files" (bzw. "Prepar3D v4 Files") because the FSX does not allow folder selection. Over time, there would be chaos in the folder, so you should clean up here after each mission completion.
Experience has shown that it makes sense to archive the flights so that they can be repeated again later. This program module is used to archive a tour including all associated data.
It is also used to restore this data to the correct folder (restore) so that the mission or individual flights can be repeated. The flight files belong to "Flight Simulator X Files", the mission file (xml) belongs to the folder "Missions\MyMissions\BZB Airline". The program creates the archive folder "Archive" in "%MyDocuments%\Flight Simulator X Files".
The options:
The module creates a CSV data sheet that can be opened with Excel or OpenOffice. It can be used to estimate the distances when creating new tours.
In a later version, this module will form the basis for the calculation of dynamically generated tours.
These two modules should be used with caution, they were practically only tested with freeware packages from Premier Aircraft Design (PAD - www.premaircraft.com). "Remove freeware ..." can of course only be used if a freeware was previously integrated with "Install freeware ...".
Install freeware only works correctly with freeware in zip files, which should normally only be extracted into the FSX folder. This module also records which data is still being copied into the FSX (effects, gauges, sound etc.). When removing, it is important to ensure that resources that are still used by other packages are not removed.
Example: Most PAD packages include files for \effects\ and for \sound\ (ground handling). If three freeware packages install the same files there, removing a package would remove the resources that the remaining freeware planes still want to access.
Suppose you have e.g. performed a new joystick with more keys, and configured a changed key assignment that was written in the Standard.xml. However, if you use the Multi-Standard.xml option, there are several "Standard-[aircraft].xml", all of which would have to be changed. This module should help with this.
It is not intended for editing, but can delete structures or transfer them from one .xml file to all others. First you have to select the structure type that is to be deleted or transferred.
To select a structure, click on the first line, i.e. the type name, then on the function, what should happen to the structure. If you clicked on the wrong structure, there is an error message and you have to press "Reset struct" once to continue.
The "Delete ..." function is self-explanatory. It only applies to the .xml file that is currently loaded. The following two functions expect the changed .xml to be loaded and a structure to be selected. All existing Standard-[aircraft].xml are loaded on it and you have to mark the position where the marked structure should be placed. When adding a structure (Add selected ...), mark the structure BEFORE you want to copy it.
The tool remembers this marking so that you no longer have to scroll through the following files yourself.
This function is only available if you have installed BZB-Quickstarter for both simulators. The program directory of the BZB-Quickstarter exists only once. The function exchanges resources, so that the Qickstarter operates sometimes this simulator or the other.
In the data directory of the BZB-Qickstarter there are some files, the data of which can almost all be edited. They can be found in the folder AppData\..\KneeboardTools\BZB-Qickstarter; "%AppData%" stands for a path that is usually C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\, where you have to use your own user name for "username".
Editing does not make sense for some, as they are generated dynamically by the program if necessary and any manually added changes disappear.
The following can be expanded manually
The files with the extension ".inc" are integrated into the program code at runtime. Therefore, it is extremely important to keep the correct syntax when editing.
This central configuration file is created during installation. It contains various variables that were already set during the installation. The following modules, which can be called up by the Qickstart-Configurator, are used for later adjustments and additions:
You can also load the RSC file into an editor and edit the parameters. Compliance with the line and variable formats is important for the correct reading of the variables. In a line there are comments after "//" or ";" allowed. More information in the file itself.
There are 5 program entries. The first two, program1 and program2, are used to end a program/process. Use this option only if you know what you are doing; and it may only be necessary if your computer is working at the limit of its performance with the FSX.
The following variable (program3) can be used to start a program. If you want to start a program that should be ended when the FSX is closed, the FSX control file exe.xml in AppData\..\Microsoft\FSX is more suitable.
The variable program4 is reserved for a RealWeather tool, program5 for a flight plan tool.
For the option that each airplane has its own keyboard and joystick assignment (Standard-[airplane].xml), the variable "mltStandardxml" must be set to 1.
The installation program copies the Standard.xml to all the "Standard-[aircraft].xml" for each BZB-Qickstarter aircraft. If you already have different Standard.xml`s with different assignments, you have to rename or replace them according to the pattern above.
If you choose this option, always remember whether the correct Standard-[aircraft].xml is active when you change a key assignment. If the BZB-Qickstart option "Directstart" is deactivated, the normal Standard.xml is activated.
Here is the list of files including the source path that the Qickstarter backs up every day, as well as the backup folder. If you no longer like the information you provided during the installation, you can change everything here. You can also expand the list. It is important that the variable backupzl always contains the correct number.
Depending on how much data you want to have backed up and whether this happens every day, the backup folder can become relatively large. You should therefore check this from time to time and, if necessary, delete old entries in order to free up space.
You do not have to edit these entries manually, the "Choose aircraft for using with Qickstarter" module in the Qickstarter-Configurator is used for this. However, you will find important information on naming here.
The aircraft name entered must appear in one of the titles of the associated aircraft.cfg (to be found in FSX\SimObjects\Airplanes\[airplane] folder under "[fltsim.x]"). It does not have to be identical, but it has to be part of the title exactly in spelling; and it must be unique in terms of the type of aircraft. In addition, the name may only have one or two components. So if the entry in the aircraft.cfg is: "Beech King Air 350" then both "Beech King" and "King Air" would be permitted for the BZB-Qickstarter menu. But not "Beech 350" or "Beech Air"; "Beech" doesn't work just as little because there is also the Beech Baron, that would be ambiguous.
The BZB-Qickstarter needs the wind direction and partly the strength to calculate the start runway. With the real weather setting, it fetches the data
from the Aviation Weather Center (www.aviationweather.gov) where also the recommended tool FSrealWX Lite gets the data.
Other weather tools have not been tested. If you use one and you want the airport information on the kneeboard, you have to make sure that the BZB-Qickstarter can always have the current wind direction.
With the two options "East Wind" and "Southwest Wind" in the BZB-Qickstarter menu, wind direction and strength are defined. The same goes for the themes, which is why they are listed here for use by the Qickstarter. If you want to add themes, you can expand the data accordingly.
The themes are:
The variables can be comfortably equipped for the individual sets with the Qickstarter-Configurator modul "Get/Set performance-related variables" (see above under "BZB-Qickstart Configuration".
Below is an assignment between the marked boxes in the Qickstarter menu and the associated set:
| activated | - variable set |
| none selected | - IFR_Land |
| VFR Flight | - VFR_Land |
| Flight across water | - IFR_Wasser |
| Airport sightseeing | - Airport_Quali_IFR |
| VFR + Airport sights. | - Airport_Quali_VFR |
| VFR + across water | - VFR_Wasser |
| Flight at Night | - NightEnvironment |
| DirectX 10 | - DX10 (not tested) |
| 4 boxes (no matter which) | - Special_Hard_Scenes |
| All 5 | - TestSession (lowest display quality) |
If Flight at Night is selected, not only are the variables set accordingly in FSX.cfg, but any existing night environment installations are also set actively in Scenery.cfg.
If you click 4 ticks, the set "Special_Hard_Scenes" is selected. This is for special, demanding scenes that cause particularly bad frame rates (such as Schipol of the NL2000 project).
If you click all 5 check marks, the TestSession set is selected. There, all variables are set to the smallest possible values in the hope that the loading time will be reduced. In addition, crash detection etc. is switched off.
The assignment of the performance-relevant variables of FSX.cfg (with maximum values) to the sliders in the settings dialogs of the FSX:
| Variable | Max-Wert | Name in FSX (English version) |
| | | |
| AUTOGEN_DENSITY= | 5 | Autogen density |
| IMAGE_COMPLEXITY= | 5 | Scenery density |
| EFFECTS_QUALITY= | 2 (0, 1, 2) | Special effects detail |
| WATER_EFFECTS= | 7 (None = 0, Max 2.x = 7) (Low 1x - High 1x (= 3) - Low 2x - Max 2x) | Water effects |
| DETAILED_CLOUDS= | if 0, | Simple clouds enabled |
| CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY= | then =5 (Low = 1 to Max = 5) | |
| DETAILED_CLOUDS= | if 1, | Detailed clouds enabled |
| CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY= | then =8 (Low = 5 to Max = 8) | |
| CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE= | 3 to 8 | 60mi/96km to 110mi/176km |
| AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY= | 5 | Airport Vehicle Density |
| LOD_RADIUS= | default 4.5 (up to 8 possible) | Level of detail radius |
The LOD_RADIUS variable is set to maximum in the FSX dialog and corresponds to the default value 4.5. However, if you have a powerful computer, you can significantly increase the display quality by increasing it to 6 or even 8. But be careful: The crash due to insufficient memory (OOM error) is not far then.
Some variables are not accessible via the Settings dialog, they can only be edited with the modul "Set Qickstarter Options" or edited direct here. The BZB-Qickstart installer checks whether the variables used here are present in the FSX.cfg; if not, they will be added to FSX.cfg during installation.
For an FSX + Acceleration or FSX: SE, this applies to the variables:
TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL (default = 4500)
TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL (default = 3000)
SmallPartRejectRadius= 4 (default= 1; see below)
LOD_RADIUS=4.500000
The default values for TREES and BUILDINGS per cell can be used as an upper limit and reduced accordingly in other sets. In any case, this saves quite a few fps.
Some variables have been added in Prepar3D v4, others have changed names and/or the range of values has changed. E.g. instead of TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL with a range of values in thousands, there is now in P3D the variable AUTOGEN_VEGETATION_DENSITY with a range of values in ones. For P3D I recommend using the Configstarter module "Set BZB-Qickstarter options" instead of manual editing (see above).
Other variables are independent of the scenery sets, so they are only once above the sets in the .RSC file and can be changed with the program modul "Set BZB-Qickstarter Options".
DynamicWeather = 1
It is more interesting when the weather changes. DynamicWeather is only set to 0 when RealWeather is selected in the BZB-Qickstarter. Otherwise, the wind could change so that the FSX chooses a different departure runway than the Qickstarter calculated in advance.
StressDamage = True
CrashDetection = True
Should be true for the airline simulation, otherwise the FSX's mission system may not work correctly.
CrashWithDyn = False
The crash with airport vehicles should not be armed, as the vehicles sometimes do stupid things; and it would be a shame if you had to repeat a 2-hour flight.
General = 1.000000
TEXTURE_QUALITY = 3
Should always be 3.
SmallPartRejectRadius = 4
The Qickstarter generally sets the SmallPartRejectRadius to 4, which means that only objects from 4 pixels in size are displayed. One and two pixel small objects make little sense and only cost unnecessarily fps.
For each aircraft selected for use with the BZB-Qickstarter (max. 10), technical data and a list of routes suitable for the home airport are listed here, from which a subroutine selects one at random, if "Use one of stored routes" is selected. Every route starts in HOME and also ends there. The home airport can be entered here separately for each aircraft. However, the prepared routes (see below) must always match the HOME.
The file is generated again when using the configurator module "Choose aircraft for using with Qickstarter". Manual changes are then lost. However, the file is always backed up. New or changed routes should be edited in the file "Airplanes.rsc" (see below).
The format is described in the file header and must be adhered to, because the file, like Airport.inc, is integrated into the program code (include). Nevertheless, they can be opened and changed with any editor. The routes are designed and assigned to the various aircraft so that a flight, including preparation for takeoff and taxiing, takes around two hours. If you want to fly more routes, you have to create your own routes. Some route examples optionally contain a "Direction: xxxx". This specification overrides all other directions (see below, SIDs). You can change or remove the direction - pay attention to the format. "Direction: West", East, North or South are possible.
Notation: [Direction:] Route: HOME-ICAO1- [ICAO2 ... 5] -HOME
Example:
route1 = Direction: South Route: home-EDDL-EDDS-EDDP-EDDB-home
This is a central file for the airline simulation. It contains SID procedures (Standard Instrument Departure) in text form in an XML-like notation. The data was compiled from public sources and prepared for display on the kneeboard. If available, the SID entries also contain a link to a graphic. These graphics are in the Mission folder in the FSX program directory. Some are difficult to read due to the reduction. They are only intended to illustrate the text form of the SIDs.
To select a SID for a flight to a destination airport, the program calculates the direction north, west, south or east based on the coordinates of the start and destination airports. However, you can force a desired direction in two ways: by specifying it in the SID structure or by specifying a direction in the route string (see below).
The priority of the direction determination for the departure is ascending:
1. Calculation according to longitude and latitude
2. Specify with <to> ... </to> in the SID behind <Dir>xxxx
3. Specification in the "Route:" string (Routen.inc and in the comment of the temporarily stored Stages.Flt`s).
At the end of each SID there is a waypoint structure including coordinates. This waypoint (WP, VOR, NDB) must be flown through after takeoff so that the mission continues. The box to be hit currently measures around the waypoint 1000x1000 meters and 4000 feet in height, measured from 500 feet below FL.
At this time, not all SIDs for the listed airports had been implemented.
All airports with ICAO code and ICAO names that can be flown to with BZB Airline are listed here.
The list currently contains Central European airports with Germany in the center. Although the list can be expanded as required, the SIDs for these airports must then also be inserted in the SIDs.xml. There are also some small airports around the pre-set home airport in Hanover. There are usually no SIDs for these, they are intended for the smaller planes. Otherwise, the list only contains airports that have a runway of at least 5000ft.
Contains for all FSX airports in the world
After installation, it contains data from an FSX:SE without add-ons. If you have scenery add-ons installed in your FSX, you must execute the configurator's with the "1.", "2.", "3." and "4." marked modules in this order. All three .csv files can be read using a spreadsheet program (Excel, OpenOffice ...).
Contains all runways for all FSX airports in the world
The same applies here as above said for the .csv files.
Contains all waypoints occurring in the simulator world plus those that are required for BZB missions and are obtained from the Internet
Contains the list of aircraft whose data are contained in the BZB-Qickstarter - at the time 37. The first 30 entries are FSX aircraft, the following are P3D aircraft. The file also contains the folder names under which they can be found in the simulator (SimObjects\Airplanes). This file is "included" in the program code, which is why the correct notation must be guaranteed.
By the way, the integration of aircraft in the Qickstarter menu only works if the default folder names of default and addon aircraft in FSX\SimObjects\Airplanes have been observed. The BZB-Quickstarter finds the aircraft installed there using this folder names. If you or an app changed these folder names, you have to transfer this change to this file. It is not advisable to locate two different aircraft in a single folder. If this happens (one example is the ATR-72 series from Virtualcol FS Software), you should create a separate folder in SimObjects \ Airplanes for the second model.
The file is automatically expanded by the "Choose aircraft for using with Qickstarter" module if you include an aircraft that does not belong to the list of the 37. You can also expand the list manually, but then you must also insert the associated data in the following two resource files and in Routes.inc.
The detailed "payload stations" for each of the aircraft known to the BZB-Qickstarter are listed here. For all planes that you want to use in the Qickstarter (menu: Airplanes), the detailed payload station blocks are inserted in the associated Aircraft.cfg (in FSX\SimObjects\Airplanes). On many default and add-on aircraft, the stations (seats, luggage compartments at the front and rear) are only implemented in a rudimentary manner; often only for the pilots and one station for the entire cargo. The flight attitude then changes little or wrong, regardless of whether you fly fully loaded or empty.
Contains the technical data for all aircraft listed, such as enginetype, empty and total weight, ATC-ID etc. HOME-EDVE-EDBM-EDVC-HOME for the Mooney Bravo, but HOME-EHAM-EGLC-EGJJ-LFPG-EHBK-HOME for the ATR 72-500. The Routen.inc file is compiled from this data.
If you want to add a BZB-Qickstarter unknown aircraft, you have to add some missing parameters here. Initially also in Routes.inc, but this file will be new created the next time you add or remove aircraft.
The WX files in the flight directory belong to a FLT file of the same name, but are technically independent of them. It is therefore possible to maintain a number of weather conditions and, depending on the weather option selected, in combination with the set season, to assign the appropriate weather file to the flight file to be called up. A number of "standard weather" files are used for this at the BZB-Qickstarter. They can be found in the "Flight Simulator X Files\Weatherfiles" subfolder.
The East and Southwest variants are best suited for BZB missions, they clearly specify the two wind directions east or west, according to which Qickstarter calculates the runway for the start, which the FSX later calculates. There are 4 seasonal versions for each of the two, which are selected depending on the simulation date. They differ in other temperatures and wind speeds. Instead of the letter Y in the file name, P stands for sPring, S for Summer, A for Autumn or W for Winter. Only P, S and A are currently available:
With the setting "Real Weather" a WX file makes no sense, because you would have to keep many variants. It can therefore take a moment for the FSX to collect the data sent by the external weather tool and to display the real weather accordingly.
A WX file is also assigned to each FSX theme and is also available in the Weatherfiles folder. The "Clear Sky" theme is the default weather; if no WX file is assigned to the FLT file, the simulator switches to "Clear Sky": no wind, no clouds.
It is possible to change weather conditions for a theme file (WX) by setting the theme in FSX weather window, then changing it and saving the flight. The resulting WX file is then used to replace the corresponding one in the Weatherfiles folder.
If you do this and want to use this weather for BZB missions, you have to pay attention to the wind direction and change it in the resource file BZB-Qickstarter.RSC (see above) if necessary.
Why "BZB" Airline?
Spoken in the aviation alphabet it says "Bravo-Zulu-Bravo". I once liked the sound; and it results in a significant call sign that you can easily hear from the ATC chatter when addressed.
Error message from the BZB-Qickstarter "The airplane ... not listed ..."
This message appears if you have previously switched to an aircraft in the FSX via "Change aircraft" that is not in the "Airplanes" menu of the BZB-Qickstarter, and have then finished the FSX. The FSX writes the currently selected one into fsx.cfg, from which the Qickstarter reads it out as a preselection. This resolves itself as soon as you press the Ready button in the BZB-Qickstarter.
Initialization error message of the FSX
If this error occurs, something is wrong with the aircraft references. The FSX reads the parameter "SITUATION=" from the fsx.cfg at start, the value is the flight file (*.flt) to be loaded from the folder in MyDocuments. He then finds the desired aircraft variant under "[Sim.0]" with the value of "Sim=". This in turn must be in the file "aircraft.cfg" belonging to the aircraft, which can be found in the FSX directory under "SimObjects\Airplanes\[aircraft]". The string for "Sim=" should appear within just one of the "[fltsim.x]" blocks after "title=". The error disappears if you match this name chain.
Error message from BZB-Qickstarter "TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL= not found"
BZB-Qickstarter added these and some other variables to Fsx.cfg during installation. Either the old Fsx.cfg was restored or the simulator found the current Fsx.cfg not working properly and created a new default Fsx.cfg. In both cases these variables are missing. Solution: Restore an Fsx.cfg from a backup of the last few days using the Qickstart-Configurator.
Test runs with the BZB-Qickstarter
- Copy the desktop icon of the BZB-Qickstarter, open the shortcut via Properties and insert after the program name in the line Target a space and then "BZB-Qickstarter.ahk 1". If you then click this icon, the Qickstarter does everything but does not start the Simulator.
Log file "FSX-Qickstarter.log"
- Qickstarter writes some important variables in a log file (FSX-QickStarter.Log) each time it is started. If something is not as expected when starting the Simulator, you can check the log file to see what settings you had made.
The BZB-Qickstarter adds to the file and never deletes it; after frequent use of the program, the log file should be reduced or deleted.
The 4 magical places
- No matter whether you want to tweak the FSX or check that everything is right, the important files are in 4 different locations. If you put the shortcuts to these folders on the desktop, you can always quickly access them. These directories are:
The airport and runway data are extracted from the FSX using Pete Dowson's MakeRwys.exe. It must be version 4.693. If you also want to use MakeRunways for yourself, download the current version from the official website http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html and save it separately.
The configurator also uses spb2xml.exe to convert the SPB files of the saved BZB airline stages to XML; BglAnalyzeX.exe is used to scan all BGL files for waypoint data.
The basic mission (BZB_Airline_Tour.xml) was developed with the "FSX Mission Editor". The associated command extension SimVar.exe is used to expand the FSX mission system (variables, messages, etc.).
The readmes and license information for the freeware used can be found in the Docs folder.
Real-Weather-Tool FSrealWX Lite:
http://www.fsrealwx.net (under Downloads/Archive)
Except for the known sources avsim, flightsim etc.:
Niederlande - incl. Airports:
https://www.nl-2000.com/
EKCH - for FS9 + FSX-Patch:
http://vatsim-scandinavia.org/pilots/airports/denmark/ekch-copenhagen-kastrup/
Especially for Prepar3D (v4) (Sceneries, configuration tips...):
https://simmershome.de/
Freeware aircraft for FSX and Prepar3D (v4):
https://www.premaircraft.com/ (only FSX)
https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/p3d/
(Home: https://flyawaysimulation.com/)
https://www.rikoooo.com/downloads/category/51 (Home: https://www.rikoooo.com/)
https://simviation.com/1/browse-Props-154-0
(Home: https://simviation.com/1/front-page)
Below are the URL's of the freeware aircraft included in the BZB-Qickstarter data. There is no guarantee that the URLs will remain valid. The leading numbers correspond to the order of the aircraft in the Qickstarter files Aircraft.inc, Airplanes.rsc, AircraftStations.rsc.
Bernd Behr, July 2020, E-Mail: bb@computerkram.de