FSE SimConnect Client

Simulator Settings

Click the FILE > CONFIG and select the Simulator tab. Depending on which flight sim you are using, set the configuration as per the below images:

Navigating the Client Menus

The SimConnect client has 2 menu items:

• File

  • Config

    • • Account

        • This is where you enter your FSE Game World username and password

      • Simulator

        • This is where you will configure your client to run on the same computer as your simulator, or a second computer on the same network. (NOTE: MSFS requires a "remote computer setting", even when installed on the same computer)

      • Settings

      • You can elect to show a dialog when FSE has finished recording your completed flight (recommended)

• • • About

      • See the version number of your client software

• Action

• • • Start Flight

      • This is your most used button while using FSE.  Ensure you click this menu item before each and every takeoff.  Read the "Starting a Flight" are below for more details.

    • Cancel Flight

      • If, at any time during a flight (including before you've taken off), you need to cancel the flight and have FSE place everything back at your point of origin, you can use the Cancel Flight menu item.

    • Request Aircraft

      • This menu item sends your "Paint" information to the FSE Staff.  Use this menu item if you have made a repaint, or downloaded a repaint, that does not currently work in FSE.  Once approved by the staff, you will be able to use this repaint.

Navigating the Client Tabs

The SimConnect client has 2 Tab items:

• Information

  • The information tab contains four main areas.  When you first start the client, all three areas will be blank.  When you select an aircraft and a location inside the simulator, the client's Information tab will update to show you what aircraft you have loaded within the sim, and what's available at that location within the FSE Game World. 

• • • Aircraft Information

      • This section of the Information tab displays 2 lines about the aircraft that you have loaded inside your simulator.  The first line will tell you what aircraft "livery" you are currently using and an icon will indicate if that aircraft is "livery" is available within the FSE Game World.  The second line will tell you if that particular aircraft type, associated with that "livery", is located at the airport (within the FSE Game) that you are at within the simulator.

      • EXAMPLE: In the image above, the FSE User has an aircraft loaded inside their simulator with a "livery" that matches the list of aliases for the aircraft type Cessna 172.  The FSE user is also the the Homer airport in Homer, Alaska; however, there is no Cessna 172 aircraft currently located at the Homer Airport in the FSE Game World

    • Equip Installed

    • This section lists the avionics that are installed on the FSE Aircraft.  Note: If the aircraft you have rented in the FSE Game World does not have a particular piece of equipment installed, the client will "fail" that equipment in the simulator.

    • Alternative Aircraft

      • This section of the Information tab will list all other aircraft that are available at the airport (within the FSE Game World) that you are at within the simulator.

      • EXAMPLE: In the image above, there are several other aircraft available at the Homer Airport.  

    • Alternative Airports

      • This section of the Information tab will list any nearby airports that also contain the same aircraft type that you have selected within the simulator.

      • Example: In the image above, there are several Cessna 172s available at nearby airports: one at 5BL, and four others at PASO.

• Flight

  • The flight tab is blank while you are not en-route.  Once you click on "Start Flight", the flight tab will update with information about your selected aircraft and the assignment(s) you have on board the plane.  It's always recommended to check this tab after you hit "Start Flight", but before you take off flying to make sure that the passengers and cargo that you expect to be on board are actually on board.  You can also look at this tab at anytime during your flight to get a real-time look at how much rental fees you have accumulated, what your fuel cost will be when you land (if you rented "dry"), and how much time you have left on your rental timer.

Starting a Flight

After you've used the FSE website to setup your flight by renting an aircraft, fueling the aircraft if necessary, and selecting the assignments you are going to fly, it is time to switch over to the flight simulator and get set up for your flight.  Make sure that you are at the same airport and have the same aircraft type in your flight simulator that you have selected on the FSE website.   

Once your simulator is ready, you need to click "Start Flight" before FSE will recognize that you are ready to go.

- Open the FSE client and select ACTION > START FLIGHT from the menu.

- Optional for FSX/P3D users: select ADD-ONS > FS ECONOMY > START FLIGHT from the FSX/P3D menu.  

At this point, FSE will adjust your fuel load to match what is in that plane according to the FSE Game World database, and your payload weight will be added to your aircraft.  Now you're ready to fly - the client should display your aircraft registration as well as begin the countdown on your rental time.

Optional: The SimConnect client loads your payload weight into your simulator, but it averages the entire load across all of your simulator's "load points" (seats and cargo areas).  You can take this opportunity to adjust your cargo weight and balance in the simulator's AIRCRAFT > FUEL AND PAYLOAD menu to match your selected assignments. For example, if you are carrying two passengers and 51Kg of Mail, you would set 77kg into 3 of the seats (yourself, and the 2 passengers), and 51Kg into another seat or the cargo area. Note: All humans weigh 77Kg (170lbs) in FSE, including you the pilot. You MUST NOT adjust your fuel load in your plane, as the client will do that for you automatically.  Adjusting your payload positions is completely optional, but in a real airplane you would need to be conscience of your weight and balance for optimum flying parameters... you can practice that realism within the simulator too.

Now that you've hit "Start Flight", the game website assumes that you are en-route.  Even though you may not have began your taxi or take off, your rental timer has began it's countdown and the game website will list your plane and all of your selected jobs as "en-route".  If you are paying for rent at an hourly rate, you are now being charged.  You are now free to fly to any airport you choose.  Most likely, you will fly to the destination of your cargo or passengers, but it's also possible that you will fly to another airport to pick up more assignments; or, perhaps you need to make a fuel stop or just take a break on a long cross-country flight. 

The client no longer needs to communicate with the game server until you arrive at your destination, so if you need to disconnect from the internet you may.

Ending a Flight

When you arrive at your intended airport, you signify to the client that you are complete by coming to a stop and setting your parking brake.  (If you previously disconnected from the internet, reconnect now!)  It does not matter where you come to a stop - you can stop right on the runway, or exit the runway, or taxi all the way to parking.  The "level of realism" that you use is up to you.  At this point, the client will pop up a message that it is sending the results of your flight to the server.  Once the pop-up indicates that it is complete, you are done with your flight!  The game website no longer considers you to be "en-route", your rental timer stops, and you are free to disconnect from the Internet again if you need to.

Note: parking near a fuel bowser/refuel point in the simulator can cause your aircraft to automatically refuel, which will invalidate your flight. NEVER park near a fuel point!

From here, you can go back to the FSE Game World website and see what your earnings were for that flight, check your logbook to make sure everything appears to have logged correctly, and maybe setup your aircraft and assignments for your next flight.  If, when you landed, you did not have any jobs on board, or all of your jobs on board have now reached their final destination, your aircraft will no longer be rented.  If you plan on using it again right away, you may want to immediately go to the "Airport" web page and re-rent it before someone else does.  However, if you still have assignments selected in your "My Flight" page, your aircraft will still be rented.  You are not being charged rent because you are not "en-route", but you are potentially blocking another player from using the aircraft.  This is fine if you are getting ready to use it again.

Important Notes

• • Make sure you land before the rental time counter reaches zero or your flight will be canceled. You do not need to land at your final destination -- simply ending your flight (see: Ending a Flight instructions) and restarting your flight will start your rental time over.

  • Once you select "START FLIGHT", make sure you see your assignment(s) in the Flight tab. It will only show assignments that are on-board your aircraft.  If you have selected assignments, and they do not appear in the flight tab, then they did not get onto your plane and you will not get paid if you take off without them.  Some reasons that an assignment might not get on-board: it exceeds the aircraft's MTOW, you do not have enough seats (if your assignment is passengers), or you are not departing from the same airport where the assignment is located. 

  • FSE flights are limited to 16x time compression. The client monitors this and will immediately cancel your flight if you exceed 16x.

  • The process to end a flight will usually take just a few seconds but on rare occasions, it may last much longer. DO NOT close the FSE program until it says the flight has been logged. Even if the FSE client appears to be not responding, just leave it. It may even take hours but if you close it before logging is complete, you will lose credit for that flight.  If you are unable to wait, you should view the "My Flight" page on the game website, and click the "Cancel Flight" button.  This will reset your aircraft and all assignments back to their original configuration at the airport you took off from, but may be better than the potential errors you might see from whatever caused the end-flight process to hang.

  • If you are in a helicopter or float plane, your aircraft probably does not have a parking brake enabled by default.  You can edit your aircraft's configuration file (aircraft.cfg) to add a parking brake, even during "mid-flight".  (many people land and discover that they have no parking brake, and need to make this adjustment before they can get credit for their flight).  Find the following two lines and adjust them to read as follows.  Once you make this adjustment, you can simply reload your aircraft (CTRL+SHFT+R by default, or go into your aircraft menu and select the same aircraft you are in). 

    parking_brake = 1

    toe_brakes_scale = 0.75

Compatibility and Support

Flight Simulator X (FSX)

If you have a dual install involving FSX boxed-edition and FSX:Steam-Edition, please use the FSE FSUIPC client. It has been reported that the SimConnect client may only function with the first FSX installation you have on your PC, and may fail to connect to the second install. 

Prepar3D (P3D)

The SimConnect client has some difficulty connecting directly with Prepar3D v4. A workaround is discussed on the FSEconomy forums (link), and future releases of Prepar3D v4 may correct this issue. 

Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS)

The SimConnect client should function properly with MSFS.  If you have previous versions of FSX or P3D, you may need to use the FSE FSUIPC client with one simulator and this Simconenct client with the other. 

NOTE FOR MSFS USERS: There is a known-issue with updating the SimConnect client. When FSE publishes a client update, your client will prompt you to update. When you do, the client will lose connection to the MSFS simulator. To remedy this, simply change one of the settings to something else, close the client application, re-open the client, and change the setting back to what it was.  For example, change the Port# to 123, and then change it back to 500. Or, change the "Remote" to "Local", and then change it back.