2. Getting Started: Part II

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

• If you are not using FS One V1 or V2 gear: Start on this Part II page 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 FS One via your USB interface selection: vJoy Device.

• Set your monitor to 100% font magnification before starting FS One.

• Start FS One. Go to the Single Pilot -> Freestyle window and click on the transmitter. The vJoy Device interface should be selected for use with Joystick Gremlin. From the transmitter screen, calibrate your controller. The red sliders should move when you calibrate and 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 FS One, the simulator will automatically select the correct transmitter. So do not manually select a Tx in the sim.

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

• Sometimes you will need to move all your controls (sticks, switches, knob) in order for them to “wake up” and be seen by Joystick Gremlin and FS One in turn.

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

• To see what controls are used on each airplane, see the Flight Manual.

• For help when running FS One, click on the “?” button on any page in FS One, and that button will take you directly to this online User Manual, specifically to the help page for your current window in the simulator.

• Installing FS One also includes the FS One Power Tools app that unlocks additional useful features of FS One. Using the FS One Power Tools app is optional.

Disconnect Other USB Interfaces

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

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 FS One

Start the simulator by clicking on the FS One icon on the desktop or by selecting it from the Start menu. The Main Menu is then displayed as shown below. (If the simulator screen flashes and does not start, check to be sure that your graphics card drivers have been updated directly from the graphics card manufacturer’s website, and not some third party site.)

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, e.g. Options, and in the upper right corner are the Quit and Help 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, the FS One interface name is listed in the bottom middle box, e.g. FS One v2 2048. Click on the USB Interface name (blue button) to select the interface that you are using. When you first install FS One, the default selection will be the 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 in FS One, the simulator will automatically select the correct transmitter (“software radio” with rates, expo’s, and flight modes) , i.e. you should not 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) 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 point.

• 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, you have to make that selection from the Transmitter Selection window. On that window, click on the main “Universal Tx” or “FS One” transmitter depending on your interface selection (see next section).

• If you want to learn more about transmitters (editing and making your own selections), see the chapter about transmitters.

• Note that a “Transmitter” in FS One is the “Software Radio” for the airplane that you have selected to fly.

2.1.3. Two Transmitter Icons?

This section applies if you are using a V2 interface.

Case 1: You Selected the vJoy Device with Joystick Gremlin or an FS One V1 Interface?
If you are using the vJoy Device virtual joystick or an FS One V1 interface, then your page should look like the first screen shot. The transmitter icon will show the black TacCon controller. The icon is named “FS One” plus the airplane name. The TacCon controller is being shown because the vJoy Device setup essentially emulates the TacCon controller with the FS One V1 interface. The icon will show “NOT CALIBRATED” over the transmitter icon when you first install.

Fly Screen for a vJoy Device interface.
The same Tx icon style (TacCon) applies to an FS One V1 interface or some other interface (non-V2).

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 below. The transmitter icon will be the silver gray “Universal Tx.” It will show “NOT CALIBRATED” over the transmitter icon when you first install.

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 transmitter should then be selected automatically. If you still do not have the proper Tx icon showing for your interface, click on the Tx icon and make the proper selection (Tx icon type). Finally, again, your Tx icon should have the name of the airplane shown over top. If not, then click to select the airplane again and return back.

Fly Screen for an FS One V2 interface selection.

2.1.4. Calibration

FS One will go through step-by-step instructions for calibrating inside the simulator. But note if you are using a JG vJoy Device, then you should first calibrate inside JG. In JG, see Tools | Calibration. Re-save your JG Profile when you do the calibration.

Because FS One Version 2022e has built-in backward compatibility with legacy controllers (i.e. legacy V1 and V2 equipment as far back as 2006), the step-by-step instructions in FS One will change depending on what USB interface you are using.

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

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

You Selected the vJoy Device with Joystick Gremlin, V1 Interface or Other (non-V2)

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.

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), then 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 (for airplanes).

3. InterLink® and Similar: 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 high/low range. Otherwise, if you skip one, when you fly, the simulator will 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-In-Place position. 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. Gamepad: If you are using a gamepad, when you calibrate, FS One 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 FS One. There are no other tricks.

You Are Using 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 remappings.

2.2. Running FS One

Before you fly, the Single Pilot Freestyle menu has buttons to choose options 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.

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. If you need more help, click on the green “?” button at top which should take you to this online User Manual. You will be taken to the help information for the current window where are in the simulator.

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 FS One 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 see the same keyboard commands while flying. Press the ? key 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 FS One.

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, 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 to get the most out of FS One.

• Required and per mention before: FS One needs to run with font magnification set to 100% (from the Windows Control Panel look for “Display” and then “Scale and Layout”). If you are not running at 100%, then the mouse will be offset. Set your computer to run at 100% or else you will not be able to interact with FS One.

• 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, FS One 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 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 F1 ). 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 ), 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).

2.7. FS One Power Tools - Extras

FS One 2022e also installs with an additional program called: FS One Power Tools for 2022e (see screen shot below). Using this program is optional. This Power Tools app includes a “Configurator” tool and “Launcher” tool. The Configurator tool (left) can be used to make selections that are not available in the FS One menus. Also, the Launcher tool (right) can be used to start FS One with your Configurator settings.

Click on the Configurator “Help” tab to read more about how to use these tools.

Setup is required.

FS One Power Tools window.

2.7.1. Required Step for Setup

With FS One Power Tools for 2022e installed via FS One updates (starting with release 2022c), find the installation folder and right click on the “FS_One_PT.exe” program and select “Properties”. In the Properties window, select the “Compatibility” tab (shown below) and click to allow FS_One_PT.exe to run as administrator. Click “Apply” and then “OK” for the change to take effect. The Power Tools can be run from the FS One group inside Windows Start Menu or directly from the install folder.

Open the Installation Folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\FS One 2022
Find:
C:\Program Files (x86)\FS One 2022\FS_One_PT.exe
Right click and select Properties.

In the Properties window for FS_One_PT.exe, check the box to run as administrator.
Click “Apply” and then “OK” to close.

When running FS One Power Tools 2022e, it will make the file “FSOneConfig.txt” in the ~/Options folder in the install directory. The file should not be zero size. This configuration file is read when FS One starts, and the changes/selections will take effect for that session and any following sessions, until the settings are changed with the Power Tools app and FS One restarted via the Launcher.

Note

Note that launching FS One from the Power Tools app requires that FS One not be running, i.e. close FS One if it is already running and restart a new FS One session via the Launcher tool. Also, the first time you launch the Power Tools, you might need to slide away the FS One Configurator window in order to see the FS One Launcher window (hiding underneath). Arrange the windows as you like, and they should remain in those locations any time you restart the Power Tools.

A few of the Power Tools options include the word “hint” in the description. “Hint” means that those selections will take effect if the airplane includes features/data that are affected by those selections. In other words, the selection is a suggestion (and perhaps experimental), and it may only have an effect on a few airplanes.

2.7.2. Power Tools Features

Screen shots of the Configurator features are shown below.

Help

FS One Standard Options

Widgets and Tools

Wind Grid and Sun

Physics Effects

Flight Time Displays

Messages

Data Monitor

Developer Overlays

Flying Sites