127: Put the Tower Radar on the Plane

Each aircraft in FSX can be equipped up to 9 different panels, and each of these panels can be called up by pressing the [SHIFT] plus a number key from 1 to 9.   However, only a few aircrafts in FSX are actually equipped with all 9 panels.   Most aircrafts use less than five.

The following tweak adds the radar panel found in control tower to virtually any aircraft.

Don’t remember where I found this tweak in the first place (credit should be given to the one who shared this).    It is an interesting and useful one and quite easy to implement.    Furthermore, I had it simplified.

Here’s how to add the radar to the Cessna 172 as an example.    Same procedures apply to all other planes:

1)
Open panel.cfg  (X:\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes\C172\panel) of the C172.
Do remember to make a backup of the cfg first.

2)
Add the command line Window08=FF_Radar under [Window Titles] section

This will assign the radar panel to Window08 (press SHIFT+9 to open).

Surely it can be assigned to any other window that is available (in this case Window06 – Window08) to the aircraft.    I am using the last Window just to maintain consistency across all modified aircrafts.

3)
Add the whole command section below to the panel.cfg   —   It could be put at the end of the cfg file or where the last window ends (in this case Window08).

Window_Size=0.43, 0.37  —  indicates the proportions (43% horizontally, 37% vertically) to the actual size of the radar panel.   It could be changed according to one’s own preferences.

Position=6  —  represents the lower left corner of the screen where the radar is located.    The chart on the right illustrates how the monitor screen is divided in FSX.

4)
Save and exit panel.cfg.    The radar has been added to the C172.    To call up the radar, just press SHIFT+9.

Here’s how the screen on my C172 looks over Bowerman KHQM.