On Top Version 8.0
Read This First!
Thank you for reviewing ASA's On Top Version 8.0 Proficiency
Trainer Demo. The Demo is fully functional, with the exception that
the airspace is limited to flight within a 75 nautical mile radius
of Helena, Montana. Approximately every five minutes the program
will freeze and a message will be displayed for about 15 seconds,
providing details for purchasing the full version of On Top.
If you have not used the OnTop program before, the following
Getting Started instructions may be used; however, we still
recommend you consult the full Manual before using On Top. We have
included the full Manual with the demo, and it is available via a
link on your "Programs" menu, under "ASA\On Top 8 Demo". Or, if you
are viewing this document online, you can download and/or view the
manual online as well. The document is in '.pdf' format, requiring
Adobe's Acrobat Reader to view. If you don't have this reader, you
can download it for free at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html. As always, we
are ready to help smooth out issues you may encounter with On
Top.
This Readme file contains a thumbnail of the new features
available in this version as well as a Getting Started guide for
experienced users. Should you require additional information,
please see the On Top Manual. As always, our team is available for
technical support at 1-800-ASA-2FLY or www.asa2fly.com.
What is new in On Top?
1. On Top now has the added benefit of supporting an Instructor
Station. With the addition of a video card and second monitor, you
may manage the operation of weather and failures in real time while
viewing the flight progress on the map.
2. An entirely new digital calibration setup has been added to
allow for the broadest array of flight controls. As new flight
controls come to the market, ASA will develop small, easily
downloadable files to support the various devices, lending more
realism and a larger selection of controls to the simulation
environment.
3. The Airspace Database has been updated. As additional
information, such as GPS approaches, becomes available in the
database, ASA will incorporate the features into On Top.
4. As always, we have taken steps to improve the accuracy,
reliability and usability of the program, so that you might enjoy
an even more realistic simulation experience.
Getting Started: For Users Familiar with On Top
If you are familiar with the program and want to get started as
quickly as possible, the following will help you get up and
running.
1. Ensure that the flight controls you plan to use with the program
are attached to the computer and the up-to-date drivers from the
manufacturer are installed. (If your flight controls in the present
configuration worked with On Top Version 7, they should work with
On Top 8.0.)
2. Install OT 8.0. You may now install On Top in a subdirectory of
your own choosing. A message will appear in the installation
routine suggesting a path and permitting change.
3. After double clicking on the On Top icon, choose the Personal
Mode or PCATD Mode, as in earlier versions.
4. Once in the main Calibration screen, you will have the
opportunity to perform a "quick calibration". Select the FLIGHT
CONTROLS button. In the Flight Controls menu, you should see your
controls on the list. Choose the flight controls you wish to
activate by pressing the left box of the two boxes on the right
side of the screen until an asterisk appears in the box.
5. Once you have selected the flight controls to be used with the
program, press the LIMITS button and perform a quick calibration by
fully articulating the pitch, roll and yaw axes as well as
throttle, propeller, mixture, and rudder, as installed. Please note
that the first controls you actuate will be the controls
calibrated. For example, if you have a throttle on the yoke, as
well as a throttle quadrant, the first throttle selected will be
the one that is calibrated. Should you choose incorrectly, you may
reset the limits and start again. (If the controls are not
calibrating properly, an advanced calibration is required. The
Advanced Mode calibration is far more powerful and therefore more
complex to use. Should the Advanced Mode be necessary, the On Top
Manual contains detailed information).
6. When finished with the limits, press the box marked BUTTONS.
Press and hold the flight control button (e.g., the trim up) while
simultaneously clicking the left mouse button with the mouse arrow
pointing to the on-screen "up trim" triangle. Once activated, the
mouse arrow will turn into a "crosshair". When correctly assigned,
the triangle will turn green when the trim button is depressed.
7. Your may now press the DONE button and enjoy flying the On Top
simulator.
If you cannot calibrate the flight controls in the quick
calibration, you may have to use the Advanced Mode, which requires
a more detailed understanding of the calibration routine as
explained in the On Top Manual.
Quick Start Guide for Configuring the Instructor Station
To run On Top with the added benefit of a second monitor and
Instructor Station capability, the computer must first be
configured to run Windows dual monitor, extended desktop setup. You
must be using Windows 98, or later edition, and two PCI bus video
cards, or one compatible dual-mode video card, such as a Matrox.
For general Windows support, see http://support.microsoft.com/. For
a listing of chip sets that Microsoft deems compatible, see
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q182708&.
Set up the configuration so it runs in Windows according to the
dual monitor setup directions (see Windows database for
configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q179602).
To configure the PC hardware:
1. To install a second video card in your PC, turn your PC off and
disconnect its power supply.
2. Touch a metallic part of your computer before you touch any
internal computer component. This reduces the risk of static
electricity, which could permanently damage your hardware.
3. Find an open PCI slot and insert the new card.
4. Connect your second monitor to the new card.
5. Connect the power supply to the PC and restart the machine.
6. Install the configuration software and drivers that came with
your new card.
7. Reboot your PC as directed in the video card installation
instructions.
8. When you first boot up with dual monitor capability, you will
receive a message during the system's Power On Self Test (POST)
that the PC has "seen" a second monitor and that it may be
configured from the desktop.
To set up Windows software for dual monitors:
1. To begin configuring Windows for dual monitor support, EITHER
right-click in the desktop background and select Properties, OR
left-click the Start Menu, scroll over Settings and left-click the
Control Panel. When the Control Panel opens, double-click the
Display Properties icon.
2. When the Display Properties dialog box appears, click the
Settings tab.
3. On the Settings tab, change the Display pull-down menu to the
new card you just installed.
4. Check the box marked "Extend my Windows desktop onto this
monitor".
5. Press the Apply button.
6. Now you will have the Windows extended desktop.
The mouse will move to the second screen by moving to the left
or right farthest point depending on how the monitors are arranged.
In the extended desktop, you may move windows to the other screen
to make more room on your desktop. Some programs will work in
conjunction with the dual monitor setup; however, others will not
(see the individual program's documentation for compatibility with
this feature). Should you find that Windows does not function
correctly with the extended desktop, you must disable the second
monitor. Before you can use the Instructor Station feature in On
Top, your PC must be configured so the basic Windows extended
desktop option performs normally.
Using the On Top Instructor Station
To use the dual monitor configuration in On Top, select the second
monitor in the Windows extended desktop option as described above.
A statement must be added to the On Top icon command line so the
Instructor Station monitor is recognized. While placing the mouse
cursor on the desktop icon for On Top, right-click the mouse and
open the icon properties window. In the "Target:" line, and after
the quotation marks, add the statement (without the brackets),
[/is=yes]. The entire statement should read (if the directory
containing On Top has not been modified): "c:\Program Files\ASA\On
Top 8 Demo\ot16.exe" /is=yes Make sure that you leave a space
between the last double quote symbol and the "/" symbol.
Click on the "OK" button and return to the desktop.
When you double-click the On Top icon, the program will launch
and you will see the On Top cockpit in the primary monitor and the
Instructor Station in the secondary monitor. To move the mouse
pointer from screen to screen, type "1" to move to the primary
screen (i.e., the On Top cockpit) or "2" to move the pointer to the
secondary screen (i.e., the instructor's station). These are the
only keyboard commands that will be required for navigating between
the cockpit and Instructor Station. The remaining features are
controlled by On Top's easy-to-use point and click interface.
The major difference between the way that "Weather" and
"Failures" function in "Setup" and the operation of "Weather" and
"Failures" in the Instructor Station is that the Instructor Station
is dynamic while the "Setup" is static. In other words, after
establishing a Setup and pressing the "Set" button, the program is
configured according to the Setup settings. While in the Instructor
Station, adjusting a setting, such as changing the cloud bases,
happens immediately and overrides the Setup settings. For example,
if configuring Setup to include changing, variable cloud bases, you
will note on the instructor screen the cloud bases changing every
few seconds. If the cloud bases are then adjusted on the Instructor
Station screen, the bases will remain as last set by the
"instructor". Only by returning to Setup and pressing the "Set"
button will the Setup factors be in effect.
The Failures screen functions in a similar manner. After setting
a failure mode in the Setup screen and returning to On Top by
pressing "Set," the failure(s) will be evident on the instructor
screen by the respective button(s) turning to "yellow". When the
failure occurs, the yellow "pending failure", button will turn
"red". After resetting the button in the Instructor Station, the
button will turn "green" and the Setup mode Failures will be
overridden until the Setup configuration is reset.
We at Aero Training Products hope that these new
features will enhance your experience with OnTop, one of the most
economical ways to help maintain and improve your IFR
proficiency.
NOTE: On Top V 8.0 requires DirectX V 8.1. If this version of
DirectX is not installed, DirectX 8.1 needs to be installed before
the user can take advantage of On Top's features. Since Microsoft
continually updates DirectX and supports only the current version,
we recommend you obtain the latest copy from Microsoft's website:
http://www.microsoft.com/directx
(Windows XP includes version 8.1 of DirectX, so it is not
necessary to install DirectX).