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All CollectionsGuides For X-Plane 11 and X-Plane 12G500 Flight Display
Integration Guide for RealSimGear G500 for X-Plane
Integration Guide for RealSimGear G500 for X-Plane

This article covers the steps required to integrate to the RealSimGear G500 to third party aircraft

Jarrod - RealSimGear avatar
Written by Jarrod - RealSimGear
Updated over 3 years ago

Aircraft Integration Steps


With most aircraft, the preferred method of integration would be to have a secondary
.acf file with the necessary changes and objects. This makes sure that users without the G500 aren’t impacted whatsoever, while integration with the default GNS530/430s can work without issues.
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Changes that need to be made in the aircraft file (through PlaneMaker):

In Plane Maker -> Standard -> Systems -> General 1, set:
●Set AP heading to AHRS
●Check pilot and copilot side Auto Adjust CDI to GPS DTK.
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​Display Rendering Details and 3D Integration

When configured (see Section III), the G500 can be drawn onto the X-Plane panel texture for 3D integration. The default resolution of this is 1024 x 768px (PFD and MFD are each 512 x 768px).

Note: this resolution is a slightly different aspect ratio from the real units. If 3D space allows, it is recommended to significantly increase the vertical area of the displays to minimize distortion, but this is not required if not possible due to panel constraints.

3D Blender and .obj files, along with textures, are available for the G500. In the Blender file, there is also a sample cockpit object (panel space and manipulators), that can be copied over, or used as an example, into your aircraft. The G500 object is ready for positioning using Plane Maker, or if preferred, you can use the Blender object and export a pre-positioned object of your liking. Contact RealSimGear support for access to these files.
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Configuration Files

The main configuration file is g500.cfg that lives in the main aircraft folder (next to the .acf files). This file contains the aircraft relevant information for the integration. Here are entries in this file used on our included default C172 integration.

mfd_ownship = 1
pfd_radio_altimeter_enabled = 1
pfd_vs_range = 0
power_dataref = sim/cockpit/electrical/battery_on
render_mfd_h = 768
render_mfd_w = 512
render_mfd_x = 1536
render_mfd_y = 0
render_pfd_h = 768
render_pfd_w = 512
render_pfd_x = 1024
render_pfd_y = 0
v_config_1 = 0
v_config_2 = 0
v_config_fe = 85
v_config_g = 68
v_config_le = 0
v_config_line_blue = 0
v_config_line_red = 0
v_config_ne = 163
v_config_no = 129
v_config_r = 55
v_config_rf = 0
v_config_s0 = 40
v_config_s1 = 48
v_config_x = 62
v_config_y = 74

mfd_ownship

This is the image used as the aircraft icon on the moving map. The options available can be found in Appendix A

pfd_radio_altimeter_enabled

Radio altimeter equipped:

[0] Not equipped, [1] Equipped

pfd_vs_range

Vertical speed indicator range:

[0] ±2000 fpm, [1] ±3000 fpm, [2] ±4000 fpm

power_dataref

By default, the G500 looks at the default X-Plane battery dataref to determine power. Choose a different integer-based dataref if you wish to override this (or make your own).

Reading dataref: [0] off, [Any non-zero integer] on

render_mfd_h

Height (in pixels) of MFD render on panel texture

Native height: 768px

Set to 0 to disable rendering

render_mfd_w

Width (in pixels) of MFD render on panel texture

Native width: 512px

Set to 0 to disable rendering

render_mfd_x

X-Coordinate (in pixels) of the left edge of the MFD render on panel texture (measured from left edge of panel texture)

render_mfd_y

Y-Coordinate (in pixels) of the bottom edge of the MFD render on panel texture (measured from bottom edge of panel texture)

render_pfd_h

Height (in pixels) of PFD render on panel texture

Native height: 768px

Set to 0 to disable rendering

render_pfd_w

Width (in pixels) of PFD render on panel texture

Native width: 512px

Set to 0 to disable rendering

render_pfd_x

X-Coordinate (in pixels) of the left edge of the PFD render on panel texture (measured from left edge of panel texture)

render_pfd_y

Y-Coordinate (in pixels) of the bottom edge of the PFD render on panel texture (measured from bottom edge of panel texture)

v_config_1

V1 speed to draw label on airspeed tape

v_config_2

V2 speed to draw label on airspeed tape

v_config_fe

VFE speed to draw label on airspeed tape

v_config_g

VG speed to draw label on airspeed tape

v_config_le

VLE speed to draw label on airspeed tape

v_config_line_blue

Blue Line to draw on airspeed tape (used in multi-engine aircraft)

v_config_line_red

Red Line to draw on airspeed tape (used in multi-engine aircraft)

v_config_ne

VNE speed, drawn as top of red arc on airspeed tape

v_config_no

VNO speed, drawn as top of green arc and start of yellow arc on airspeed tape

v_config_r

VR speed to draw label on airspeed tape

v_config_rf

VRF speed to draw label on airspeed tape

v_config_s0

VS0 speed, drawn as top of low speed red arc and start of white arc on airspeed tape

v_config_s1

VS1 speed, drawn as bottom of green arc on airspeed tape

v_config_x

VX speed to draw label on airspeed tape

v_config_y

VY speed to draw label on airspeed tape

Knob and Button Commands

Bottom Soft-keys (PFD, MFD):
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/sfk_1
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/sfk_2
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/sfk_3
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/sfk_4
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/sfk_5
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/sfk_1
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/sfk_2
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/sfk_3
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/sfk_4
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/sfk_5

Knobs:
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/knob_left
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/knob_right
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/knob_push
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/knob_in_left
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/knob_in_right
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/knob_out_left
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/knob_out_right
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/knob_push

Data Selection Buttons:
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/ctl_hdg  // Sets L knob to heading
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/ctl_crs  // Sets L knob to HSI course
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/ctl_alt  // Sets L knob to alt selector
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/ctl_vs   // Sets L knob to vert speed 
rsg/g500/cmd/pfd/ctl_baro // Sets L knob to baro pressure

Remaining Buttons:
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/range_up   // Increases current page range
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/range_down // Decreases current page range
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/menu       // Menu button
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/clr        // Clear button
rsg/g500/cmd/mfd/ent        // Enter button

Popup Windows

Both bezeled and non-bezeled popups can be opened via commands. RealSimGear hardware also has some automatic positioning features with the G500. Unless configured to be positioned, on command trigger, the popup will center around the mouse cursor’s current position. 

Commands to popup:
rsg/popup/g500_both                
// G500 bezeled popup (1512x1110)

rsg/popup/g620_both                
// Reverse (Helicopter) config bezeled popup (1512x1110)

rsg/popup/rsg/popup/g500_both_nbzl 
// G500 standard no-bezel popup (1024x768)

rsg/popup/rsg/popup/g620_both_nbzl 
// Reverse (Helicopter) config no-bezel popup (1024x768

rsg/popup/g500_pfd_nbzl            
// PFD window no-bezel popup (512x768)

rsg/popup/g500_mfd_nbzl            
// MFD window no-bezel popup (512x768)

Popup Positioning and Configuring

Popups can be configured in the popups.cfg file located in the aircraft -> plugins -> rsg_g500 -> settings folder.

In this file there are various settings to configure:

  • ***_x/y: x/y coordinate when used as popup window

  • ***_w/h: width/height when used as a popup window

  • ***_fill_window: If set to 1 (default), it will fill the window and alter the aspect ratio (squish) as needed. If set to 0, it will follow current behavior and cut off the top if the window is too short.

  • ***_start:

    • [–1]: Disable all automatic popup positioning.

    • [0]: (Default) Auto-popup system in standby. Will only auto-popup if RSG monitors are found using the 2D Panel system.

      • If RSG finds monitors, the setting will then be set to [2] in the config file.

    • [1]: Window popup automatic positioning (what we have currently).

    • [2]: RSG auto-popup using 2D Panel system. If monitors are not found, will show as popup window.

  • ***_monitor_start

    • [–1]: (Default) No monitor set for 2D Panel system binding

    • [0…]: Value of monitor for 2D Panel rendering system. Will be triggered to render to this location at aircraft load, given ***_start is set to [0] or [2].

Within the popups themselves, positions can be saved/windows positioned by the following clicks on popup windows:

Top Left Corner:

  • Left Click: Close Window

  • Right Click: Try to go full screen in 2D panel mode (must be set to be 2D Panel monitor in X-Plane settings)

Top Right Corner:

  • Left Click: Popout Window (if coordinates are saved, it will go to those)

  • Right Click: Save current coordinates as popup location

Bottom Left Corner:

  • Left Click (and drag): (Not in popup) Resize in-sim window

  • Right Click: No current functionality

Bottom Right Corner:

  • Left Click (and drag): (Not in popup) Resize in-sim window

  • Right Click: Attempt 2D Panel swap of PFD and MFD. This will only work if the PFD (Bezel-less) and MFD (Bezel-less) are already full screen in the 2D panel mode.

Miscellaneous Configuration Details

In integrations where the G500 could be installed, but not in use, there is a dataref that can be set to disable all G500 drawing and ongoing processes.

Set rsg/g500/general/kill_drawing to 1, disabling the G500s. Setting back to 0 will restore the units to their state at the original disabling.

Appendix A: Ownship Icons

Option

Image

Description

0

Generic

1

High Wing

2

Kit

3

Low Wing

4

Simple

5

Twin Prop

6

Business Jet

7

Single Engine Jet

8

2 Blade Helicopter

9

3 Blade Helicopter

10

4 Blade Helicopter

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