A Simulator for a Cirrus SR22T
I’ve never setup a flight simulator at home. While the simulation community is large and active, there aren’t many tutorials online. It’s…
I’ve never setup a flight simulator at home. While the simulation community is large and active, there aren’t many tutorials online. It’s always felt like you needed to be “in-the-know” in order to understand what you need to purchase, how to install, and then configure a system at home.
Update 5/31/2020: Completed the PilotEdge I-11 rating, which is the last rating. Added in issues on the Noble system relating to DME arcs, holds, and FPL scrolling. Having now completed the PilotEdge ratings with the Noble system, it allows me to reflect upon whether the investment was worthwhile — especially since I have documented roughly 10 bugs or missing major features. It absolutely has been. While using the system with PilotEdge, I have probably now spent 50 hours of simulation flying time, most of it in instrument conditions. And while there have been some Noble issues to work through, it turns out that those issues are making me a better pilot even though they wouldn’t occur in real life. In real life things fail or don’t behave as you thought they might. So having the G1000 simulator do the same from time to time, forces you to grasp the underlying issue at hand, and to navigate through the issue using other tools available to you. Overall, by having to deal with some issues from time to time, I’m definitely more competent of a G1000 / GFC700 pilot, and expect my hand flying proficiency to improve as well. On the cost : benefit basis — a brand new setup identical to mine is going to be less than $7000, and that is going to be way more cheaper than logging 50 hours with a safety pilot in my Cirrus, but probably a little more expensive than scheduling and using my club’s simulator (which is mostly digital and not realistic for a Cirrus).
Update 5/10/2020: Completed PilotEdge I-5 rating. Verified a bug fix, and documented some new “quirks” with Noble: swapping coms in FPL, and approach not including mandatory procedure turn, no ability to configure a VPATH.
I am a private pilot, instrument rated with over 250 hours, 60 hours high performance, and 29 hours in SR22 / SR22T with a mountain checkout. I own a 2012 G3 Cirrus SR22 Turbo GTS. I completed the advanced Cirrus Transition Training at a Platinum Cirrus training facility that was not my flying club. But, due to tough insurance requirements at the flying club which manages my plane, they have not yet allowed me to fly solo in a club plane including my own. The cycle of flying with club instructors and additional phase checks has prolonged completion. Argh.
With COVID isolation, I am sheltering away from the plan, the club has shut down, and training isn’t an option. Time to explore whether I can keep my instrument procedures sharp with home simulation.
This blog post will be updated with the work that I do to establish a home simulator. It may be periodically updated as improvements are made or new learnings are acquired.
Simulator Options
The FAA lists all of the vendors that have produced either a Basic Aviation Training Device (BATD) or an Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD). You need one or the either in order to get credit for instrument currency. There are limits to what you can use an ATD for if you have not previously obtained your instrument rating. You will need a device that is certified for the plane that you want to have currency within.
I looked over the options for FlyThisSim, Aerosim, Fidelity Flight Simulation, Flight 1 Aviation Technologies, Redbird Flight Simulations. Flight 1 Aviation has a really nice setup that looks like a complete cockpit that is great for schools, but not really appropriate for someone trying to setup a modified computer in his home office. Also, FlyThisSim is a popular option given its reconfigability, but they have an all touch screen interface which is different from how a plane really flies and there have been numerous reports online of them having customer support issues and not shipping systems after payments made.
While on a Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) forum, I saw discussion of Noble Flight Simulation, which is a custom designed set of simulation hardware and add-on software for the Cirrus. It was started by Tyler Noble many years ago with a group of simulation enthusiasts. Tyler is a mechanical engineer who became an orthopedic surgeon and is a pilot. There wasn’t a lot of information on their Web site about what they sell, and after reaching out to Tyler, he immediately responded and we chatted about what is needed for over an hour. They are in business for the love of flying, and it shows in their outreach.
Note: The Noble systems looks like a perfect blend of specialty designed hardware + software for a Cirrus, but they probably will not achieve AATD status for another year as they need to improve some elements of their software package and complete the design on their side yoke and throttle / fuel hardware components which they hope to finalize this year. People who buy their components separately will be allowed to exchange them for an FAA certified system that has a serial number for AATD tracking.
My Starting System
This was always a little bit confusing to me. What exactly do you need to purchase? I have a decently powered computer — a Windows Home desktop 64-bit with 16 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD hard drive, Intel i7–3820 CPU with 4 cores. The computer has an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 graphics card, DirectX 12 support with 8GB shared memory and inputs for 4 monitors: 2 DVI, 1 HDMI, and 1 display port. Go to the Control Panel > System and Security > System to learn about the CPU and RAM. I right click on the Desktop to get options for your video settings and learn about the video card that you need installed.
Components Needed
How do you know if your existing computer has everything that you need?
I’d like to build what will be an AATD rated system so that I can simulate instrument flying as close as possible. I’m going to install a Noble system.
Flight simulator software. There is Prepar3d, X-Plane, and the coming revision to the Microsoft flight simulation software which has gotten rave reviews on line. The Flight simulation software sets the basis for how powerful your computer will need to be. Currently, the Noble system only supports Prepar3d, but they have designed their add-on flight simulation software to eventually work with Microsoft and X-Plane. I will be purchasing the Prepar3d software. $199.
Desktop Computer with a minimum of Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 64-bit (Windows 10 64-bit recommended), CPU with 2.2 GHz (i7 CPU with quad core recommended), 4GB RAM (16 GB RAM recommended), 40 GB of available hard drive space, DirectX 11 Support. Looks like my computer is more than adequate to handle the processing load for the simulator.
Monitor(s) for displaying the outside view. Depending upon how many monitor-out connections you have in your computer, you can have 1-to-many monitors setup in a configuration to show a wide spectrum of viewing. My graphics card has 4 outputs, 2 of which will be required for the MFD / PFD. My current monitor is a Dell U3011 with 2560 x 1600 output. It’s a great monitor and has a lot of real estate. I probably won’t add a second one as this particular model is discontinued and you want to try and keep the two monitors identical (preferably with a small outer bezel so that there is minimal disruption when you scan the outside from one monitor to another). If I were to head towards a 2 monitor setup, I’d probably default down to two 1920x1080 monitors, effectively giving me 3840x1080 — arguably about 50% more side to side viewing angle at the cost of reduced vertical spacing. To really make an improvement, probably would need to invest to acquire two Ultrathin Monitors like the S2719DM which offer 2560 x 1440, which would extend the range to 5120 x 1440, which would be an incredible horizontal range. Potential cost: $770. Note that you can also add a second graphics card to your computer. This would presumably add another 4 monitor outputs giving you a potential of 6 screens used for horizontal viewing. Wow!
Graphics card(s) for the monitors. The main display can be a monitor or a larger sized television screen. Some may want a triple display setup (this would be 5 monitors, since the MFD / PFD are additive), which would most likely require two graphics cards. Most modern graphics cards have multiple outputs. They usually are in these connector formats listed from the most ubiquitous to least likely found: DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C, DVI, VGA. It’s a good idea to plan ahead the display setup and then purchase the correct graphics cards to support that design. If users want the latest and greatest rendered images and scenery driving a 4K screen resolution, the graphics card driving the main displays for the flight simulator will likely be an expensive one. As a point of reference, GeForce RTX 2080Ti cards are around $1200. The smaller resolution displays like the PFD and MFD can utilize a much old generation graphics card because they are just 1024x768 or 1280x1024 maximum resolution. If a user just wants to practice IFR flying, then the visual demands for the flight simulator goes way down; 80% of the time the visuals should be white and in the “soup”. A graphics card ranging from $150-$200 should be sufficient provided the display quality is lowered in the flight simulator.”
Plane Model Extension. Flight simulators are built to be modified and extensible. Publishers can create graphics that represent the design and performance of different planes. You’ll need to add on an extensions for the Cirrus. Fortunately, Carenado makes an SR22 Turbo extension for both Prepar3d and X-Plane. It is on sale during COVID for $10.50. This is software that we’ll install into Prepar3d.
Optional Hardware: MFD / PFD. Flight simulation software takes the different screens that you may have in a plane and makes them into separable windows. This allows you to take something like the PFD in a Cirrus and drop it into a different monitor if you want to setup multiple monitors. In the case of Noble, they provide a hardware setup that includes two monitors that have been configured to look, feel, and behave just like an MFD and a PFD. If you buy their NFS G1000CP With Panel Mount, this is a configuration that includes both the MFD / PFD designed so that it can be placed on a desk and offer a configuration similar to what you’d feel if you were in a Cirrus. The two monitors will plug into your desktop computer via display port. I only have one display port input on my graphics card, so I will need to buy a DVI adapter. $4,450. Note that their current system is designed for a G3 / G5 and they haven’t yet shipped their G6 system with a Qwerty keyboard.
Optional Hardware: Interface Unit. On a Cirrus this is the keypad that lets you do data entry, manage the flight plan, the FMS knob, has the keys to control the flight director and auto pilot, configuring communications and navigation aids. This is included in the Noble system and connects to your computer through a USB device. Included with the Noble package.
Optional Software: Noble Flight Simulator Package. Noble systems hasn’t just opted to re-display the Prepar3D screens onto the PFD / MFD monitors. Cirrus Perspective is a different implementation of the G1000 and does take a little bit of transition even if you have trained on a G1000 in a Cessna like I did. Noble has implemented their own G1000 Perspective emulation. It sources GPS data from Prepar3D and they render their own graphics along with implementing various Perspective features like flight planning. They openly admit that there are some features like Synthetic Vision which they haven’t yet implemented, but the large majority of features that are needed for instrument flight have been. They take requests from their community to optimize and prioritize their engineering team on what should be built next. Additionally, they also provide their own navigation data. When I queried them, they have an open source package that is from 2018, so beware that what they load may be out of date. I do a lot of Bay Area flying and they changed the Bravo airspace in 2019, so that change would not be reflected in the package. Noble will have provide an option that resolves this in order for them to obtain their AATD certification. Included with the Noble package, though can be purchased separately.
Optional Hardware: Yoke / Flight Stick / Throttle / Flaps. Noble indicated to me that by the end of April 2020, they will also be shipping their own yoke that can attach to a desk and behaves quite similarly to the side stick available within a Cirrus. This is a cool. They also suggested that they may be shipping a throttle / flaps / fuel attachment by the end of 2020. Pretty cool. In the meantime, however, you can either use your keyboard / mouse (yuck) or buy a joystick and throttle attachment. There is a variety of simple ones available for purchase, and there would be some configuration to map the individual controls on the joystick you purchase to the actions that you want to have performed on the Cirrus. I will probably go with this configuration temporarily until I can get a Noble yoke / throttle configuration.
Optional Hardware: Rudder Pedals. In talking with different aviation enthusiasts, they indicate that rudder pedals are an important part of the sim experience. From keeping the ball centered during take off and landing (when the YD is not engaged) to keeping coordinated turns in the pattern, it’s an easy and dangerous skill to forget once one gets used to having the yaw damper. There seems to be a big difference in quality between the low cost rudder pedals and the high end ones. People rave about the Thrustmaster TPR System rudders at $550 by delivering one of the best “feeling” rudder pedals relative to what you experience in the plane. As of this writing, suppliers were not able to ship these to the United States.
Optional Hardware / Software: Foreflight Integration. Like most pilots, I am a user and fan of Foreflight. If your Foreflight subscription has the ability to overlay GPS data onto a moving map and plate, then you can integrate your iPad running Foreflight into your flight simulator. The flight simulator can be configured to export their GPS data over Wifi and then you can have Foreflight connected to the same Wifi network to pick up this information. This helps you simulate what the experience might be like in your plane if you are using Foreflight for reading approach plates.
Optional Hardware / Software: Microphone + Pilotedge for ATC. It is one thing to fly by going through the motions. It’s another if you have to fly in a simulator, with simulated weather, and having to respond in real time to humans interacting with you. Pilotedge is a service that is run by air traffic controllers which provides pilots using simulators ATC interactions while you are running your simulator. The Pilotedge network receives GPS data feeds from your simulator so that ATC can provide guidance. Pilotedge costs $19.95 / month. You’ll want to pair that service with a good microphone. Many people will buy a PC-based headset with microphone to simulate the gear you wear in a plane. My home office is setup for remote work, and I have a CAD u37 studio microphone which offers excellent quality and I’ll use that.
Setup
These are the steps that I followed to get my simulator configured.
Purchase Prepar3D & Install It. Pretty straight forward. It takes a couple hours to download and install it on my Windows system. It worked immediately and the license that they gave didn’t provide any issues.
Purchase Cirrus Plane Model & Install It. The Carenado web site is not that stable. I had a hard time performing searches, getting the purchase into a shopping cart, and ultimately making the purchase. Once you purchase, the software is in a ZIP file. After it’s installed, it’s placed into the appropriate directory where Prepar3D is installed. After I started Prepare3D the next time, I was able to verify that Cirrus SR22 models were provided.
Install Joystick & Rudders & Throttle. This wasn’t as straight forward as I had hoped it would be. The cheap(ish) joystick that I bought was configured for right handed flying, and to simulate being in the left seat needed to take apart some of the components of the joystick and then attach other pieces provided in order to make it a left handed operation. The screws in this particular joystick were irritatingly tight. Additionally, both the joystick and the rudders had specialty device driver software that needed to be installed through the publisher’s web site. It wasn’t difficult, but it was a bit of brute force.
Configure Rudders. By default, most out of the box joysticks are configured to have a z-axis that happens if you rotate the stick. This typically acts as a rudder control. If you have purchased some rudder pedals, you have to configure those rudder pedals to provide the appropriate inputs. Prepar3D provides a screen for configuring the controls. Each device is configured differently. The easiest way I found was to identify which control is currently on the joystick, note down the command that it was, and then apply that command to the rudder control. You need to do this separately for rudder and braking authority.
Configure Flaps / Fuel. I bought a component that has a separate throttle device. It has many buttons and levers. I needed to figure out which lever to use for flap control and then which buttons to use for L/R fuel. Ultimately, I decided to configure the left / right buttons on my Joystick to be flaps extend / retract. My Joystick also has an acceleration knob which I am using for throttle.
Configure Trim. This took awhile and needed some help from the Noble guys before it was figured out. When you are configuring Trim options in Prepar3d, there are 15 or so. You want to set “Elevator/Aileron Trim (POV hat)” to the Hat Switch on your joystick. If you don’t get trim working quickly, your VFR flying will be all over the place.
Configure Mixture. I haven’t done this yet — so far flying with just leaving the mixture rich. The keyboard is too awkward to adjust mixture, so will definitely need to configure a lever at some point.
Prepar3D Views. In my Prepar3D setup, I have the main window act as the outside view and then open a second window to show me the lower panel. In Prepar3D this was to set the main view to be Views -> Change View -> Cockpit -> Cockpit. I then add a second view with Views -> New View -> Cockpit -> Middle Panel. It looks approximately like the following. I (sometimes) also add a third view with Views -> New View -> Cockpit -> Switches. This will give you a visual of the panel where the battery, alternator, pitot heat, various lights, and icing controls can be visually selected with a mouse. The Noble system has buttons for those on the main control panel, but they are not labeled — so until I either memorize which ones are which switch (or paper label them), this is a bit of a cheat.
Prepar3D Looking. I only have a single monitor available for looking outside the cockpit. If you are flying a pattern in VFR, you will want to look out the side of the plane. On your keyboard, you can use the numbers 1–9 to look in different directions. But, really, who has their keyboard close by when flying in a simulator? So, in my joystick, it has a number of buttons on either side of the joystick itself. So, I programmed one of the left buttons to look left and another button to look right. Be careful, though, in order to program looking left, you need to do it twice in Prepar3D. If you program the button once, it will look left and stay left. You have to find a second command, which is to return to center and program that to use the same button, but to only execute when the button is released. So you get a look left upon button down and a look center when released.
This is a default setup that I would use. I will sometimes add a 3rd view to the screen which shows the panel buttons and their current values.
Fly VFR. I was then able to pick an airport in Prepar3D that I was familiar with and attempt to fly a VFR mission. It was quite the exercise just to try to fly a simulator by staying in the pattern!
Build the Noble System. The Noble package comes in a large box and many parts. There is quite a bit of manual setup that is needed to be done, but it’s a fun DIY exercise. Noble provides a helpful video that guides you through the setup. It was about 3 hours of work to get to the same point that they had on their video.
Address My Video Adapter Problem. The MFD / PFD of the Noble system are VGA monitors. Noble provides two VGA -> DisplayPort adapters. Unfortunately, my video card has a single DisplayPort and an HDML. I was fortunate to find a male:male VGA adapter and then a VGA -> HDMI cable at the local Best Buy.
Install the Noble Simulation Software. When you purchase the Noble system, you are given a license to their custom simulation software. This software runs alongside Prepar3d. It detects the two monitors from the MFD / PFD configuration and then presents those screens with data from your simulator. You run the Noble Simulation Software before you start the simulator. Once the software was installed, you can confirm it is working by loading a scenario in your simulator and then increasing the throttle. You’ll see the metrics appear on the Noble screens.
Configure Foreflight To Integrate with Prepar3D. This should be simple for most people, but turned into an adventure for me. The instructions are simple —setting an option in Prepar3D’s configuration screen. However, this didn’t work and sent me into a rabbit hole of concerns around my network configuration. In doing some deeper support searches online you will find that Prepar3D broadcasts GPS data on UDP port 49002. I tried reconfiguring my firewalls to no avail. After a couple hours of attempting different solutions, which included replacing my wifi with a LAN line and trying to use a cellular wifi hotspot to no avail, I had to pursue deeper options. I came across XMapsy, which is a 3rd party software that will bridge your simulator and Foreflight. It also didn’t work, but it did give me an option to change it from broadcoast (any device) to a specific IP address of my Ipad, and that did work! This allowed me to narrow down the issue to a UDP broadcast issue. With a bit more work, it was uncovered that if you have Windows 10 and multiple network adapters (I had VirtualBox installed) that UDP broadcast can fail. Welp, I uninstalled VirtualBox, and then Foreflight worked immediately!
Install PilotEdge Software. You’ll need to create a PilotEdge account and install their client. Their client will require some additional software called SimConnect to be installed and it is NOT included in the PilotEdge software. It’s rather annoying, but if you do a search for SimConnect install, there are different packages available for installation. If you don’t have SimConnect installed, PilotEdge will give an error when it starts. I configured the fire trigger switch on the joystick to be the radio communications.
Scenario Configuration
There is a bit of work and nuance that goes into getting the simulator configured for a scenario. The sequence in which you boot and configure your software installed on your computer matters.
Boot the PC
Launch the Noble G1000 Software
Verify that MFD / PFD are on and active
Verify that the side panel USB is working by seeing lights activated
Launch your flight simulator software, in my case Prepar3D
Configure the simulator for the scenario that you want to fly including the plane, the starting location, and weather. Start the simulator.
Verify that Foreflight is picking up your location.
The final step is to launch PilotEdge. You will first launch their software client, which will open a browser Web page. If you are flying one of their certifications, you will need to file a flight plan using PilotEdge software. Opening the browser doesn’t necessarily connect you to PilotEdge network. In the browser tab, you will see a connect. Verify that you get connected to the PilotEdge network.
Begin your normal routine. The owner of PilotEdge has a number of videos that demonstrate how he goes through a scenario in his Baron. While only using battery, he will configure the plane, get an IFR clearance, configure the flight plan, configure any navigation aids, and then save the configuration. He’ll shut down the battery and then simulate a normal startup routine, subsequently reloading the scenario he just configured.
Ensure Mode C for PilotEdge. I ran into an issue where the ATC controller could not see my transponder even though it was programmed in the plane. There is Mode C button that needs to be activated for PilotEdge.
Quirks
Once all of this was done, I was able to complete an end-to-end flight using the Noble system and my computer. Here are some quirks that will catch you off guard.
I will try to keep a running record of things to watch out for, and keep them in prioritized order as things that I’d like to see for improvement.
Setup. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass to switch between having my home office desk be both a flight simulator and a home office. It does take about 15 minutes to hook up all of the cables, get things situated, plug in joystick, rudders, and so forth. I will probably consider a dedicated setup space as that would save a tremendous amount of time and would make for doing more flights in a single setting. Also, in a permanent setup, will find a cheap quality table where I don’t mind scuffs. You’ll also want to have a mechanism on where to place the joystick and throttle controls — you can either buy side tables, or perhaps do an attach mount to the table itself.
Noble — AP Behavior. The existing Prepar3D auto pilot behaves oddly and sometimes doesn’t behave properly at all. You do need to do a number of sample flights before you get the hang of its quirks. It will be very nice once Noble ships their own AP software for the GFC 700 as a lot of these quirks will go away. A few things to watch out for: pressing IAC / VS doesn’t activate vertical mode in the AP even though an altitude is set and AP is on (Work around is to try pressing the IAS/FLC a few times in succession), capturing an ILS glide slope requires absolute precision (if you press APR mode at the wrong time it may not catch it).
Noble — GPS Modes. I haven’t done extensive approach procedures yet with Noble, but I understand that certain GPS modes are not yet supported. This will be of increasing importance as I run through the training regimen.
Noble — LOC Behavior. Currently if you have an ILS programmed into NAV1 and when you switch the NAV1 on the CDI it still shows a VOR with the wrong sensitivity. This is a known issue and a fix is coming soon.
Noble — No HOLD Programming. Noble’s current system is missing the ability to program a hold and then having the AP fly it. This also applies to flying holds that are part of an obstacle departure procedure or a missed approach. When programming missed approaches as part of a procedure, I had to fly each procedure using HDG mode — thank god for GPS tracking on Foreflight, otherwise things would have been a real challenge.
Noble — Wrong Airport Indicators. While programming a flight plan, L58, a non-towered airport, had to be entered as KL58 before the software recognized it. Also, when I added the ILS 20R approach for KSNA, the Noble database had the wrong navigation system, so had to override it manually.
Noble — Missed Procedure Turn. In the PilotEdge I-6 rating, you are required to fly a complete approach into KSNA (no vectors to final). SLI is a feeder to SAGER IAF on a 49 radial, which should require a procedure turn, outbound on a 016 heading after SAGER. The Noble system programmed instead a right turn at SAGER directly onto the approach heading. This may be a derivative of the previous issue where the database in Noble is outdated. This also seemed to happen for a mandatory PT on the VOR/DME-B approach into KAVX.
Noble-No VPATH Configuration Ability. If you want to program a vertical navigation profile, this is not currently supported.
Noble — DirectTo Preload. If you have a flight plan programmed and an active leg, the DirectTo button in the PFD does not pre-load the next fix. The DirectTo button in the MFD does pre-load the next fix.
Noble — FPL Cursor Toggle. If your FPL has many entries and you leave the FPL page and return, the screen scrolls to the top of the FPL and you cannot tell where the cursor is, and whether it’s blinking or not. You have a 50/50 chance of figuring out whether turning the knob is going to move the cursor or leave the FPL page. This should be an easy fix in an upcoming software version.
Noble — Topology / Profile Views. There isn’t synthetic vision and I wasn’t yet able to get the topology view to work as I would expect. This may be user error.
Noble — Toggle Switch Labels & Behavior. The switches are not labeled on the Noble system, but they are mapped to batteries, alternators, pitot heat, lights, and icing. You need to practice each set to identify which is which. Also, the behavior could be improved a bit. The software when it boots up doesn’t automatically detect the current value of the switch and then set the appropriate value based upon where the switch is at. You have to toggle the switch once after the simulator has started to get the switch to recognize the position.
Noble — Barometric Minimums Keyboard Entry. If you program an approach and set barometric mins, you must use the knob to set the value. The numerical keyboard doesn’t currently work.
Noble — COM ENT vs. Swap Key. If you are in FPL mode on the MFD and enter a new COM frequency, the swap arrow key will work, but the ENT key does not. The ENT key to program an entry in advance works if you are not on the FPL page.
RESOLVED: Noble — COM Radios. This is a biggie — and I hope that they add this feature soon. Right now, even though you can program the interface to use different radios, it seems that only COM1 was working especially with PilotEdge, effectively limiting my radio usage to a single radio. In talking with Noble engineers this week, they indicate that they now have a fix for this and plan to make it available in the April software update. Resolution: fixed in Noble’s 1.2.1 software update.
RESOLVED: Noble — AP Lights. The Noble software did correctly program the AP / FD and you can verify its set in the PFD. However, the lights on the side panel do not light to indicate what item is currently set. Noble has these quirks because they are using the simulator’s AP, which doesn’t behave similar to how a GFC700 does. The Noble team is working on a custom auto pilot implementation that will behave identical to a GFC 700 and they are planning a summer-time software update which will include this. Resolution: installed the 1.2.1 update from Noble.
RESOLVED: PilotEdge — Transponder. If you get a squawk code and program it into the transponder, it does appear in the Noble PFD properly, but it does not appear in the Carenado virtual cockpit. When I asked for my IFR release after programming an ATC code, they could not see my transponder working. There is a “MODE C” button in the PilotEdge software, and after I pressed that they were able to detect me. Was this Noble not sync’ing correctly or was it that PilotEdge has this extra requirement? Resolution: Before connecting PilotEdge to your simulator, ensure that “MODE C” is depressed in PilotEdge.