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Welcome back to the sixth main progress update for the SWL-120. The main focus of this update is the flight management computer, or FMC. The FMC is essentially a small computer installed on both sides of the forward center panel (two sets of a screen and keypad which share a common computer), and manages advanced flight information such as waypoints, among other functions.

Overview

As my goal for the SWL-120 is to make a fully functional plane and cockpit, I have of course made a fairly accurate FMC. The SWL-120 is fictional, so I don't have to 100% mimic any real life FMC, however I've drawn inspiration from the A320 and 737 FMCs to ensure mine is somewhat realistic. Some functions most real life FMCs have are not included, however my goal for this was to not require actual pilot training to operate. I wanted to make something which seems realistic and is also easy to understand and use. It has a total of 48 different pages, and if you count how many characters it can store, it has 942 bytes of storage (up to 942 possible stored characters, with other toggleable settings pushing it past a kilobyte).

Some of the information you can input is kind of useless for actual aircraft function in SP, such as the origin airport and the destination airport, but some has actual use for the advanced systems. You can create flight plans from a list of a total of 30 preprogrammed waypoints, and even create up to 4 custom waypoints! What's cool about these waypoints is there is included support for three mod plugins: Kaper Town Airport, Maywar Airport, and Xinshan Airport. What's even cooler about this is you can actually disable support for the airports individually through a settings page. I also made waypoints for computer only islands like Snowstone sort of like a fourth mod. If you are on mobile, you can simply disable computer waypoints and only have waypoints for islands you can fly to.

Not Just The FMC

I'd also like to quickly mention the FMC is not all for this update. I've worked on the overhead panel and the center panel, making all kinds of tweaks, additions, and improvements.

Yes, every single individual button can be clicked.

Design Process

This subproject of the SWL-120 has taken me a total of three months to complete, and I visited several real life cockpits to get an understanding of how real life FMCs function. I then started designing a flowchart to give me a visual representation of all the pages and features I wanted. Having a plan of what I wanted to do was really helpful, as I wasn't making stuff up and changing things as I was coding the label.

Speaking of code, the FMC uses over 1200 variables! Most of these are to store all the inputs, and just over 200 are used to manage the two displays and temporary input values. There are three components to the FMC's design, the variables, the current page, and the label. The label relies on the current page code and the variables to function properly, however the variables work by themselves (the label can be deleted and all the backend code would function the same). The full development process is explained in my five recent videos which are related to this update. Video 1. Video 2. Video 3. Video 4. Video 5.

FMC Functions

The FMC has many functions and pages, however the main purpose is to manage waypoints. Back in my second main progress update, I originally had planned for the FMC to just be a screen with waypoints on it, however this new one can do way more. I'm really not sure how to explain everything in text, so I'll just put some images and a flowchart here to show you all the different pages. You can also skip to 1:15 in this video for a full demonstration of all the functions (minus a few tweaks which are explained in the fifth video in the update series).

FMC Flowchart

Flightplan Page

Here you can enter some information about your flight, and also visit some subpages related to the flightplan.

Flightplans Page

Here you can enter up to five lists of up to twenty five waypoints.

Different Versions

As I've explained in the past, the SWL-120 will feature several different versions. The current planned versions as of writing this post are below. There will be three public versions and a few unlisted versions.

Please note all versions will feature an "autostart" similar to the SWL-10's easy mode.

• Main Version | Full thing. It uses mods to reduce the technical part count of 9000 to just 1500 (approx).
• No Mods | Full plane, but no mods. It's a cargo version, with no windows or doors, and the engines are slightly simpler, with the N2 and N1 components (aside from the front fan) being removed. Most minor details like rivets and possibly the livery will likely also be removed.
• VR Edition (Flying Cockpit) | Just the cockpit and essential "physics parts". Meant to be used in VR where you spend the entire flight in the cockpit. I had plans for this to be curated, however the center panel is 6000 performance cost alone so I think this will simply be a version for potatoes.

Release Dates

Not sure yet. I want to say February, but I don't want to cut corners, so this will likely be later than that.

FAQ

Q: How many parts does this have?
A: The parts are spread out across several files, but I'd say just 2000! (that does use mods though, so estimate 3000 for the no mods cargo version)
Q: gib releas date when
A: Not sure yet, as I've said above I only want to provide the highest quality parts, so I'm taking my time.
Q: Mods? What about no mods?
A: I'm making two versions. One uses a custom mod to reduce the part count from 24000 to just 2000, and the other has no interior and is a cargo version. You can read more about this in the fifth progress update.

Video Links

• Making The FMC (Part 1)
• Making The FMC (Part 2)
• Making The FMC (Part 3)
• Making The FMC (Part 4)
• Making The FMC (Part 5)