MobiFlight is a powerful tool that significantly extends the capabilities of the Flight Tracker plugin. Due to its extensive feature set, setting it up can feel confusing at first. This guide will give you more context on what it can do, and walk you through the process step-by-step.
If you've used the Stream Deck plugin for a while, you may have noticed that default SimConnect Events work well for simpler GA aircraft but fail on more complex aircraft like those from FBW, A2A, or PMDG. These sophisticated aircraft implement custom internal systems and ignore many default SimConnect events. For instance, the TOGGLE_MASTER_BATTERY
event works in a Cessna 152 but does nothing in the FBW A380X.
For these complex aircraft, custom variables called L:Vars are often used to control internal systems. For example, the FBW A380X uses the L:Var L:A32NX_OVHD_ELEC_BAT_1_PB_IS_AUTO
and L:A32NX_OVHD_ELEC_BAT_2_PB_IS_AUTO
to control its battery switches. These L:Vars are specific to FBW aircraft, so they won't work with aircraft from other developers.
MobiFlight helps by providing a WASM module that acts as a bridge between SimConnect events and L:Var manipulation, allowing you to control these custom systems. For example:
A380_OVHD_ELEC_Battery_APU_Button_Toggle#(L:A32NX_OVHD_ELEC_BAT_APU_PB_IS_AUTO) ! (>L:A32NX_OVHD_ELEC_BAT_APU_PB_IS_AUTO)
This line defines a new SimConnect event called A380_OVHD_ELEC_Battery_APU_Button_Toggle
that toggles the value of the L:Var L:A32NX_OVHD_ELEC_BAT_APU_PB_IS_AUTO
. You can use this event in a Generic Flight Tracker button to control the APU battery of the FBW A380X.
Though this feature in MobiFlight is now marked as legacy, it still works well for our purposes. Here is how you can set that up:
- Install MobiFlight from https://www.mobiflight.com/ (currently at version 10.4.0)
- Run MobiFlight Connector after the installation
- Install the MSFS WASM Module and update events.txt when prompted. If you don't see any prompt, you can find them under
Extras > MSFS2020
menu. - Yyou should now see a folder
mobiflight-event-module
in your Community folder, withmodules\events.txt
file inside. - Open the
events.txt
to see all the existing mapping between SimConnect events and L:Vars. Find the line with the desired mapping. - Take note of the name before the first
#
in the line - In a Generic button of Flight Tracker plugin, add
MobiFlight.
prefix to the name above, and use it inToggle event
orHold event
field.
For example:
- You may find this line
A380_OVHD_ELEC_Battery_APU_Button_Toggle#(L:A32NX_OVHD_ELEC_BAT_APU_PB_IS_AUTO) ! (>L:A32NX_OVHD_ELEC_BAT_APU_PB_IS_AUTO)
inevents.txt
A380_OVHD_ELEC_Battery_APU_Button_Toggle
is the preset name- In Flight Tracker plugin, use
MobiFlight.A380_OVHD_ELEC_Battery_APU_Button_Toggle
We've included a quick GNS 530 example for the knobs and basic buttons here
Note: You don't need to press Run in MobiFlight Connector. You don't even need to run MobiFlight Connector at all after the initial setup.
There are 2 ways to add more mappings if you already know the L:Var.
All the current mapping that you can see in events.txt are collected from https://hubhop.mobiflight.com.
- Create a new account or login at https://hubhop.mobiflight.com
- Press Add preset and fill in all the necessary field. I would recommend you to take reference of the existing presets of the same aircraft and try to follow the naming convention.
- Open MobiFlight Connector
- Go to
Extras > MSFS2020 > Update events.txt (legacy)
- Restart MSFS
If you prefer not to share the preset with the community, you can add the mapping locally:
- Open
mobiflight-event-module\modules
in your Community folder. You should seeevents.txt
andevents.user.txt.inactive
files. - Do not modify
events.txt
directly as this file will be overwritten by MobiFlight Connector updates. Instead, renameevents.user.txt.inactive
toevents.user.txt
and add your new mappings/presets there. - Restart MSFS
Thanks to a recent update from Asobo, SimConnect can now read L-Vars directly, allowing you to use them in the Feedback value
or Display value
fields. Just enter the L:Var name (e.g., L:A32NX_OVHD_ELEC_BAT_APU_PB_IS_AUTO
) with L:
prefix.
Here is an example of the setup for Battery 1 button on the FBW A380X:
- Header:
BAT 1
- Toggle event:
MobiFlight.A380_OVHD_ELEC_Battery_1_Button_Toggle
- Feedback value:
L:A32NX_OVHD_ELEC_BAT_APU_PB_IS_AUTO
You can use tools like FSUIPC (free version) to see the L:Vars:
- Load in to the aircraft in MSFS
- In FSUIPC, click on menu
Add-ons > WASM > List Lvars