MFD Cougar Pack
Contents
1. Airliner and Generic gives as far as I ve seen no problems with the default FSX airplanes Just as a reminder didn t check it with FS9 No problems means that most of the buttons work with FSX and thus the flight sim model responds to your remote commands However when using the profile with an add on GA or large jet aircraft some of the buttons didn t respond or at least didn t see anything happening in the cockpit or externally This is not strange to me since almost a year ago did a huge VRInsight review and there the developers had special add on aircraft files to work with the hardware That s something that s missing here and don t know Thrustmaster s plans but when they are able to make dedicated profiles for the PMDG or Wilco Publishing planes for example it would be great When this doesn t happen then an extension of how to make your own profiles would be another option although not every flight simmer may be able to do so file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 14 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site Ok just in one sentence Altogether it s nice looking hardware and well designed great backlighting options great basic software however do miss dedicated profiles for the most known add on aircraft models With that being said you pay 79 99 including VAT for the MFD Cougar Pack at the SimWare Simulation shop within European countries excluding shi2. 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site a a g E I L al ih i i i ie TEER What s applicable for all the others is the same here What and how should you make pictures when you ve pressed one of the buttons or switches Not an easy job and although the pictures look nice they never reflect the real interaction between the MFD and the Level D Oops there s at least one thing that worked and that s the LANDING GEAR DOWN selection Our next victim is the Wilco Publishing Airbus Volume 2 need to watch out testing this model since officially it s not supported for a 64 bit operating system and we re not even talking about Windows 7 Ok that s something else since l ve got the idea that when something runs on Vista x64 it will run for sure on Windows 7 x64 After some test flights it seems that almost every button and switch on the MFD Cougar is working or the aircraft is responding to its command thus the Airliner profile seems to work fine with this Wilco feelThere add on model That s good news since could image that this will be the same for the other Wilco Airbus models and hopefully for the recently released Embraer Regional Jets Oops while writing this figured out that there are hardly any screenshots but that s difficult since you can t see what s happening or how the aircraft is responding will offer you a few but that s more to give you an idea o
3. Christmas Vertical Reality Simulations
4. of this we first need to load the Airliner profile The first add on aircraft to test with this file will be the Captain Sim 757 After some while playing around it s better to ask ourselves the question what s not working As far as I ve seen almost everything is responding except for a few things like the Increase ZOOM switch the AUTOBRAKE Increase Decrease doesn t respond either and that s it That s very good news Nice pictures of the Captain Sim 757 but very difficult to show those situations where you can see something As written in the text most of the MFD Airliner profiles work with the CS 757 model which is great news That s much better than the pictures Up next Flight1 s Level D Boeing 767 300 My first impression is that this won t work In my opinion all of the Auto Flight related buttons like Autopilot Autothrottle Altitude Hold and Heading Hold etc are not responding This means that the MFD buttons have no possibility via the Airliner profile to inform the Level D 767 what to do Is it because the Level D uses different commands or simply because it s too complex Who will know but what know is that one of the most essential buttons doesn t work and that s a pity For the remainder of the buttons and switches it seems they are all responding Not bad at all but I m slightly disappointed while on the other hand did expect this already file EI A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 10 of
5. the Generic Profile cards in the left and right MFD panels file EI A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 12 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site loaded the Generic Profile via the plug in for FSX software fired up FSX and loaded the F 16 Fighting Falcon ready to go from a American AFB can tell you already that the Generic profile isn t well integrated with this modern piece of simulation Of course some buttons and switches don t reflect what s inside the F 16 like rotor brake cowl flaps control water rudder or clutch Unfortunately the flaps switch on the MFD is not working but at the same time we need to remember as far as my knowledge goes that the F 16 is equipped with flaperons As in real life when the landing gear is down the flaperons move down to a certain degree but as said before there s no control possible via the MFD flap switch Although the F 16 Falcon Fighter is an impressive fighter to fly the pictures made never tell you the problem and the missed interactions between the used profile and the F 16 Not really a big problem but had hoped that more functions worked The middle lower shot shows you the tail hook which is a button command while the panel window 2 offers the two pop up windows which you can see on the RH lower picture It allows you to directly start stop the F 16 general operations A very handy button indeed Does th
6. the moment it becomes too complicated they don t respond and thus the need for a dedicated profile for well known add on models would be great Summary Closing Remarks Although the Thrustmaster MFDs don t offer real TFTs still liked the hardware that reviewed Ok the MFDs don t really virtually fit in a Cessna 172 or a Boeing 747 400 nor in an Airbus A320 it s still a straightforward option of adding some hardware to your favorite flight simulator The software installation is perfect and the integration with the hardware is even more stunning The Control Panel software allows the user to check and test the individual MFD including buttons or switches testing By the way the Thrustmaster software only speaks of buttons and no switches but don t worry too much about that The second part of the software the plug in for FSX or FS204 is also great and works with the Flight Simulator version you want to use That the package doesn t come with FS2004 cards is a shame but not that big a problem because those cards can be downloaded for free at the Thrustmaster s website That the software comes on a mini CD looks nice but imagine you have a CD DVD drive mounted vertically then this could lead to a problem Ok also in this case you re able to download the software directly from their website but honestly prefer a normal sized CD and also the FS2004 cards together in the box Using the different profiles Light Aviation
7. with the anti slip at the bottom of each unit Testing the MFDs with the help of the Control Panel software works perfectly Activation of the relevant plug in file works straightforward and as long as you re using default airplanes most of the buttons control the associated functions in your favorite aircraft Profiles also work with complex add on aircraft however certain functions do not work For this reason a dedicated file would be a better solution What Don t Like About The MFD Cougar Pack file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 15 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site Powered by AVSIM SimWords Flight Simulator Links Discover the world wide Flight Simulator Community Enter your FS related website in the largest links database online www avsim com e Supplied mini CD with software is not always the best solution for those who have a vertical mounted CD DVD drive e Although downloadable from the Thrustmaster s website could image that for those flight simmers still using FS9 do miss the FS2004 cards Downloading and printing by you is never as beautiful as the supplied ones e Why isn t it possible to have dedicated profiles for complex and highly realistic add on models like the airplanes from Wilco Publishing Aerosoft PMDG Flight1 Carenado and many others Printing If you wish to print this review or read it offline at your leisure rig
8. AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site AVSIM Commercial Hardware Review MFD COUGAR Pack Er ee ee THERUSTMASTIOUNR Product Information Publishers SimWare Simulation Description MFD Multi Function Display Cougar Pack Download Size Format Simulation Type Drivers 10 4 MB Software on Mini CD FS9 FSX reviewed in FSX FSX FS9 plug in 13 45 MB file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 1 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site Reviewed by Angelique van Campen AVSIM Senior Staff Reviewer December 9 2009 Introduction It s not even Sinterklaas or Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus very confusing by the way and the first gift arrives from UPS Ok need to return this hardware present to SimWare Simulations after reviewing it but nonetheless it s still fun reviewing some hardware This time the honor goes to Thrustmasters MFD Multi Function Display COUGAR Pack which comes with 2 multifunctional USB display panels These are by the way replicas of the U S Air Force F 16 MFD but the hardware also fits perfectly when using it in combination with FS9 FSX civil aircraft models To be honest I m very interested in what SimWare Simulations who offered me this hardware writes about it It s time to look at the SimWare Simulations website and copy this information here so we can all see and read it OK here we go e The ideal companion for al
9. a it should work straight away Some words about the software although the manual is very clear on this The Control Panel shortcut allows you to monitor the connected MFDs as well as testing them before connecting them to a Flight Simulator version Before connecting the MFDs to FSX FS9 you need to load the respective FSX or FS9 profile from the Thrustmaster MFD Cougar folder You have the following choices of profile files Light Aviation profile for Flight Simulator X or FS9 This profile is specifically designed to meet the requirements of light and leisure aircraft It comprises a basic autopilot feature as well as landing gear and flaps controls electric systems management features engine mixture propeller pitch and engine cooling system controls etc Airliner profile for Flight Simulator X or FS9 While offering a number of features available in the Light Aviation Profile this profile also accounts for more specific aspects inherent to airliners and professional aviation while also providing an advanced autopilot feature Generic profile for Flight Simulator X or FS9 This profile covers the most frequent requirements for both civil and military aircraft Intel Core Extreme 17 965 3 2Ghz 6GB Tri Channel DDR3 1600Mhz EVGA GTX 285 For the Winner Triple WD VelociRaptor 300GB HDD Single WD 1TB HDD data Windows 7 Ultimate X64 Flight Simulator FSX SP2 Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals Saitek ProFlight Yoke Syst
10. d Focke Wulf with Generic Profile test Before moving on to the Airliners profile let s try the two previous tested add on models in combination with the Generic profile You never know what the outcome will be and it could be that the profiler is more adapted to these aircraft We first start with the Carenado and it seems that some buttons which were previously not connected are doing their job On the other hand the card and thus the profile offers more functionality not related to this GA airplane The overall button switch functions work well compared to the Light Aviation profile however the missing of certain interactive functions is also a matter of your own preferences We close this chapter with our last model the Focke Wulf old fashioned fighter It seems that most of the things that work with the previous profile doesn t work here apart from those buttons and or switches which are differently file EI A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 9 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site configured via the software Thus the Focke Wulf is partly supported by the two profiler files Light Aviation and Generic in relation to the add on models It s not worse but it s a shame there are no dedicated files available for certain add on models or it s because it isn t possible That answer stays for the moment unanswered Airliner Profile test It s time we visit the heavies and because
11. dd on models Second Impression add on planes Light Aviation Profile test The first one l Il check is the Carenado C172N Skyhawk II floatplane and can tell you already that not all the buttons and or switches are working Simple things like cycling through the different views work as well as flap extension retraction but Nav igation Lights have no effect however the Light All button works Mixture works but Master Battery button doesn t have any effect can conclude that my overall impression is that some buttons work and some don t To be honest I m not surprised since these profiles are default files and the more complex an add on plane becomes where more commands are created outside the default FSX programming I ll hope write it down correctly the more problems appear file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 8 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site A few screenshots of the Carenado C172 in combination with the COUGAR Light Aviation profiler file As said not all the functions work except for the basic ones The other problem is making photo s of something which works interactive and not always visible Anyway the above setup of your MFD s could be an option Let s go for another light plane or at least think it s a light one the Focke Wulf 190A1 from Classic Hangar You could think I m using the right profile since there s a profile specially for all oth
12. don t want to write a complete tutorial here but since it s fun testing these units it could be that you ll find the necessary steps apart from what s already written in the manual My MSFS PC ts back up and running and via the Start menu l Il find two new folders Thrustmaster and Thrustmaster MFD Cougar The first folder offers a sub folder Force Feedback Driver with the program to do so The 2nd folder is what we need and that s how to program the MFD and how to install the plug in for Flight Simulator 9 or FSX Before doing anything first connect both MFDs via the USB cable to your PC or USB hub By the way the system should work already with one MFD However to use these MFDs within Flight Simulator you need to connect both of them or else it won t work Before forget it the Thrustmaster Cougar software allows you to connect up to 8 MFDs Ok back to the USB connection As always with USB devices the necessary driver needs to be installed and since it s not plug and pray after some seconds the unit is installed and all the green buttons and switches are back lit It looks like file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 6 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site a Christmas tree and so far it works great Is that because I m using Windows 7 or should that be a difference with those who are still using Vista or XP That s something can t check but I think even with Vist
13. em Saitek Pro Flight Switch Panel TrackerlR Pro 4 TrackerClip Pro Flying Time 41 hours Let s summarize what I ve done to get this actually working installed the software from the mini CD restarted my PC connected the MFDs configured and mainly tested each MFD individually inserted the FSX card of my need and loaded the FSX plug in to conform to the profile want That s it and you re ready to start FSX Does it look complicated to you Believe me it s very easy and worth mentioning the manual shows you all the steps to perform so you can t make a mistake It s now time to see how it really works and what you can do with it since the software doesn t talk about add on aircraft In other words do the created profiles work with complex programmed add on aircraft models like PMDG Leonardo SH Wilco Publishing or the CLS Lite models like their DC 10 or Boeing 747 Classic or even Airbus models I ll tell you right now that can t check them all but for a few will do First Impression default FSX planes Testing Light Aviation Profiler file Where I left with the installation I m back on track with FSX running flying somewhere in the northwest of the United States or probably I ve already passed the Canadian border heading for Vancouver Island Since activated the Light Aviation profile and to make it clear inserted the LH and RH Light Aviation MFD cards in the display units I m flying around in t
14. er models including military versions and no doubt that the Focke Wulf is a military airplane However it s a very uncomplicated model so that s the reason for using the same profiler file We will see how it responds to my MFD commands What we ve seen with the Carenado model is more or less the same here Not all the buttons do what the text on the inserted FSX card is telling me For example GEAR UP needs to be done via the keyboard however DOWN selection goes via the RH lower switch indicating ZOOM Decrease Selection while the assigned Gear UP DOWN LH upper switch doesn t do anything The RH upper Mixture Increase Decrease switch does control the mixture setting and that s good news This is the same for LH bottom Flaps Retract Extends switch on the MFD this one also controls the flaps as indicated Let s give you another example the Nav Lights button on the MFD works fine as well as the Light All and many more of those know that it s a long list with what is working and what is not but the in between conclusion for these Light Aviation add on models is that not all the buttons and or switches do what they re supposed to do or at least when looking at the text on the cards and the outcome in FSX Some button actions don t give any responce in the aircraft while some do something not confirmed on the written card text It seems that you need specially created profiles for Light Aviation add on models Additional Carenado an
15. f the setup rather than seeing anything file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 11 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site 7 ey JE EEan a r 4 a i pey i a Wilco Publishing Airbus 34 600 and the MRTT in combination with the MFD Airliner profiler As you could read it works not bad at all although certain buttons switches do not respond on your action A dedicated profile would be a very good option and probably not difficult for Thrustmaster to make Would it be an idea to test these heavy jets with Thrustmaster s generic profiler don t think so and that thought is confirmed when looking at the generic cards Although a few items are the same there s less of what s related to the Airliners profile thus don t think it s useful to do this test only to find out what happening Ok before closing this Airliners profile chapter let s try one more the Leonardo SH Maddog 2008 Professional Based on my experiences think it s better to tell you again what isn t working and the conclusion will not be strange It seems with a complex model like the Maddog 2008 that all the MFD buttons and switches work except those related to the Auto flight and Autothrottle system This is something we had seen before with the Level D 767 As we have seen before without a dedicated Airliner profile the most elementary buttons and or switches work however with a more complex pro
16. grammed flight sim model In between conclusion What have we learned so far of the Airline profile Basic MSFS commands work however with more complex functions it seems to me that those are not working at all or just partly Those complex programmed add on FSX airplanes and their functions are the Auto Pilot and Auto Throttle system because the default FSX AP and or AT are far from real and don t give the advanced programmer enough space to create a realistic cockpit and behavior As long as an add on aircraft is using the default AP and AT there s no problem However when the developers want to create their own realistic Auto Flight system then it seems this profile can t handle that MFD Cougar connected to a F 16 The two MFD Cougar panels suggest that those come from a military airplane and yes they are mounted in a General Dynamics F 16 but how do they respond in combination with a simulated F 16 Because of this SimWare Simulations offered me an F 16 Fighting Falcon package to make it possible for me to test the MFD Cougar pack It s my turn to find out if the generic profile works well with this advanced military aircraft By the way I only tested the MFD profile with the F 16 since I m not a military flight simmer at all and don t own any other advanced or modern fighters yet except for the previous tested Focke Wulf Oops that was a very old military fighter Before doing anything prepared myself by first inserting
17. he default FSX Cessna 172 Looking at all the possible options on the card l Il press each button by button and see if the aircraft or system is responding to my actions and the answer is yes it does Even using the BRT switch selected it allows me to extend or retract the flaps which is of course written on the card It seems that every switch is working and that means that this profile works for default models file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 7 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site Just a small note suppose you forgot to connect the MFDs to your PC the plug in software will tell you right away Testing Airliner Profiler file Before moving to complex add on aircraft let s first swap the inserted cards with the Airliner profile ones and see if those work with for example the default Boeing 747 400 or 737 and not to forget the Airbus A321 You can already expect the answer as far as can test and see every button and or switch marked with a specific text on the inserted card works in FSX and the aircraft is reacting to my actions The advantage of this is that you don t need your keyboard for those buttons that have been taken over by the MFD and you can even increment decrement the VOR1 or the HDG bug for example To make one thing clear you can t select a value since there s no rheostat installed but by clicking the respective switch you can change these previously me
18. ht click on the link below and select save as MFD Cougar Pack adobe acrobat required Comments Standard Disclaimer The review above is a subjective assessment of the product by the author There is no connection between the product producer and the reviewer and we feel this review is unbiased and truly reflects the performance of the product in the simming environment as experienced by the reviewer This disclaimer is posted here in order to provide you with background information on the reviewer and any presumed connections that may exist between him her and the contributing party Flyware Developer Gauge Library Gauge library OCX for simulation instrumentation applications gauge definition controlled by script file Demo SDK http www flyware nl file EI A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 16 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM 2009 AVSIM Online All Rights Reserved Flight Sim Super Store Over 1000 flight sim products in stock Hardware instant downloads and more are all here Great prices amp worldwide shipping www FSPilotShop com Tell A Friend About this Review Manage your own Airline Online simulation game of Airlines Buy Aircraft Open Routes Compete against other Live Players http www airwaysim com Become a SimWord Publisher VRS F A 18E NOW 20 OFF The multi award winning F A 18E Superbug is coming for FSX Save 15 preorder NOW FS9 version now 20 OFF until
19. ial functions and print them on the card itself didn t mention the two other cards because they are just decorative ones and do not have any function except that the display hole is covered by something Already mentioned before for those who like to connect the display units in relation to FS9 just download those cards via the offered Acrobat file from the previous mentioned Thrustmaster website The three lower screenshots are an extraction of this Acrobat file file EI A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 4 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site Doo Generic n Aing Tp mat we rho i A Bi ame OooOoog o SF a OD 0G Profile l LEFT MAD CHASAR TC Taban Geol pew Daph Wap Mea Fired Wirckew E Fisel Hiraka Y el bmn basrer Fase cal f Eri fl toei ge papi Ss The upper three images show the different inserted FSX cards in a MFD As you can see on each individual image the inserted card offers opposite of each button switch the connected text or function Together with the correct loaded profiler file the buttons and or switches control this function in FSX FS2004 The lower three images are extractions of the downloaded Acrobat file from Thrustmaster Except for the lower LH image which is just a decorative plate the lower middle is used in combination with FS2004 The RH lower seems to be a programmable card or let s say it allows yo
20. is mean nothing works or that the Generic Profile can t be used in combination with this F 16 No that s not true since many other buttons and switches are working But let s say there s limited operation because of the complex programming of this add on fighter and thus not an optimal profile l Il try to do my best by giving you some MFD buttons switches that are working doors opens the canopy pushback Virtual Cockpit View cycle View next category Locked spot view file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 13 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site Kneeboard ATC display Panel window 2 see screenshot Spoiler extend retract switch Light all Landing light Panel light which also controls the logo light Master battery Landing gear switch only down and finally the tail hook Finally there s also the question of the displayed MFD data on the simulated F 16 Fighting Falcon MFDs versus the Thrustmaster MFDs Remember what wrote before the Thrustmaster MFD s don t have a real TFT screen showing you real aircraft information for radar LH display or navigation RH display as it is done in the F 16 Falcon Fighter What s my in between conclusion with this F 16 in relation to the Generic Profiler file That s more or less the same as with the other add on airplanes The profile works for basic MSFS functions but
21. ista and Windows 7 for 32 and 64 bits Overall impression of the manual is very good All the software installation and configuration steps including the activation of the different profiles are discussed in the manual The only thing that isn t discussed is when you want to use the MFD Cougar with games other than Flight Simulator Programming or connecting the buttons and or switches to the particular game is not explained understand that this is not always possible because of the number of other games but at least an example of how to do it was certainly an option Installation That s really simple and straightforward just insert the mini CD and the installer shows the user a startup screen Here you re able to register your product install the driver read the user manuals install DirectX and Acrobat Reader if required You don t need most of the things related to manuals nor DirectX but it s all supplied if you need it According to the manual need to click the Drivers button This activates a new window and after giving me the choice of the directory it installs the driver s When finished another window pops up and installs the program itself and we re ready Before connecting any MFD just restart your PC first Just an example of one of the few installer screens that pass during your installation Don t worry It works great and afterwards when the PC is restarted you can start using the Control Panel Oops
22. l joysticks and yokes Compatible with all flight simulation games military or civil Supporting multi USB CD included with Plug amp Play presets for Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 Your choice of 3 presets Generic Light Aviation Airliner e From the creator of the HOTAS Cougar and T 16000M joysticks e 20 buttons 4 switches per MFD 48 programmable controls in total e Forget about your keyboard and take control with real flight instruments for even greater realism e 2 programmable LEDs per MFD to identify the MFD during programming e Backlighting for buttons with adjustable intensity via the software or manually e Multi position weighted non slip and detachable base e Multi Function Display e 2 Plexiglas windows per MFD to insert one of the 3 pre printed cardboard layouts with presets for Microsoft Flight Simulator X each cardboard layout corresponds to one of your choice of 3 presets Generic Light Aviation Airliner While currently writing did most of the testing thus it s very easy to say whether the above is true or false so I ll leave that open for the moment would like to make one thing clear and because of the importance l Il tell you this again later The MFD displays are not TFT screens These are just open frame panels with integral buttons and switches which can be connected to FSX or FS9 depending on the activated profiler files In other words a partic
23. ntioned functions Testing Generic Profiler file Finally there s the Generic profile and associated cards and even this works fine with what they say both civil and military models Unfortunately my default FSX doesn t offer any military models and therefore you will find a special chapter related to the F 16 Fighting Falcon software from Aerosoft offered to me by SimWare Simulations Back to our generic profile with any aircraft and as expected most of the buttons and or switches do what I want Some don t work for the simple reason that I ve got the wrong aircraft selected A Water Rudder for example doesn t work in combination with a business jet or the tail wheel lock doesn t function when you ve chosen a nose gear equipped aircraft etc Apart of some screenshots that never reflect the real operation and function of the MFD s and activated profiles must conclude that it all works perfectly Remember the profile files are essential to get the hardware MFD connected to FSX FS9 and in that respect the developers did a great job but now it s time to check the profiler files in relation to add on aircraft sincerely hope this works because the manual doesn t say anything about this and let s say that 95 of the average flight simmer is only flying add on models and hardly or never one of the default aircraft Therefore it s time to move on to the Second Impression where I m going to test the hardware with some a
24. or now let s have a close look of what you get The package consist of two MFD frames let s call them for now display units made of plastic although due to the weight and the way it s designed and casted you get the impression it s made of a metal so you re off to a good start Each display has its own USB cable which can be connected to any USB port or hub How and if that works that s for later To keep the frames in an angled position you could turn the round screws on each lower front side of the display but remember it s made of plastic and on the other hand there s no need to For each display unit there are two brackets which you can clip on the backside The brackets itself can be unscrewed and allows you to make them shorter or longer and thus influencing the length and thus when mounted the angle of the display To be more precise you can create angles of 72 54 and 39 by simply following the instructions in the manual which are found in the beginning of each manual Around each side of the display unit you ll find lots of programmable buttons which are by the way back lighted There are also four switches named GAIN BRT CON and SYM which allows you to control depending on the inserted card and software profile the flaps elevator trim landing gear extending retracting etc Operating those switches and buttons goes very easy and there s no need to put a placard on it because the inserted card tells y
25. ou what kind of function it offers In other words it s ready for use and because the whole MFD weight is a little more than expected from plastic it s easy to press them without moving the whole display If you wanted to you could dismantle the two halve of each display unit and mount them directly to a screen or in a handmade cockpit Confused or worried about how you do this All the information is within the manual file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 3 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site Some close up views of the MFDs lay MFD can and locked in three angles but it s even possible to dismantle it and fit it to your own needs Although the housing is made of plastic it feels and weighs different Furthermore each MFD has its own USB connected which allows the user via the activated profiler file to interact with your favorite aircraft Finally and depending on the profiler file used you can insert different cards in the LH RH MFD Unfortunately only FSX cards are supplied with the MFD COUGAR package Finally but yet importantly the slots on top of each display allows you to insert two Plexiglas windows where in between you can insert the supplied FSX related cards or a decorative version But what about the FS9 flight simmers No problem since Thrustmaster offers on their website cards for FS9 users Difficult to find no way find here the Thrustmas
26. pping costs also Know that the offered screenshots of the tested aircraft models are not what had hoped for It seems more complicated to make a photo of something that should show you the relationship between an MFD and the outcome in FSX Unfortunately it didn t work out as wanted it to Is this a lot of money for what you get That s difficult to answer for me since don t know how much money flight simmers would spend for their hobby but can say this the software and hardware works without any problems Installation is great as well as the link with FSX and for sure it will be the same for FS2004 won t say that as long as you fly the default FSX airplanes it s great since know that only a very small group flies default models Therefore when flying advanced add on models and using one of the offered profiles it seems not always the best solution and I highly recommend that Thrustmaster offer dedicated profiles or give the flight simmer the tools of how to create those dedicated profiles themselves What Like About The MFD Cougar Pack Nicely packed with good looking MFD frames looks like it s made of metal with all that is needed to install them and to get them working with Flight Simulator Manual offers different languages but more important the procedures to follow to get it working is well written in clear steps Nice and realistic looking FSX data cards Easy to use and to operate the buttons on the MFDs
27. ter website and follow from there Updates and Downloads From there you select from the pull down boxes PC Product Genre Joysticks Product Family MFD COUGAR Pack Product and then you make your choice Link for either Drivers Software Games Settings or Manual Help File By the way it could be an idea to check while you re there for the latest software version It could be that the offered version on the website is newer then the one supplied in the package Before continue with the supplied cards would like to make one thing clear in case you re lost The MFD units are not offering any real screens with information know mentioned this before but it s very important that you understand what these MFD s are The idea of a MFD is that you insert a card for your needs and auto program the buttons around it with the available profiler file In other words your buttons are now linked connected to the requested FSX functions That the green radar cards look nice doesn t mean they show you an actual radar image on the MFD it s fake Decorative or functional FSX cards Already mentioned before the supplied FSX related cards can be inserted in between the Plexiglas plates Via button programming and of course the supplied software a card can be used in combination with either a Generic profile Light Aviation profile Airline profile or own made Own made by the way means you re able to program spec
28. u to make your own notes of what happens when you press a button switch on the MFD in relation to the used aircraft or helicopter via of course one of the three loaded profile files Manual and mini CD The paper version of the user manual comes in 8 different languages so that shouldn t be a problem to find the one you prefer Ok here we go it comes in English French German Dutch Italian Portuguese and think Russian Sorry for the last one but I m not sure Anyway took the English version which covers 18 pages of what and how to install it and how to program it program is probably not the correct word Regarding the program missed some things namely examples We will see when it s time to check this programming Regarding the supplied software oops that could be a problem It comes on a mini CD and could image that when your CD DVD player is mounted vertically it might not hold this mini CD because it s too small and it won t fit in the holder My player is mounted horizontally and this shouldn t give any problems The small CD offers drivers game plug in file EI A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 5 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site software and DirectX 9 0c Written on the CD and mentioned before always have a look on the Thrustmaster website to see if they offer newer drivers and or plug in software By the way the offered software is compatible with Windows XP V
29. ular provided profiler file connects button and switch functions on the side of the MFD toa dedicated Flight Simulator output Let s give you an example when a button which is assigned to Doors is pushed the respective MFD button operates the aircraft DOOR or canopy where canopy of course is applicable This is possible because of the profiler file Then there s a second problem or question how does the user know which button or switch is assigned to what Simple because of the offered MFD card s which is inserted in the respective MFD With these cards the user can read on the card what the function of each button is and that is in combination with the correct activated profiler file When you want to use a button function you simple press it the loaded activated profiler file transforms it into a MSFS command and the airplane respond accordingly let s hope it s doing so Why am I m writing down let s hope because not all add on aircraft are responding as they should be file El A VSIM Reviews MFD 20Cougar MFD htm 2 of 16 10 12 2009 4 47 09 PM AVSIM Online Flight Simulation s Number 1 Site Anyway hope this introduction gives you some background information what an MFD is and what you can do with it For the rest sit back relax take a coffee tea or if the time is right a beer or glass of wine and enjoy the MFD Cougar Pack review MFD Multi Function Display COUGAR Pack hardware Display Units F
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