FSX driver and plugin setup guide

Installation: Radio/Switch/Multi Panels
Flight Sim Panel installation is different from that for a conventional controller such as the Yoke:

• Panels do not require a driver 
• A Logitech plug-in specific to the game being played is used for communication  

Download the appropriate plug-in for your device and run the installer. The installer writes information into the game’s plug-in config file to support the product.  

All plug-ins can be downloaded from the product download pages at Logitech Support: Gaming.

Installation: Instrument Panel
The Flight Instrument Panel (FIP) also requires a driver as there are features on the product that Microsoft does not have standard drivers for. Along with the driver, DirectOutput is installed. You’ll also need to download a plug-in specific to the game. You can download the driver and plug-in from the FIP Downloads page.

Plug-in installation notes:

• Each plug-in covers all the Flight Panels and only needs to be installed once. So even if you have multiple panels, only install the game plug-in once.
• Each plug-in needs to be installed after you’ve installed the game. This ensures there will be a config file for the installer to write to.

Plug-in interaction with third-party add-ons
FSX has a wide variety of add-ons for scenery, planes, and air traffic control (ATC) written by third-party developers. Add-ons for planes can work well with the Flight Panels, but for some plane add-ons; there may be some issues. This is due to the variety of command strings FSX has for any given event in-game. For example, a simple command such as Gear Up might have 10 different command strings a developer can pick from. The Logitech Panels and plug-ins work with the same command strings that the stock planes in FSX use. This means if the third-party add-on is not configured in the same way, the Flight Panels will most likely not work with that plane.  

This is not a fault with the Logitech products or software as such and needs to be addressed with the third-party developer.

SimConnect
FSX add-ons that are developed all need to communicate with a version of SimConnect. This means that a user might need all the different versions of SimConnect if they have multiple FSX add-ons by different developers. 

For Logitech products, it’s preferable to have the most up-to-date versions installed, but it's OK to have multiple versions; since older third-party add-ons will still need to reference the version of SimConnect they were made for.

SimConnect is installed along with FSX/FSX SE and P3D. The higher the version of FSX the higher the version of SimConnect. A missing version can usually be the cause of a non-functioning Panel:

• If you see a FIP Gauge appearing but not moving; then DirectOutput is working, but the information from SimConnect is not streaming. Reinstall the game (which reinstalls SimConnect) or a higher version of SimConnect (not provided by Logitech).
• If a test page for a Flight Panel (Radio/Multi/Switch) is working and yet in the cockpit, the panels are not updating with live data, then there could be an issue with SimConnect. Reinstall the game (which reinstalls SimConnect) or a higher version of SimConnect (not provided by Logitech).

These versions are currently in use:

PrePar3D on a new system. Only one version of SimConnect is installed:

• microsoft.esp.simconnect: 1.0.20.0 
  Simconnect.dll: 1.0.195.0

FSX Steam Edition on a new system. Two versions installed:

• microsoft.flightsimulator.simconnect: 10.0.62615.0 
  Simconnect.dll: 10.0.62615.0 (FSX-SE version current)
• microsoft.flightsimulator.simconnect: 10.0.61259.0 
  Simconnect.dll: 10.0.61637.0 (FSX XPack version)

FSX Acceleration (FSX Gold) on a new system. Three versions installed:

• microsoft.flightsimulator.simconnect: 10.0.60905.0 
  Simconnect.dll: 10.0.60905.0 (FSX RTM version)
• microsoft.flightsimulator.simconnect: 10.0.61242.0 
  Simconnect.dll: 10.0.61355.0 (FSX SP1 version)
• microsoft.flightsimulator.simconnect: 10.0.61259.0 
  Simconnect.dll: 10.0.61637.0 (FSX XPack version)