So i have 2 ipads that i want to use for like autopilot stuff instead of buying FCU units etc, perhaps also using them as PFD and MFD.
My main goal is to lower usage of mouse and keyboard.
So far i looked at
But i dont understand which is the best option? One that i dont need to configure much just download premade profiles and also not lose some FPS (performance).
Depending how you want to use your iPads, spacedesk is worth to try.
You can use Air Manager for this—it’s great for creating PFD and MFD displays on your iPads. It has pre-made profiles, so minimal setup is needed. It also doesn’t impact FPS much. Touch Portal is another good option for autopilot functions. Hope this helps!
If you want to use the sims PFD, MFD etc displays you’ll need to pop them out and move them to the iPads. Best way to do that is using a desktop extending solution like Spacedesk. To mix the popouts with their controls and other things Air Manager is the best option. Be aware though you’ll need the desktop version and not the iOS specific App because that is limited and can’t be used for the popout display.
How much performance hit is there?
You’ll have to be a bit more specific. With what setup?
Pop out panels in MSFS 2024 do have a noticeable performance hit, unlike in MSFS 2020. Not sure if it’s widespread for all users but on my system it’s meaningful (I’m on a 4090 and 7950x3d) and surprising given that 2024 is using more cpu cores than 2020. Also, for space desk on iPads, I did that for a while to use the PFD and mfd for the g1000 screens in GA aircraft (no touch screen though, just the visual of the panel)…and spacedesk had a lag for me that was not worth it. I also wanted touchscreen to control things like autopilot so I bought 2 touchscreen windows monitors ($110 per screen on Amazon) and they work great with Air Manager software. But also note that air manager doesn’t yet fully work with MSFS 2024, it has a beta version that partially works so steam guages work but not yet g1000 panels.
Thats concerning, did you perhaps try some other options?
This is not an Air Manager limitation but perhaps an instrument one. I have my G1000 panels working just fine in 2024. Every instrument needs some form of update. Some require lots more than others. The default sim aircraft and especially any Asobo ones have changed a lot behind the scenes. Thanks Asobo for yet more unnecessary changes.
Also Air Manager?
I’m interested in going down this path of using Air Manager on a couple of smaller touch screens, but to get the Fenix and PMDG PFD and ND onto a smaller touch monitor I need to actually pop them out, and can’t use a pre programed panel from Air Manager right? I worry about relying on the concept of “popping out panels” because of a) the performance hit that I see, and b) that I understand recent NVIDIA driver updates have caused significant issues with popping out panels using Pop Out Panel Manager.
One of the easiest solutions for the CDU/MCDU specifically is the AviaCDU program by Aviaworx. After you buy the main AviaCDU program ($11 USD), you buy individual licenses (around $10-$13 each, I think) for each type of CDU you want–and there’s only a limited number of them available right now: CRJ, all the 737s, 777, MD-11, MD-80, etc. But if you want to fly one of those planes, then this is by far the easiest option, at least in my experience.
TouchPortal is perfect if you basically want to have StreamDeck functionality just without the physical buttons–and for waaay less money. You have to program in your own buttons and the key commands that they use, but it’s pretty easy to do once you figure it out. You could use this for a CDU but it has much wider application too, basically you could control any function that has an assigned key combo.
I’m using 4 Thrustmaster Cougar MFD panels. No software overhead, 20 buttons and 4 2-way rocker switches per panel. Think major button boxes. I’ll probably get 4 more next year. They’re pretty easy to set up. Good luck.