Hello,
We do not encourage running the TDS GTNXi with the G1000 aircraft, but you can always use it with the C172 with steam gauges. You will find the TDS GTNXi icon in the system tray (to the right of the clock), in which case you can use it to open up the interface and pop-up the GTN750Xi window.
If you have any other questions, you can always address them to us in our official support channels/Discord/Forum.
Thank you.
Hello-
I am a new owner of the TDS product, and I love it. I am sure over time I will have many qustions, and probably run into some issues, but let’s start with 2 things.
1- The current AIRAC database installed seems even older than what would be available to a real world user of the trainer. Is that correct, and if so, when can we expect that to be rectified?
2- You mentioned being able to import flight plans, and though I have been through the instruction manual, and read many forum posts on the subject, I have thus far simply not figured out how. Can you enlighten me, and in so doing, talk to me like I was a 5th grader?
Mochas gracias!
Hello,
Thank you for your kind words.
We are not sure what you mean by the AIRAC being even older than what is available. Which AIRAC do you have and what are you expecting? Usually AIRAC updates come within 12-18 months.
In regards to exporting flight plans, you need to create a flight plan using Simbrief/LittleNavMap and then export it in the GFP file format (for TDS GTNXI) to the appropriate folder as described in the manual. This has to be done with the TDS GTNXi closed. In case you need further clarifications, please contact us on our Discord/Forum and we will gladly help.
Please enjoy the TDS GTNXi!
2104 that expired 20 May 2021, which is going on 2 years old. As for what I ‘expect’, it would be awfully nice if I could get 2302, which I have from Navigraph on other devices, and most importantly what my sim has. However, I understand there are some… challenges in this area which may make keeping it that current something that is technically impossible. But a guy can wish, no?
I read somewhere (and it was on the Interweb, so it has to be true, right??) that they were usually about 6 months old, likely on purpose so people couldn’t use their trainer subscription in lieu of paying Jepp a buttload of money. And we all know how much Jeppesen loves their money! But 2 years > 6 months which is why I immediately wondered if I got the most current one.
If it is the most current, well, it is what it is, I just wanted to confirm if it’s right or not.
I did figure out how to import Simbrief flightplans, thank you so much for that tip, so I’m good to go there! I thought, erroneously as it turns out, that it would just show up in the ‘Catalog’ once being placed in the proper directory, without realizing I had to take the extra ‘Import’ step, but now that I know, I’m set!
I am now a member of the Discord as well, though it’s not something I use all that often. Thanks, again.
The trainer database used to be more recent in the past. I‘m wondering if Garmin is recently only using very old data because they know that their trainer is being used in a mass selling product and they try to lure people into buying their subscription plans.
Hello,
At the moment 2104 is the latest database offered. Thank you for your input, we will take it into consideration, we don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver on features, so I hope that you can understand us, but we definitely understand you.
No sim pilot is going to pay Jepp prices to get Jepp data in a sim, unless they’re also a RL pilot who needs it for their RL airplane. I used to, and even in the days before all the fancy glass cockpit GPS devices when it was just pieces of paper, it was some of the most expensive pieces of paper I owned!
That said, Jepps format is so much more vastly superior to the standard FAA charts, I was willing to pay for it then. However, that was before I became disabled and unable to work, so there’s that…
Unless Navigraph is blatantly stealing their IP, which I highly doubt, they are already getting a cut of what Navigraph is charging us for a monthly subscription fee, and even that is too steep for many simmers to swallow, but even with the limitations of the sim, I find it worth it.
I’m sure both TDS and Jeppesen are losing out on business by not having the trainer database up to date, and it’s not like they literally don’t have data, else Navigraph would have the same or at least a remarkable similar problem.
I can only hope that between TDS, Navigraph, and Jepp they can find some solution that allows the TDS NXi to be as up to date as Navigraph is, while making at least a little money on the deal.
Today I couldn’t load the planned STAR in the TDS GTN750 for EKCH (ERNOV3C) so I had to resort to the old trusty GNS530 which had the updated nav data in its database. Luckily its super easy to switch avionics in the Black Square King Air.
I’m usually loving the TDS but this really made me disappointed.
That’s the big reason why I held off on buying the TDS 750. I have a Navigraph subscription, so I want my GPS to have the same data.
I have the impression that somehow the TDS GTN, when used as the main navigation device, seems to make use of/call the standard Asobo autopilot which seems to be very buggy. This is especially notable in the aircraft with hot-swappable avionics (like the Black square aircraft) where one can directly compare the autopilot behaviour in the same situation back and forth.
What I mean by that is for example:
– Lateral tracking and especially horizontal tracking of the glideslope is very sluggish und thus can lead to severe deviations. It can happen that you are off by one or even two dots on the ILS glidepath without the autopilot attempting to correct.
– Arming NAV or APPR is not possible. It immediately activates when pressed, which leads to some very strange intercepts when you activate NAV from HDG and you are not within two dots. Normally NAV or APPR should stay passive until within a dot of deviation or so and only then activate which leads to smooth and continuous intercepts.
– ALT HOLD also performs poorly and one can have quite severe oscillations in turbulent conditions.
I know that TDS did not code the autopilot but somehow it seems that the GPS unit is responsible for which autopilot manager is called in the background. For the PMS50, for most aircraft there is a WTT mod available which swaps out the standard Asobo autopilot logic by one coded by Working Title which behaves much better. Also, when using the new WTT GNS530W as the main GPS, it seems to call the WTT autopilot manager which cures the buggy behaviour mentioned above.
I wonder whether TDS could update its otherwise superior GTN (apart from the Navdata and crossfill issue) such that the WTT instead of the standard autopilot code is called in the background.
I think this more a Garmin issue and what they decide to release with their trainers. TDS and especially Navigraph and Jepp have nothing to do with that. Maybe TDS could negotiate with Garmin for a special database release for just their product to use. Or more likely wait until they update it with their trainer. It’ll happen sooner or later. People can’t train on very outdated data.
That would be nice. Like a one-cycle outdated database. Not legal for IFR, so people couldn’t take advantage. Not a ton different than delaying it a year.
The problem is that the TDS is using Garmin’s GTN trainer, which will only accept data in the same format as the real-world GTN units. And the only company that could change that or would be able or allowed to supply navdata in the correct format seems to be Garmin. So, TDS, Jeppesen, and Navigraph can’t really do anything about this. They may have the data, but they can’t offer it in Garmin’s proprietary format. (Not sure if there are technical limitations, such as encryption, or if it’s just a license restriction.)
If anything, it’d be up to Garmin to decide that they would like a cut of the flight simulation market and to offer some kind of data subscription for that audience. For now, they seem to have decided that this is not a business they want to be in.
Contrary to what people seem to want to believe, this is fact. You can’t load 3rd party data into the Garmin Trainer any more than you can load it into the real unit in a real world cockpit.
The only way we’ll ever get AIRAC updates with the TDS is if somehow TDS manage to strike a deal with Garmin to be able to push more recent AIRAC databases to the TDS unit or offer sim users discounted data. I won’t say with any certainty that will never happen, but I think the likeliness is low, since Garmin charge and arm and a leg PER UNIT for that data.
Yes, however the data are of zero legal use in real-world application once expired. Much like Jepp charts and the discounts offered on expired charts, you pay for the certified/legal use.
Garmin could actually make a few extra bucks for just about zero additional cost to them by pushing a two-cycle outdate (offering a little protection), while furthering their brand even more. It’s a no-brainer.
I don’t disagree. I would pay a few bucks a month for outdated Garmin data. But they probably don’t care enough about that to make it happen.
Maybe Microsoft can help out 3rd party developers and do a quid-pro-quo with Garmin? Demand Garmin share some kind of data or they can’t use Windows. Lol.
I can’t see MS stepping on behalf of a 3rd party dev. That’s out of their wheel house completely.
Add to that, it would be Garmin delivering nav data that’s a direct competitor to NavBlue, which is MS’ direct nav data partner for MSFS. That deal with NavBlue is the reason why we lost native Navigraph support in the G3000 and CJ4 in the first place. Stepping in and getting Garmin to deliver Jepessen data to a 3rd party is not something that can happen.
If up to date navdata is important, then there’s always the PMS50 version, which is a fine GTN750 analog. Most of us are flying just fine with the TDS with its year old data and have rarely, if ever, had issues.
Exactly – any updates are very minor, and insignificant when playing in a Flying Game / Simulator.
The reasoning that the TDS Garmin is not usable (in the sim), because its database may be up to a year “out-of-date” is really not a factor, especially when you consider, that as a Garmin GPS, the TDS GTN750 far better represents the real world operation of the GTN750, than any JS coded MSFS can be.
I use the TDS and haven’t had a problem yet, although I’m sure there will be something out of the thousands of entries that may be an issue for someone.
As an aside, the database is 2 years out of date now isn’t it (2104) or am I missing a version?