Yes... I do like that photo
Voodoo over Bagotville - Oh memories...

This page was last on 27 Jan 98.

PREAMBLE

I seldom devote a special page to any of the great software I feature but this application is the exception to the proverbial rule. To begin with, I rate Moving Map as one of those few flight-sim related applications which will dramatically alter the way we fly. Not to mention the added enjoyment it will make possible. When used in conjunction with a GPS add-on, such as David Drouin's GPS (Ver 1.0 or 2.0) or Masakazu Irie's DPGps it makes virtual flying all the more realistic.

What I intend to do here is to present to you some of the ways I use Moving Map, not only by itself but in conjunction with other add-ons. Links will be provided as I go along so that you can duplicate my own setup, if you so wish.

A pause before going on.....

Before going on with Moving Map, I would like to mention one more program John has written. It is called Flight Computer. It ranks right up there with the very best and it is freeware! I first featured this program several months ago and began using it daily, not only while flying the simulator but also while using 'any' other program. I better explain this...

Flight Computer allows you to select and view any one of five 'text files' while running another program. It has a 'hide' key which permits you to tuck it away, out of sight, when you are finished reading whatever you are reading then, call it back with a keystroke. Let's say you are flying through Europe and wish to have a look at the VOR frequencies as you fly along. Up comes Flt Computer with a list of all VOR Frequencies! (or whatever text file you programmed it to show!). I will let your imagination figure out how you can use this program in your daily work on the computer.

John has graciously given me permission to make this program available right from my own site (the only place I know of where you can get it). And here it is Download, install and... enjoy!

One last note before I go on with the 'real' stuff. I have no financial interest whatsoever in the success of Moving Map and all monetary rewards belong solely (as well it should) to its author. The registration fee is more than reasonable when compared to the price asked for some of the programs available out there, and worth a portion of Moving Map. My only purpose in making this page is to help spread the good word about this fine application. Now... on with the show!

Moving Map

I have several wizards in my bag of tricks for FS95 but none have fascinated me more (technically speaking) than this Moving Map Display add-on by John Michael Hnidec! This little marvel of programming makes flying all over the map an exercise in sheer joy! It is simple to install and includes a superb tutorial in HTML format. The more you read about all it can do, the more you wonder how it could have been coded into such a small package.

Rather than trying to impress you with a long list of features etc, I will point you to John's homepage where he already took good care of that. You can also download the latest version from his page. Go through the tutorial, download the app, install and... enjoy.

I would highly recommend you read this page and the tutorial which is in an HTML format. The tutorial is contained within a separate HELP.ZIP file. Doing so will make life much easier and besides, it's painless. The shareware version is fully operational, with the exception of a couple of minor features, and lasts for ten minutes; enough time to convince you this is one program you simply 'must have'! If you are technically minded and like applications which mesh perfectly with whatever other 'toys' you use, then I say get this one.

On Using Moving Map

Now that you have downloaded and installed a copy of Moving Map I suggest you follow John's recommendation contained in the Help file and try out a short flight at Meigs Airport. Because of the ten-minute run-time limitation on the shareware copy, I suggest you set it all up first (by calling Moving Map Tools and following John's directions) and then fire up Moving Map itself!

The first thing that you will notice after taking off and heading, let's say toward O' Hare airport is how smooth it operates. And it does not seem to affect the 'display rate' at all! I remember using another map display, and a very nice program too but its use degraded the display rate to some extent. Not Moving Map!

Using Moving Map to make data files for DPGps

One of the best features of Moving Map is its ability to easily export data in a format useable by the various GPS systems such as GPS 2.0 and DPGps 2.2 (these features are available in the registered version). My GPS of choice is now the DPGps 2.2 and for several reasons, the main one being its ease of use when compared to GPS 2.0. Of course, the fact it is free also counts but in my case, as I already had registered Dave's GPS 2.0, it does not enter in the equation.

Although it is fairly easy to make new databases for DPGps, it still involves a lot of work. For example, in the old days (read: like, last month!) I used to spend hours in Flight Planner 4.0b making a nice flight plan, let us say covering all available airports and some VOR's from the Norway scenery. Then I would use the nice utility GPS Converter to convert this flight plan into a DBGPS.DAT file which, using the 'Import' feature of DBGps I would add to my DBGps database. Now, with Moving Map's export feature, it's a cinch. You still have to do a bit of file-swapping wizardry but, the big advantage lies in the fact that, once you have generated a MMap file... you have gathered data from 'all' VOR's, NDB's and Airports from that particular scenery!

You can get that nice scenery here: Part 1 and the second part right here Now, we're all set to go!

NoteYou can get a List of all FS98 airport coordinates FORMATTED to Masakazu Irie's DP-GPS.

Now I will attempt to show how you can do just that! You will need the registered version to put all this good stuff to work but... you already have registered it, yes?

Let us assume you have downloaded that nice scenery from Norway, which by the way is recognized as one of the best around! Follow the following simple steps (it looks complicated but trust me, it ain't!.) For these instructions to work, I assume you have installed DPGps in the root directory of your Flight Sim; in mine, it is located at C:\FS6 and Moving Map into its own directory (ie: C:\FS6\MMAP\)

1. Run Moving Map Tools utility.

2. Select ADD SET and enter a description of the set (ie: norway)

3. Select ADD ITEMS then, click on the tree button (the little gizmo with dots... button) and then select the desired scenery directory (in my setup it is C:\FS6\NORWAY\SCENERY)

3a. Press OK

4. Select EXPORT

4a. Select DGps Format

4b. Name the file (ie: norway) Press OK

4c. Press CANCEL

Now, using your file manager of choice, :

5. Rename the file NORWAY to DGPS.DAT

6. Move the DGPS.DAT file to your FltSim directory. It will replace the existing DGPS.DAT file.

To enter this new data file into your DPGps program, return to your Flight Simulator and:

7. Select DGPS SETTING

7a. Select DATA CONVERT - IMPORT

7b. Rename the 'New Airport Folder' now showing on the dir tree to NORWAY-MMAP. Note: The '-mmap' will remind you this set has been made using MMap.

Congratulations! You have just saved yourself a long, tedious process of manually entering all this data by first making a flight plan! In order to use this new Norway data file, simply select an airport or what have you, click OK and.... happy flying!

UPDATE 18 Feb 98

Ver 2.1 now available

An updated version has been uploaded on Feb 8th. and you can get it from John's homepage .

How I use Moving Map....

One of the great advantages I have found using MMap is the fact that I don't need to use the DpGPS as much as before. As much as I like this nice application, I found it a little too time consuming to set up with every major scenery set I was using. Now... whenever I install a new 'major' scenery set, I immediately use MMap Tool to setup a corresponding MMap set I can use with it. At present, I have setup the following great sceneries: Quebec5, Norway, Sweden, UK, Ohio, Spain, Eastern and Western Europe and more...

I do all of my flying with Transit International Airways, a wonderful airline to fly for! If you are looking for a good Virtual Airline, I highly recommend TIA.

To manage the whole lot, I use Version 2 of Area Manager

This page is still in the making. More features will be added as time goes on. For example, I was just informed that version 2 of Moving Map should be out very soon. Rest assured I will review it here as soon as I have a copy. To be notified of any updates... simply fill the form below.