FlightMax EX500 and EX5000 Interactive Training Software Read Me File - March 17, 2006 System Requirements This FlightMax EX500 and EX5000 Interactive Training Software is approved to run on PCs with the Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating system. Minimum computing requirements are a Pentium III processor with 256MB RAM. For best results, your monitor resolution should be set for 1280 x 1024. The EX500 version will operate normally at a lower resolution of 1024 x 768. Due to variances in PC monitor pixel density and size, EX500 may appear larger on screen than actual size. Hard Drive Requirements The FlightMax EX500/EX5000 Interactive Training Software comes with four different CMax™ chart loads to minimize the size of the demo when hard drive space is a consideration. The different loads and hard drive size requirements are: CMax Charts East – Hard drive space – 293 MB CMax Charts Central – Hard Drive space – 275 MB CMax Charts West – Hard Drive space is – 247 MB CMax Full CONUS Charts – Hard Drive space required – 440MB The FlightMax EX500/EX5000 Interactive Training Software is the same for each of these loads with the only difference being the geographic coverage of the approach plates. The geographic coverage matches Jeppesen’s JeppView™ subscriptions available for the United States. Downloading The FlightMax EX500/EX5000 Interactive Training Software may be downloaded from the Web or ordered on CD. As noted above, the demo has four load choices that are based on CMax™ chart coverage. Each load includes both the EX500 and EX5000 demos. When Zipped™ for downloading via the web, the size of each of the four loads is as follows: CMax Charts East – Download Zip File is 152 MB CMax Charts Central – Download Zip File is 133 MB CMax Charts West – Download Zip File is 106 MB CMax Full CONUS Charts – Download Zip is 317 MB Demo Description This Interactive Training Software is designed to emulate the FlightMax EX500 and EX5000 MultiFunction Display in either 4-knob (radar-capable) or 2-knob (non-radar) modes on your PC. The software includes CMax™ Electronic Charts and a demonstration version of both XM broadcast and 2 Way Datalink weather. The basic system operations and interfaces are exactly the same as you would experience with an actual system. The Interactive Training Software does not include the following: - EMax™ dedicated Engine page - EMax™ Data block read outs on the Map page - Live XM weather - Live 2-Way Datalink weather - Live 2-Way Datalink messaging The broadcast and datalink demo is derived from a snapshot of an actual NEXRAD image. Weather Radar, Lightning, Traffic, and EGPWS/TAWS terrain sensors are simulated in order to show how they might look on the EX500 or EX5000 display while in flight. This Interactive Training Software is designed for product demonstration, procedural training and as a familiarization tool. It should never be used for actual flight planning or weather forecasting or for any other navigation purposes. Weather, traffic, and terrain sensor data is simulated and should not be used for navigational reference. This demo software contains dated information that will not be updated. Settings The default settings for the FlightMax EX500/EX5000 Interactive Training Software have been configured to demonstrate all available sensor connections. Use the "Settings" menu to reconfigure the software to more closely reflect your aircraft configuration. See the "Settings" section of the FlightMax EX500/EX5000 Interactive Training Software Operation Guide for instructions. For this application, the EGPWS/TAWS demo file is independent of flight plan and map location. Limitations and Known Problems When the system is loaded, you will have two icons on your computer desktop; EX500 Demo and EX5000 Demo. Once you have opened a version of the Demo and you change the settings to go from one version to the other or different sensor configurations, the software will need to restart. You do not need to reboot your computer. The software will warn you that it is requires a restart will automatically restart once you click “okay.”. If you had a previous version of any FlightMax demo software running, you must completely uninstall the older version before loading the new FlightMax EX500/EX5000 Demo. The two systems are incompatible and map errors will occur. When using the FlightMax EX500/EX5000 interface on your computer be sure to use only the mouse to click on line-select buttons and green knob direction arrows. Do not click on the "screen area" of the EX500 to make selections or change settings. WHen using a "Regional Cmax" load of the software, you will get a yellow "Invalid Chart" message when you try to access the "Charts" page while on a flightplan outside of the specific CMax region (East, Central or West) that you have loaded. The Aux-->Nav Src button has been removed on this Trainer. In the real EX500 or EX5000 product, you have the option to connect two GPS NAV sources and select which one is displayed on the map. For the purpose of this trainer, this feature has been removed. The “MiniGPS” navigation simulator is designed to provide basic flight plan input to the FlightMax EX500/EX5000 Demo. It has a fairly comprehensive Americas database; however it does not include intersections or NDBs. Also, it does not have the ability to simulate instrument approaches or curved paths. However, the actual EX500 and EX5000 product will both display intersections, NDBs, and curved paths including procedure turns, holds, and DME arcs, when connected to an appropriate GPS. MiniGPS Flight Plan Failure Occasionally the MiniGPS will send in incorrect signal to the Demo screen. When this occurs the self-monitoring software within the Demo will fail the Map Page by locking it out and making the page select menu turn yellow. When this occurs, simply reboot the Demo and the problem will go away. CMax Charts Unavailable If you have loaded a version of the FlightMax EX500/EX5000 Demo and then chose to load another CMax ™ chart region, you must first uninstall the currently loaded Demo. On occasion, when you go to install another version you will see a “CMax Charts Not Available” warning on the Charts Page. If this occurs, go to your Windows Explorer menu and locate the “Avidyne” folder in the Program Files section of your hard drive. Delete the “Avidyne” folder and then reboot your computer. You should then be able to reload the Demo software and have the chart page function normally. It's also important to note that METARs are not necessarily the same as the information you are getting from ATIS, and therefore may not be as current. For reference, you can look up current METAR ages on the NOAA web site: http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/metar.shtml