The Unofficial XCSoar Manual
Setup
From XCSoar
It is a good idea to assign one of your PocketPC hardware buttons to run XCSoar. See your PocketPC manual for details of how to do this.
Owners of Compaq Aero PocketPCs may find it useful to enable `Game Keys'.
You should periodically visit the XCSoar website to check for program updates. The installation procedure described above can typically be repeated in order to upgrade the software. All user configuration settings and data files will be preserved during the re-installation/upgrade.
It is also recommended to periodically check for updates to data files, particularly Special Use Airspace, which may be subject to change by the national aviation authority.
Like any complex software program, XCSoar may be subject to software bugs, so if you find any, please report them to the XCSoar developers.
The program can be run in either of two modes by pressing the 'FLY' or 'SIM' launcher on the Today screen:
- FLY
- This mode is used when actually flying. The simulator is disabled and serial communications are active.
- SIM
- This starts XCSoar in simulator mode, no serial communications are attempted.
In addition to starting the program by the use of the launcher, it is also possible to use the File Explorer to locate the XCSoar.exe or XCSoarSimulator.exe programs (respectively FLY and SIM modes). Typically these are located in the \Program Files\XCSoar directory. Note that if you move the XCSoar.exe program to another director, your should move all the .exe and .dll files in that folder together.
You can also execute XCSoar and XCSoar Simulator from the Start Menu or in Start Programs (depending on your configuration)
A good way to learn how to use XCSoar is to connect the Pocket PC device to a PC running a flight simulator that can output NMEA sentances to the serial port. Suitable simulators include Condor and X-Plane.
The benefit of this form of training is that XCSoar can be used in FLY mode, so it behaves exactly as if you were really flying, and you can get a good feel for how the program works while you are flying the simulator.
