Whilst development work on our upcoming releases is keeping us very busy, we also spend a lot of time updating and upgrading our existing fleet of aircraft. We'll soon be previewing the 146 custom FMS and EFB performance data functionality but in the meantime we wanted to show you something we’ve been working on for our GA aircraft - the Stormscope.
Like the real thing, this can be retrofitted to nearly any GA aircraft, and here we show it fitted to our PA-28-161 Warrior II for testing. The Stormscope's primary function is to warn the pilot about nearby lighting strikes but it has many other useful features, especially when partnered with the Skywatch traffic avoidance system, as we have simulated here. One of the most useful features is the navigation aid which, when enabled, displays your current MSFS flight plan route as well as customisable data such as ETA, groundspeed and range.
Another feature that improves situational awareness is the Skywatch traffic avoidance system. Like the TCAS found on an airliner, this indicates the bearing and distance to nearby aircraft, with range and mode controls.
As the name suggests, the Stormscope can be used to monitor lighting strikes, with the relative bearing and distance to the strike shown as crosses. The MSFS SDK doesn’t currently allow us to simulate this, but a test mode is included.
A complete set of interactive aircraft checklists can be accessed, with options to tick or skip items as you work through each one.
Finally, a time/date menu displays the current time and date, and provides elapsed and stopwatch timer modes.
The Stormscope is a very useful addition to GA aircraft, especially those with older avionics such as our PA-28s, offering a compact multi-function display with easy-to-use controls. Once testing is complete, we’ll provide more information on when the Stormscope will be coming to our existing GA fleet.
