VR Radio Helper (aka VHF Helper)

Overview

VR Radio Helper is a FlyWithLua plugin for X-Plane 11. It allows to change the two main COM frequencies of any X-Plane airplane in Virtual Reality via convenient touch pad number buttons in a multicrew environment. For many default airplanes, NAV, Transponder and Barometer can be changed as well.

Flying VR multicrew in X-Plane with ATC is a blast! Yet, the default X-Plane 11 VR knobs are horrible when trying to monitor/fly and dial in a new ATC frequency at the same time (takes up to 2 minutes for a 2-hour flight, just turning the knob and making sure that no turn got lost when using SmartCopilot).

VR Radio Helper:

• Makes tuning in a new ATC frequency a breeze!
  • It replaces most ATC/navigation-related knobs with a number panel, like COM, NAV, Transponder and Barometer settings.
• Works with SmartCopilot, synchronizing COM/NAV frequencies, transponder codes and barometer settings between two pilots
  • Both pilots need to install SmartCopilot
  • Required changes to an existing SmartCopilot installation are applied automatically.
• Works in VR (free positioning in 3D space)
• Integrates well with ATC networks (e.g. VATSIM), showing ATC station names and a Real-Time Radar

Installation

• Install FlyWithLua: https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/38445-flywithlua-ng-next-generation-edition-for-x-plane-11-win-lin-mac/
• Download latest release
• Use installer executable and specify your X-Plane installation folder or unzip manually (including subfolders):
  • Move dependencies from Modules to <X-Plane 11 Folder>/Resources/plugins/FlyWithLua/Modules
  • Move script files and data from Scripts to <X-Plane 11 Folder>/Resources/plugins/FlyWithLua/Scripts

To make it multicrew-ready (do that in BOTH pilot’s airplanes):

• Install SmartCopilot: https://sky4crew.com/smartcopilot/ and install aircraft-specific smartcopilot.cfg

To see ATC station information and real-time radar positions:

• Install Vatsimbrief Helper: https://github.com/RedXi/vatsimbrief-helper

Usage

• Go to Plugins/FlyWithLua/FlyWithLua Macros/VR Radio Helper.
• Place and scale the panel wherever you like (in 2D and VR).
• Use the number buttons to enter the new VHF frequency. The last two digits do not need to be entered manually.
• Press NAV, TP or BARO to change to NAV, Transponder and Barometer panels.
• Press the corresponding switch button to tune in new frequencies, transponder codes or barometer pressures.
• Chat with ATC! :-)
• If you like, bind the toggle-panel command FlyWithLua/VR Radio Helper/TogglePanel to a key of your choice.

For ATC Station Names and Radar:

• Install Vatsimbrief Helper
• Check if Vatsim data transfer is available via clicking the > button
• As long as Vatsimbrief Helper is installed and able to access Vatsim Data, you will see:
  • ATC station names and short description for tuned-in or entered frequencies
  • All Vatsim clients close to your current location in Radar

For multicrew:

• Install SmartCopilot
• Check if multicrew support is available via clicking the > button
• Connect via SmartCopilot
• If SmartCopilot is installed and configured correctly for your current plane, entered freqencies, pressures and codes will be synchronized between two pilots

Plane Compatibility

VR Radio Helper uses the default X-Plane way of setting COM/NAV frequencies, barometer pressures and transponder codes. By default, all features are enabled. If you find that this does not work out-of-the-box in your plane, please use the integrated feedback collector (click the > button) to leave a description of the issues that you encountered. The plane compatibility reports automatically generate diagnostic information that is necessary to distinguish between different planes.
Based on this information, a growing number of planes are detected automatically and settings adjusted / features disabled accordingly.

Dependencies

Additional dependencies besides X-Plane 11, SmartCopilot and FlyWithLua:

• LUA INI Parser
• LUA Event Bus

(All dependencies are bundled with each release)

Developer Notes

You want to integrate VR Radio Helper into other plugins? See VR Radio Helper Public Interface or Vatsimbrief Helper to see it in action.

Looking for a good starting point to write your own FlyWithLua plugins? Have a look at the A320 NORMAL CHECKLIST Developer Notes!