Live instrument panel
Drive HSI, VOR, ADF, attitude, altimeter, compass and more straight from your simulator — the same instruments as in the air.
Flight simulation connection
Your home cockpit's extra instrument panel
Drive fDeck's instruments from X-Plane or Microsoft Flight Simulator on any phone or tablet. This guide covers what you can do, how to connect, and how to fix common issues.
What you can do
The flight simulation connection turns fDeck into a secondary panel for your simulator — no extra hardware, just devices you already own.
X-Plane & MSFS
X-Plane connects directly over your local network. MSFS uses a bridge app on your Windows PC to send position and attitude data to fDeck.
Extra displays
Add as many phones and tablets as you like. Build a home-cockpit panel beside your main sim screen.
Portrait or landscape
Mount a phone vertically for a single instrument, or lay a tablet flat as a full panel strip.
Connection overview
When connected, fDeck uses your flight simulator as the data source instead of the built-in device GPS and sensors. X-Plane connects directly; Microsoft Flight Simulator requires a bridge app on your Windows PC.
All setup is done from fDeck → Settings → Flight simulation connection. Your device's IP address is shown on that screen.
Before you start
- fDeck on an iPhone, iPad or Android phone/tablet
- X-Plane on a Mac or PC, or Microsoft Flight Simulator on a Windows PC
- Your simulator PC and mobile device on the same Wi‑Fi or local network
- For MSFS only: a bridge app installed on the Windows PC running the sim
Connect to X-Plane
- 1
Open connection settings
On each phone or tablet, open fDeck → Settings → Flight simulation connection. fDeck listens on UDP port 49002 and shows this device's IP address under Connection overview.
- 2
Step 1 — Same network
Ensure the device running X-Plane and every phone or tablet are on the same Wi‑Fi or network.
- 3
Step 2 — Configure X-Plane
In X-Plane, open Settings → Network → iPHONE, iPAD and EXTERNAL APPS. For multiple devices, select 'Broadcast to all mapping apps on the network' — X-Plane sends to every device listening on the network and you cannot enter more than one IP address. For a single device, or if broadcast fails on your network, select 'Transmit to a single mapping app' and enter the IP address shown in fDeck.
- 4
Step 3 — Start flying
Launch X-Plane and load a flight. fDeck connects automatically when data is received. The connection screen shows CONNECTED and live GPS and Attitude packet counts.
Connect to MS Flight Simulator
MSFS runs on a Windows PC and needs a bridge app to send position and attitude data to fDeck over your local network.
- 1
Open connection settings
On your phone or tablet, open fDeck → Settings → Flight simulation connection. Under Connection overview, note this device's IP address — you will enter it in your bridge app.
- 2
Step 1 — Install bridge
Install a bridge app on the Windows PC running MSFS (see recommended options below). Ensure the PC and your phone or tablet are on the same Wi‑Fi or network.
- 3
Step 2 — Configure bridge
In the bridge app, select UDP Server mode, enter the IP address from fDeck, set port 49002, and enable XGPS and XATT output. Allow UDP through Windows Firewall if prompted.
- 4
Step 3 — Start flying
Start Microsoft Flight Simulator and the bridge app. fDeck connects automatically when data is received. The connection screen shows CONNECTED and live GPS and Attitude packet counts.
Free vs Premium
The flight simulation connection is available on the free plan, but each session is limited to 15 minutes. fDeck Premium unlocks unlimited connection time, so you can sim for as long as you like and run extra displays on multiple devices without interruption.
See Premium plansTechnical talk
fDeck listens for UDP text messages on port 49002 on your phone or tablet. The protocol follows the industry-standard simulator GPS/AHRS format used by EFB apps — comma-separated strings sent to the IP address shown in fDeck's connection settings.
Recommended send rates:
- XGPS — about 1 Hz (once per second)
- XATT — about 4–10 Hz (several times per second)
XGPS — position
Position and ground-speed update. fDeck accepts the standard XGPS message, including the numeric channel form XGPS1 shown below.
XGPS<channel>,longitude,latitude,altitude_msl_m,track_true_deg,groundspeed_m_s
- channel — Short simulator ID or numeric channel (e.g. 1 in XGPS1)
- longitude — Decimal degrees, WGS-84 (negative = west)
- latitude — Decimal degrees, WGS-84 (negative = south)
- altitude_msl_m — Altitude above mean sea level, metres
- track_true_deg — Track over the ground from true north, degrees
- groundspeed_m_s — Groundspeed in metres per second
Example
XGPS1,-73.816504,40.648264,2.9359,120.8170,0.0015
XATT — attitude (basic)
Minimum attitude message — sufficient for heading, pitch and bank instruments.
XATT<channel>,true_heading_deg,pitch_deg,roll_deg
- channel — Short simulator ID (may be omitted in extended messages)
- true_heading_deg — True heading, degrees
- pitch_deg — Pitch angle, degrees — positive = nose up
- roll_deg — Roll angle, degrees — positive = right wing down
Example
XATTMy Sim,180.2,0.1,0.2
XATT — attitude (extended)
Full AHRS message sent by X-Plane and MSFS bridge apps — adds rotation rates, local acceleration and quaternion components for smoother attitude instruments.
XATT,true_heading_deg,pitch_deg,roll_deg,roll_rate,pitch_rate,yaw_rate,accel_x,accel_y,accel_z,quat_w,quat_x,quat_y
- true_heading_deg — True heading, degrees
- pitch_deg — Pitch angle, degrees — positive = nose up
- roll_deg — Roll angle, degrees — positive = right wing down
- roll_rate — Roll rotation rate, radians per second
- pitch_rate — Pitch rotation rate, radians per second
- yaw_rate — Yaw rotation rate, radians per second
- accel_x — Local-frame acceleration, m/s²
- accel_y — Local-frame acceleration, m/s²
- accel_z — Local-frame acceleration, m/s²
- quat_w — Orientation quaternion W component
- quat_x — Orientation quaternion X component
- quat_y — Orientation quaternion Y component
Example
XATT,120.8,-1.9,0.2,-0.0001,0.0005,0.0000,-0.0,-0.0,-0.0,-0.00,1.00,0.03
- Messages are plain UTF-8 text, fields separated by commas. No field may contain a comma.
- Send UDP packets to the IP address shown in fDeck → Settings → Flight simulation connection.
- Packets should be evenly spaced in time. fDeck increments GPS and Attitude packet counters as messages arrive.
- The basic four-field XATT format is enough to connect; extended XATT provides richer attitude data.
Troubleshooting
fDeck shows NOT CONNECTED
Open Settings → Flight simulation connection and check whether GPS and Attitude packet counts are increasing. If they stay at zero, verify all devices are on the same network, your simulator is running an active flight, and — for X-Plane — broadcast is enabled or the correct IP is entered for single-target mode under Settings → Network → iPHONE, iPAD and EXTERNAL APPS. For MSFS, confirm the bridge is running, port 49002 is set, XGPS and XATT are enabled, and UDP is allowed through Windows Firewall.
The connection stops after 15 minutes
Free sessions are limited to 15 minutes. Upgrade to fDeck Premium for unlimited flight simulation connection.
Instruments are frozen or not updating
When connected, fDeck uses simulator data instead of device sensors. If instruments stop updating, check the connection screen — packet counts should be rising. Restart the simulator and bridge (if using MSFS), then load back into an active flight.
Can I use multiple tablets at once?
Yes. Run fDeck on as many devices as you like. In X-Plane, use Settings → Network → iPHONE, iPAD and EXTERNAL APPS → 'Broadcast to all mapping apps on the network' so every tablet receives sim data — you cannot enter multiple IP addresses in X-Plane. For MSFS, configure your bridge app for each device (most bridges target one IP at a time). Premium removes the 15-minute session limit on every device.
Ready to fly?
Download fDeck free, set up the connection, and put a full instrument panel beside your sim.
Still stuck?Send me a message— I reply personally.