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DR Sim Manager

X-Plane 12

Connection Method

Section titled “Connection Method”

Shared Memory (Plugin) — A DRSM plugin for X-Plane 12 writes telemetry data to shared memory, which DR Sim Manager reads. The plugin must be installed into your X-Plane 12 plugins folder.

  • Shared Memory Name: Local\DRSMTelemetryData
  • Update Rate: Up to 200 Hz (double-buffered for reliable reads)

Setup Steps

Section titled “Setup Steps”
  1. Navigate to the DR Sim Manager plugins directory: 
    C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\DRSimManager\Plugins\XPlane12\
  2. Copy the folder named DRSM_TelemtryPlugin.
  3. Navigate to your X-Plane 12 installation directory, typically: 
    X-Plane 12\Resources\plugins\
  4. Paste the copied DRSM_TelemtryPlugin folder into the plugins directory.
  5. Start X-Plane 12.
  6. In DR Sim Manager, select X-Plane 12 from the Source list and click Start Motion.

Available Telemetry

Section titled “Available Telemetry”
  • Orientation: Pitch, Roll, Heading
  • Acceleration: Full 3-axis acceleration (lateral, longitudinal, vertical — in G, converted to m/s²)
  • Angular Velocity: Pitch rate, Roll rate, Yaw rate
  • Speed: True airspeed
  • RPM: Engine 1 and Engine 2 RPM (averaged for multi-engine aircraft)
  • Altitude: Height above ground level (AGL)
  • Aircraft Name: Detected from the loaded aircraft
  • Canopy: Canopy position
  • Landing Gear: Gear position

Telemetry Quality: ★★★★☆

Section titled “Telemetry Quality: ★★★★☆”

X-Plane 12’s plugin provides clean data through a double-buffered shared memory approach. The plugin writes to one buffer while DR Sim Manager reads from the other, preventing data tearing.

Section titled “Recommended Starting Settings”
  • Primary Cue Gain: 60–90%
  • Smoothing: Low to medium
  • Washout: Medium

Known Quirks

Section titled “Known Quirks”
  • Double-buffered shared memory: The plugin uses two data buffers and a write index. DR Sim Manager always reads from the buffer that isn’t currently being written to, ensuring data consistency.
  • Gravity compensation: DR Sim Manager calculates and subtracts gravitational components based on the aircraft’s pitch and roll to give you clean acceleration data.
  • Stale data detection: If the telemetry data doesn’t change between reads (e.g., during a pause or menu), DR Sim Manager slows its polling rate to reduce CPU usage.
  • Multi-engine support: For twin-engine aircraft, the RPM value displayed is the average of both engines.
  • Plugin folder name: Note the folder is named DRSM_TelemtryPlugin (with the typo). Copy this folder exactly as-is.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

No telemetry data

Section titled “No telemetry data”
  1. Verify the DRSM_TelemtryPlugin folder exists in your X-Plane 12\Resources\plugins\ directory.
  2. Check that the plugin loaded successfully — in X-Plane 12, go to Plugins > Plugin Admin and look for the DRSM plugin in the list.
  3. Make sure you are in a flight (not at the main menu or loading screen).
  4. Restart both X-Plane 12 and DR Sim Manager.

Plugin not appearing in X-Plane’s Plugin Admin

Section titled “Plugin not appearing in X-Plane’s Plugin Admin”
  • Ensure the entire DRSM_TelemtryPlugin folder was copied, not just individual files.
  • The plugin must be in the Resources\plugins\ directory, not a subdirectory of another plugin.

Motion works but aircraft name shows blank

Section titled “Motion works but aircraft name shows blank”
  • Some custom aircraft may not report their name correctly through the X-Plane SDK. Motion will still work normally.

Telemetry stops during pause

Section titled “Telemetry stops during pause”
  • This is normal. When X-Plane is paused, telemetry data stops changing. DR Sim Manager detects this and reduces polling until new data arrives.