Active Camera 2004

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With this module you can enable additional views in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight. Several new camera views are selectable from the FS2004 - Options menu. When activated this module replaces the original tower and virtual cockpit views of FS2004.

How To Use Active Camera – A Quick Tutorial

MOVING AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR AIRCRAFT

If you've installed Active Camera, then on your FS Menu, go to Options and look for the Active Camera submenu.

In the submenu, you should have Internal Pilot View and Enable wheel zoom in VC checkmarked.

Load up your aircraft and make sure it's on the ground. Press X on your keyboard. You should now be outside your airplane. (You will be placed to the left of it).

Press down on your scroll wheel on your mouse and keep it pressed, and move your mouse. You will notice that you are "turning your head" this way. If you move the mouse to the right and left, you'll move your head to the right or left. If you move your mouse forwards and backwards, you'll move your head up and down. (If you turn your scroll wheel, you'll zoom in and out).

The first thing you should do after pressing X is turn your head to the right because that's where your plane will be, and you'll see it.

To move around (walking), make sure the Num Lock light is on on your keyboard. If it isn't, press the Num Lock button on your keyboard to turn it on.

Now for walking around: Press the Number Pad keys for walking.

8 for moving forward. 2 for moving backwards.

4 to move left. 6 to move right.

7 to rotate left. 9 to rotate right.

To run (yes, you can even run): while pressing one of the Number pad keys, hold down the Shift key.

Press X again to end this mode and return to your airplane.

MOVING AROUND INSIDE THE COCKPIT AND CABIN

Go to Virtual Cockpit mode. You don't need to press X this time. Just use your mouse and keyboard in the same manner described above.

FLY BY VIEW

This mode works when you in are flying in the air. You can set the virtual camera to stay at a fixed external point in the air and watch your plane fly by this point. This point gets moved up every 10 seconds (you can change this time duration in "Setup" of the Active camera submenu if you want).

To activate Fly By mode, you first have to switch to Tower view. Then press Control + F5. You will see your plane barreling towards you and then pass you. The camera view point then gets updated and moved up, and you again see your plane coming towards you until it passes you again. This will keep repeating for however long you remain in Fly By view during flight.

You can cycle back to Cockpit or other views and have Fly By mode remain activated in the background.

To disengage Fly By mode, press Control + F5 again.

APPROACH VIEW

When you are about to land, you can switch to Approach view. Approach mode will behave exactly like Fly By mode when your plane is 200 ft above ground level. Once you are below 200 ft AGL, Approach mode will calculate your touch down spot according to your current glideslope and will move the camera to that point on the ground.

So basically you can watch the plane touch down at the very spot you are "standing". This is ideally, because your glideslope can shift during the landing process and therefore your touchdown spot may drift a little from where Active Camera calculated it.

To activate Approach mode, make sure you are in Tower view and then press Control + F6.

Again, as in Fly By mode, you can cycle through the other regular views such as Cockpit view if you want, and keep Approach mode running in the background.

To disengage Approach mode, press Control + F6 again.