A320 FMS CTD

[ChrisB94 0]

Adding an approach (none previously selected) while in the descent causes a CTD while having a STAR programmed. KMCO PIGLT STAR, programmed 36L arrival.
Windows Event Viewer shows FMGS.dll Error.

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

And what aircraft/engine/version was that?

[Sabretooth78 56]

I just experienced a FMGS.dll CTD as reported by Event Viewer.

 

Situation was just after takeoff from TJSJ/08, ACONY2 departure.  For whatever reason, the waypoint ACONY wasn't imported from the database (nor did I have the foresight to catch this before takeoff), so after stabilizing on the 350 degree track and passing 4500 feet (as "instructed" by ATC) I entered a DIR TO to PALDE, which was basically on the same track as ACONY at that point.  After setting the autopilot just above 10,000 feet, I then entered another DIR TO to ACONY (which I had to enter manually).  I then deleted the "Manual" and the two discontinuities on either side of it, and the FMS seemed to take it but within a second the sim started sputtering and quickly thereafter CTD'd without an error message.

 

Model A320 IAE, version 1.2.0.2 (current)

[DaveCT2003 2553]

2 hours ago, Sabretooth78 said:

I then deleted the "Manual" and the two discontinuities on either side of it

1 hour ago, Sabretooth78 said:

 

I just experienced a FMGS.dll CTD as reported by Event Viewer.

 

 

Thanks for the report, and we're sorry that you're having this issue.

 

What you described is symptomatic of a typical crash, and if this had occurred with a CPU from between the 1980's and around 2008 then you might have easily suffered a Blue Screen of Death rather than Crash to Desktop (with later processors, many math related faults are "trapped" to prevent the complete system crash).

 

This leads me to believe that either the Route or the FMGS module is the culprit, however I'm leaning more towards it being a route issue and if this is the case then to be completely honest the FMGS.dll should circumvent the crash and give an error in the Scratchpad area of the MCDU... we can ask the developer to look at this, but we'll need some additional information from you in order to do this.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

 

2 hours ago, Sabretooth78 said:

I then deleted the "Manual" and the two discontinuities on either side of it

 

Having a DISCO in front and behind the Manual entry does not sound correct to me, and this very well may be or lead us to the issue that resulted in the CTD.  If it's not too much trouble, I would like you to enter the same flight plan manually or use SimBrief (being careful to ensure both SimBrief and the aircraft are using the same AIRAC) and then check to see if you again have DISCOs on either side of the waypoint. If you do, then please upload a screen shot of this here in the thread.

 

A Few Questions

 

If it's not too much trouble, would you please answer the following questions?  This will help us to replicate and troubleshoot the issue you experienced.

 

1. Were you using an imported the flight plan?  If so, which software did you use to build the .ftp (flight plan) file?

 

2. Which AIRAC was used, both the flight planning software and the aircraft?

NOTE 1: Please double check the MCDU FMGS initial screen and verify the AIRAC was the same that you planned to use and if applicable the same AIRAC as you used with the flight planning utility. Please note that sometimes, especially after an install or update, the latest AIRAC cycle is in the Secondary line rather than the line above it.  You can change this simply by selecting the LSK (Line Select Key) next to the Secondary AIRAC line. 

 

Note 2: The Aerosoft Company Route Editor doesn't use an AIRAC as it simply generates the route without knowing if the waypoints/airways are valid or not. While this can be a benefit if you're already sure the flight plan matches the AIRAC, but I still recommend that people use SimBrief for a number of reasons, only a few of which are: It's free; It's web based (which means it can be updated by the author in a matter of minutes); It's accurate, extremely easy and fast to use; It will use whichever AIRAC you chose to use (past and present). SimBrief allows you to use AIRAC 1703 without paying for a Navigraph subscription, but if you desire more up to date NavData then you'll need a subscription. Also, SimBrief automatically integrates with your Navigraph subscription (very, VERY nice!!!) and also has an optional down-loader to seamlessly download and place the flight plan in the correct folder.  If you're like me and have multiple high end airliners, and sometimes your not sure which aircrash (lol) you want to fly while looking at routes, then SimBrief's Downloader will create and download the flight plans for all the aircraft you have installed and it automatically places them where they belong - it's point, click, done!  If you don't want to purchase a Navigraph subscription then I recommend using SimBrief's default AIRAC 1703, or use the Aerosoft Company Route Editor.

 

3. Would you be kind enough to provide us with a detailed list of your System Specifications?

 

 

WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED:

 

As mentioned above, the reduced frame rates and stuttering you experienced is symptomatic of a typical crash and in this case it is likely to do with the 1) amount of, or 2) error ladened math (heavy, show stopping numbering crunching) that took place when it tried to process the modified flight plan. In essence, the overloaded your CPU sent it into la-la land (how's that for technical jargon), which is to say something akin to a divide by zero or an unresolved and undefined sum to infinity.  Again, I'm thinking the issue was with the flight plan itself, but we want certainly to run this to ground.

 

Looking forward to hearing back from you my friend!

 

[Sabretooth78 56]

I realize above what I posted may have been confusing - there were not "two" discontinuities before and after the "Manual", rather there were two discontinuities total (on the departure end, anyway) with the "Manual" in between them.  Clearly caused by the way I had entered the flight plan.  Aside from that I do believe I've accurately recalled the steps leading up to the CTD as I posted it almost immediately after.  Granted, I wasn't focused on having to recall it from memory as I obviously wasn't expecting to have to remember it!  The takeoff was a little sloppy in the sense that FS2Crew must not have caught my takeoff call (I distinctly remember making the call), so I was playing catch-up with that while also navigating.

 

I did subsequently reattempt (and successfully complete) the flight immediately after, this time catching the absence of ACONY in the FMGS and taking care of all that during preflight.  No problems there aside from the very bumpy arrival into Tampa!

 

8 hours ago, DaveCT2003 said:

1. Were you using an imported the flight plan?  If so, which software did you use to build the .ftp (flight plan) file?

 

 

Imported, created in SimBrief and downloaded through the Downloader.

 

As these often contain SID/STAR waypoints, I then usually have to open the flight plan in LittleNavMap and delete SID/STAR waypoints as necessary, basically removing all "runway specific" waypoints as I use PF3 for ATC and that makes life a lot easier, especially on STARs.  I did not have to do this in this case as the SimBrief download was properly truncated between ACONY and JSTRM (DEAKK5 arrival into KTPA).  The plan was loaded into the FMGS as a company route.  I had to fix it in the Company Route Editor prior to loading into the FMGS (as I always do) as it had some lat/lon coordinates (as I find they usually do) but it was ultimately:

 

TJSJKTPA01 SAPPO R507 GTK A555 ZBV DCT PHK

 

8 hours ago, DaveCT2003 said:

2. Which AIRAC was used, both the flight planning software and the aircraft?

 

 

Whatever is the current, I believe 1810 for both.  I have a current Navigraph subscription.

 

I just realized I hadn't updated the AIRAC for the aircraft since running the 1.2.0.2 update but I don't recall the FMGS screen to have been incorrect as a result of that update (though I can't recall for certainty).

 

8 hours ago, DaveCT2003 said:

3. Would you be kind enough to provide us with a detailed list of your System Specifications?

 

I just rebuilt most of the PC recently, so I readily have probably far more detail than you need.  

 

Mobo:  ASRock X470 Gaming-ITX/ac AM4 AMD

Processor:  AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 8-Core 3.7 GHz (4.3 GHz Max Boost) Socket AM4 105W

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000)

Graphics:  EVGA - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti

 

Storage:

Boot:  Samsung - 970 EVO 250GB Internal PCI Express 3.0 x4 (NVMe) SSD

P3D:  Samsung - 860 EVO 500GB SSD

Add-ons and utilities (less ORBX and a few others):   Samsung - 850 EVO 500GB SSD

Backup/Archive:  Apple 500 GB HDD (came original with a 2012 MacMini which I updated to an SSD so it was sitting around not being used).

 

The RAM is probably a little behind spec (also isn't on the mobo QVL) and is next on my list to upgrade (and probably to 32 GB) once prices come down a little.  That said, it seems to be performing just fine.  P3D has generally been as, if not more, stable than on my prior i7-6700k/GTX 970 build.  (I made the change because booting was becoming erratic and I was sensing an upcoming failure, went with the AMD more because of price than anything; aside from the fact I've always been partial to them going back to the late 1990's.)  I probably come off as knowing a lot more about building a system than I actually do; rather I just tend to be a DIYer and know just enough about it to be dangerous.