INSTALLATION TIPS ================= Full instructions are included in the manual which is available on the product page of our website. www.blackbirdsims.com If your product is bundled with addon modules, please install the base product before installing the extra modules. Please ensure your system meets the requirements for your product. To verify your P3D version, please go to: your drive:Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D. Right-click on sim1.dll, select 'Properties', and under the 'Details' tab, verify the product version number. 1. Pre-Installation Tasks As with other flight simulator add-ons, pre-installation precautions should involve closing any open applications (including MVAMS if you already own a MV product), as well as temporarily disabling any active antivirus software. Failure to temporarily disable antivirus software during download, extraction and installation will result in a non-functioning product and/or simulator. 2. Beginning Installation After purchase, this product may be supplied as a compressed (.zip) file. This compressed file contains an executable (.exe) file, which is the installer for the Blackbird Simulations product. Using the file compression utility of your choice (we recommend 7zip https://www.7-zip.org/), unzip this file to a location of your choosing. Once unzipped, you may begin installation by right clicking on the executable (.exe) file, then selecting "Run as administrator". The installer will run, showing an initial welcome screen. Left click on the "Next" button to continue. 3. Prerequisites Setup Wizard Depending on your product, the installer will first run a process that checks for missing components that are needed for the product to function. Clicking 'Next' when prompted and following any prompts within the component installers will ensure that these components are installed and correctly configured for use. 4. Product Setup Wizard After clicking 'Next' on the welcome screen, our installer may require the serial number you received at time of purchase. Entering this will then activate your aircraft. There have been some cases where a licence key has been rejected for a seemingly bizarre reason: a. Sometimes typing the key in has worked where copying and pasting didn't b. Occasionally, windows archive extractor corrupts the file - try using 7zip instead https://www.7-zip.org/download.html c. a punctuation symbol or accented character will cause a key rejection d. windows not being up-to-date can cause this as well as other issues e. most common of all, is not running the installer as admin Note: A working internet connection is required for product activation. The setup wizard will then determine the correct location for installation. If incorrect, this can changed. However, please note that the Blackbird Simulations product must be installed within the root sim folder structure. For example: G:\STEAM\steamapps\common\FSX\SimObjects\Airplanes\DHC-3 Turbine Otter Milviz D:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\SimObjects\Airplanes\DHC-3 Turbine Otter Milviz The root folder containing the P3D exe and other files must NOT be the drive itself. eg, the shortcut for the P3D application should not be E:\Prepar3d.exe. Rather it should be a folder in the drive eg E:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d v4\Prepar3d.exe Clicking 'Install' at the Ready to Install screen will proceed with the installation of the product. Depending on your product, you may see further installation screens for additional required software such as RealLight, TrueGlass or XMLTools. At the prompts, click 'next' or 'OK' until all additional software has completed installation. 5. MVAMS Setup Wizard Once the aircraft files have finished being installed, the installer will automatically run the MilViz Addon Management System (MVAMS) Setup Wizard. The MVAMS application has been bundled with our new aircraft for the last few years, but this wizard ensures that it is properly installed for use with your aircraft. If you already have MVAMS installed you may, depending on the product, be prompted to Modify, Repair or Remove MVAMS. please select 'Modify'. 6. Post-Installation Tasks Please be sure to revert your antivirus program settings back to their previous state. Also please make sure that your P3D or FSX directory is off-limits to any automatic antivirus scanning. Failure to do this will result in a non-functioning simulator! It may be worthwhile to back-up or save a copy of the downloaded installer. Please be aware that as new updates are released, we do not continue to offer older versions for download due to support issues. Please also note that support is intended for the latest releases of our products only. 7. Uninstalling the product The Blackbird Simulations product must be uninstalled through the use of Control Panel > Programs and Features utility within the Windows operating system. If your product cannot be found in programs and Features, please uninstall using the original product installer, selecting your sim and then the yellow highlighted 'uninstall' option. Simply deleting files without using the uninstall methods above will cause issues later. Note: Prior to uninstalling the aircraft, please be sure to back up any customized files or custom liveries you have installed if you wish to keep them. FIRST RUN ========= 1. Before opening your sim, please run MVAMS from the shortcut on your desktop. Select your desired options, click 'Save Defaults' and close MVAMS. 2. Open your P3D or FSX program. For best results choose the following options if applicable Realism: Full Input Method: Direct Default aircraft: any other than your Blackbird Simulations product; typically C172 or F-22 3. Choose your product in the vehicle selection window. If you haven't activated your product during install, depending on your product, you may be prompted to do so now. If you have a problem activating, please refer to Installation Tips 4. 4. Enjoy your Blackbird Simulations aircraft!