Many of you will remember the excellent Virtual FMC CDU apps from the Prepar3D days — a favourite of mine for years. Since the move to MSFS 2020, several web-based CDU solutions have appeared and, while they work well, I've always missed the responsiveness of a true native app. Web apps are convenient, but native apps are simply faster, smoother and more reliable. So I decided to build one myself.
**FlightPadFMC** is a fully native Android app that turns your tablet into a CDU / MCDU for the **PMDG 737, PMDG 777, iFly 737 MAX, FlyByWire A320 and Fenix A320** in MSFS 2020 and 2024. No browser, no complex web server, minimum lag — it's designed to feel like the real hardware sitting on your flight deck.
**A note on iOS:** I know many would love an iOS version. Unfortunately I don't own a Mac to build and sign iOS apps, so I can't provide one at this time. The Android app source is already open on GitHub, though — if anyone in the community has a Mac and the skills to port it, I'd warmly welcome the collaboration.
**FlightPadFMC v0.4.1 — iFly 737 MAX support, Server Console with auto aircraft-detection, end-to-end visual polish on all 6 apps, Captain ↔ FO CDU swipe (PMDG 737 + 777)**
### What's new in v0.4.1
- 🆕 **Captain ↔ FO CDU swipe (PMDG 737 + 777)** — swipe left on the CDU display to switch to the First Officer's CDU, swipe right to return to the Captain's. A green **CAPT CDU / FO CDU** label flashes so you always know which seat you're on. Screen, bezel annunciators (EXEC / MSG / OFST / FAIL / DSPY / CALL) and every key press all follow the selected side — the FO CDU is fully functional, not just a mirrored screen.
- 🆕 **"CDU Side" setting** — the app settings now have a Captain / First Officer selector. The saved side is applied on every connect, so a tablet set to First Officer always comes up on the FO CDU. Swiping remains a temporary override that never changes the saved setting.
- 🆕 **Dual-tablet cockpits** — two tablets can connect at the same time, one on the Captain CDU and one on the FO CDU, each fully independent. If you've been building a two-seat setup, this release is for you.
- ✨ **Smarter "app outdated" check** — the server now knows the minimum compatible app version *per aircraft*. Only the PMDG 737 and 777 apps need the 0.4.1 update; your FBW A320, Fenix A320 and iFly 737 MAX 0.4.0 apps remain fully compatible and won't be nagged.
> ⚠ **One new setup line for the FO CDU:** add `EnableCDUBroadcast.1=1` to your PMDG aircraft's options.ini, next to the existing `EnableCDUBroadcast.0=1` (full paths in the README). Without it, the FO screen stays blank after a swipe — the `.0` line only broadcasts the Captain's CDU.
> ⚠ **Upgrading?** Only three APKs changed in this release: `737PMDG.apk`, `777PMDG.apk` and `777PMDG-Silence.apk` (now versionName 0.4.1). Install them over the top of 0.4.0; if Android reports a package conflict, uninstall the old app first. The FBW A320, Fenix A320 and iFly 737 MAX apps are unchanged — keep your 0.4.0 installs. The server EXE is updated to 0.4.1 and works with all of them.
### What it is, for newcomers
A Windows server runs on the sim PC and connects to MSFS via SimConnect (PMDG), Win32 IPC + shared memory (iFly), proxies SimBridge (FBW A320), or proxies Fenix's GraphQL stream (Fenix A320). The server streams the CDU / MCDU screen over your local WiFi to the Android app, and key presses on the tablet go back to the sim in real time. Five separate APKs, one per aircraft — install only what you fly:
- `737PMDG.apk` — PMDG 737 NGXu
- `777PMDG.apk` — PMDG 777
- `iFly737MAX.apk` — iFly 737 MAX (7 / 8 / 8200 / 9 / 10)
- `FBWA320.apk` — FlyByWire A32NX
- `FenixA320.apk` — Fenix A320 v2
Native Android — not a web page, not a browser trick. Pixel-accurate skins, real touch calibration baked in, runs all the way back to Android 4.4.
### Install
The `README!!!.txt` in the release archive has the full step-by-step install guide, split by sim version (MSFS 2020 vs 2024) and by aircraft. There are separate sections for PMDG users, iFly users, FBW users and Fenix users, so you only do the steps that apply to you. The MSFS 2024 PMDG paths in this release also list both filename variants (`737_Options.ini` / `737NG3_Options.ini`) — PMDG appears to have dropped the NG3 suffix on some MSFS 2024 builds, and the README tells you which to look for.
### Optional: auto-launch the server with MSFS
If you haven't already enabled it from v0.3.0 — turn on the **"Close server when MSFS exits"** setting, then add a `<Launch.Addon>` block to your MSFS `exe.xml` pointing at `FlightPadFMCServer.exe`. The server will start when MSFS starts and quit when MSFS closes, no manual lifecycle. STEP 4 of the README has the exact paths and the snippet.
### Download
- Release: https://silencediy.com/dl/dl1776106237549
- GitHub: https://github.com/diymarcus/FlightPadFMC
- Discord: https://discord.gg/YVn92NGYpt
- email: marcus@silencediy.com
### Credits
- **PMDG Simulations** — for the 737 NGXu + 777 add-ons and for shipping the PMDG SDK that makes external CDU clients possible
- **iFly Simulations Software** — for the iFly 737 MAX and the iFly Plugin SDK
- **FlyByWire SimBridge** — © FlyByWire Simulations — GPL-3.0
- **Fenix Simulations** — for the Fenix A320 v2 + the open GraphQL interface
- **B612 Mono font** — SIL Open Font License — originally designed for aviation cockpit displays
Big thanks to PMDG, iFly, the FlyByWire team and the Fenix team for the SDKs and open interfaces — they're what make this project possible.
### Feedback & bug reports
If you run into anything strange, please open an issue on GitHub (or reply in this thread) — I read everything. Short excerpts from the server Activity Log and the Android app really help me track things down. Especially helpful for v0.4.0:
- **iFly 737 MAX owners** — confirmation that the CDU drives correctly across the common FMS pages (INIT, RTE, LEGS, PROG, PERF), and that all 5 LEDs (EXEC / MSG / FAIL / CALL / OFST) light at the appropriate moments during a normal flight
- **Anyone running MSFS 2024** — confirmation of the actual filename in your `pmdg-aircraft-738\work\` folder (`737_Options.ini` vs `737NG3_Options.ini`), and confirmation of the `exe.xml` path on your install (MS Store vs Steam)
- **All users** — confirmation that the new Server Console "Aircraft" row updates immediately when you change aircraft in the MSFS profile menu (matching MobiFlight behaviour). And — if it doesn't classify your aircraft, please share the raw title shown in the "Unrecognised — ..." row so I can add it to the substring map for the next release.
Happy flying! ✈️
— Marcus (SilenceDIY)
https://silencediy.com