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This console application bridges DCS World with some of the WinCtrl hardware, enabling real-time data exchange between the simulator and the physical device.
Data Flow: DCS ↔ DCS-BIOS ↔ This App ↔ WinCtrl CDUs (and FCU)
- Install DCS-BIOS (see Installation for detailed instructions)
- Download from the releases page and extract to your preferred folder
- Connect your WinCtrl CDU before starting the bridge
- Configure the DCS-BIOS JSON folder
- Run the application
- Launch DCS and load your aircraft — the bridge detects it automatically and starts
Each aircraft has its own page describing supported devices, CDU display, LEDs, brightness, and any front-panel output.
| Aircraft | CDU | FCU/EFIS | PAP3 | AGP32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-10C | Full CDU pages, CMSP overlay, LEDs | ✓ heading/speed/alt/VS/baro | ✓ | ✓ gear + clock |
| AH-64D | PLT + CPG EUFD/KU pages | — | — | — |
| CH-47F | Pilot or co-pilot CDU pages | — | — | — |
| F-14B | RIO CAP + Radio/IFF pages | — | — | ✓ gear + clock |
| F-15E | UFC display lines | — | — | — |
| F-16C | DED / NAV / RWR pages | brightness only | brightness only | ✓ gear |
| FA-18C | UFC + IFEI pages | — | — | ✓ gear + flaps + clock |
| M-2000C | PCN + caution panel | — | — | ✓ gear + clock |
| OH-58D | Engine/MPD/CMWS/RFI | — | — | ✓ UTC clock |
| UH-1H | Radio panel | — | — | — |
Front panels (FCU/EFIS, PAP3, AGP32) render whatever the active aircraft publishes. The A-10C drives the full set (flight data, gear LEDs, and the chrono/UTC/ET clock on the AGP32). The F-14B drives the AGP32 gear lights and clock. The OH-58D drives the AGP32 UTC clock.
See Installation for full setup instructions (DCS-BIOS, .NET runtime, application configuration).
You no longer pick the aircraft yourself. While the bridge is running, the CDU shows a "Waiting for DCS… / Aircraft detection" screen and watches DCS-BIOS for the loaded module:
- When a supported aircraft is loaded, the bridge starts automatically.
- An unsupported module is shown in red as "Not supported", and the bridge keeps waiting.
- When you switch or exit the aircraft, the bridge resets and returns to the waiting screen — no restart needed.
The only manual choice left is the seat for the CH-47F when two or more CDUs are connected (see CH-47F).
- CDU Keys: Map them in DCS.
- Seat selection (CH-47F with 2+ CDUs): when prompted, press the line-select key next to PILOT or COPILOT.
"PLT_CDU_LINE1" does not exist (CH-47 Chinook)
- Wrong DCS-BIOS version. You need v0.11.0 or later.
"Connection failed" or CDU not responding
- Ensure your WinCtrl CDU is properly connected
- Try unplugging and reconnecting the device
- Restart the application (it does not detect devices plugged in after start)
- Check that no other application is using the CDU
"No data appearing on CDU"
- Start your aircraft in DCS (data appears after aircraft systems are powered)
- Check that DCS-BIOS is working — use Bort to verify
- Verify
Export.luais configured correctly
Aircraft not detected / stuck on "Waiting for DCS…"
- Make sure an aircraft is loaded in the cockpit and DCS-BIOS is exporting
- Unsupported aircraft are shown in red — the bridge keeps waiting for a supported one
- You do not need to restart when switching aircraft
Start bridge is greyed out
- You probably launched the app before plugging your devices
- Exit, plug all CDUs, then launch the app again
- Mismatched brightness: Use the aircraft's brightness controls first, then adjust the MCDU
- See each aircraft page for aircraft-specific brightness notes
All activity is logged to log.txt in the same folder as the executable.
Report issues on GitHub or on Discord.
- Cursor behavior: May appear erratic during waypoint entry (reflects DCS-BIOS data)
- CH-47F support: Requires DCS-BIOS 0.11.0 or later
- Brightness sync: May not perfectly match aircraft state
See Contributing for guidelines on adding aircraft support, coding conventions, and how to submit a pull request.
Written in C# targeting .NET 8.0. Uses:
- DCS-BIOS for DCS communication
- ww-devices-dotnet for WinCtrl hardware interface
- NLog for logging