[FSTramp] Incompatible with X-Plane 12.4.x — Root cause identified + correct DataRefs for a community fix

[Florencio Mello]

Hi everyone,

After a thorough investigation into the FSTramp crash on X-Plane 12.4.x (versions 12.4.0, 12.4.1, and 12.4.2), I was able to pinpoint the exact technical cause and identify the specific DataRefs that need to be updated. I'm sharing this here hoping that a developer in the community might use this information to create an unofficial patch.

---

The problem

X-Plane 12.4.x renamed several DataRefs that FSTramp was relying on. When the plugin calls XPLMFindDataRef() using the old names, the return value is NULL. FSTramp then attempts to read data via a null handle, which triggers a Popup abort — the simulator freezes at the loading screen.

This was confirmed by analyzing the Log.txt and cross-referencing it with the official DataRefs.txt from X-Plane 12.4.1, where all four DataRefs are explicitly marked as REPLACED.

---

The 4 DataRefs that need to be fixed

#	Old DataRef (broken)	New DataRef (correct)
1	sim/flightmodel2/controls/flap_handle_deploy_ratio	sim/cockpit2/controls/flap_system_deploy_ratio
2	sim/weather/temperature_ambient_c	sim/weather/aircraft/temperature_ambient_deg_c
3	sim/weather/wind_speed_kt	sim/weather/aircraft/wind_now_speed_msc (now in m/s)
4	sim/weather/wind_direction_degt	sim/weather/aircraft/wind_now_direction_degt

Note on DataRef #3: the unit changed from knots (kt) to meters per second (m/s). A conversion factor may be needed in the code: 1 kt ≈ 0.514 m/s.

---

Developer status

Helge Schroeder, the developer of FSTramp, has announced that at 69 years old he is retiring from development and support. The plugin has become freeware indefinitely, with the serial key distributed publicly. The official website fstramp.com is already offline.

Any fix would therefore need to come from the community. FSTrampXP.xpl is a compiled binary (64-bit Windows DLL), so a fix would require either access to the original source code for recompilation, or a developer with experience in PE64 binary reverse engineering.

---

Temporary workaround

Until a patch is available, the only solution is to keep FSTrampXP.xpl out of the Resources/plugins/ folder when running X-Plane 12.4.x.

---

I hope this information is useful for any developer willing to take on the challenge of creating a community fix. If anyone has access to the source code or has experience with X-Plane plugin binary patching, please speak up in this thread.

Happy flying everyone!

Florencio Mello

+55 11 968635225 Whats App

florencio.mello@outlook.com