Add data to Notams.txt

[eddito2010]

Hello,

Would be possible to add to Notams.txt begin and end dates? Thanks

Cheers
Eduardo

[Travis]

Hello Eduardo,

Adding start & end dates to our Notams.txt file is possible (and easy to accomplish), and I can imagine the code needed to do such (with 'forever' as the default value so existing Notams.txt files would work as usual)... but I'd first like to point out the reason for our Notams file.

It's essentially to allow you to write small reminders about odd things in your airport sceneries to help you in movements around them. One of Dutch's 'base airports' has an ILS (or DME?) transmitter close to one of the main taxiways. So he added a reminder for when he's on taxi.

The same applies for a "mountain obstacle" on approach, or an ILS offset at the same airport.

I've added a few quirky Notams myself - "COLD TEMPERATURE RESTRICTED AIRPORT" which has no meaning in our simulators, but I thought was funny.

When I find myself flying the hapless SF Giants baseball team into KSFO, I'm reminded of "POSSIBLE SIMULTANEOUS CLOSE PARALLEL OPERATIONS ON RWY 28L/R".

But these are things that never change. Dutch's mountain will always be there. Unless he updates his scenery, that ILS will always be offset. My KSFO will always have 28L and 28R open for landing. Etc.

And even if there were a time-limited NOTAM, I would imagine that it would be very easy to add it when it goes into effect, and then to randomly remove it when it's expired.

---

Now I've often thought about a small utility that would create a separate Notams file that could be refreshed to apply real-world NOTAMs for a flight.

But I stop myself because most such NOTAMs would be meaningless. Here's a random and current one for EDDM that I grabbed:

KEMPTEN DVOR/DME KPT 108.40/CH21X OUT OF SERVICE. 01 FEB 11:52 2018 UNTIL 02
MAY 11:52 2018 ESTIMATED. CREATED: 01 FEB 11:53 2018

However that would be meaningless for our use.  First, I'm not certain of a method that could allow us to switch the signal off, but I checked and while KPT 108.4 is in the current AIRAC, some FSX sceneries have it listed at 109.6.  So even if we could switch KPT off, we might not recognize it as the "correct" KPT.

---

So now even after all of that, if you can convince me of a good reason to add 'begin' and 'end' dates to Notams.txt, I will happily do so!

With best regards,

[eddito2010]

Hello Travis,

First of all I apologize if I spoke lightly and asked without analyzing. I understand your point and I even agree with you on everything you propose, my request was simply motivated by a situation that I found last night while planning a flight, when I start to analyze the NOTAMS from my base and I see that during the month they were going to there are several events such as closed taxiways, stations out of service, reserved airspaces, etc. and that's when I thought I could always check at the beginning of each month and put everything relevant to that month in the Notams file and keep it up-to-date, as doing it daily is a tedious thing, as well as taking time away from my flight. Yes, I know that those taxiways in the FS will always be open, that those stations will always be in service as long as they are in the scenery and that the airspaces will always be open to transit them while my route passes by and even, even if it closes them for me, the traffics of the FS will continue to run them without any restriction, but nothing, I like to stick as much as possible to reality. With this I do not pretend to convince you, I just try to argue why I mentioned it.

Once again I apologize for asking things that are perhaps banal or meaningless for most of the people without first analyzing the feasibility for the majority and I reiterate my thanks for taking the time to respond.

Cheers
Eduardo

[Travis]

Hello Eduardo,

My fellow Captain - no apologies are needed. You are merely telling us of something that you would like to see with FSCaptain. That is always accepted here!

Before I started working on FSCaptain, I was a customer who would pester Dutch with lots of ideas. (Some good ideas... some not-so-good.) But every Captain who has made a suggestion has always had their suggestion considered. That's made FSCaptain grow and change quite a lot over the past eight years.

I was simply intent on telling you what the function of the Notams.txt file is, and in your reply you have convinced me to implement a new file - Notams_real.txt.

And besides, I sometime write more than I need to. And I will sometimes write more details than are necessary. Many may think that I have the "gift of gab."

Your suggestion may not happen in 1.8.1, as I will need to think on its structure, and we need to release 1.8.1 within a month or so.

But as long as I'm working on FSCaptain, it will happen.

Best regards,

[eddito2010]

Hi Travis,

Thank you for understand my point and for taking my idea into account. I agree with you that this kind of feedback is what becomes any product in a great one, because you as developers has an idea of where you want to get as well as we as customers have the idea of what we would like to have. Now, as developer speaking, I know that not all customer orders can be taken into account and that each software version has its process and its stages so I do not intend this change to appear next week simply knowing that it will be taken into account and that at some point we will have it is enough.

Cheers!

[Travis]

Mar 9, 2018 23:28:05 GMT -5 eddito2010 said:

I know that not all customer orders can be taken into account and that each software version has its process and its stages so I do not intend this change to appear next week simply knowing that it will be taken into account and that at some point we will have it is enough.

Hello Eduardo,

Then you must also know that at any point in time, Dutch or I might "become bored with everything" and decide to test an implementation of a "new feature". And at that point... a miracle might occur!

(Yes, that's happened more than once with FSCaptain.)

Regards,