Bundle flightplans with schedules

[jet1]

Hi

Just got back to flightsim after loooong break (more than a year) and was delighted to find FSCaptain has developed tremendously!

An idea popped into my head while checking out the Dispatch page. I understand that it is possible to export and upload Airline definitions and schedules for others to use. There is just one available for download on FSCaptain website, but still.

Would it be possible to bundle flightplans with a schedules? Initially it could just be a pack of flightplans that match the sectors in the schedule. It would take away the hassle of preparing your own plan for each leg and bring the experience closer to having a real dispatcher.

I know it's a lot of work to prepare plans for a whole schedule, but given the possibility, I'm sure there would be many enthusiastic virtual dispatchers out there that would gladly get to work.

[ysfsim]

I have a few schedules that I made from AI flight plans I am willing to share but I have no routes.

[Travis]

Personally I like starting each flight by going to FlightAware, or the FAA Preferred Routes database (or Coded Routes!), or good old RouteFinder, but I see your point.

And to recite back what I think I understand that you're proposing, it's that that along with an airline schedule, that someone package .PLN files as well?

So for this World Airlines flight:Flight=10,KPDX,KSFO,3,0600,0
Someone would include a PLN (FS9 formatted I'd gather since IIRC FS9 can't read FSX formatted files) that would be the equivilant of:KPDX A0449F350 EUG RBG KSFO

(Which is UAL 508 that's just taken off... minus the actual GOLDN6 STAR since wind and wx and ATC's mind changes. )

[jet1]

Jan 16, 2012 18:31:31 GMT -5 Travis said:

And to recite back what I think I understand that you're proposing, it's that that along with an airline schedule, that someone package .PLN files as well?

Exactly. Didn't remember the .PLN compatibility issue btw FS9/X .. that would complicate things a bit.

Reason behind this really is to make starting the session easier and quicker. One of the things that drove me off this type of simulation was simply that it was starting to get too time intensive to do it.

You know, toss dice to decide which route to fly, find a route, use a flightplanner, start weather program, get the weather, find charts, , use TOPCAT, setup ATC program, start sim, set up your flight, set up your hardware, change numerous settings (date/time, wx, traffic, view)... all this done is easily more than 30 minutes. And then after five minutes into the session FS crashes... you get the point

Now I'm trying to think of every possible way to make the experience smoother and eliminate steps.

With the previous FSCaptain version I already started to work on a schedule based on real life UPS cargo operations out of Cologne. I had flightplans both in FS9 and FMC format ready to use for each leg FSCaptain might give me, and I could just happily get going. Those plans could be packaged along with each schedule.

What comes to eliminating steps, an even crazier idea would be if FSCaptain could create an FS situation file (text format) based on your selected flight. Using that file FS could automatically start into the correct airport and correct gate at the correct date/time, without having to go to any menus, except for aircraft choice!

[Travis]

Jan 17, 2012 5:39:10 GMT -5 jet1 said:

What comes to eliminating steps, an even crazier idea would be if FSCaptain could create an FS situation file (text format) based on your selected flight. Using that file FS could automatically start into the correct airport and correct gate at the correct date/time, without having to go to any menus, except for aircraft choice!

Hey, I'm the worlds #1 fan of creative ideas! ;D

That's a very interesting idea you have, and I'm officially... very interested. First thing though, what's a "situation file?" Are you referring to creating an .FLT file or is it something else? (I'm an FSX'er, so maybe I'm missing out on something.)

[jet1]

Jan 17, 2012 20:23:27 GMT -5 Travis said:

That's a very interesting idea you have, and I'm officially... very interested. First thing though, what's a "situation file?" Are you referring to creating an .FLT file or is it something else? (I'm an FSX'er, so maybe I'm missing out on something.)

Yes, the .FLT file!

Essentially a text file that contains all information on a saved flight, from date/time to panel window sizes. Clicking on one (perhaps you need to use Open with..FS9) will load FS straight into that saved situation, bypassing the opening sceen.

Haven't looked into it more depth than that, but since they are just text files, I assume it could be manipulated and auto-launched...

[Travis]

I've never tried autoloading one into FSX, but this is something that I've put on my to-tinker-with list.

Certain advanced aircraft have their own sections in an FLT file, and in comparing FLTs made with different default aircraft I've seen different "camera / view" GUIDs used. So it could be that each aircraft might need a different "base / static" FLT file. (I'm speculating....)

Also, pre-setting the start time might be tricky. I guess for scheduled flights it could be the earliest time that the captain could check in, and for charter flights it could either be "now" or a random time. (??)

Still though, it might be nice to have my starting gate (and livery) auto selected for me. Not all r/w captains get to flex that little bit of power.

I'll have a few days next week where I could tinker with setting up a copy-and-paste pattern for a single aircraft type to see what pans out.

[jet1]

Jan 18, 2012 20:12:40 GMT -5 Travis said:

Certain advanced aircraft have their own sections in an FLT file, and in comparing FLTs made with different default aircraft I've seen different "camera / view" GUIDs used. So it could be that each aircraft might need a different "base / static" FLT file. (I'm speculating....)

Level-D have their own sections as far as I know. At which point those entries get written in there i don't know.

"Base .flt" sounds cool if you only fly some types of aircraft, but I was thinking maybe loading just the default cessna in the right time and place to be on the safe side. For the user the only thing left would be to change aircrafts.

As for the time, yeah I was thinking the same, STD-30min. Perhaps this could be adjustable too.

[Travis]

What I meant by making up the term "base .flt" was to take each aircraft into a cold-and-dark state and then save a flight... then to use the .flt file as a "base" to modify for that aircraft. That way I'd hope that complex systems would be in a stable state in order to start up properly. (Maybe not - I could be barking up the wrong tree. Not for the first second Nth time.)

I'm going on the assumption that only a few sections/values would need to be modified - date-time, livery (?), "starting postition" etc. (I'm hoping that setting the on-the-ground value will compensate if the "altitude" is off by a few feet. It'd be near worthless if one were to start either floating in the air or stuck underground.)

I have a few bell-and-whistle ideas to try to work into my scheme when I start playing around experimenting.

[Travis]

Well, Experiment #1 was a total success. I had to make a manual association for FLT files to FSX, but my initial hand-adjusted test went off without a flaw. My trepidation at having to get the altitude just perfect was for naught - I started exactly on the ground even though the FLT value should have set me a few hundred feet underneath.

I'll work on this idea and share any thoughts with Dutch... if I have any.

And I'd like everyone to please note that my scribblings here are not to be read as "this is something that will appear in FS Captain." I'm just taking an interesting idea and running with it. Scissors optional.