1 | <html>
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2 | <head>
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3 | <title>MAVA Logger X User's Manual</title>
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4 | <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
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5 | </head>
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6 | <body>
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7 | <div align="center"><h1>MAVA Logger X User's Manual</h1></div>
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8 |
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9 | <h2><a name="overview">Overview</a></h2>
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10 |
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11 | <p>
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12 | MAVA Logger X is an application that monitors the execution of a
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13 | Malév Virtual flight, and collects data that can be sent to
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14 | the <a href="http://virtualairlines.hu">MAVA website</a> for further
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15 | evaluation. This manual describes how to use this program. To be
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16 | able to use all features of the program, you need to have a working
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17 | Internet connection, even if you don't fly on-line on VATSIM or
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18 | IVAO. However, it is possible to perform a flight completely offline
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19 | as well.
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20 | </p>
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21 |
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22 | <p><a name="flightRating"/>
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23 | While monitoring your flight, the program continuously checks if your
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24 | airplane's configuration is always within the parameters prescribed
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25 | by the airline's operating procedures. For example, you have to turn
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26 | on or off the various lights of your aircraft according to rules,
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27 | you cannot exceed certain weight or speed limits, and so on. Any
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28 | deviation from the expected parameters, also known as a fault, can
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29 | result in points subtracted from the initial 100 points (or
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30 | percentage). The result is your <i>flight rating</i>. Some
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31 | deviations are so serious, that they are deemed <i>NO GO</i> faults
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32 | and result in the rejection of your flight.
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33 | </p>
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34 |
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35 | <p>
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36 | Besides the faults the program also monitors many other parameters,
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37 | which are recorded in a textual <a href="#logTab"><i>log</i></a>.
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38 | This log is sent as a part of your PIREP
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39 | (<b>PI</b>lot's <b>REP</b>ort), and will be analyzed, and possibly
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40 | commented on by more experienced pilots of Malév Virtual. This way
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41 | you can perfect the way you execute your flights.
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42 | </p>
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43 |
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44 | <p><a name="flightStages"/>
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45 | The application breaks up your flight into
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46 | several <i>stage</i>s. The advancement from one stage to another is
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47 | detected automatically. These stages and the conditions under which
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48 | they are entered are as follows:
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49 | <ol>
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50 | <li><b>boarding</b>: This is the initial stage when you start the
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51 | flight.</li>
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52 | <li><b>push-back and taxi</b>: If you release the parking brakes
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53 | or your ground speed becomes 5 knots or greater during the
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54 | boarding stage, your flight enters this stage.</li>
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55 | <li><b>takeoff</b>: If your ground speed exceeds 50 knots
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56 | during taxi or after a rejected takeoff (RTO), and then you lift-off in at
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57 | most 60 second, your flight enters the takeoff stage. The takeoff
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58 | configuration, however is saved at the time of exceeding 50 knots GS, but
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59 | will be checked and logged when leaving the ground. If you do not lift-off
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60 | within 60 seconds of exceeding 50 knots GS, a speed fault will be
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61 | logged. The same occurs, if your GS decreases to or below 50 knots after
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62 | having exceeded it earllier. If, however, you check the
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63 | <i>Rejected takeoff</i> checkbox on the
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64 | <a href="#takeOffPage"><i>Takeoff</i></a> page, the fault will
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65 | disappear and your flight will enter the <b>RTO</b> (rejected takeoff)
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66 | stage.</li>
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67 | <li><b>climb</b>: When you retract the gears or you reach 3000
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68 | feet altitude AGL with a positive climb rate after takeoff.</li>
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69 | <li><b>cruise</b>: When the aircraft's altitude is within 2000
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70 | feet of the cruise altitude and you are climbing either after takeoff or an
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71 | aborted approach or landing.</li>
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72 | <li><b>descent</b>: If the altitude decreases to more than 2000
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73 | feet below the cruise altitude during cruise.</li>
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74 | <li><b>landing</b>: If the gears are lowered and the altitude is
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75 | less than 2000 feet AGL during descent or go-around. Also when you start
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76 | to descend during a climb and the previous conditions also hold.</li>
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77 | <li><b>go-around</b>: If you retract the gears during landing.</li>
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78 | <li><b>taxi after landing</b>: When the aircraft is on the
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79 | ground and its ground speed is below 25 knots after landing.</li>
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80 | <li><b>end</b>: If the N<sub>1</sub> of the turbines becomes
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81 | less than 0.5, or the RPM of the piston engines becomes 0 during
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82 | the parking brakes are set. This is the final stage.</li>
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83 | </ol>
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84 |
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85 | <p>
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86 | To enhance the simulation, the program can play various
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87 | <a href="#prefsSounds">sound</a> files
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88 | during the various stages of your flight, such as the announcements
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89 | made by the flight attendants. These files are supplied with the
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90 | application, and they can be played automatically, or when you press
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91 | a certain hotkey in the flight simulator. You can also organize
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92 | pre-recorded sound files
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93 | into <a href="#checklistEditor">checklists</a> for the each aircraft
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94 | type, and these files can also be played back one-by-one when you
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95 | repeatedly press a key combination in the simulator. See
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96 | <a href="#prefsSounds">below</a> for more information on this.
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97 | </p>
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98 |
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99 | <p><a name="onlineACARSSystem"/>
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100 | Malév Virtual have implemented an <i>Online ACARS System</i>, which
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101 | displays the status of the flights in progress. The data appears on
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102 | the front page of the <a href="http://virtualairlines.hu">MAVA
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103 | website</a> and also on a
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104 | <a href="http://virtualairlines.hu/acars2/show.html">map</a>. This map is
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105 | also <a href="#acarsTab">displayed</a> by the program.
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106 | </p>
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107 |
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108 | <p><a name="onlineGateSystem"/>
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109 | Malév Virtual have also implemented an <i>Online Gate System</i>
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110 | which maintains a database of the aircraft in the airline's fleet
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111 | and their location. An aircraft may be parked at the Budapest
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112 | Ferihegy Airport, in which case the number of the gate or stand it
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113 | is located at is recorded in the database. If so, this number is
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114 | <a href="#connectPage">displayed</a> to you when starting your
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115 | flight from Ferihegy, and you are recommended to place your aircraft
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116 | at the indicated gate or stand in the simulator. If your flight
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117 | begins at Ferihegy and the aircraft is away (usually due to someone
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118 | else's flight), you can <a href="#gateSelectionPage">select</a>
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119 | from which gate or stand you start your flight. The database of the
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120 | Online Gate System can also be <a href="#gatesTab">displayed</a>
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121 | by using the application.
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122 | </p>
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123 |
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124 | <p>
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125 | These online systems can only be used when flying online.
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126 | </p>
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127 |
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128 | <p>
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129 | The program can automatically update itself. When it starts up, it
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130 | checks if there is a newer version available. If so, it downloads
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131 | its files and replaces the program's current files with the new
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132 | ones. Then the program is restarted so that you can use the new
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133 | version. Besides acquiring bug fixes, updating is also important,
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134 | because the program can be extended with new checks or more refined
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135 | checks, and if you are using too old a version, the PIREP reviewers
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136 | may refuse your flight.
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137 | </p>
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138 |
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139 | <p>
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140 | The program also includes a built-in <a href="#bugReportWindow">bug
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141 | reporting</a> facility, which can be used to report any trouble
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142 | encountered while using it.
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143 | </p>
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144 |
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145 | <h3><a name="gui">Graphical User Interface</a></h3>
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146 |
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147 | <p>
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148 | The GUI of the application is made up of traditional building blocks
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149 | (buttons, checkboxes, lists, text entry boxes, etc.) found in other
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150 | applications as well. Many such controls have informative tooltips
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151 | that supplement the contents of this User's Guide in helping you
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152 | using the application. Many controls are also accessible by pressing
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153 | the <b>Alt</b> plus the underlined letter in the control's label.
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154 | </p>
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155 |
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156 | <p>
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157 | The most often used part of the program is the main window, to be
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158 | described in detail below. When you minimize or close the window, it
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159 | disappears by default, but the program continues to run. You can
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160 | redisplay the window by clicking on the tray icon of the program,
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161 | which looks like the one on the picture below.
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162 | </p>
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163 |
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164 | <div align="center">
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165 | <table>
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166 | <tr>
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167 | <td>
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168 | <img src="statusIcon1.png" alt="The status icon" hspace="20"/>
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169 | </td>
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170 | <td>
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171 | <img src="statusIcon2.png" alt="The status icon menu" hspace="20"/>
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172 | </td>
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173 | </table>
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174 | </div>
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175 |
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176 | <p>
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177 | If you click on the tray icon when the program's window is hidden,
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178 | the window will be displayed. If you hover the mouse pointer over
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179 | the icon, the flight stage and the current rating will be
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180 | displayed. The tray icon has a right-button menu as well with the
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181 | following items:
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182 | <ul>
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183 | <li><b>Show main window</b>: displays or hides the main window.</li>
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184 | <li><b>Show monitor window</b>: displays or hides the
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185 | <a href="#monitorWindow">monitor window</a>.</li>
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186 | <li><b>Quit</b>: quit the application. A confirmation window will
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187 | be displayed.</li>
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188 | </ul>
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189 | </p>
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190 |
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191 | <p>
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192 | You can also quit the application by selecting the <b>File/Quit</b>
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193 | menu item, or by pressing <b>Ctrl+Q</b>.
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194 | </p>
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195 |
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196 | <p>
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197 | If you start the application, when it is already running, the main
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198 | window of the already running instance will be displayed instead of
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199 | starting a new instance of the program.
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200 | </p>
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201 |
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202 | <h2><a name="mainWindow">The Main Window</a></h2>
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203 |
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204 | <p>
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205 | The figure below depicts the main window of the application. The top
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206 | of it contains the usual menu bar, which will be described in more
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207 | detail later. The content area consists of several tabs the use of
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208 | which is described below.
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209 | </p>
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210 |
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211 | <a name="mainWindowShot"/>
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212 | <div align="center"><img src="mainWindow.png" alt="The main window"/></div>
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213 |
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214 | <p>
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215 | The bottom of the window is a status bar. Its left side contains the
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216 | icon indicating the status of the connection to the simulator. Since
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217 | the application continuously monitors the parameters of your
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218 | aircraft, it needs to communicate with the simulator. The icon's
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219 | colour indicates the health of this communication channel.
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220 | </p>
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221 |
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222 | <p>
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223 | If it is grey, the program is not connected. This is normal before
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224 | and after the flight. If it is green, the connection is alive and
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225 | working properly. If it is red, the connection is broken. In this
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226 | case a dialog window is displayed. The most likely cause for such a
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227 | disruption is the crash of the simulator. If this is the case,
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228 | restart the simulator and try to restore the flight to a state as
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229 | close to the one before the crash as possible. Then click
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230 | the <b>Reconnect</b> button, and the program will try to
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231 | re-establish the connection to the simulator. It preserves all data
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232 | of your flight, so you can continue where you left off easily.
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233 | </p>
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234 |
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235 | <p>
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236 | If the reason for the failure of the connection is something else,
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237 | do whatever is needed to be done to restore it. Of course, it is
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238 | possible that the logger application itself fails, in which case
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239 | you, unfortunately, have to restart the flight. Do not forget to
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240 | notify the author if this happens. In this case, try to copy and
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241 | save the <a href="#debugLog">debug log</a> and send it with your bug
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242 | report. You can use the <a href="#bugReportWindow">bug
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243 | reporting</a> facility as well for this purpose.
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244 | </p>
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245 |
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246 | <p>
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247 | If you click the <b>Cancel</b> button in the reconnection dialog,
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248 | the logger will be reset as if it were stopped and restarted.
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249 | </p>
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250 |
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251 | <p>
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252 | To the right of the connection status icon, you can see the current
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253 | <a href="#flightStages">stage</a> of the flight, if the monitoring
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254 | has begun. Otherwise it is a single dash. It is followed by the
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255 | simulator time, if the program is already connected to the
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256 | simulator. Then comes the current <a href="#flightRating">flight rating</a>.
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257 | </p>
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258 |
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259 | <p>
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260 | The right of the status bar is normally empty, but if there is some
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261 | potentially long operation going on (typically communicating with
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262 | the MAVA servers), information about the operation is displayed
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263 | here. This is accompanied by the cursor becoming that of signaling
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264 | a busy state and most parts of the main window becoming
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265 | unresponsive.
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266 | </p>
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267 |
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268 | <h3><a name="tabFlight">The Flight Tab</a></h3>
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269 |
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270 | <p>
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271 | The flight tab is the most important tab. It consists of a sequence of
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272 | pages similar to wizards found in many programs. The first several of
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273 | these pages guide you through the various steps of the preparations
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274 | for your flight, while the last pages allow you to enter some
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275 | information about your flight necessary for its evaluation and to
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276 | send the PIREP (Pilot's Report) assembled by the program to the MAVA
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277 | server.
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278 | </p>
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279 |
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280 | <p>
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281 | Each page has a title at the top indicating the purpose of the
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282 | page. There is a short text below this, which describes what the
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283 | page contains and/or what is expected from you to do with the page.
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284 | Below the text you can find the main information and possibly data
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285 | entry areas for the page. Finally, you can find the button row at
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286 | the bottom.
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287 | </p>
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288 |
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289 | <p>
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290 | Most of the pages contain two buttons: <b>Next</b> and
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291 | <b>Previous</b>. These help in navigating between the pages. In most
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292 | cases you can go back to previously visited pages by using
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293 | the <b>Previous</b> button, although you cannot edit the contents of
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294 | some of the pages once finalized by moving to the next page using
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295 | the <b>Next</b> button. There are a few exceptions though, as
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296 | detailed below.
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297 | </p>
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298 |
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299 | <p>
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300 | Many of the pages also contain a <b>Cancel flight</b>
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301 | button. Clicking this button will allow you to cancel the flight and
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302 | go back to the <a href="#flightSelectionPage">flight selection</a>
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303 | if you have logged in to the MAVA server, or to the login page, after
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304 | a confirmation of your intent.
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305 | </p>
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306 |
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307 | <h4><a name="loginPage">The <i>Login</i> Page</a></h4>
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308 |
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309 | <p>
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310 | The program starts with the Login page (see the
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311 | <a href="#mainWindowShot">picture</a> above) where you can enter the
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312 | your pilot's ID and password for the MAVA website. Both data are
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313 | given to you when joining Malév Virtual. The pilot's ID usually
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314 | starts with the letter <q>P</q> followed by three digits.
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315 | </p>
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316 |
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317 | <p>
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318 | If you check <b>Remember password</b>, the password will be saved by
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319 | the program, so you don't have to enter it all the time. Note,
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320 | however, that the password is saved in a readable form into a
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321 | configuration file, so use this possibility only if your home
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322 | directory can be accessed only by people you trust. The pilot's ID
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323 | is saved anyway.
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324 | </p>
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325 |
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326 | <p>
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327 | If you are about to perform the entrance flight, check
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328 | <b>Entrance exam</b>. In this case you don't have to (and cannot)
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329 | enter the password, as that is not needed for the entrance exam.
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330 | </p>
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331 |
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332 | <p>
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333 | The login to the MAVA server, and proceed to the next page, press
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334 | the <b>Login</b> button.
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335 | </p>
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336 |
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337 | <p>
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338 | If you would like to fly without an Internet connection, use
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339 | the <b>Fly offline</b> button. This immediately takes you to the
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340 | next page, without trying to log in to the MAVA server.
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341 | </p>
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342 |
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343 | <h4><a name="flightSelectionPage">The <i>Flight selection</i> Page</a></h4>
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344 |
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345 | <img src="flightSelection.png" alt="The Flight selection page"/>
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346 |
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347 | <p>
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348 | This page displays the list of the flight you have booked previously
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349 | on the MAVA website, if you have <a href="#loginPage">logged in</a>
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350 | properly. If you chose to fly offline, the list is empty.
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351 | </p>
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352 |
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353 | <p>
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354 | If you have selected a flight, you can also save it by using
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355 | the <b>Save flight</b> button. This is useful when planning to fly
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356 | offline at some later time. When preparing for that flight, you can
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357 | properly log in to the MAVA server, and acquire the list of your
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358 | booked flights. Then you can save the flight you wish to perform
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359 | later offline, on which occasion, you can load the saved flight.
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360 | </p>
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361 |
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362 | <p>
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363 | You may need to refresh the list of flights. For example, you notice
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364 | that you have forgotten to book the flight you want to perform. Then
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365 | you can book the flight on the MAVA website, and press
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366 | the <b>Refresh flights</b> button to update the list.
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367 | </p>
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368 |
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369 | <p>
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370 | You can also load a flight from a file by pressing the <b>Load
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371 | flight from file</b> button. This displays a file selection dialog
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372 | where you select the flight file (usually with a suffix
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373 | of <code>.vaflight</code>). This is mostly useful when flying
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374 | offline, or during the entrance exam.
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375 | </p>
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376 |
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377 | <p>
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378 | Select a flight from the list, and press the <b>Next</b> button to
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379 | proceed with that flight.
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380 | </p>
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381 |
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382 | <h4><a name="gateSelectionPage">The <i>LHBP gate selection</i> Page</a></h4>
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383 |
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384 | <img src="gateSelection.png" alt="The LHBP gate selection page"/>
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385 |
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386 | <p>
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387 | This page is displayed after the flight selection page only if your
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388 | flight starts at the Budapest Ferihegy Airport and the number of the
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389 | gate or stand at which your aircraft is located cannot be
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390 | determined.
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391 | </p>
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392 |
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393 | <p>
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394 | Select a number from the list presented, and press <b>Next</b>.
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395 | </p>
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396 |
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397 | <h4><a name="connectPage">The <i>Connect to the simulator</i> Page</a></h4>
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398 |
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399 | <img src="connect.png" alt="The Connect to the simulator page"/>
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400 |
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401 | <p>
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402 | This page displays some important information about your flight,
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403 | such as the type and tail number of the aircraft to use, the
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404 | departure airport and possibly the gate. You can also select whether you
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405 | would like to connect to a variant of Microsoft Flight Simulator or
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406 | X-Plane. The choice is remembered by the program and the selected one will be
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407 | the default next time. (<i>Support for X-Plane is currently experimental. The
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408 | logger is used by the author on Linux with good results. Volunteers are
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409 | wanted to test X-Plane support on Windows.</i>)
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410 | </p>
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411 |
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412 | <p>
|
---|
413 | Select the aircraft indicated and park it at the departure airport
|
---|
414 | in the simulator,
|
---|
415 | then press <b>Connect</b> to establish the connection with the
|
---|
416 | simulator. If the connection cannot be established, a dialog will be
|
---|
417 | displayed about it, and you can <b>Try again</b> the connection
|
---|
418 | or <b>Cancel</b> to go back to the flight selection or to the login page.
|
---|
419 | </p>
|
---|
420 |
|
---|
421 | <p>
|
---|
422 | Note, that after a successful connection, the monitoring of your
|
---|
423 | flight does not begin immediately, but some data can be queried by
|
---|
424 | the logger at this stage.
|
---|
425 | </p>
|
---|
426 |
|
---|
427 | <h4><a name="payloadPage">The <i>Payload</i> Page</a></h4>
|
---|
428 |
|
---|
429 | <img src="payload.png" alt="The Payload page"/>
|
---|
430 |
|
---|
431 | <p>
|
---|
432 | This page displays the components of the flight's payload and the
|
---|
433 | calculated Zero-Fuel Weight (ZFW). You can modify all input data,
|
---|
434 | but generally it is needed to enter the cargo weight you determined
|
---|
435 | for the flight, if it is different from 0. You can also press the <b>ZFW
|
---|
436 | from FS</b> button, which queries the ZFW from the simulator and
|
---|
437 | displays the retrieved value. If the ZFW calculated from the payload
|
---|
438 | data differs too much from the queried one, the calculated value is
|
---|
439 | displayed in red. This the right time to set up the payload in the
|
---|
440 | simulator. If you forget about it, it will be a NO GO fault.
|
---|
441 | </p>
|
---|
442 |
|
---|
443 | <p>
|
---|
444 | If you have finished with this page, press the <b>Next</b>
|
---|
445 | button. At this point, the <a href="#helpTab"><i>Help</i> tab</a>
|
---|
446 | becomes available, which you can use if you have failed to set up
|
---|
447 | the correct payload in the simulator. See a more detailed
|
---|
448 | description of it <a href="#helpTab">below</a>.
|
---|
449 | </p>
|
---|
450 |
|
---|
451 | <h4><a name="timePage">The <i>Time</i> Page</a></h4>
|
---|
452 |
|
---|
453 | <img src="time.png" alt="The Time page"/>
|
---|
454 |
|
---|
455 | <p>
|
---|
456 | This page displays the departure and arrival times of your
|
---|
457 | flight in UTC. Press the <b>Time from FS</b> button to query the
|
---|
458 | current UTC time of the simulator. To be able to simulate the real
|
---|
459 | lighting circumstances of the flight, the simulator's time should match
|
---|
460 | the time of the flight according to the schedule. Therefore you are
|
---|
461 | expected to set the simulator's time properly. It is recommended to
|
---|
462 | set it to about 15 minutes before the departure at this stage so
|
---|
463 | that you have enough time to set up your flight.
|
---|
464 | </p>
|
---|
465 |
|
---|
466 | <p>
|
---|
467 | When you have set the time of the simulator properly, press
|
---|
468 | the <b>Next</b> button.
|
---|
469 | </p>
|
---|
470 |
|
---|
471 | <h4><a name="routePage">The <i>Route</i> Page</a></h4>
|
---|
472 |
|
---|
473 | <img src="route.png" alt="The Route page"/>
|
---|
474 |
|
---|
475 | <p>
|
---|
476 | This page displays the flight plan route taken from the booked flight. This
|
---|
477 | can be edited if necessary (e.g. when you will enter some airspace that will
|
---|
478 | require you to change the flight level during flight.) You should also
|
---|
479 | specify the cruise level and the ICAO code of the alternate airport.
|
---|
480 | </p>
|
---|
481 |
|
---|
482 | <p>
|
---|
483 | When satisfied with the information on the page, press
|
---|
484 | the <b>Next</b> button to advance. Note, that these data can be
|
---|
485 | edited later as well if you come back to this page.
|
---|
486 | </p>
|
---|
487 |
|
---|
488 | <h4><a name="simbriefSetupPage">The <i>SimBrief setup</i> page</a></h4>
|
---|
489 |
|
---|
490 | <img src="simbriefSetup.png" alt="The SimBrief setup page"/>
|
---|
491 |
|
---|
492 | <p>
|
---|
493 | If using the <a href="http://simbrief.com">SimBrief</a> flight planning
|
---|
494 | service has been enabled in the <a href="#prefsGeneral">Preferences</a>
|
---|
495 | window, this page is displayed following the
|
---|
496 | <a href="#routePage"><i>Route</i></a> page.
|
---|
497 | </p>
|
---|
498 |
|
---|
499 | <p>
|
---|
500 | Enter your SimBrief user name and password. The former one is always saved
|
---|
501 | and offered as the default entry, but the latter one only when the checkbox
|
---|
502 | below is checked. Some further data should also be entered.
|
---|
503 | </p>
|
---|
504 |
|
---|
505 | <p>
|
---|
506 | Press the <b>Next</b> button to start generating the flight plan. The program
|
---|
507 | then contacts the SimBrief website, sends the data and downloads the
|
---|
508 | result. This can take a relatively long time, during which the lower right
|
---|
509 | corner of the Logger window displays some progress information. If there is
|
---|
510 | some error, a popup window is displayed. If the login attempt is
|
---|
511 | unsuccessful, the user name and/or the password can be entered again, but you
|
---|
512 | can decide to abort using SimBrief.
|
---|
513 | </p>
|
---|
514 |
|
---|
515 | <p>
|
---|
516 | If the result is successfully produced, it can be studied on page
|
---|
517 | <a href="#simbriefResultPage"><i>SimBrief flight plan</i></a>. In case of a
|
---|
518 | failure, the flight setup continues with
|
---|
519 | the <a href="#fuelPage"><i>Fuel</i></a> page.
|
---|
520 | </p>
|
---|
521 |
|
---|
522 | <h4><a name="simbriefResultPage">The <i>SimBrief flight plan</i> page</a></h4>
|
---|
523 |
|
---|
524 | <img src="simbriefResult.png" alt="The SimBrief flight plan page"/>
|
---|
525 |
|
---|
526 | <p>
|
---|
527 | This page displays the SimBrief flight plan created. When carefully read and
|
---|
528 | understood, press the button at the bottom to the right to continue. Of
|
---|
529 | course, you can come back to this page later.
|
---|
530 | </p>
|
---|
531 |
|
---|
532 | <h4><a name="fuelPage">The <i>Fuel</i> Page</a></h4>
|
---|
533 |
|
---|
534 | <img src="fuel.png" alt="The Fuel page"/>
|
---|
535 |
|
---|
536 | <p>
|
---|
537 | This page contains a graphical representation of the fuel tanks of
|
---|
538 | your aircraft. The yellowish colour represents the current level of
|
---|
539 | the fuel in the tank, and turquoise slider is the expected level,
|
---|
540 | which is also displayed numerically (in kilograms) below each graph.
|
---|
541 | </p>
|
---|
542 |
|
---|
543 | <p>
|
---|
544 | You can enter the requested amount of fuel numerically, or you can
|
---|
545 | set it by the turquoise sliders, though this method is less accurate. The
|
---|
546 | lever can be moved by clicking withinin the fuel tank's representation,
|
---|
547 | and you can drag it if you keep the button pressed. If your mouse
|
---|
548 | has a wheel, that can also be used to modify the expected level. To
|
---|
549 | use the wheel, keep the mouse pointer within the fuel tank's
|
---|
550 | graphic. Each click of the wheel increment or decrements the amount
|
---|
551 | by 10 kilograms. If you hold down the <b>Shift</b> key, the
|
---|
552 | increment will be 100, if you hold down the <b>Ctrl</b> key, the
|
---|
553 | increment will be 1.
|
---|
554 | </p>
|
---|
555 |
|
---|
556 | <p>
|
---|
557 | When all tanks have the correct amount of fuel set, press
|
---|
558 | the <b>Next</b> button. This causes the pumping of the fuel to
|
---|
559 | start. The progress is represented by the yellowish fuel bars
|
---|
560 | growing or shrinking (fuel may be pumped out of a tank as
|
---|
561 | well). This is a relatively quick process and should finish within a
|
---|
562 | few seconds.
|
---|
563 | </p>
|
---|
564 |
|
---|
565 | <p>
|
---|
566 | When fuel pumping has completed, and the SimBrief service is used, and the
|
---|
567 | generation of the flight plan has been successful, the program jumps to the
|
---|
568 | <a href="#takeoffPage"><i>Takeoff</i></a> page. Otherwise the
|
---|
569 | <a href="#briefingPage"><i>Briefing</i></a> pages come next.
|
---|
570 |
|
---|
571 | <h4><a name="briefingPage">The <i>Briefing</i> Pages</a></h4>
|
---|
572 |
|
---|
573 | <img src="briefing.png" alt="The Briefing page"/>
|
---|
574 |
|
---|
575 | <p>
|
---|
576 | These pages display the NOTAMs and the METAR for the departure and
|
---|
577 | the arrival airports unless we have used SimBrief for flight planning.
|
---|
578 | You can edit the METAR if your network
|
---|
579 | provides a different weather, or you do not fly with real
|
---|
580 | weather. The METAR of the arrival airport will be updated when
|
---|
581 | entering the landing stage, unless you have edited it before. The
|
---|
582 | METARs can be edited during the whole duration of the flight. If you
|
---|
583 | do so, please, comment on it in the <i>Comments</i> section of
|
---|
584 | the <a href="#flightInfoTab"><i>Flight info</i> tab</a>.
|
---|
585 | </p>
|
---|
586 |
|
---|
587 | <p>
|
---|
588 | On the second briefing page (that of the arrival airport), confirm
|
---|
589 | that you have read the briefing and are ready to start the flight by
|
---|
590 | clicking the button. This begins the monitoring of your flight with
|
---|
591 | the boarding stage.
|
---|
592 | </p>
|
---|
593 |
|
---|
594 | <h4><a name="takeoffPage">The <i>Takeoff</i> Page</a></h4>
|
---|
595 |
|
---|
596 | <img src="takeoff.png" alt="The Takeoff page"/>
|
---|
597 |
|
---|
598 | <p>
|
---|
599 | This page displays the current METAR of the departure airport. It can be
|
---|
600 | modified if necessary, e.g. when the weather in the simulator is different
|
---|
601 | from it. Below you have to enter the name of the departure runway, the
|
---|
602 | name of the Standard Instrument Departure procedure you follow after
|
---|
603 | takeoff and the takeoff V-speeds. In case of the SID you can select
|
---|
604 | the <i>VECTORS</i> "procedure" if, for some reason, no SID is flown.
|
---|
605 | While you can edit these data anytime, it is recommended to do so before
|
---|
606 | takeoff.
|
---|
607 | <p>
|
---|
608 |
|
---|
609 | <p>
|
---|
610 | Note that if you are flying one of the Tupolev or Yak aircraft, the
|
---|
611 | page will look different, as speeds will have to be entered in
|
---|
612 | kilometres per hour.
|
---|
613 | </p>
|
---|
614 |
|
---|
615 | <p>
|
---|
616 | For most aircraft in the fleet you should also enter the takeoff
|
---|
617 | derate setting. Its exact format and value depends on the type.
|
---|
618 | </p>
|
---|
619 |
|
---|
620 | <p>
|
---|
621 | You can also select here whether you have turned on any anti-ice
|
---|
622 | systems (apart from the pitot heat). However, for most aircraft, the
|
---|
623 | logger can detect the setting, and if anti-icing is turned on, the
|
---|
624 | check box will be checked automatically. If you have checked it
|
---|
625 | yourself, it will not be unchecked by the program (unless it gains
|
---|
626 | self-awareness sometime in the future).
|
---|
627 | </p>
|
---|
628 |
|
---|
629 | <p>
|
---|
630 | You can proceed to the next page after takeoff, and if all data has
|
---|
631 | been entered, by pressing the <b>Next</b> button.
|
---|
632 | </p>
|
---|
633 |
|
---|
634 | <h4><a name="cruisePage">The <i>Cruise</i> Page</a></h4>
|
---|
635 |
|
---|
636 | <img src="cruise.png" alt="The Cruise page"/>
|
---|
637 |
|
---|
638 | <p>
|
---|
639 | This page displays your cruise altitude as set in the
|
---|
640 | <a href="#routePage"><i>Route</i> page</a>. If you need to modify your
|
---|
641 | cruise level due to airspace requirements, step climb or any other
|
---|
642 | justified reason, you can set the new level here and then press
|
---|
643 | the <b>Update</b> button.
|
---|
644 | </p>
|
---|
645 |
|
---|
646 | <p>
|
---|
647 | If you are preparing for landing, you can press the <b>Next</b>
|
---|
648 | button to go to the next page.
|
---|
649 | </p>
|
---|
650 |
|
---|
651 | <h4><a name="landingPage">The <i>Landing</i> Page</a></h4>
|
---|
652 |
|
---|
653 | <img src="landing.png" alt="The Landing page"/>
|
---|
654 |
|
---|
655 | <p>
|
---|
656 | The upper part of this page displays the METAR of the landing airport, which
|
---|
657 | can be edited, if necessary. Below you have to enter the name of the STAR
|
---|
658 | and/or transition you planned to follow or have followed,
|
---|
659 | the approach type (e.g. <q>ILS</q>, <q>VOR</q>, <q>VISUAL</q>,
|
---|
660 | etc.), the name of the landing runway, and the landing reference speed,
|
---|
661 | V<sub>ref</sub>. In case of the procedures you can select <i>VECTORS</i>
|
---|
662 | from the drop-down list if you have received vectors from ATC.
|
---|
663 | You can enter this data during the flight, or after
|
---|
664 | you have landed, at your discretion. Note, that if you fly one of
|
---|
665 | the Tupolev or Yak aircraft, the speed will have to be entered in km/h.
|
---|
666 | </p>
|
---|
667 |
|
---|
668 | <p>
|
---|
669 | This page also contains a checkbox for the anti-ice system, which is
|
---|
670 | handled the same way as the one on
|
---|
671 | the <a href="#takeoffPage">Takeoff page</a>.
|
---|
672 |
|
---|
673 | <p>
|
---|
674 | When you have entered all data, press the <b>Next</b> button. It is
|
---|
675 | active only, if the flight has ended.
|
---|
676 | </p>
|
---|
677 |
|
---|
678 | <h4><a name="finishPage">The <i>Finish</i> Page</a></h4>
|
---|
679 |
|
---|
680 | <img src="finish.png" alt="The Finish page"/>
|
---|
681 |
|
---|
682 | <p>
|
---|
683 | This is the final page of the flight wizard. It contains a summary
|
---|
684 | of your flight: the rating, the deptarture, arrival, flight and block times,
|
---|
685 | the distance flown and the amount of fuel burnt. If the departure or the
|
---|
686 | arrival time is too off of the schedule, they are displayed in orange or red
|
---|
687 | depending on the difference. In case of a red colour, comment on the
|
---|
688 | difference in the <a href="#flightInfoTab"><i>Flight info</i> tab</a>.
|
---|
689 | </p>
|
---|
690 |
|
---|
691 | <p>
|
---|
692 | You also have to provide a few pieces of information. You have to
|
---|
693 | select the type of the flight from the list provided (scheduled,
|
---|
694 | old-timer, VIP, charter) and whether it was an online flight or
|
---|
695 | not. If you arrive at the Budapest Ferihegy Airport, and are using
|
---|
696 | the Online Gate System, you also need to specify the number of the
|
---|
697 | gate or stand you have parked you aircraft at.
|
---|
698 | </p>
|
---|
699 |
|
---|
700 | <p>
|
---|
701 | If all necessary data has been entered, and the program is so
|
---|
702 | <a href="#prefsGeneral">configured<a>, it will automatically save
|
---|
703 | the PIREP.
|
---|
704 | </p>
|
---|
705 |
|
---|
706 | <p>
|
---|
707 | With all data entered, you may want it review your flight (i.e. the
|
---|
708 | earlier pages or some of the other tabs), then save or send the
|
---|
709 | PIREP created from it. These can be accomplished by pressing one of
|
---|
710 | the buttons at the bottom. A saved PIREP can be loaded later and
|
---|
711 | sent, if the sending fails for some reason. When a PIREP is sent, it
|
---|
712 | becomes available for review by the designated PIREP reviewers of
|
---|
713 | Malév Virtual.
|
---|
714 | </p>
|
---|
715 |
|
---|
716 | <p>
|
---|
717 | You can also start a new flight using the <b>New flight</b>
|
---|
718 | button. If you have not saved or sent the PIREP yet, you will be asked
|
---|
719 | to confirm your intention. When starting a new flight you are taken
|
---|
720 | to the <a href="#flightSelectionPage">flight selection page</a>, if
|
---|
721 | you have logged in to the MAVA server, or to
|
---|
722 | the <a href="#loginPage">login page</a>, if your flight has been an
|
---|
723 | offline flight.
|
---|
724 | </p>
|
---|
725 |
|
---|
726 | <h3><a name="flightInfoTab">The Flight info Tab</a></h3>
|
---|
727 |
|
---|
728 | <img src="flightInfoTab.png" alt="The Flight info tab"/>
|
---|
729 |
|
---|
730 | <p>
|
---|
731 | This tab allows one to enter some additional information about the
|
---|
732 | flight, if necessary.
|
---|
733 | </p>
|
---|
734 |
|
---|
735 | <p>
|
---|
736 | The <i>Comments</i> text area should contain any general information
|
---|
737 | that you would like the PIREP reviewer to know about. For example,
|
---|
738 | why you changed the METAR, why you lowered the gears accidentally
|
---|
739 | (i.e. pressed the wrong key on the keyboard), etc.
|
---|
740 | </p>
|
---|
741 |
|
---|
742 | <p>
|
---|
743 | The <i>Faults, observations</i> area contains the faults logged with a small
|
---|
744 | field below each of them. The PIREP cannot be sent until an explanation has
|
---|
745 | been provided in these fields for each fault. The thick frame around the area
|
---|
746 | appears as long as there is at least one unexplained fault. A warning is also
|
---|
747 | presented in the upper part of the <a href="#finishPage"<i>Finish</i></a>
|
---|
748 | page, if something is missing from here.
|
---|
749 | </p>
|
---|
750 |
|
---|
751 | <p>
|
---|
752 | In the <i>Delay codes</i> table you can mark one or more reasons why
|
---|
753 | the flight was delayed, if it was. This table is available only if you
|
---|
754 | have already selected the flight, since its contents depend on the
|
---|
755 | type of the aircraft being flown.
|
---|
756 | </p>
|
---|
757 |
|
---|
758 | <h3><a name="helpTab">The Help Tab</a></h3>
|
---|
759 |
|
---|
760 | <img src="helpTab.png" alt="The Help tab"/>
|
---|
761 |
|
---|
762 | <p>
|
---|
763 | This tab provides some help for calculating and setting the payload
|
---|
764 | weight of the aircraft. It can be used once the
|
---|
765 | <a href="#payloadPage"><i>Payload</i></a>
|
---|
766 | (i.e. the cargo weight) is finalized. To use this tab, check
|
---|
767 | the <b>Using help</b> checkbox. It causes the page to become
|
---|
768 | sensitive and filled with data. Note, that the fact of using the
|
---|
769 | help is <a href="#logTab">logged</a>, so the PIREP reviewers will
|
---|
770 | know about it.
|
---|
771 | </p>
|
---|
772 |
|
---|
773 | <p>
|
---|
774 | The most important information is after the <i>Payload:</i> label,
|
---|
775 | which is the payload weight of the aircraft. This value should be
|
---|
776 | set in the simulator as the airplane's payload weight. By pressing
|
---|
777 | the <b>Simulator data</b> button, the data coming from the simulator
|
---|
778 | can be queried and displayed. If the data is out of the tolerances,
|
---|
779 | it is displayed in red, otherwise in green.
|
---|
780 | </p>
|
---|
781 |
|
---|
782 | <p>
|
---|
783 | The gross weight is also displayed with some maximum weights of the
|
---|
784 | aircraft, so it can be checked or estimated if you will remain within
|
---|
785 | those maximums during the flight.
|
---|
786 | </p>
|
---|
787 |
|
---|
788 | <h3><a name="logTab">The Log Tab</a></h3>
|
---|
789 |
|
---|
790 | <img src="logTab.png" alt="The Log tab"/>
|
---|
791 |
|
---|
792 | <p>
|
---|
793 | This is the main log of your flight that will be analyzed by the
|
---|
794 | PIREP reviewers. Its contents is generated automatically by the
|
---|
795 | program, and most lines are prefixed by the simulator times the
|
---|
796 | information in the given line belongs to.
|
---|
797 | </p>
|
---|
798 |
|
---|
799 | <p>
|
---|
800 | While the log's contents is mainly useful for PIREP reviewers, it
|
---|
801 | can come handy when things start to happen very fast, and you have
|
---|
802 | no time check each fault message passing by (if you have enabled
|
---|
803 | such messages at all). Later, when things calm down, you can check
|
---|
804 | the log to see what happened exactly, so that you know why so many
|
---|
805 | fault points have been awarded. For example, you may even decide to
|
---|
806 | abort the flight, if you think some of the faults are too
|
---|
807 | embarrassing :) For quick identification, the lines containing the
|
---|
808 | fault messages are highlighted.
|
---|
809 | </p>
|
---|
810 |
|
---|
811 | <h3><a name="gatesTab">The Gates Tab</a></h3>
|
---|
812 |
|
---|
813 | <img src="gatesTab.png" alt="The Gates tab"/>
|
---|
814 |
|
---|
815 | <p>
|
---|
816 | This tab displays information retrieved from
|
---|
817 | the MAVA <a href="#onlineGateSystem">Online Gate System</a>.
|
---|
818 | If the program needs to retrieve data, this tab's contents
|
---|
819 | are refreshed automatically, but you can also refresh them manually
|
---|
820 | anytime using the <b>Refresh data</b> button.
|
---|
821 | </p>
|
---|
822 |
|
---|
823 | <p>
|
---|
824 | The left side of the tab contains the fleet information. The tail
|
---|
825 | number of each aircraft is listed with the plane's status, as known
|
---|
826 | by the Online Gate System. The two major statuses are <i>LHBP-nn</i>
|
---|
827 | and <i>AWAY</i>. The former indicates that the aircraft is parked at
|
---|
828 | the Budapest Ferihegy Airport at gate or stand <i>nn</i>, while the
|
---|
829 | latter one denotes that the airplane is parked at another
|
---|
830 | airport. Another possible status is <i>PARKED</i>, which means that
|
---|
831 | the airplane is parked somewhere at the Ferihegy Airport, but we
|
---|
832 | (or at least the Gate System) don't know where. It may happen that
|
---|
833 | several aircraft are parked at the same gate or stand at
|
---|
834 | Ferihegy. In this case the tail numbers and the statuses of those
|
---|
835 | airplanes are displayed in red.
|
---|
836 | </p>
|
---|
837 |
|
---|
838 | <p>
|
---|
839 | The right side contains the list of the numbers of the gates and
|
---|
840 | parking positions. A number is black if no aircraft is positioned at
|
---|
841 | the corresponding gate or stand, and it is orange, if the location
|
---|
842 | is occupied.
|
---|
843 | </p>
|
---|
844 |
|
---|
845 | <h3><a name="acarsTab">The ACARS tab</a></h3>
|
---|
846 |
|
---|
847 | <img src="acarsTab.png" alt="The ACARS tab"/>
|
---|
848 |
|
---|
849 | <p>
|
---|
850 | This tab displays the MAVA ACARS system, which is a map with aircraft symbols
|
---|
851 | representing the flights in progress with icons denoting the departure and
|
---|
852 | landing airports. Clicking on an airplane displays information on the
|
---|
853 | corresponding flight.
|
---|
854 | </p>
|
---|
855 |
|
---|
856 | <p>
|
---|
857 | The map is actually displayed by a web browser integrated into the
|
---|
858 | program. Therefore you can, for example, zoom in or out the map using the
|
---|
859 | mouse wheel and perform other operations known in case of browsers.
|
---|
860 | </p>
|
---|
861 |
|
---|
862 | <h3><a name="debugLog">The Debug log</a></h3>
|
---|
863 |
|
---|
864 | <img src="debugLogTab.png" alt="The Debug log tab"/>
|
---|
865 |
|
---|
866 | <p>
|
---|
867 | This tab is not visible by default, but can be displayed by
|
---|
868 | selecting <b>View/Show debug log</b> or by
|
---|
869 | pressing <b>Ctrl+D</b>. It is another kind of log, which is mainly
|
---|
870 | useful for debugging. If you experience some problem with the
|
---|
871 | program, please, include the contents of this log with your bug
|
---|
872 | report. It can help a lot with finding a solution to the problem.
|
---|
873 | </p>
|
---|
874 |
|
---|
875 | <h2><a name="loadingPIREPs">Loading PIREPs</a></h2>
|
---|
876 |
|
---|
877 | <p>
|
---|
878 | Saved PIREPs can be loaded and sent by the program. This can
|
---|
879 | become necessary, for example, if you cannot send a PIREP due to
|
---|
880 | some network problem right after your flight, or when you
|
---|
881 | deliberately performed a flight without connecting to the Internet.
|
---|
882 | </p>
|
---|
883 |
|
---|
884 | <p>
|
---|
885 | To load a PIREP select the <b>File/Load PIREP...</b> menu option or
|
---|
886 | press the <b>Ctrl+L</b> key. A file selection dialog appears, from
|
---|
887 | which you can select the PIREP to load. If you select a valid PIREP
|
---|
888 | file, it will be loaded and a new window will be displayed with the
|
---|
889 | most important data of your flight. By clicking <b>Send
|
---|
890 | PIREP...</b>, the PIREP will be sent (or at least an attempt will be
|
---|
891 | made at sending it). A dialog window will be displayed about the
|
---|
892 | results of the attempt.
|
---|
893 | </p>
|
---|
894 |
|
---|
895 | <div align="center">
|
---|
896 | <img src="pirepLoaded.png" alt="The loaded PIREP window"/>
|
---|
897 | </div>
|
---|
898 |
|
---|
899 | <p>
|
---|
900 | You may also want to view a saved PIREP, for example, if it is a
|
---|
901 | PIREP about an entrance exam flight. To do so, click the <b>View
|
---|
902 | PIREP...</b> button. This displays the PIREP viewer window, which
|
---|
903 | groups the data into three tabs. The <i>Data</i> tab contains the
|
---|
904 | itemized data of the flight. The <i>Comments & defects</i> tab
|
---|
905 | displays the comments and or flight defects entered by the
|
---|
906 | user. The <i>Log</i> tab contains the flight log.
|
---|
907 | </p>
|
---|
908 |
|
---|
909 | <div align="center">
|
---|
910 | <img src="pirepViewer.png" alt="The PIREP Viewer"/>
|
---|
911 | </div>
|
---|
912 |
|
---|
913 | <h2><a name="checklistEditor">Editing checklists</a></h2>
|
---|
914 |
|
---|
915 | <img src="checklistEditor.png" alt="The Checklist Editor"/>
|
---|
916 |
|
---|
917 | <p>
|
---|
918 | The checklists are lists of audio files. When checklist playback is
|
---|
919 | enabled (see the <a href="#prefsSounds">description</a> of
|
---|
920 | the <i>Preferences</i> window below), and there is a checklist for
|
---|
921 | the type of the aircraft used for the flight, the files constituting
|
---|
922 | the checklist can be played one-by-one by pressing the checklist
|
---|
923 | hotkey repeatedly.
|
---|
924 | </p>
|
---|
925 |
|
---|
926 | <p>
|
---|
927 | The checklist editor window allows for editing the checklists. It
|
---|
928 | can be displayed by selecting <b>Tools/Checklist Editor...</b> or
|
---|
929 | pressing <b>Ctrl+C</b>. The top of the window contains an aircraft
|
---|
930 | type selector.
|
---|
931 | </p>
|
---|
932 |
|
---|
933 | <p>
|
---|
934 | The files making up the checklist for the currently selected aircraft
|
---|
935 | are displayed on the right. You can move a file up or down by
|
---|
936 | dragging it with the mouse. You can also select one or more files
|
---|
937 | from the list. Then you can remove them with the <b>Remove</b>
|
---|
938 | button, or move them up or down by pressing <b>Move up</b>
|
---|
939 | and <b>Move down</b>.
|
---|
940 | </p>
|
---|
941 |
|
---|
942 | <p>
|
---|
943 | To add new files to the checklist, select them in the file selector
|
---|
944 | on the left, and press <b>Add to checklist</b>. The file(s) will be
|
---|
945 | appended to the end of the checklist.
|
---|
946 | </p>
|
---|
947 |
|
---|
948 | <p>
|
---|
949 | Note, that any changes you make are effective only if you press
|
---|
950 | the <b>OK</b> button when having finished the modifications. If the
|
---|
951 | flight has already started, no changes made to the corresponding
|
---|
952 | checklist have any effect during the flight (i.e. you will still use
|
---|
953 | the old checklist, or no checklist if there was none).
|
---|
954 | </p>
|
---|
955 |
|
---|
956 | <h2><a name="calloutsEditor">Editing approach callouts</a></h2>
|
---|
957 |
|
---|
958 | <img src="calloutsEditor.png" alt="The Approach callouts Editor"/>
|
---|
959 |
|
---|
960 | <p>
|
---|
961 | The approach callouts are audio files specific to aircraft types, that are
|
---|
962 | played back during approach when passing certain altitudes. The
|
---|
963 | approach callouts editor window allows editing the list of these
|
---|
964 | callout files for each aircraft. The window can be displayed by
|
---|
965 | selecting <b>Tools/Approach Callouts Editor...</b> or by pressing
|
---|
966 | <b>Ctrl+E</b>.
|
---|
967 | </p>
|
---|
968 |
|
---|
969 | <p>
|
---|
970 | The top part of the window displays the selector of the aircraft
|
---|
971 | type. Below it, you can find two buttons on the left, and the list
|
---|
972 | of the callouts with the altitudes they belong to on the right. The
|
---|
973 | list displays only the filename portion, but the if you hover the
|
---|
974 | cursor above an item, the full path will be displayed. The list is
|
---|
975 | always sorted according to the altitude, but you change the order
|
---|
976 | from descending to ascending.
|
---|
977 | </p>
|
---|
978 |
|
---|
979 | <p>
|
---|
980 | The <b>Add new callout</b> button shows a file selection dialog
|
---|
981 | window. After selecting a file, it will be added to a list with some
|
---|
982 | altitude, which can be edited immediately. If the name of the file
|
---|
983 | contains a number that is possible as an altitude, that will be used
|
---|
984 | as the altitude given to the file, otherwise some meaningful default
|
---|
985 | is selected based on the lowest or highest altitude.
|
---|
986 | There can be no two files with the same altitude. If you set an
|
---|
987 | altitude, which is already present in the list, a dialog box will be
|
---|
988 | displayed, and you can choose to replace the old file or to continue
|
---|
989 | editing. To edit an altitude already in the list, select that row,
|
---|
990 | and click on the altitude again.
|
---|
991 | </p>
|
---|
992 |
|
---|
993 | <p>
|
---|
994 | If you select one or more items in the list, the <b>Remove</b>
|
---|
995 | button becomes available, and pressing it will remove the selected items.
|
---|
996 | </p>
|
---|
997 |
|
---|
998 | <p>
|
---|
999 | Note, that any changes you make are effective only if you press
|
---|
1000 | the <b>OK</b> button when having finished the modifications. If the
|
---|
1001 | flight has already started, no changes made to the corresponding
|
---|
1002 | list of callouts have any effect during the flight.
|
---|
1003 | </p>
|
---|
1004 |
|
---|
1005 | <h2><a name="prefs">The Preferences Window</a></h2>
|
---|
1006 |
|
---|
1007 | </p>
|
---|
1008 | The Preferences window can be displayed by
|
---|
1009 | selecting <b>Tools/Preferences</b> or by
|
---|
1010 | pressing <b>Ctrl+P</b>. Here you can set options that you usually
|
---|
1011 | don't have to change for every flight. This window consists of
|
---|
1012 | tabs grouping the options logically.
|
---|
1013 | </p>
|
---|
1014 |
|
---|
1015 | <h3><a name="prefsGeneral">The <i>General</i> Tab<a></h3>
|
---|
1016 |
|
---|
1017 | <img src="prefsGeneral.png" alt="The General Tab of Preferences"/>
|
---|
1018 |
|
---|
1019 | <p>
|
---|
1020 | These are some general settings for various parts of the
|
---|
1021 | program. The <i>GUI</i> frame contains options regarding the
|
---|
1022 | behaviour of the graphical user interface. The <i>Language</i> combo
|
---|
1023 | box can be used to select what language the program should
|
---|
1024 | use. Currently English and Hungarian are supported. The value
|
---|
1025 | of <i>system default</i> means that the operating system's default
|
---|
1026 | language is used if it is one of the supported ones or English
|
---|
1027 | otherwise. Note, that the program must be restarted for the change
|
---|
1028 | to take effect if you modify this setting. If the <b>Hide main window
|
---|
1029 | when minimized</b> checkbox is checked, and you minimize the window,
|
---|
1030 | it will actually disappear completely (i.e. not appear among the
|
---|
1031 | other minimized windows). You can make it appear by using the tray
|
---|
1032 | icon. If the <b>Quit when the window close button is clicked</b>
|
---|
1033 | checkbox is checked, the program will quit, after you have confirmed
|
---|
1034 | it. Otherwise it will just disappear, and you can use the tray icon
|
---|
1035 | to display it again.
|
---|
1036 | </p>
|
---|
1037 |
|
---|
1038 | <p>
|
---|
1039 | The <i>MAVA Online Systems</i> frame contains settings related to
|
---|
1040 | the online systems of MAVA, the <a href="#onlineGateSystem">gate</a>
|
---|
1041 | and the <a href="#onlineACARSSystem">ACARS</a> systems mentioned
|
---|
1042 | above. It is recommended to enable these for normal operations.
|
---|
1043 | </p>
|
---|
1044 |
|
---|
1045 | <p>
|
---|
1046 | The <i>Simulator</i> frame contains settings for how the program
|
---|
1047 | interacts with the simulator. Most options are self-explanatory, but
|
---|
1048 | the ones related to smoothing require some discussion. Flight
|
---|
1049 | Simulator is known to produce wind speed changes that are not
|
---|
1050 | entirely realistic and can result in the simulated aircraft
|
---|
1051 | experiencing some very high indicated airspeeds, which in turn can
|
---|
1052 | also cause the autopilot to suddenly increase the climb rate to
|
---|
1053 | counter the high speeds or other erratic behaviour. Since these
|
---|
1054 | phenomena are difficult to protect oneself against without buying
|
---|
1055 | extra products, like FSUIPC, the logger provides the possibility to
|
---|
1056 | average the IAS and/or the VS over a few seconds so that spikes in
|
---|
1057 | these values are smoothed. The <b>Enable the smoothing of IAS/VS
|
---|
1058 | over N sec.</b> options allow controlling this feature. The number
|
---|
1059 | of seconds may need experimenting with, but note that every change
|
---|
1060 | for which you press the <b>OK</b> button is taken into account
|
---|
1061 | immediately.
|
---|
1062 | </p>
|
---|
1063 |
|
---|
1064 | <p>
|
---|
1065 | If the <b>Use SimBrief</b> checkbox is checked, the program will try to
|
---|
1066 | <a href="#simbriefSetupPage">create</a> a flight plan using the SimBrief
|
---|
1067 | service during the flight preparation.
|
---|
1068 | </p>
|
---|
1069 |
|
---|
1070 | <p>
|
---|
1071 | If the <b>Save PIREP automatically</b> check box is checked, and you
|
---|
1072 | have finished your flight and entered all required data, the PIREP
|
---|
1073 | will be saved automatically into the directory given above.
|
---|
1074 | </p>
|
---|
1075 |
|
---|
1076 | <h3><a name="prefsMessages">The <i>Messages</i> Tab</a></h3>
|
---|
1077 |
|
---|
1078 | <img src="prefsMessages.png" alt="The Messages Tab of Preferences"/>
|
---|
1079 |
|
---|
1080 | <p>
|
---|
1081 | The program can display messages about certain events in the
|
---|
1082 | simulator and/or it can play a warning sound when those events
|
---|
1083 | occur. The tab allows configuring this.
|
---|
1084 | <p>
|
---|
1085 |
|
---|
1086 | <p>
|
---|
1087 | The categories of the message are listed on the left. These are the
|
---|
1088 | following:
|
---|
1089 | </p>
|
---|
1090 |
|
---|
1091 | <ul>
|
---|
1092 | <li><b>Logger Error Messages</b>: error messages about the
|
---|
1093 | internal working of the logger.</li>
|
---|
1094 | <li><b>Information Messages</b>: informational messages about,
|
---|
1095 | e.g., the flight stage, the end of an audio checklist, etc.</li>
|
---|
1096 | <li><b>In-flight Stage Message</b>: messages about the flight stage for those stage when the plane is not on the ground</li>
|
---|
1097 | <li><b>Fault Messages</b>: messages about the non-NO GO faults the program detects.</li>
|
---|
1098 | <li><b>NO GO Fault Messages</b>: messages about the NO GO faults the program detects</li>
|
---|
1099 | <li><b>Gate System Messages</b>: messages related to the
|
---|
1100 | <a href="#onlineGateSystem">Online Gate System</a>. For example,
|
---|
1101 | when you have landed at Ferihegy, it can display the list of the
|
---|
1102 | available gates so that you can choose where to park, if there is
|
---|
1103 | no ATC available.</li>
|
---|
1104 | <li><b>Environment Messages</b>: other messages, e.g. the welcome
|
---|
1105 | message when the flight has ended.</li>
|
---|
1106 | <li><b>Help Messages</b>: help messages, e.g. warning about
|
---|
1107 | entering the V-speeds into the Takeoff page before takeoff.</li>
|
---|
1108 | <li><b>Visibility Messages</b>: messages about the visibility
|
---|
1109 | during descent and landing.</li>
|
---|
1110 | </ul>
|
---|
1111 |
|
---|
1112 | <p>
|
---|
1113 | There are two checkboxes associated with each messages category. If the
|
---|
1114 | left one (<i>Displayed in FS</i>) is checked, the messages of the
|
---|
1115 | category will be displayed in the simulator. If the right one
|
---|
1116 | (<i>Sound alert</i>) is checked, and a message of the given category
|
---|
1117 | is about to be displayed, a warning sound will be played. It is
|
---|
1118 | mainly intended to accompany the text messages, but the two options
|
---|
1119 | can be controlled separately, so you can select the sound alert, but
|
---|
1120 | not the displaying of the messages. This may be useful if you don't
|
---|
1121 | want these messages to clutter up the windscreen of your aircraft,
|
---|
1122 | but still get some notification that some problem occurred.
|
---|
1123 | </p>
|
---|
1124 |
|
---|
1125 | <h3><a name="prefsSounds">The <i>Sounds</i> Tab</a></h3>
|
---|
1126 |
|
---|
1127 | <img src="prefsSounds.png" alt="The Sounds Tab of Preferences"/>
|
---|
1128 |
|
---|
1129 | <p>
|
---|
1130 | This tab controls how the sounds are played by the application.
|
---|
1131 | </p>
|
---|
1132 |
|
---|
1133 | <p>
|
---|
1134 | The top part is for the background sounds. These are pre-recorded
|
---|
1135 | sound files that are played when certain conditions hold during the
|
---|
1136 | flight. Typical examples are the various announcements the flight
|
---|
1137 | attendants make during the flight. The <b>Enable background
|
---|
1138 | sounds</b> checkbox controls whether such sounds are enabled at
|
---|
1139 | all. If the <b>Pilot controls sounds</b> checkbox is enabled, the
|
---|
1140 | pilot should start the playback of these sound files by pressing a
|
---|
1141 | hotkey in the simulator. Note, that you should still be in the right
|
---|
1142 | flight stage (and sometimes fulfill other conditions) to be able to
|
---|
1143 | play the sound files. Also, one file can be played only once. If you
|
---|
1144 | enable this option, the hotkey to press in the simulator can be
|
---|
1145 | selected below. You can choose one of the alphanumeric keys (0-9,
|
---|
1146 | A-Z) optionally combined with one or both of the <i>Ctrl</i>
|
---|
1147 | and <i>Shift</i> modifiers. If this checkbox is not checked, the
|
---|
1148 | sound files will be played automatically.
|
---|
1149 | </p>
|
---|
1150 |
|
---|
1151 | <p>
|
---|
1152 | If the <b>Enable approach callouts</b> checkbox is
|
---|
1153 | checked, and you have also <a href="#calloutsEditor">set up</a>
|
---|
1154 | approach callouts for the aircraft being used, you will hear those
|
---|
1155 | callouts during approach.
|
---|
1156 | </p>
|
---|
1157 |
|
---|
1158 | <p>
|
---|
1159 | If the <b>Enable speedbrake sound at touchdown</b> checkbox is
|
---|
1160 | checked, you will hear a distinctive sound when the spoilers deploy
|
---|
1161 | automatically after touchdown.
|
---|
1162 | </p>
|
---|
1163 |
|
---|
1164 | <p>
|
---|
1165 | The lower part, named <i>Checklists</i> contains some settings
|
---|
1166 | related to the audio checklists belonging to the aircraft. They are
|
---|
1167 | available only if the <b>Enable aircraft-specific checklist</b>
|
---|
1168 | checkbox is selected. In this case another hotkey should be
|
---|
1169 | specified. If you press this hotkey, the next file from the
|
---|
1170 | checklist will be played.
|
---|
1171 | </p>
|
---|
1172 |
|
---|
1173 | <h3><a name="prefsAdvanced">The <i>Advanced</i> Tab</a></h3>
|
---|
1174 |
|
---|
1175 | <img src="prefsAdvanced.png" alt="The Advanced Tab of Preferences"/>
|
---|
1176 |
|
---|
1177 | <p>
|
---|
1178 | This tab contains some settings that you normally should not
|
---|
1179 | change. Currently, these settings are related to the automatic
|
---|
1180 | update. If the <b>Update the program automatically</b> checkbox is
|
---|
1181 | not checked, the automatic update at program start-up will be
|
---|
1182 | omitted. The <i>Update URL</i> text entry field contains the URL
|
---|
1183 | from which to download the updates. Occasionally the developers of
|
---|
1184 | the application may tell you to change this something else, e.g. to
|
---|
1185 | test some development version. Or it may need to be changed due to
|
---|
1186 | organizational reasons, such as moving to a new server, etc.
|
---|
1187 | </p>
|
---|
1188 |
|
---|
1189 | <h2><a name="bugReportWindow">The Bug Report Window</a></h2>
|
---|
1190 |
|
---|
1191 | <img src="bugreport.png" alt="The Bug Report Window"/>
|
---|
1192 |
|
---|
1193 | <p>
|
---|
1194 | The bug reporting window can be used to report any non-fatal bugs
|
---|
1195 | that occur during using the program. Bugs can be reported to
|
---|
1196 | appropriate topic in the MAVA forum, via e-mail or tickets created
|
---|
1197 | by hand on the project's website. However, utilizing this window not
|
---|
1198 | only creates the ticket, it also includes automatically the texts of
|
---|
1199 | the log and the debug log, making the life of the developers
|
---|
1200 | easier. Of course, it might happen that the program crashes in a way
|
---|
1201 | which makes this window inaccessible or to work incorrectly, in
|
---|
1202 | which case you must resort to the other possibilities.
|
---|
1203 | </p>
|
---|
1204 |
|
---|
1205 | <p>
|
---|
1206 | The bug report window can be displayed by selecting <b>Tools/Report
|
---|
1207 | bug</b> or by pressing <b>Ctrl+B</b>. The summary must be entered
|
---|
1208 | and it should be a short, one-sentence description or title of the
|
---|
1209 | problem. The <i>Description</i> part is not mandatory, but if you
|
---|
1210 | can think of any useful additional information, you might give it
|
---|
1211 | here. As the program automatically appends the log and the debug to
|
---|
1212 | the description, you should not copy them here. You can also give
|
---|
1213 | your e-mail address to receive automatic notifications of the status
|
---|
1214 | of your bug report, but consider that your e-mail address will then
|
---|
1215 | appear on the project's website in the bug report.
|
---|
1216 | </p>
|
---|
1217 |
|
---|
1218 | <p>
|
---|
1219 | By pressing <i>Send...</i>, you can create the bug report. If it is
|
---|
1220 | successful, you will receive a message telling so and including the
|
---|
1221 | ticket's ID that you may refer to later.
|
---|
1222 | </p>
|
---|
1223 |
|
---|
1224 | <h2><a name="monitorWindow">The Monitor Window</a></h2>
|
---|
1225 |
|
---|
1226 | <img src="monitorWindow.png" alt="The Monitor Window"/>
|
---|
1227 |
|
---|
1228 | <p>
|
---|
1229 | The monitor window can be used when debugging the program. You can
|
---|
1230 | display it by selecting <b>View/Show monitor window</b> or by
|
---|
1231 | pressing <b>Ctrl+M</b>. It displays the various parameters from the
|
---|
1232 | aircraft as read from the flight simulator. During flight, it is
|
---|
1233 | updated once per second. If something is not detected properly by
|
---|
1234 | the logger, this window can be used to determine if the problem is
|
---|
1235 | in interpreting and translating the data read from the simulator, or
|
---|
1236 | when the translated data is being evaluated by other parts of the
|
---|
1237 | program.
|
---|
1238 | </p>
|
---|
1239 |
|
---|
1240 | </html>
|
---|