source: doc/manual/en/index.html@ 477:5d5e70fe99e2

Last change on this file since 477:5d5e70fe99e2 was 470:edd57d0f9678, checked in by István Váradi <ivaradi@…>, 12 years ago

Updated the manual to reflect the changes since 0.15
File size: 44.1 KB
Line 
1<html>
2<head>
3 <title>MAVA Logger X User's Manual</title>
4 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
5</head>
6<body>
7 <div align="center"><h1>MAVA Logger X User's Manual</h1></div>
8
9 <h2><a name="overview">Overview</a></h2>
10
11 <p>
12 MAVA Logger X is an application that monitors the execution of a
13 Malév Virtual flight, and collects data that can be sent to
14 the <a href="http://virtualairlines.hu">MAVA website</a> for further
15 evaluation. This manual describes how to use this program. To be
16 able to use all features of the program, you need to have a working
17 Internet connection, even if you don't fly on-line on VATSIM or
18 IVAO. However, it is possible to perform a flight completely offline
19 as well.
20 </p>
21
22 <p><a name="flightRating"/>
23 While monitoring your flight, the program continuously checks if your
24 airplane's configuration is always within the parameters prescribed
25 by the airline's operating procedures. For example, you have to turn
26 on or off the various lights of your aircraft according to rules,
27 you cannot exceed certain weight or speed limits, and so on. Any
28 deviation from the expected parameters, also known as a fault, can
29 result in points subtracted from the initial 100 points (or
30 percentage). The result is your <i>flight rating</i>. Some
31 deviations are so serious, that they are deemed <i>NO GO</i> faults
32 and result in the rejection of your flight.
33 </p>
34
35 <p>
36 Besides the faults the program also monitors many other parameters,
37 which are recorded in a textual <a href="#logTab"><i>log</i></a>.
38 This log is sent as a part of your PIREP
39 (<b>PI</b>lot's <b>REP</b>ort), and will be analyzed, and possibly
40 commented on by more experienced pilots of Malév Virtual. This way
41 you can perfect the way you execute your flights.
42 </p>
43
44 <p><a name="flightStages"/>
45 The application breaks up your flight into
46 several <i>stage</i>s. The advancement from one stage to another is
47 detected automatically. These stages and the conditions under which
48 they are entered are as follows:
49 <ol>
50 <li><b>boarding</b>: This is the initial stage when you start the
51 flight.</li>
52 <li><b>push-back and taxi</b>: If you release the parking brakes
53 or your ground speed becomes 5 knots or greater during the
54 boarding stage, your flight enters this stage.</li>
55 <li><b>takeoff</b>: If you turn on the strobe lights
56 during taxi or after a rejected takeoff (RTO). If your plane has
57 not strobe lights, the program will track your status after
58 exceeding 50 knots during the <i>taxi</i> stage, and if you lift
59 off within less than 40 seconds, it will be considered a takeoff.</li>
60 <li><b>climb</b>: When you retract the gears or you reach 3000
61 feet altitude AGL with a positive climb rate after takeoff.</li>
62 <li><b>RTO</b>: If you switch off both the landing and the
63 strobe lights, and your speed is reduced below 50 knots while on
64 the ground during takeoff.</li>
65 <li><b>cruise</b>: When the aircraft's altitude is within 2000
66 feet of the cruise altitude and you are climbing.</li>
67 <li><b>descent</b>: If the altitude decreases to more than 2000
68 feet below the cruise altitude during cruise.</li>
69 <li><b>landing</b>: If the gears are lowered and the altitude is
70 less than 2000 feet AGL during descent or go-around.</li>
71 <li><b>go-around</b>: If you retract the gears during landing.</li>
72 <li><b>taxi after landing</b>: When the aircraft is in the
73 ground and its ground speed is below 50 knots after landing.</li>
74 <li><b>end</b>: If the N<sub>1</sub> of the turbines becomes
75 less than 0.5, or the RPM of the piston engines becomes 0 during
76 parking. This is the final stage.</li>
77 </ol>
78
79 <p>
80 To enhance the simulation, the program can play various
81 <a href="#prefsSounds">sound</a> files
82 during the various stages of your flight, such as the announcements
83 made by the flight attendants. These files are supplied with the
84 application, and they can be played automatically, or when you press
85 a certain hotkey in the flight simulator. You can also organize
86 pre-recorded sound files
87 into <a href="#checklistEditor">checklists</a> for the each aircraft
88 type, and these files can also be played back one-by-one when you
89 repeatedly press a key combination in the simulator. See
90 <a href="#prefsSounds">below</a> for more information on this.
91 </p>
92
93 <p><a name="onlineACARSSystem"/>
94 Malév Virtual have implemented an <i>Online ACARS System</i>, which
95 displays the status of the flights in progress. The data appears on
96 the front page of the <a href="http://virtualairlines.hu">MAVA
97 website</a> and also on a
98 <a href="http://virtualairlines.hu/acars2/show.html">map</a>.
99 </p>
100
101 <p><a name="onlineGateSystem"/>
102 Malév Virtual have also implemented an <i>Online Gate System</i>
103 which maintains a database of the aircraft in the airline's fleet
104 and their location. An aircraft may be parked at the Budapest
105 Ferihegy Airport, in which case the number of the gate or stand it
106 is located at is recorded in the database. If so, this number is
107 <a href="#connectPage">displayed</a> to you when starting your
108 flight from Ferihegy, and you are recommended to place your aircraft
109 at the indicated gate or stand in the simulator. If your flight
110 begins at Ferihegy and the aircraft is away (usually due to someone
111 else's flight), you can <a href="#gateSelectionPage">select</a>
112 from which gate or stand you start your flight. The database of the
113 Online Gate System can also be <a href="#gatesTab">displayed</a>
114 by using the application.
115 </p>
116
117 <p>
118 These online systems can only be used when flying online.
119 </p>
120
121 <p>
122 The program can automatically update itself. When it starts up, it
123 checks if there is a newer version available. If so, it downloads
124 its files and replaces the program's current files with the new
125 ones. Then the program is restarted so that you can use the new
126 version. Besides acquiring bug fixes, updating is also important,
127 because the program can be extended with new checks or more refined
128 checks, and if you are using too old a version, the PIREP reviewers
129 may refuse your flight.
130 </p>
131
132 <h3><a name="gui">Graphical User Interface</a></h3>
133
134 <p>
135 The GUI of the application is made up of traditional building blocks
136 (buttons, checkboxes, lists, text entry boxes, etc.) found in other
137 applications as well. Many such controls have informative tooltips
138 that supplement the contents of this User's Guide in helping you
139 using the application. Many controls are also accessible by pressing
140 the <b>Alt</b> plus the underlined letter in the control's label.
141 </p>
142
143 <p>
144 The most often used part of the program is the main window, to be
145 described in detail below. When you minimize or close the window, it
146 disappears by default, but the program continues to run. You can
147 redisplay the window by clicking on the tray icon of the program,
148 which looks like the one on the picture below.
149 </p>
150
151 <div align="center">
152 <table>
153 <tr>
154 <td>
155 <img src="statusIcon1.png" alt="The status icon" hspace="20"/>
156 </td>
157 <td>
158 <img src="statusIcon2.png" alt="The status icon menu" hspace="20"/>
159 </td>
160 </table>
161 </div>
162
163 <p>
164 If you click on the tray icon when the program's window is hidden,
165 the window will be displayed. If you hover the mouse pointer over
166 the icon, the flight stage and the current rating will be
167 displayed. The tray icon has a right-button menu as well with the
168 following items:
169 <ul>
170 <li><b>Show main window</b>: displays or hides the main window.</li>
171 <li><b>Show monitor window</b>: displays or hides the
172 <a href="#monitorWindow">monitor window</a>.</li>
173 <li><b>Quit</b>: quit the application. A confirmation window will
174 be displayed.</li>
175 </ul>
176 </p>
177
178 <p>
179 You can also quit the application by selecting the <b>File/Quit</b>
180 menu item, or by pressing <b>Ctrl+Q</b>.
181 </p>
182
183 <p>
184 If you start the application, when it is already running, the main
185 window of the already running instance will be displayed instead of
186 starting a new instance of the program.
187 </p>
188
189 <h2><a name="mainWindow">The Main Window</a></h2>
190
191 <p>
192 The figure below depicts the main window of the application. The top
193 of it contains the usual menu bar, which will be described in more
194 detail later. The content area consists of several tabs the use of
195 which is described below.
196 </p>
197
198 <a name="mainWindowShot"/>
199 <div align="center"><img src="mainWindow.png" alt="The main window"/></div>
200
201 <p>
202 The bottom of the window is a status bar. Its left side contains the
203 icon indicating the status of the connection to the simulator. Since
204 the application continuously monitors the parameters of your
205 aircraft, it needs to communicate with the simulator. The icon's
206 colour indicates the health of this communication channel.
207 </p>
208
209 <p>
210 If it is grey, the program is not connected. This is normal before
211 and after the flight. If it is green, the connection is alive and
212 working properly. If it is red, the connection is broken. In this
213 case a dialog window is displayed. The most likely cause for such a
214 disruption is the crash of the simulator. If this is the case,
215 restart the simulator and try to restore the flight to a state as
216 close to the one before the crash as possible. Then click
217 the <b>Reconnect</b> button, and the program will try to
218 re-establish the connection to the simulator. It preserves all data
219 of your flight, so you can continue where you left off easily.
220 </p>
221
222 <p>
223 If the reason for the failure of the connection is something else,
224 do whatever is needed to be done to restore it. Of course, it is
225 possible that the logger application itself fails, in which case
226 you, unfortunately, have to restart the flight. Do not forget to
227 notify the author if this happens. In this case, try to copy and
228 save the <a href="#debugLog">debug log</a> and send it with your bug
229 report.
230 </p>
231
232 <p>
233 If you click the <b>Cancel</b> button in the reconnection dialog,
234 the logger will be reset as if it were stopped and restarted.
235 </p>
236
237 <p>
238 To the right of the connection status icon, you can see the current
239 <a href="#flightStages">stage</a> of the flight, if the monitoring
240 has begun. Otherwise it is a single dash. It is followed by the
241 simulator time, if the program is already connected to the
242 simulator. Then comes the current <a href="#flightRating">flight rating</a>.
243 </p>
244
245 <p>
246 The right of the status bar is normally empty, but if there is some
247 potentially long operation going on (typically communicating with
248 the MAVA servers), information about the operation is displayed
249 here. This is accompanied by the cursor becoming that of signaling
250 a busy state and most parts of the main window becoming
251 unresponsive.
252 </p>
253
254 <h3><a name="tabFlight">The Flight Tab</a></h3>
255
256 <p>
257 The flight tab is the most important tab. It consists of a sequence of
258 pages similar to wizards found in many programs. The first several of
259 these pages guide you through the various steps of the preparations
260 for your flight, while the last pages allow you to enter some
261 information about your flight necessary for its evaluation and to
262 send the PIREP (Pilot's Report) assembled by the program to the MAVA
263 server.
264 </p>
265
266 <p>
267 Each page has a title at the top indicating the purpose of the
268 page. There is a short text below this, which describes what the
269 page contains and/or what is expected from you to do with the page.
270 Below the text you can find the main information and possibly data
271 entry areas for the page. Finally, you can find the button row at
272 the bottom.
273 </p>
274
275 <p>
276 Most of the pages contain two buttons: <b>Next</b> and
277 <b>Previous</b>. These help in navigating between the pages. In most
278 cases you can go back to previously visited pages by using
279 the <b>Previous</b> button, although you cannot edit the contents of
280 some of the pages once finalized by moving to the next page using
281 the <b>Next</b> button. There are a few exceptions though, as
282 detailed below.
283 </p>
284
285 <p>
286 Many of the pages also contain a <b>Cancel flight</b>
287 button. Clicking this button will allow you to cancel the flight and
288 go back to the <a href="#flightSelectionPage">flight selection</a>
289 if you have logged in to the MAVA server, or to the login page, after
290 a confirmation of your intent.
291 </p>
292
293 <h4><a name="loginPage">The <i>Login</i> Page</a></h4>
294
295 <p>
296 The program starts with the Login page (see the
297 <a href="#mainWindowShot">picture</a> above) where you can enter the
298 your pilot's ID and password for the MAVA website. Both data are
299 given to you when joining Malév Virtual. The pilot's ID usually
300 starts with the letter <q>P</q> followed by three digits.
301 </p>
302
303 <p>
304 If you check <b>Remember password</b>, the password will be saved by
305 the program, so you don't have to enter it all the time. Note,
306 however, that the password is saved in a readable form into a
307 configuration file, so use this possibility only if your home
308 directory can be accessed only by people you trust. The pilot's ID
309 is saved anyway.
310 </p>
311
312 <p>
313 If you are about to perform the entrance flight, check
314 <b>Entrance exam</b>. In this case you don't have to (and cannot)
315 enter the password, as that is not needed for the entrance exam.
316 </p>
317
318 <p>
319 The login to the MAVA server, and proceed to the next page, press
320 the <b>Login</b> button.
321 </p>
322
323 <p>
324 If you would like to fly without an Internet connection, use
325 the <b>Fly offline</b> button. This immediately takes you to the
326 next page, without trying to log in to the MAVA server.
327 </p>
328
329 <h4><a name="flightSelectionPage">The <i>Flight selection</i> Page</a></h4>
330
331 <img src="flightSelection.png" alt="The Flight selection page"/>
332
333 <p>
334 This page displays the list of the flight you have booked previously
335 on the MAVA website, if you have <a href="#loginPage">logged in</a>
336 properly. If you chose to fly offline, the list is empty.
337 </p>
338
339 <p>
340 If you have selected a flight, you can also save it by using
341 the <b>Save flight</b> button. This is useful when planning to fly
342 offline at some later time. When preparing for that flight, you can
343 properly log in to the MAVA server, and acquire the list of your
344 booked flights. Then you can save the flight you wish to perform
345 later offline, on which occasion, you can load the saved flight.
346 </p>
347
348 <p>
349 You may need to refresh the list of flights. For example, you notice
350 that you have forgotten to book the flight you want to perform. Then
351 you can book the flight on the MAVA website, and press
352 the <b>Refresh flights</b> button to update the list.
353 </p>
354
355 <p>
356 You can also load a flight from a file by pressing the <b>Load
357 flight from file</b> button. This displays a file selection dialog
358 where you select the flight file (usually with a suffix
359 of <code>.vaflight</code>). This is mostly useful when flying
360 offline, or during the entrance exam.
361 </p>
362
363 <p>
364 Select a flight from the list, and press the <b>Next</b> button to
365 proceed with that flight.
366 </p>
367
368 <h4><a name="gateSelectionPage">The <i>LHBP gate selection</i> Page</a></h4>
369
370 <img src="gateSelection.png" alt="The LHBP gate selection page"/>
371
372 <p>
373 This page is displayed after the flight selection page only if your
374 flight starts at the Budapest Ferihegy Airport and the number of the
375 gate or stand at which your aircraft is located cannot be
376 determined.
377 </p>
378
379 <p>
380 Select a number from the list presented, and press <b>Next</b>.
381 </p>
382
383 <h4><a name="connectPage">The <i>Connect to the simulator</i> Page</a></h4>
384
385 <img src="connect.png" alt="The Connect to the simulator page"/>
386
387 <p>
388 This page displays some important information about your flight,
389 such as the type and tail number of the aircraft to use, the
390 departure airport and possibly the gate.
391 </p>
392
393 <p>
394 Select the aircraft indicated and park it at the departure airport
395 in the simulator,
396 then press <b>Connect</b> to establish the connection with the
397 simulator. If the connection cannot be established, a dialog will be
398 displayed about it, and you can <b>Try again</b> the connection
399 or <b>Cancel</b> to go back to the flight selection or to the login page.
400 </p>
401
402 <p>
403 Note, that after a successful connection, the monitoring of your
404 flight does not begin immediately, but some data can be queried by
405 the logger at this stage.
406 </p>
407
408 <h4><a name="payloadPage">The <i>Payload</i> Page</a></h4>
409
410 <img src="payload.png" alt="The Payload page"/>
411
412 <p>
413 This page displays the components of the flight's payload and the
414 calculated Zero-Fuel Weight (ZFW). You can modify all input data,
415 but generally it is needed to enter the cargo weight you determined
416 for the flight, if it is different from 0. You can also press the <b>ZFW
417 from FS</b> button, which queries the ZFW from the simulator and
418 displays the retrieved value. If the ZFW calculated from the payload
419 data differs too much from the queried one, the calculated value is
420 displayed in red. This the right time to set up the payload in the
421 simulator. If you forget about it, it will be a NO GO fault.
422 </p>
423
424 <p>
425 If you have finished with this page, press the <b>Next</b>
426 button. At this point, the <a href="#helpTab"><i>Help</i> tab</a>
427 becomes available, which you can use if you have failed to set up
428 the correct payload in the simulator. See a more detailed
429 description of it <a href="#helpTab">below</a>.
430 </p>
431
432 <h4><a name="timePage">The <i>Time</i> Page</a></h4>
433
434 <img src="time.png" alt="The Time page"/>
435
436 <p>
437 This page displays the departure and arrival times of your
438 flight in UTC. Press the <b>Time from FS</b> button to query the
439 current UTC time of the simulator. To be able to simulate the real
440 lighting circumstances of the flight, the simulator's time should match
441 the time of the flight according to the schedule. Therefore you are
442 expected to set the simulator's time properly. It is recommended to
443 set it to about 15 minutes before the departure at this stage so
444 that you have enough time to set up your flight.
445 </p>
446
447 <p>
448 When you have set the time of the simulator properly, press
449 the <b>Next</b> button.
450 </p>
451
452 <h4><a name="fuelPage">The <i>Fuel</i> Page</a></h4>
453
454 <img src="fuel.png" alt="The Fuel page"/>
455
456 <p>
457 This page contains a graphical representation of the fuel tanks of
458 your aircraft. The yellowish colour represents the current level of
459 the fuel in the tank, and turquoise slider is the expected level,
460 which is also displayed numerically (in kilograms) below each graph.
461 </p>
462
463 <p>
464 You can enter the requested amount of fuel numerically, or you can
465 set it by the turquoise sliders, though this method is less accurate. The
466 lever can be moved by clicking withinin the fuel tank's representation,
467 and you can drag it if you keep the button pressed. If your mouse
468 has a wheel, that can also be used to modify the expected level. To
469 use the wheel, keep the mouse pointer within the fuel tank's
470 graphic. Each click of the wheel increment or decrements the amount
471 by 10 kilograms. If you hold down the <b>Shift</b> key, the
472 increment will be 100, if you hold down the <b>Ctrl</b> key, the
473 increment will be 1.
474 </p>
475
476 <p>
477 When all tanks have the correct amount of fuel set, press
478 the <b>Next</b> button. This causes the pumping of the fuel to
479 start. The progress is represented by the yellowish fuel bars
480 growing or shrinking (fuel may be pumped out of a tank as
481 well). This is a relatively quick process and should finish within a
482 few seconds.
483 </p>
484
485 <h4><a name="routePage">The <i>Route</i> Page</a></h4>
486
487 <img src="route.png" alt="The Route page"/>
488
489 <p>
490 This page displays the cruise level and the flight plan route. The
491 cruise level starts out at FL240, but the route comes from the
492 booked flight. Set the cruise level to the one you have calculated
493 with, and modify the flight plan if needed. For example, if you will
494 enter some airspace that will require you to change the flight
495 level, you should add that here.
496 </p>
497
498 <p>
499 When satisfied with the information on the page, press
500 the <b>Next</b> button to advance. Note, that these data can be
501 edited later as well if you come back to this page.
502 </p>
503
504 <h4><a name="briefingPage">The <i>Briefing</i> Pages</a></h4>
505
506 <img src="briefing.png" alt="The Briefing page"/>
507
508 <p>
509 These pages display the NOTAMs and the METAR for the departure and
510 the arrival airports. You can edit the METAR if your network
511 provides a different weather, or you do not fly with real
512 weather. The METAR of the arrival airport will be updated when
513 entering the landing stage, unless you have edited it before. The
514 METARs can be edited during the whole duration of the flight. If you
515 do so, please, comment on it in the <i>Comments</i> section of
516 the <a href="#flightInfoTab"><i>Flight info</i> tab</a>.
517 </p>
518
519 <p>
520 On the second briefing page (that of the arrival airport), confirm
521 that you have read the briefing and are ready to start the flight by
522 clicking the button. This begins the monitoring of your flight with
523 the boarding stage.
524 </p>
525
526 <h4><a name="takeoffPage">The <i>Takeoff</i> Page</a></h4>
527
528 <img src="takeoff.png" alt="The Takeoff page"/>
529
530 <p>
531 On this page you have to enter the name of the departure runway, the
532 name of the Standard Instrument Departure procedure you follow after
533 takeoff and the takeoff V-speeds. While you can edit these data
534 anytime, it is recommended to do so before takeoff.
535 <p>
536
537 <p>
538 Note that if you are flying one of the Tupolev or Yak aircraft, the
539 page will look different, as speeds will have to be entered in
540 kilometres per hour.
541 </p>
542
543 <p>
544 For most aircraft in the fleet you should also enter the takeoff
545 derate setting. Its exact format and value depends on the type.
546 </p>
547
548 <p>
549 You can also select here whether you have turned on any anti-ice
550 systems (apart from the pitot heat). However, for most aircraft, the
551 logger can detect the setting, and if anti-icing is turned on, the
552 check box will be checked automatically. If you have checked it
553 yourself, it will not be unchecked by the program (unless it gains
554 self-awareness sometime in the future).
555 </p>
556
557 <p>
558 You can proceed to the next page after takeoff, and if all data has
559 been entered, by pressing the <b>Next</b> button.
560 </p>
561
562 <h4><a name="cruisePage">The <i>Cruise</i> Page</a></h4>
563
564 <img src="cruise.png" alt="The Cruise page"/>
565
566 <p>
567 This page displays your cruise altitude as set on the
568 <a href="#routePage">Route page</a>. If you need to modify your
569 cruise level due to airspace requirements, step climb or any other
570 justified reason, you can set the new level here and then press
571 the <b>Update</b> button when you have reached the specified level.
572 </p>
573
574 <p>
575 If you are preparing for landing, you can press the <b>Next</b>
576 button to go to the next page.
577 </p>
578
579 <h4><a name="landingPage">The <i>Landing</i> Page</a></h4>
580
581 <img src="landing.png" alt="The Landing page"/>
582
583 <p>
584 On this page you have to enter the name of the STAR and/or
585 transition you planned to follow (even if you get a different one,
586 or simply vectors from ATC, in which case add a
587 <a href="#flightInfoTab">comment</a> about it),
588 the approach type (e.g. <q>ILS</q>, <q>VOR</q>, <q>VISUAL</q>,
589 etc.), the name of the landing runway, and the landing reference speed,
590 V<sub>ref</sub>. You can enter this data during the flight, or after
591 you have landed, at your discretion. Note, that if you fly one of
592 the Tupolev or Yak aircraft, the speed will have to be entered in km/h.
593 </p>
594
595 <p>
596 This page also contains a checkbox for the anti-ice system, which is
597 handled the same way as the one on
598 the <a href="#takeoffPage">Takeoff page</a>.
599
600 <p>
601 When you have entered all data, press the <b>Next</b> button. It is
602 active only, if the flight has ended.
603 </p>
604
605 <h4><a name="finishPage">The <i>Finish</i> Page</a></h4>
606
607 <img src="finish.png" alt="The Finish page"/>
608
609 <p>
610 This is the final page of the flight wizard. It contains a summary
611 of your flight: the rating, the flight and block times, the distance
612 flown and the amount of fuel burnt.
613 </p>
614
615 <p>
616 You also have to provide a few pieces of information. You have to
617 select the type of the flight from the list provided (scheduled,
618 old-timer, VIP, charter) and whether it was an online flight or
619 not. If you arrive at the Budapest Ferihegy Airport, and are using
620 the Online Gate System, you also need to specify the number of the
621 gate or stand you have parked you aircraft at.
622 </p>
623
624 <p>
625 If all necessary data has been entered, and the program is so
626 <a href="#prefsGeneral">configured<a>, it will automatically save
627 the PIREP.
628 </p>
629
630 <p>
631 With all data entered, you may want it review your flight (i.e. the
632 earlier pages or some of the other tabs), then save or send the
633 PIREP created from it. These can be accomplished by pressing one of
634 the buttons at the bottom. A saved PIREP can be loaded later and
635 sent, if the sending fails for some reason. When a PIREP is sent, it
636 becomes available for review by the designated PIREP reviewers of
637 Malév Virtual.
638 </p>
639
640 <p>
641 You can also start a new flight using the <b>New flight</b>
642 button. If you have not saved or sent the PIREP, you will be asked
643 to confirm your intention. When starting a new flight you are taken
644 to the <a href="#flightSelectionPage">flight selection page</a>, if
645 you have logged in to the MAVA server, or to
646 the <a href="#loginPage">login page</a>, if your flight has been an
647 offline flight.
648 </p>
649
650 <h3><a name="flightInfoTab">The Flight info Tab</a></h3>
651
652 <img src="flightInfoTab.png" alt="The Flight info tab"/>
653
654 <p>
655 This tab allows one to enter some additional information about the
656 flight, if necessary.
657 </p>
658
659 <p>
660 The <i>Comments</i> text area should contain any general information
661 that you would like the PIREP reviewer to know about. For example,
662 why you changed the METAR, why you lowered the gears accidentally
663 (i.e. pressed the wrong key on the keyboard), etc.
664 </p>
665
666 <p>
667 The <i>Flight defects</i> text area should contain information about
668 any problems you encountered with the plane during the flight. For
669 example an engine stopped and why (if known), that flaps could not
670 be extended or retracted, etc.
671 </p>
672
673 <p>
674 In the <i>Delay codes</i> table you can mark one or more reasons why
675 the flight was delayed, if it was. This table is available only if you
676 have already selected the flight, since its contents depend on the
677 type of the aircraft being flown.
678 </p>
679
680 <h3><a name="helpTab">The Help Tab</a></h3>
681
682 <img src="helpTab.png" alt="The Help tab"/>
683
684 <p>
685 This tab provides some help for calculating and setting the payload
686 weight of the aircraft. It can be used once the
687 <a href="#payloadPage"><i>Payload</i></a>
688 (i.e. the cargo weight) is finalized. To use this tab, check
689 the <b>Using help</b> checkbox. It causes the page to become
690 sensitive and filled with data. Note, that the fact of using the
691 help is <a href="#logTab">logged</a>, so the PIREP reviewers will
692 know about it.
693 </p>
694
695 <p>
696 The most important information is after the <i>Payload:</i> label,
697 which is the payload weight of the aircraft. This value should be
698 set in the simulator as the airplane's payload weight. By pressing
699 the <b>Simulator data</b> button, the data coming from the simulator
700 can be queried and displayed. If the data is out of the tolerances,
701 it is displayed in red, otherwise in green.
702 </p>
703
704 <p>
705 The gross weight is also displayed with some maximum weights of the
706 aircraft, so it can be checked or estimated if you will remain within
707 those maximums during the flight.
708 </p>
709
710 <h3><a name="logTab">The Log Tab</a></h3>
711
712 <img src="logTab.png" alt="The Log tab"/>
713
714 <p>
715 This is the main log of your flight that will be analyzed by the
716 PIREP reviewers. Its contents is generated automatically by the
717 program, and most lines are prefixed by the simulator times the
718 information in the given line belongs to.
719 </p>
720
721 <p>
722 While the log's contents is mainly useful for PIREP reviewers, it
723 can come handy when things start to happen very fast, and you have
724 no time check each fault message passing by (if you have enabled
725 such messages at all). Later, when things calm down, you can check
726 the log to see what happened exactly, so that you know why so many
727 fault points have been awarded. For example, you may even decide to
728 abort the flight, if you think some of the faults are too
729 embarrassing :) For quick identification, the lines containing the
730 fault messages are highlighted.
731 </p>
732
733 <h3><a name="gatesTab">The Gates Tab</a></h3>
734
735 <img src="gatesTab.png" alt="The Gates tab"/>
736
737 <p>
738 This tab displays information retrieved from
739 the MAVA <a href="#onlineGateSystem">Online Gate System</a>.
740 If the program needs to retrieve data, this tab's contents
741 are refreshed automatically, but you can also refresh them manually
742 anytime using the <b>Refresh data</b> button.
743 </p>
744
745 <p>
746 The left side of the tab contains the fleet information. The tail
747 number of each aircraft is listed with the plane's status, as known
748 by the Online Gate System. The two major statuses are <i>LHBP-nn</i>
749 and <i>AWAY</i>. The former indicates that the aircraft is parked at
750 the Budapest Ferihegy Airport at gate or stand <i>nn</i>, while the
751 latter one denotes that the airplane is parked at another
752 airport. Another possible status is <i>PARKED</i>, which means that
753 the airplane is parked somewhere at the Ferihegy Airport, but we
754 (or at least the Gate System) don't know where. It may happen that
755 several aircraft are parked at the same gate or stand at
756 Ferihegy. In this case the tail numbers and the statuses of those
757 airplanes are displayed in red.
758 </p>
759
760 <p>
761 The right side contains the list of the numbers of the gates and
762 parking positions. A number is black if no aircraft is positioned at
763 the corresponding gate or stand, and it is orange, if the location
764 is occupied.
765 </p>
766
767 <h3><a name="debugLog">The Debug log</a></h3>
768
769 <img src="debugLogTab.png" alt="The Debug log tab"/>
770
771 <p>
772 This tab is not visible by default, but can be displayed by
773 selecting <b>View/Show debug log</b> or by
774 pressing <b>Ctrl+D</b>. It is another kind of log, which is mainly
775 useful for debugging. If you experience some problem with the
776 program, please, include the contents of this log with your bug
777 report. It can help a lot with finding a solution to the problem.
778 </p>
779
780 <h2><a name="loadingPIREPs">Loading PIREPs</a></h2>
781
782 <p>
783 Saved PIREPs can be loaded and sent by the program. This can
784 become necessary, for example, if you cannot send a PIREP due to
785 some network problem right after your flight, or when you
786 deliberately performed a flight without connecting to the Internet.
787 </p>
788
789 <p>
790 To load a PIREP select the <b>File/Load PIREP...</b> menu option or
791 press the <b>Ctrl+L</b> key. A file selection dialog appears, from
792 which you can select the PIREP to load. If you select a valid PIREP
793 file, it will be loaded and a new window will be displayed with the
794 most important data of your flight. By clicking <b>Send
795 PIREP...</b>, the PIREP will be sent (or at least an attempt will be
796 made at sending it). A dialog window will be displayed about the
797 results of the attempt.
798 </p>
799
800 <div align="center">
801 <img src="pirepLoaded.png" alt="The loaded PIREP window"/>
802 </div>
803
804 <p>
805 You may also want to view a saved PIREP, for example, if it is a
806 PIREP about an entrance exam flight. To do so, click the <b>View
807 PIREP...</b> button. This displays the PIREP viewer window, which
808 groups the data into three tabs. The <i>Data</i> tab contains the
809 itemized data of the flight. The <i>Comments & defects</i> tab
810 displays the comments and or flight defects entered by the
811 user. The <i>Log</i> tab contains the flight log.
812 </p>
813
814 <div align="center">
815 <img src="pirepViewer.png" alt="The PIREP Viewer"/>
816 </div>
817
818 <h2><a name="checklistEditor">Editing checklists</a></h2>
819
820 <img src="checklistEditor.png" alt="The Checklist Editor"/>
821
822 <p>
823 The checklists are lists of audio files. When checklist playback is
824 enabled (see the <a href="#prefsSounds">description</a> of
825 the <i>Preferences</i> window below), and there is a checklist for
826 the type of the aircraft used for the flight, the files constituting
827 the checklist can be played one-by-one by pressing the checklist
828 hotkey repeatedly.
829 </p>
830
831 <p>
832 The checklist editor window allows for editing the checklists. It
833 can be displayed by selecting <b>Tools/Checklist Editor...</b> or
834 pressing <b>Ctrl+C</b>. The top of the window contains an aircraft
835 type selector.
836 </p>
837
838 <p>
839 The files making up the checklist for the currently selected aircraft
840 are displayed on the right. You can move a file up or down by
841 dragging it with the mouse. You can also select one or more files
842 from the list. Then you can remove them with the <b>Remove</b>
843 button, or move them up or down by pressing <b>Move up</b>
844 and <b>Move down</b>.
845 </p>
846
847 <p>
848 To add new files to the checklist, select them in the file selector
849 on the left, and press <b>Add to checklist</b>. The file(s) will be
850 appended to the end of the checklist.
851 </p>
852
853 <p>
854 Note, that any changes you make are effective only if you press
855 the <b>OK</b> button when having finished the modifications. If the
856 flight has already started, no changes made to the corresponding
857 checklist have any effect during the flight (i.e. you will still use
858 the old checklist, or no checklist if there was none).
859 </p>
860
861 <h2><a name="calloutsEditor">Editing approach callouts</a></h2>
862
863 <img src="calloutsEditor.png" alt="The Approach callouts Editor"/>
864
865 <p>
866 The approach callouts are audio files specific to aircraft types, that are
867 played back during approach when passing certain altitudes. The
868 approach callouts editor window allows editing the list of these
869 callout files for each aircraft. The window can be displayed by
870 selecting <b>Tools/Approach Callouts Editor...</b> or by pressing
871 <b>Ctrl+E</b>.
872 </p>
873
874 <p>
875 The top part of the window displays the selector of the aircraft
876 type. Below it, you can find two buttons on the left, and the list
877 of the callouts with the altitudes they belong to on the right. The
878 list displays only the filename portion, but the if you hover the
879 cursor above an item, the full path will be displayed. The list is
880 always sorted according to the altitude, but you change the order
881 from descending to ascending.
882 </p>
883
884 <p>
885 The <b>Add new callout</b> button shows a file selection dialog
886 window. After selecting a file, it will be added to a list with some
887 altitude, which can be edited immediately. If the name of the file
888 contains a number that is possible as an altitude, that will be used
889 as the altitude given to the file, otherwise some meaningful default
890 is selected based on the lowest or highest altitude.
891 There can be no two files with the same altitude. If you set an
892 altitude, which is already present in the list, a dialog box will be
893 displayed, and you can choose to replace the old file or to continue
894 editing. To edit an altitude already in the list, select that row,
895 and click on the altitude again.
896 </p>
897
898 <p>
899 If you select one or more items in the list, the <b>Remove</b>
900 button becomes available, and pressing it will remove the selected items.
901 </p>
902
903 <p>
904 Note, that any changes you make are effective only if you press
905 the <b>OK</b> button when having finished the modifications. If the
906 flight has already started, no changes made to the corresponding
907 list of callouts have any effect during the flight.
908 </p>
909
910 <h2><a name="prefs">The Preferences Window</a></h2>
911
912 </p>
913 The Preferences window can be displayed by
914 selecting <b>Tools/Preferences</b> or by
915 pressing <b>Ctrl+P</b>. Here you can set options that you usually
916 don't have to change for every flight. This window consists of
917 tabs grouping the options logically.
918 </p>
919
920 <h3><a name="prefsGeneral">The <i>General</i> Tab<a></h3>
921
922 <img src="prefsGeneral.png" alt="The General Tab of Preferences"/>
923
924 <p>
925 These are some general settings for various parts of the
926 program. The <i>GUI</i> frame contains options regarding the
927 behaviour of the graphical user interface. The <i>Language</i> combo
928 box can be used to selected what language the program should
929 use. Currently English and Hungarian are supported. The value
930 of <i>system default</i> means that the operating system's default
931 language is used if it is one of the supported ones or English
932 otherwise. Note, that the program must be restarted for the change
933 to take effect if you modify this setting. If the <b>Hide main window
934 when minimized</b> checkbox is checked, and you minimize the window,
935 it will actually disappear completely (i.e. not appear among the
936 other minimized windows). You can make it appear by using the tray
937 icon. If the <b>Quit when the window close button is clicked</b>
938 checkbox is checked, the program will quit, after you have confirmed
939 it. Otherwise it will just disappear, and you can use the tray icon
940 to display it again.
941 </p>
942
943 <p>
944 The <i>MAVA Online Systems</i> frame contains settings related to
945 the online systems of MAVA, the <a href="#onlineGateSystem">gate</a>
946 and the <a href="#onlineACARSSystem">ACARS</a> systems mentioned
947 above. It is recommended to enable these for normal operations.
948 </p>
949
950 <p>
951 The <i>Simulator</i> frame contains settings for how the program
952 interacts with the simulator. Most options are self-explanatory, but
953 the ones related to smoothing requires some discussion. Flight
954 Simulator is known to produce wind speed changes that are not
955 entirely realistic and can result in the simulated aircraft
956 experiencing some very high indicated airspeeds, which in turn can
957 also cause the autopilot to suddenly increase the climb rate to
958 counter the high speeds or other erratic behaviour. Since these
959 phenomena are difficult to protect oneself against without buying
960 extra products, like FSUIPC, the logger provides the possibility to
961 average the IAS and/or the VS over a few seconds so that spikes in
962 these values are smoothed. The <b>Enable the smoothing of IAS/VS
963 over N sec.</b> options allow controlling this feature. The number
964 of seconds may need experimenting with, but note that every change
965 for which you press the <b>OK</b> button is taken into account
966 immediately.
967 </p>
968
969 <p>
970 If the <b>Save PIREP automatically</b> check box is checked, and you
971 have finished your flight and entered all required data, the PIREP
972 will be saved automatically into the directory given above.
973 </p>
974
975 <h3><a name="prefsMessages">The <i>Messages</i> Tab</a></h3>
976
977 <img src="prefsMessages.png" alt="The Messages Tab of Preferences"/>
978
979 <p>
980 The program can display messages about certain events in the
981 simulator and/or it can play a warning sound when those events
982 occur. The tab allows configuring this.
983 <p>
984
985 <p>
986 The categories of the message are listed on the left. These are the
987 following:
988 </p>
989
990 <ul>
991 <li><b>Logger Error Messages</b>: error messages about the
992 internal working of the logger.</li>
993 <li><b>Information Messages</b>: informational messages about,
994 e.g., the flight stage, the end of an audio checklist, etc.</li>
995 <li><b>In-flight Stage Message</b>: messages about the flight stage for those stage when the plane is not on the ground</li>
996 <li><b>Fault Messages</b>: messages about the non-NO GO faults the program detects.</li>
997 <li><b>NO GO Fault Messages</b>: messages about the NO GO faults the program detects</li>
998 <li><b>Gate System Messages</b>: messages related to the
999 <a href="#onlineGateSystem">Online Gate System</a>. For example,
1000 when you have landed at Ferihegy, it can display the list of the
1001 available gates so that you can choose where to park, if there is
1002 no ATC available.</li>
1003 <li><b>Environment Messages</b>: other messages, e.g. the welcome
1004 message when the flight has ended.</li>
1005 <li><b>Help Messages</b>: help messages, e.g. warning about
1006 entering the V-speeds into the Takeoff page before takeoff.</li>
1007 <li><b>Visibility Messages</b>: messages about the visibility
1008 during descent and landing.</li>
1009 </ul>
1010
1011 <p>
1012 There are two checkboxes associated with each messages category. If the
1013 left one (<i>Displayed in FS</i>) is checked, the messages of the
1014 category will be displayed in the simulator. If the right one
1015 (<i>Sound alert</i>) is checked, and a message of the given category
1016 is about to be displayed, a warning sound will be played. It is
1017 mainly intended to accompany the text messages, but the two options
1018 can be controlled separately, so you can select the sound alert, but
1019 not the displaying of the messages. This may be useful if you don't
1020 want these messages to clutter up the windscreen of your aircraft,
1021 but still get some notification that some problem occurred.
1022 </p>
1023
1024 <h3><a name="prefsSounds">The <i>Sounds</i> Tab</a></h3>
1025
1026 <img src="prefsSounds.png" alt="The Sounds Tab of Preferences"/>
1027
1028 <p>
1029 This tab controls how the sounds are played by the application.
1030 </p>
1031
1032 <p>
1033 The top part is for the background sounds. These are pre-recorded
1034 sound files that are played when certain conditions hold during the
1035 flight. Typical examples are the various announcements the flight
1036 attendants make during the flight. The <b>Enable background
1037 sounds</b> checkbox controls whether such sounds are enabled at
1038 all. If the <b>Pilot controls sounds</b> checkbox is enabled, the
1039 pilot should start the playback of these sound files by pressing a
1040 hotkey in the simulator. Note, that you should still be in the right
1041 flight stage (and sometimes fulfill other conditions) to be able to
1042 play the sound files. Also, one file can be played only once. If you
1043 enable this option, the hotkey to press in the simulator can be
1044 selected below. You can choose one of the alphanumeric keys (0-9,
1045 A-Z) optionally combined with one or both of the <i>Ctrl</i>
1046 and <i>Shift</i> modifiers. If this checkbox is not checked, the
1047 sound files will be played automatically.
1048 </p>
1049
1050 <p>
1051 If the <b>Enable approach callouts</b> checkbox is
1052 checked, and you have also <a href="#calloutsEditor">set up</a>
1053 approach callouts for the aircraft being used, you will hear those
1054 callouts during approach.
1055 </p>
1056
1057 <p>
1058 If the <b>Enable speedbrake sound at touchdown</b> checkbox is
1059 checked, you will hear a distinctive sound when the spoilers deploy
1060 automatically after touchdown.
1061 </p>
1062
1063 <p>
1064 The lower part, named <i>Checklists</i> contains some settings
1065 related to the audio checklists belonging to the aircraft. They are
1066 available only if the <b>Enable aircraft-specific checklist</b>
1067 checkbox is selected. In this case another hotkey should be
1068 specified. If you press this hotkey, the next file from the
1069 checklist will be played.
1070 </p>
1071
1072 <h3><a name="prefsAdvanced">The <i>Advanced</i> Tab</a></h3>
1073
1074 <img src="prefsAdvanced.png" alt="The Advanced Tab of Preferences"/>
1075
1076 <p>
1077 This tab contains some settings that you normally should not
1078 change. Currently, these settings are related to the automatic
1079 update. If the <b>Update the program automatically</b> checkbox is
1080 not checked, the automatic update at program start-up will be
1081 omitted. The <i>Update URL</i> text entry field contains the URL
1082 from which to download the updates. Occasionally the developers of
1083 the application may tell you to change this something else, e.g. to
1084 test some development version. Or it may need to be changed due to
1085 organizational reasons, such as moving to a new server, etc.
1086 </p>
1087
1088 <h2><a name="monitorWindow">The Monitor Window</a></h2>
1089
1090 <img src="monitorWindow.png" alt="The Monitor Window"/>
1091
1092 <p>
1093 The monitor window can be used when debugging the program. You can
1094 display it by selecting <b>View/Show monitor window</b> or by
1095 pressing <b>Ctrl+M</b>. It displays the various parameters from the
1096 aircraft as read from the flight simulator. During flight, it is
1097 updated once per second. If something is not detected properly by
1098 the logger, this window can be used to determine if the problem is
1099 in interpreting and translating the data read from the simulator, or
1100 when the translated data is being evaluated by other parts of the
1101 program.
1102 </p>
1103
1104</html>
Note: See TracBrowser for help on using the repository browser.