BACARS Version 8 - Major Overhaul of BACARS / Planning Portal

[voipmeister]

Hello Derek,

Another suggestion then: create a copy of the current BACARS folder on your PC (let me know if you need help with that), open the new folder and try to copy the BACARS 8.0.9 files over the current ones.

If that works, start using the new BACARS executable in the copied folder.

Cheers

[Will]

I am noticing some things that might be due to using pounds instead of kilograms?

Upon SENDing INIT/PRES in preflight, the PSX ZFW jumps up to the maximum which is about 640,000 lbs. That's despite the SimBrief plan having a ZFW of 447,765.

I correct the ZFW manually.

Then, when I get the final load sheet, it says:

ZFW 445.4
TOW 901.4
FUEL IN TANKS 207314

The ZFW seems accurate and the FUEL IN TANKS is correct, but the TOW is way too high. I haven't done much troubleshooting yet but I'm wondering if this has something to do with a lbs/kgs error.

SimBrief is set to lbs as default, as is PSX.

Any suggestions are welcome, thanks.

Also, can anyone verify that setting everything to lbs works correctly with both BACARS and CARD?

[J D ADAM]

Another suggestion then: create a copy of the current BACARS folder on your PC (let me know if you need help with that), open the new folder and try to copy the BACARS 8.0.9 files over the current ones.

Hi Seb  which is the removable file  or folder that  contains ACARS.

Cheers
Derek

[skelsey]

I am noticing some things that might be due to using pounds instead of kilograms?

Upon SENDing INIT/PRES in preflight, the PSX ZFW jumps up to the maximum which is about 640,000 lbs. That's despite the SimBrief plan having a ZFW of 447,765.

I correct the ZFW manually.

Then, when I get the final load sheet, it says:

ZFW 445.4
TOW 901.4
FUEL IN TANKS 207314

The ZFW seems accurate and the FUEL IN TANKS is correct, but the TOW is way too high. I haven't done much troubleshooting yet but I'm wondering if this has something to do with a lbs/kgs error.

SimBrief is set to lbs as default, as is PSX.

Any suggestions are welcome, thanks.

Also, can anyone verify that setting everything to lbs works correctly with both BACARS and CARD?

Hi Will,

I'm fairly confident CARD is dealing correctly with lbs; when Gary has recovered from the annual post-Worldflight depression I'm sure we can have a look at BACARS and check the loadsheets and PSX weight setting logic as we made quite a few changes with loadsheet generation and it's possible a conversion has been missed somewhere or is double-counting etc.

[skelsey]

Just to give a quick update on CARD -- next on my list is to add a worldwide terrain database to improve the accuracy of obstacle limited weights (particularly outside the US where the obstacle data is not always consistent) and enhanced intersection data to reduce the number of INTERSECTION DATA NOT AVAILABLE responses. This is proving to be an interesting project as it turns out intersections are not provided/updated by Navigraph so I am having to turn to some more creative methods, but I am making good progress!

[voipmeister]

Simon, is this something that other people could help with? Crowdsourcing the info might be interesting.

[skelsey]

Hi Seb,

It might come to that although I'm not sure how that would best be orchestrated! For now I'm experimenting with using OpenStreetMaps data and Overpass to identify intersections and the relevant data which seems to be working quite well for the most part although there are still a few refinements to make and a bit of testing before I update the server database!

[macroflight]

Did BA have a tool for 747 landing performance as well?

[voipmeister]

Hi Seb  which is the removable file  or folder that  contains ACARS.

Cheers
Derek

Hi Derek,

Not sure what you mean - this should be the folder that contains your original BACARS install of 8.0.4.

If in doubt, you could just install a new copy of 8.0.4 on your system (in a fresh folder) and copy 8.0.9 over it by using these links (taken from the posts in this topic):

BACARS 8.0.4 download
BACARS 8.0.9 download

Just don't forget to change the settings in BACARS on first run, like the airline code and the port number to connect to PSX

[voipmeister]

Hi Seb,

It might come to that although I'm not sure how that would best be orchestrated! For now I'm experimenting with using OpenStreetMaps data and Overpass to identify intersections and the relevant data which seems to be working quite well for the most part although there are still a few refinements to make and a bit of testing before I update the server database!

Simon,
If you'd like additional help and it's feasible to have others contribute, a shared spreadsheet with a list of airports/runways might be the best option, as people could indicate they're working on something?

[skelsey]

CARD updates:

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- Changed MIN ACCEL ALT to HT on output printout
- Updated airfield database to AIRAC 2511
- Updated intersections and obstacles
The OSM data for intersections appears broadly to have gone quite well and now most airfields have available intersections - it's not 100% perfect but I am in the process of refining the filtering! For now though I have uploaded the database to the server so you should now be able to get intersection performance from many more airfields.

CARD now also incorporates a terrain database which is used in obstacle performance calculations; it is not currently emergency-turn aware though (I plan to add this later) so it is possible in some places with extreme terrain you may be limited; as ever if you see anything that seems anomolous let me know.

The terrain and obstacle database is still a bit WIP as I continue to refine the utility that I am using to retrieve and process the data but hopefully is a decent start!

[skelsey]

Did BA have a tool for 747 landing performance as well?

I don't think so -- as far as I know it was always just in the QRH, although there may have been a tool on iPads in later years?

[Mariano]

Thanks for all the work you guys are doing with CARD; I eagerly await every single update. :-)

Regarding landing data, BA had (has?) a system of Landing Data pages in a company-produced performance manual.

I do not know if this has changed in the last few years, especially with newer types.

Regards,

Mariano

[skelsey]

Pushed a few updates to CARD this afternoon, notably now including full Flap 10 performance data and speeds (available using correction code 83).

Enjoy!

CARD Changelog 19/11/25

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v1.3
- Added Flap 10 datasets
- Added correction code 83 (Flap 10 performance)
- Contaminated correction codes now force Flap 20 (no Flap 10 contaminated data in AFM)
- Incompatible correction codes (Flap 10 + Flap 20 in same request or unrecognised codes) return INVALID CORRECTIONS error
- Fixed some errors in data tables

v1.2.2
- Made bleed adjustments to field and climb limited weights flap aware
- Tyre speed limit calculation now takes in to account wind component and flap setting

v1.2.1.3
- If all three results rows are null (no valid speeds/weights found) for a given intersection, CARD returns SYSTEM ERROR CONTACT FTD and stops calculating instead of printing multiple blank intersection results
- Now prints runway entry point associated with full length if available

Regarding landing data, BA had (has?) a system of Landing Data pages in a company-produced performance manual.

Yes, indeed, each airfield/runway has a dispatch performance data page with WAT limits etc; for more detailed analysis (e.g. stopping distance for a given weight/config/autobrake etc) one would have to refer to the QRH as far as I know. I would assume all the above is now digitised/on an iPad app for more modern fleets!

[Mariano]

Excellent news. Thank you! :-)

Best regards,

Mariano

[skelsey]

CARD Database updated to AIRAC 2512.

[Mariano]

Thank you!

Best regards,

Mariano

[Gary Oliver]

New Update

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V8.1.0
======
-Fixed Loadsheets and prefueling when LB selected (Select LB in Planning Portal to use this)
-Will no longer print CPDLC messages once off the ground, this still allows PDC clearences via BACARS to work.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3yfvacdb5ys8zcm8esqh2/BACARS_V8.1.0.zip?rlkey=3acm8qwtf7nji0upwkak5x4ny&dl=1

[skelsey]

CARD Changelog 8/12/2025

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v1.4
- Added support for ETP (Emergency Turn Procedure) calculations to improve TOPL in obstacle limited scenarios
- If ETP applicable, CARD will now return ETP obstacle limited weight instead of straight-out obstacle limited weight
- If a runway has SIDs available but no ETP required, CARD returns obstacle limited weight along most limiting SID track for that runway
- If no SID or ETP available, CARD returns straight-out obstacle limited weight as before
- ETP details printed in perf notes section if applicable

All live on the server now. I have tested most of the obvious cases but as ever if you spot anything weird let me know!

Simon

[Mariano]

ETP addition is EXCELLENT news! It takes realism to the next level. I have been waiting for this.

Thank you, Simon! :-)

Best regards,

Mariano