BACARS Version 8 - Major Overhaul of BACARS / Planning Portal

[skelsey]

Question: SimBrief is obviously conversant in both lbs and kgs, but is BACARS in kgs only? Or will lbs work?

Hi Will,

You can edit the BACARS config file to change the units of measure to LB. Once this is done, CARD should deal with it appropriately.

I actually did quite a bit of tweaking today to make Lbs work nicely in CARD -- I'm not sure if Gary has had a chance to install the latest version on the server yet though. If not LBS will still return the correct result in terms of assumed temperatures and speeds but the ATOW and TOPL values will still be in Kgs until the latest version is on the server at which point it will all work seamlessly!

[G-CIVA]

Thanks Gary & Simon,

Working flawlessly.

[Gary Oliver]

Some updates pushed to SimonPerf the magic behind PSX CARD Server - no need to update software, its all a server side update.

Code Select Expand

v0.5.2
-Printout now the correct width of 24 characters for the printer and CDU screen as per real print out
-Notes section now correctly above for REDUCED THRUST NOT CALC message
-Updated Correction code notes to fit in the 24 characters

v0.5.1
- Added optional MTOW parameter (default: 396890kg) to allow for custom structural max TOW input from BACARS
- If requested TOW > MTOW, CARD will return SYSTEM ERROR CONTACT FTD
- Wind component now displays correctly in perf result
- LBS weight outputs now correctly converted from KG to LBS

v0.5
- More accurate Pressure Altitude calculation
- Fixed tyre speed limit weight bug (OAT v Pressure Altitude swapped in table lookup)
- Added check for minimum corrected field length of 5200ft dry/7000ft wet
- Added interpolation between series to obstacle limit weight calculation to avoid large jumps in obstacle limited weight


[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

- If requested TOW > MTOW, CARD will return SYSTEM ERROR CONTACT FTD

I love meaningful error messages... I bet this is part of the original CARD system at BA? How many SYSTEM ERRORs are there?

[Gary Oliver]

Good old 1980's COBOL...

[FlyItLikeYouStoleIt]

Am I meant to see progress of my flight on the My Flight page in the Planning Portal? Because I don't. I see the ACARS positioning messages sent to BAW on hoppie from my flight though, and the Departure Board on the Planning Portal is updated correctly.

[Gary Oliver]

Apparently its not working for anyone other than me - I'll take a look

[skelsey]

I love meaningful error messages... I bet this is part of the original CARD system at BA? How many SYSTEM ERRORs are there?

Exactly right...

There are precisely seven error messages in CARD (that are listed in the documentation or that I can find any reference to anyway!):

- REDUCED THRUST NOT CALCULATED
- AIRFIELD CODE NOT KNOWN
- RUNWAY NOT KNOWN
- INTERSECTION DATA UNAVAILABLE
- AIRCRAFT TYPE EXCLUDED FROM RUNWAY
- INVALID CORRECTIONS
- And for everything else there's SYSTEM ERROR CONTACT FTD! Which basically equates to "takeoff is not possible for some reason, try a different weight/runway/airport/make sure you put the right stuff in"

The beauty of 1980s technology...

[Will]

Thanks Gary and Simon, working well here.

No trouble with pounds instead of kilograms, CARD seems to be fine!

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

The beauty of 1980s technology...

Well, nice to link that up with ACARS, which by itself is 1970s tech.
FANS/CPDLC is very much 1980s tech.
My software from the early 2000s is built with 1990s tech.
And what flies in reality out there is everything on a heap, but always at least one generation back in time. Talking to each other through serial buses.

Except stuff like A350, A380 and B787. That is Windows XP   :-D

[voipmeister]

Except stuff like A350, A380 and B787. That is Windows XP   :-D

See... I wish you hadn't shared that. At least I know what to avoid when flying   

[Mariano]

Gary,

I finally managed to get the performance function to work. After a third fresh install, the ACARS annunciation went from red "Failed" to grey "Idle". It never goes green, yet I am able to request and receive performance information. I am happy with whatever I can get.

Once again, THANK YOU to both (Gary and Simon) for giving us this great, much needed RB211 addon.

Kind regards,

Mariano

[FlyItLikeYouStoleIt]

I think it only goes green when you init a flightplan (created on the planning portal).

[Mariano]

Aha!

I use PFPX, so that explains it.

Thank you,

Mariano

[Gary Oliver]

Ah that is good news!

[Mariano]

Gary/Simon,

Would you consider adding an option so that the performance printout displays simulator time (not real UTC time) on the line just above "G ENG"? This would also match the transmission time on the topmost line of the printout.

Thank you and best regards,

Mariano

[Mariano]

Gary/Simon,

Please see bottom of printout in link below (RJGG runway 18 with intersections selected).

https://1drv.ms/i/c/da890b87be2c6bc4/EV303R7rrrRGlNmQUWPmZtwBCDs4ilyiEB5ASP_48-4BKA?e=cjNUo4

Thank you,

Mariano

[Gary Oliver]

Ah theres obviously a problem with it splitting and reattaching the messages - will take a look at massive amounts of intersection. 

[Mariano]

Thank you.

Mariano

[Mariano]

Gary,

I was again playing around with BACARS today (can't seem to stop). Two quick observations.

1- After I requested PACKS OFF data, the printout still displayed "A/C PACKS ON" on the line under the aircraft registration and "NONE" under "PERF CORRS". Also, performance data output was the same as PACKS ON data output. It seems like the PACKS OFF toggle is not being considered.

2- After I requested 1 A/C Pack On data (code 31), the printout still displayed "A/C PACKS ON" on the line under the aircraft registration (and, correctly, "1 A/C PACK ON" under "PERF CORRS"). Shouldn't "1 A/C PACK ON" replace "A/C PACKS ON" on the line under the aircraft registration? Nevertheless, in this case, performance data output was correctly displaying the effects of two packs being off.

Again, THANK YOU for this add-on!

Best regards,

Mariano