Phoenix Flight Data Recorder INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Transcription

1 Phoenix Flight Data Recorder INSTRUCTION MANUAL

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3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION INSTALLATION MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS INSTALLATION PROCESS LOGGING A FLIGHT WITH BAV PHOENIX STARTING BAV PHOENIX OPTIONS NOTAM SYSTEM GETTING READY TO FLY LET S GO FLYING! ONLINE SIM NETWORK CONNECTION POSITION REPORTS PAUSING DURING A FLIGHT COMPLETING YOUR FLIGHT AND FILING YOUR PIREP DECLARING A DIVERSION TO AN ALTERNATE AIRPORT SYSTEM, FLIGHTSIM OR BAV PHOENIX CRASHES/RESTARTS FUEL DISCREPANCY WARNINGS TROUBLESHOOTING ISSUES BAV PHOENIX STATES THAT IT IS ALWAYS DOWNLOADING SETTINGS BAV PHOENIX UNABLE TO DETECT FS BAV PHOENIX RECORDS AN ONLINE FLIGHT AS OFFLINE HOW TO CLEAR ACTIVE BOOKINGS WHY IS THERE AN ALTITUDE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN FLIGHTSIM AND PHOENIX? BAV PHOENIX IS NOT RECOGNISING MY ENGINES & PARKING BRAKE STATE BAV PHOENIX ICON IS NOT ON THE TASK BAR/SYSTEM TRAY I DON T APPEAR ON LIVE ACARS AND UNABLE TO SUBMIT PIREP REPORTING ISSUES FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS TABLE OF FIGURES MANUAL REVISIONS BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 3

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5 1 Introduction Welcome to British Airways Virtual and your virtual flying career with us. In order to ensure all our crew are treated fairly and equally and claim only the flight hours that they are entitled to, it is a requirement that EVERY flight is logged using our in-house developed Flight Data Recorder (FDR) software. As part of BAV's commitment to progress and to bring you the very best of what BAV has to offer, we present BAV Phoenix, our totally new FDR software utility which now replaces Pegasus for ALL BAV Flight Operations and flight time logging and is the only Flight Data Recorder utility approved for use when conducting Flight Operations for BAV. All flights flown after 01 January 2013 must be logged using this Flight Data Recorder. BAV Phoenix is more than just a Flight Data Recorder; it acts as an ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) sending essential information and parameters from your flight back to the British Airways Virtual Website including weights, fuel, course and track, flight phase etc. When you complete your flight, the flight data is filed with British Airways Virtual and your logbook is updated with the information. BAV Phoenix has been written especially for British Airways Virtual in such a way that in the future server side additions can be added to include other variables that will be used by Chief Pilots and Training Captains as part of the forthcoming Career Path assessments. BAV Phoenix is a clever little program, as you will soon find out! A live Internet connection is required at all times when flying with British Airways Virtual as BAV Phoenix uploads small pieces of data during your entire flight. It is important to read and understand this Instruction Manual prior to posting any issues in the BAV forums. If you still encounter an issue with BAV Phoenix check the BAV forums and if your answer is still not available, feel free to seek help as the crew are there to help one another! BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 5

6 2 Installation 2.1 Minimum Requirements In order to run BAV Phoenix and therefore log flights, you are required to have the following minimum installed on your computer: Windows 7 or Windows 10 FS9, FSX, FSX:SE, Prepar3d (v2, v3, v4) & X-Plane 10 FSUIPC Free Version from o FSUIPC 3.99 or later for FS9 o FSUIPC 4.7 or later for FSX, FSE:SE, P3Dv2, P3Dv3 o FSUIPC 5 or later for P3Dv4. XPUIPC for X-Plane 10 (available from For users who wish to use BAV Phoenix on a separate computer, this must be connected to the same Network as the Flight Simulator computer and WideFS for MS FS (available from or XPWideClient for X-Plane 10 must be installed on both computers. 2.2 Installation Process 1. Download the latest version of BAV Phoenix from the BAV Website. Note: You must be logged onto the BAV Website to download this file. 2. Create a new folder in your c:\ drive called something like BAV Phoenix. (Original I know!). This folder does not need to sit in your c:\program Files folder 3. Unzip the entire BAV Phoenix zip file into this directory, allowing the Zip to extract and create folders. Your folder should end up looking like the picture in Figure 1. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 6

7 Figure 1 Folder Setup 4. (Optional) In Windows Vista or Windows 7, right click on BAVPhoenix and either Pin to Taskbar or Pin to Start Menu. 5. Installation is complete! (Could it be any simpler?) BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 7

8 3 Logging a Flight with BAV Phoenix It is important that all BAV crew are aware that flights MUST be logged with BAV Phoenix. BAV does not have a manual PIREP system and any flight time not recorded with BAV Phoenix cannot be credited to your Flight Logbook. Now that the legal stuff is out of the way, let s go and get sorted for a flight. 3.1 Starting BAV Phoenix 1. Open Windows Explorer 2. Right click on the BAVPhoenix.exe icon and choose Run as Administrator 3. Marvel as BAV Phoenix opens before your eyes! 4. For now, BAV Phoenix will be missing your pilot details, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 New Pilot Details 5. Enter your pilot number (BAW and the number) and password that you use to logon to the BAV Website into the relevant boxes, as shown in Figure 3. You should need to only do this once, because if you click the Save Credentials box, BAV Phoenix will remember you from now on! (See I told you it was very clever!). Note that if an updated version of the software is released, you may need to enter these details again. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 8

9 Figure 3 Pilot Details Entered 3.2 Options Click on Menu Settings to open the settings window to make some personalised settings for BAV Phoenix (See Figure 4) BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 9

10 Figure 4 Settings Window Enable Sounds This will have various sounds alert you to a number of actions, including recognising that BAV Phoenix has connected with your Sim, Connection to an online network (if you choose to fly online), PosRep due and disconnection. Always pop PosRep Window This option will pop a special window when a Position Report is due. More is explained in Section 3.4 Minimise to System Tray Self-explanatory Enable System Tray Alerts - Ticking this option will see a popup icon over the System Tray icon when a PosRep is due Use Windows Skin You have two choices of the appearance of BAV Phoenix, one with a standard windows appearance and one with a Java look. You have the choice which one you prefer but you need to stop and restart BAV Phoenix when changing skins. Sim Version Choose appropriate one for your simulator or let program ask at startup should you switch between the simulators frequently. Make sure you restart Phoenix after changing data provider from settings menu. 3.3 NOTAM System From time to time, BAV Virtual will publish NOTAMS (Notice to Airman) that all crew must read and acknowledge. As well as publishing these on the BAV Website, they are now conveniently displayed in BAV Phoenix as well. Whenever a new NOTAM is issued, you will need to read and acknowledge the NOTAM before your flight. If you don t, you will not be able to log your flight for BAV using BAV Phoenix. It is an expectation of BA Virtual that by acknowledging the BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 10

11 NOTAM in BAV Phoenix that you accept the contents contained in the NOTAM and agree to comply with any requirements. When new NOTAMS are published by BAV, they will display in the NOTAM window as Unread as shown in Figure 5 below: Figure 5 NOTAM Window All Unread When you have some NOTAMs that have been read and some that have been unread, you will have a mixture in the NOTAM window as shown in Figure 6 below: BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 11

12 Figure 6 NOTAM Window Mix of Read and Unread To read a new NOTAM, highlight the NOTAM you wish to read and the View Icon will now be active, as shown in Figure 7 below: Figure 7 NOTAM Window Selecting a NOTAM to read Now simply click on the View Icon to read the NOTAM and the NOTAM will display directly inside BAV Phoenix, as shown in Figure 8 below: BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 12

13 Figure 8 NOTAM Window Reading a NOTAM As you can see, the title and NOTAM are displayed from right within the Client. You might have to scroll through the NOTAM to read it all. Once you have read and understood the NOTAM, simply press the Back button and the NOTAM will mark as read in both BAV Phoenix and on the BAV Website, as shown below in Figures 9 and 10: Figure 9 NOTAM Window All NOTAMs read BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 13

14 Figure 10 BAV Website All NOTAMs read If you only want to show any NOTAMs that you ve not read, you can toggle read or unread on and off by clicking on the following button in BAV Phoenix: 3.4 Getting Ready to fly Now that you ve set up BAV Phoenix for the first time (and got yourself set for future flights!), it s time to go flying! 1. Book a flight on the BAV Website. 2. Set up your Flight Simulator and prepare for the flight by loading fuel, payload and be sitting at the gate with the engines off and parking brakes on. 3. (Optional) Connect to your favourite Online Sim Network, VATSIM or IVAO and file a Flightplan with that network. It is recommended that you connect to VATSIM or IVAO about 10 minutes prior to connecting BAV Phoenix to give your flight time to populate to the online servers with sufficient time to record the flight as an online flight. (NOTE: You do not have to connect to an Online Sim Network to fly with BA Virtual, BAV Phoenix will simply record this as an OFFLINE flight) 4. Start BAV Phoenix and login. 5. Click on the Booking tab and then click the refresh button. 6. You will notice that BAV Phoenix has already detected your Flightsim connection and version and the version of FSUIPC that you re running. For now, your Sim Network will remain as UNKNOWN but more on that later. 7. The flights that you have currently booked on the BAV Website will now load, as shown in Figure 11. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 14

15 Figure 11 Booking List 8. If the flight you have booked is not present, click the refresh bookings icon - 9. Highlight the flight you are flying and click on the Select button, which will now highlight as shown in Figure 12. Figure 12 Select your flight 10. You will now be presented with the Flight Information page as shown in Figure 13. You can see how clever BAV Phoenix is that it has pre-filed your Flight Number, Departure and Destination ICAO codes, Airframe type and Callsign, leaving you only to complete the following details: BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 15

16 a. Cruise Level (in any format for your level of flight, i.e , F350, FL350 or 350 all work, just don t leave it blank!) b. Alternate Airfield ICAO code c. Flight Plan Figure 13 Enter your flight details 11. You can even copy and paste the Flightplan from the BAV Website or other source by pasting using Control-C, Control-V or Right Clicking in the Flightplan box as showing in Figure 14. Figure 14 Copy and Paste your Flightplan BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 16

17 NOTE: For Fly-in events, the Departure/Destination ICAO fields will be editable. For scheduled flights, they will always pre-file. 12. For Fly-in Events, you MUST edit the Departure/Destination ICAO fields with the airports that you re flying from and to BEFORE you commence your flight and click Confirm. (If not, your flight will not be logged for the Fly-in.) 13. Click the Confirm button and you re ready to fly! 3.5 Let s go flying! Ok, finally the part you ve been waiting for, it s time to go flying! 1. Once more, ensure that you re at the Gate, Engines off, Parking Brake on. If you re not, BAV Phoenix won t start recording! 2. Turn on your Beacon Light to indicate you re about to start your engine and then go to BAV Phoenix on the taskbar. 3. Click on the Monitor Flight tab and once you re ready to pushback, click on the Start button, as shown in Figure 15. Figure 15 Ready to fly 4. If BAV Phoenix detects that your engines are on or your Parking Brake is off, you will be presented with a Warning Message, as shown in Figure 16: Figure 16 Warning Message Engines not off and Brakes not on BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 17

18 5. If presented with this message, simply apply your parking brake and ensure that your engines are off and then press Start again. 6. You will see that BAV Phoenix has started to record your flight and numerous parameters and shows that you re parked with the engines off. BAV Phoenix has not yet detected your Sim network status yet. This will happen automatically shortly. Figure 17 shows just after you ve connected up. (NOTE: You do not have to connect to an Online Sim Network to fly with BA Virtual, BAV Phoenix will simply record this as an OFFLINE flight) Figure 17 Connected to BAV Phoenix 7. A second PosRep window, as shown in Figure 18, will also open. You can choose to leave this open, or close it. If you ve ticked the box in the Settings windows (see section 3.2 above), when a PosRep is due, the window will open anyway! BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 18

19 Figure 18 PosRep Window 8. Pushback and start your engines and then commence your taxi and you will see the Flight Phase change to taxiing. If the BAV server identifies your Sim Network connection from either VATSIM or IVAO, your Sim Network status will change from UNKNOWN to the respective network as shown in Figure 19. (NOTE: You do not have to connect to an Online Sim Network to fly with BA Virtual, BAV Phoenix will simply record this as an OFFLINE flight) Figure 19 Climbing and connected to VATSIM BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 19

20 9. Once your Sim network connection is detected, you will also see a message in your Sim, as shown here in Figure 20. (NOTE: You do not have to connect to an Online Sim Network to fly with BA Virtual, BAV Phoenix will simply record this as an OFFLINE flight) Figure 20 VATSIM Detection 10. BAV Phoenix will continue to monitor your flight and the Flight Phase will update through various states of your flight, including Taxiing, Rolling, Airborne, Approach, Taxiing In, Parked Engines On, Parked Engines Off. You can have a look at BAV Phoenix anytime to see how long you have been flying, when you last filed a PosRep and many other parameters. Figure 21 shows us 48 minutes into the flight, in the cruise at F350 with 6.5 tonnes of fuel left. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 20

21 Figure 21 In the Cruise 3.6 Online Sim Network Connection If you choose to fly your BAV Flights offline and not connected to VATSIM or IVAO, you may skip to the next section. You do not have to connect to an Online Sim Network to fly with BA Virtual; BAV Phoenix will simply automatically record this as an OFFLINE flight without any action needed from you. As mentioned, for those who choose to fly online, BAV Phoenix will automatically detect you connection on the VATSIM or IVAO networks. For this reason, you should already be connected to your network of choice before pressing the START button in BAV Phoenix to provide the best chance of detection. BAV Phoenix will 'give up' trying to detect your network quite early on if it can't detect an initial connection. If BAV Phoenix does not detect your online connection by the time you depart, it will not try again for the remainder for the flight. Please note: As BAV Phoenix interrogates your online network s public data feed, if for any reason this is offline at the commencement of your flight, BAV Phoenix will not detect your online connection and your flight will be recorded as an OFFLINE flight. You will of course still get the hours for your flight, just not the experience points associated with an ONLINE flight. If the initial connection check is successful, BAV Phoenix will continue to query your network status throughout the flight to ensure that you re online for the majority of your flight. There is a threshold that must be met for final classification of your flight as an Online Flight. If you are not detected consistently as online for the majority of the flight your flight be classified as OFFLINE. As the system works 'live' and is fully automated, the final classification of your flight as Online or Office is final and BAV will not accept Pilot Resolution Forms for detection of your online status. Remember, flying for BA Virtual is about fun and enjoyment so if the online detection is not correct, simply enjoy the flight and experience you gained flying it! 3.7 Position Reports In BAV Phoenix position report timings are required every hour! The hour starts when you commence your flight and then an hour later from when you complete your last PosRep. You will need to be able to acknowledge the PosRep within 10 minutes of it being called for. This means, you should be monitoring your flight regularly, just as the real world crew has to. NOTE: It is the responsibility of the Pilot-in-Command to complete the PosRep. Pilots who don t file the PosRep within the required time will lose all the time that has been logged and the flight will be not be able to be logged to their BAV Flight Logbook. 1. BAV Phoenix is once more a clever wee thing in that filing a PosRep can be achieved in one of two ways. You will know a PosRep is due as you will receive a message in your Flightsim window (as shown in Figure 22), you BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 21

22 will get a bubble reminder in your system tray and you will be presented with the PosRep window (as shown in Figure 23). 2. You will also hear a chiming sound indicating that a PosRep is due and the chime will sound every 60 seconds until you send your PosRep. There is also a timer on the PosRep window that counts down the time remaining for your PosRep until your flight is lost. Figure 22 Flightsim Message Figure 23 PosRep Window 3. To complete the PosRep request, you have 10 minutes to complete one of two tasks: a. Answer the simple question by typing the answer in the box and clicking the Send POSREP button. (Note: This question changes each PosRep so you MUST read it and answer correctly), or b. Tune your COM2 radio in your aircraft to the frequency shown in the Flightsim message or in the PosRep window. (Note: This BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 22

23 frequency changes each PosRep so you MUST enter the correct frequency). 4. You will get a confirmation in the Flightsim window that the PosRep was sent, see Figure 24 (or have a look at the PosRep window and it will show that there is no PosRep due as in Figure 18 above) Figure 24 PosRep Sent 5. If you are not sure how long you have left to file the PosRep, click on the PosRep window and look at the timer. Should you get a PosRep request on final, you may wait until you land to file it, but it must be completed within the 10-minute window of opportunity. 3.8 Pausing during a flight BAV Phoenix will recognise if you pause your sim during your flight. To ensure that flights are recorded with accurate times, you are only permitted to pause your sim for a maximum of two minutes per flight. If you pause, you will receive a warning in your sim, as shown in Figure 25: NB: Pausing feature is currently inoperative when using X-Plane 10. If you try to pause the simulator in X-Plane 10, Phoenix will override it and resume normal (x1.0) simulation rate. This feature will be fixed in future release. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 23

24 Figure 25 Flightsim Pause Warning BAV Phoenix will also begin counting down. Once it reaches 2 minutes, you will be advised that the flight has been lost due to the excessive pause. As you can see in Figure 26 below, the pause allowance timer has reached 1min 44secs. Figure 26 Pause Allowance Countdown BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 24

25 In order to reduce the likelihood of this allowance being exceeded, it is recommended that you ensure that Pause on Task Switch is un-ticked in Flightsim. 3.9 Completing your flight and filing your PIREP Now that you ve landed safely and you ve won the admiration of your passengers for the smoothest landing they have ever experienced, it s time to power up the APU, taxi into the gate, glide to a gentle stop, apply the Parking Brake, set your bleeds, power down the engines and file your BA Virtual PIREP. 1. Once you have set your brakes and shut down the engine, click the Stop Button in BAV Phoenix, as shown in Figure 27 Figure 27 Stop Recording 2. You will be presented with a warning box because it is possible to click the Stop Button when you re not yet ready to end your flight. Obviously, as your Cabin crew are farewelling your passengers, you re ready to finish the flight so click on Yes! Figure 28 Warning Box 3. BAV Phoenix will automatically move to the Submit PIREP tab and all your recorded data will be displayed automatically in the left-hand side. All BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 25

26 you have to do is type in any additional comments in the right hand box, as shown in Figure 29. You can leave this box blank if you have nothing to report. Keep your comments brief. Figure 29 PIREP Window 4. Click on Submit PIREP and your work is almost done! You will be presented with a PIREP confirmation box. Figure 30 Submit PIREP 5. Click Yes and you have filed your PIREP. You will be presented with a confirmation box with a PIREP number on it. You should write this number down so that if something happens and your PIREP does not appear in your BAV Flight Logbook you can lodge a PIREP Resolution Form. Figure 31 PIREP Confirmation Box 6. Your flight should appear in your logbook in about ten minutes from when you file it. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 26

27 7. If you have ended the flight but encounter issues upon trying to submit the PIREP (internet connection loss, server down etc.) you have 3 hours to submit the PIREP before it is discarded. In order to ensure that BAV Phoenix is reset and ready for your next flight, you should close and restart it between each flight, even if more than one flight appears in your booking list Declaring a Diversion to an alternate airport There are times that flight crew will have to divert to an alternate airport. This could be due to a number of factors including weather at the destination, technical emergency where continuing to the destination jeopardises the safety of the flight, medical emergency where the patient cannot wait to arrive the destination for medical attention or any other similar issues. BAV Phoenix caters for this as well! To divert to other than your destination airport is a very simple process. Once you have planned your route and briefed on the charts to make sure you can safely arrive at the diversion airport, land with safety and be able to taxi clear, click on Menu then Declare Divert. BAV Phoenix will open the Divert tab, as shown below in Figure 32 Figure 32 Divert Tab Type in the ICAO Code of the airport that you are diverting to and then select a divert reason from the dropdown box as shown in Figure 33. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 27

28 As you can see, you have four choices: Figure 33 Divert ICAO and Reason 1. Airport Closed For use when your planned destination airport is closed due to weather or another emergency 2. ATC Instruction For use when Air Traffic Control directs you to land at an alternate airport from the one you had filed for 3. Fuel Emergency For use when you have insufficient fuel to safely land at your planned destination airport 4. Other For use for any other type of diversion, such as medical emergency, technical issue with your aircraft, emergency situation etc. NOTE: BAV does not support the simulation of hijacking as a reason for Diversion. Once you have selected the reason for your diversion, type in some comments in the Comments box, as shown in Figure 34. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 28

29 Figure 34 Diversion Reason and Comments Once you have finished adding your Comments, click the Confirm button to register your diversion. You will get a confirmation window when this has been successful, as shown in Figure 35. Figure 35 Diversion Confirmation Box IMPORTANT: Once you have declared a divert, you will need to land at the airport that you have declared the diversion to as all fields will be grayed out and you will not be able to declare another diversion, as shown in Figure 36. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 29

30 Figure 36 Divert Tab after declaring divert Continue to fly and land at the diversion airport. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 30

31 4 System, Flightsim or BAV Phoenix Crashes/Restarts It is accepted that every now and then (or more for some of us!) your computer might crash mid-flight; Flight Simulator might stop responding or BAV Phoenix stops responding for some reason. Such occurrences are annoying but are simply a fact of life in the computer age. BAV Phoenix has again been written to take these things into account. If BAV Phoenix is closed mid-flight for whatever reason, it must be resumed within 30 minutes otherwise the flight will be lost. In addition, there is a total downtime allowance of 60 minutes for the entire flight. There is no limit to the number of downtime instances, as long as the total time does not exceed 30 minutes per instance and 60 minutes in total. It is recommended that Registered Users of FSUIPC set the Auto Save option to on, which makes restoring a flight much easier. Open FSUIPC and tick the box as shown in Figure 37 below: Figure 37 FSUIPC Auto Save Settings Window If you have ended the flight but encounter issues upon trying to submit the PIREP (internet connection loss, server down) you have 3 hours to submit the PIREP before it is discarded. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 31

32 When recovering a flight, there are three criteria that need to be met before the client will resume recording: 1. You must be beyond, but within 100nm, of your last reported position, and 2. Fuel on board must be less than the last reported, and 3. The airframe must be the same. There is a Recovery Status window (see Figure 38) in BAV Phoenix that will show a RED or GREEN status flag for each of the three criteria mentioned above. You should use the 'Recheck' button to refresh the status, until such time as the criteria is met and the flight can be resumed. Figure 38 Flight Recovery Window (Note: This flight recovery window is from a Fly-in flight, not a scheduled flight) The same process applies for crew who connect to another computer using FSUIPC/WideFS on a network and the network connection is lost. Let s look at that in some more detail: Scenario 1 FS/System/BAV Phoenix crashes at the same time. The Sim is restored to the crash point or beyond to a maximum range of 100nm. In this case, fuel on board should always be less. Flight recovery will be instant Scenario 2 FS crashes but is recovered from an AutoSave, potentially 10/15/20 minutes before the last reported position in Phoenix. In this case, the flight should be recovered from the AutoSave point but Phoenix will not allow the flight to be restarted until the airframe is beyond the last known position and with less fuel. This mechanism ensures that any particular phase of flight is not being recorded twice. Remember, you should use the 'Recheck' button to refresh the status, until such time as the criteria is met and the flight can be resumed. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 32

33 5 Fuel Discrepancy Warnings BAV Phoenix is set up to identify instances when there has been a sudden change in fuel mid-flight. This sometimes occurs for no reason and often occurs if you start your sim near, or taxi past, a default Microsoft fuel tank. When BAV Phoenix detects a variation in the fuel, you will be presented with a warning box, as shown in Figure 39 below: Figure 39 Fuel Discrepancy Warning Window You need to update your fuel load to get it equal to or less than the Expected Fuel Level shown in the window. You only have 10 minutes to resolve this issue before your flight is lost. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 33

34 6 Troubleshooting Issues 6.1 BAV Phoenix states that it is always downloading settings Make sure you have unzipped the files fully from the.zip file and don t try to rin the client from within the zip. See section 2 of this manual. 6.2 BAV Phoenix Unable to detect FS For FS9, ensure you are using FSUIPC v3.99+ For FSX, ensure you are using FSUIPC v4.70+ For FSX:SE, ensure you are using FSUIPC v For Prepar3d v2 & v3 ensure you are using FSUIPC v For Prepar3d v4 ensure you are using FSUIPC v5.0+ For X-Plane 10, ensure you are using XPUIPC v If Phoenix is unable to detect a connection to FS (and FS is definitely running), try launching Phoenix as an admin by right-clicking BAVPhoenix.exe and selecting "Run As Administrator" If there's still no success, navigate to your FS/modules directory where fsuipc.dll lives. Take a safe copy of every file prefixed with fsuipc (the.dll,.ini and possibly.reg as well as any other collateral). Delete these from modules and re-install the appropriate version of FSUIPC. Launch the sim and check the Phoenix connection again (both as Admin and otherwise). One of our members had this problem and it appears to have been caused by cross-contamination of FSUIPC versions and config files. Doing the above solved it. 6.3 BAV Phoenix records an ONLINE flight as OFFLINE If you want any chance of your flight being recorded as online, you must be connected to the network prior to starting BAV Phoenix. For efficiency purposes, the client will only poll for a network connection whilst it thinks it is worthwhile. If you are not connected at the start of your flight, Phoenix will give up after a few checks, deem you to be offline, and will assume offline for the entirety of the flight. This means that if you make your initial connection to VATSIM/IVAO after 1 hour of flight, it will never be recognised even if you spend the next 7 hours connected. During your flight the status may oscillate between a network or 'OFFLINE'. This reflects what we believe your network status is, based on monitoring the live data feeds and the fact that it changes is not a bug You may be surprised to find your network status change, particularly if you believe you are still connected. This is likely due to the networks going down/providing out of date information. This is common and there's not a lot we can do about it at any given moment in time. We don't require a 100% BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 34

35 connection in order to achieve a final online classification, so there is some inbuild tolerance for these situations. In summary, please do not be alarmed by status changes and please do not submit bug reports or requests to staff to have this final classification changed. 6.4 How to clear active bookings If you find yourself with a booking that is "stuck" (e.g. if you abandon a flight in progress and decide to re-attempt it shortly afterwards) you can now cancel it via the Dispatch Centre. Now, both your in-progress flights are shown in addition to the booked. Use with caution. If you cancel a flight in progress accidentally you will lose your current PIREP. 6.5 Why is there an altitude discrepancy between Flightsim and Phoenix? Phoenix/FSUIPC, just like Mode-S, is reporting the aircraft's altitude relative to STD ( hpa). There will be a difference if you were flying through an area of high atmospheric pressure and there are no issues. 6.6 BAV Phoenix is not recognising my engines & Parking Brake state Firstly, in order for BAV Phoenix to complete a flight, your Flight Simulator must still be running because BAV Phoenix needs to get a number of parameters from your sim. If BAV Phoenix reports that your engines are not shut down or your parking brake is not set, try the following: Engines Wait for your engines to fully spool down before attempting to stop BAV Phoenix from recording. If the Client still reports that your engines are not shut down, press Control + Shift + F1 in an attempt to force them to shut down Brakes Press Control +. to force the Parking Brake on 6.7 BAV Phoenix icon is not on the task bar/system tray Check to make sure that BAV Phoenix is not in the hidden section of your tray. 6.8 I don t appear on Live ACARS and unable to submit PIREP Make sure that you don t have any special characters, like apostrophes, commas, quote marks in your aircraft name. If there are issues, check title in aircraft.cfg. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 35

36 7 Reporting Issues BAV Phoenix is very much an ongoing project and it s generally expected that from time to time, things may go wrong. If you experience any technical issues with Phoenix is it possible to submit an Issue Report via the About -> Report Issue menu item. Figure 40 Report Issue Window There are only two pieces of information you need to provide; the approximate date and time of the issue and details of the problem you experienced (including steps on how to reproduce it, if possible). Please also provide a PIREP ID where applicable, but this field is not required as not all issues may be in relation to a flight. As well as the details you provide, some information about your system is also sent to the server (Java version, operating system version and any available client log files). This data can be very useful when investigating issues, so we advise you to submit all issue reports via Phoenix instead of posting on the forum or sending s to staff (unless of course you are unable to launch Phoenix). BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 36

37 8 Frequently Asked Questions 1. Do I have to use BAV Phoenix to log my flights with BA Virtual? A. Yes you do. We have no Manual PIREP service. 2. I don t have Java installed on my computer; do I have to install it before I can use BAV Phoenix? A. Phoenix is a Java application so requires a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to run. It is not necessary to install this manually however, as a version is bundled with the application. 3. Do I have to have FSUIPC installed? A. Yes. Version 3.99 or later for FS9 or version 4.7 or later for FSX/FSX-SE/P3Dv2/P3Dv4 or version 5.0 or later for P3Dv4 4. I use FSX and have SimConnect; will this connect to BAV Phoenix? A. No, you must use FSUIPC. 5. I am airborne and I have forgotten to start BAV Phoenix, is it too late? A. Yes, I m afraid so. BAV Phoenix must be started on the ground with the engines off and parking brake on. You can either continue to fly the flight and not log it for BA Virtual or you will need to start over. (Suggestion: Add BAV Phoenix to your Before Start checklist.) 6. I am flying a Long Haul flight; can I leave Flightsim flying with BAV Phoenix logging the flight and get some sleep for a few hours? A. You can have a nana nap but at frequent times throughout the flight, at least once per hour, BAV Phoenix will require you to submit a PIREP. You have a 10-minute window to file this PIREP or BAV Phoenix will stop recording. Just write it off to experience and have fun flying the flight instead! If flying online on VATSIM or IVAO, you should also comply with any requirements for an unattended connection placed on you by your network, especially as you re representing BA Virtual when flying online. 7. I had a System (or Flightsim or BAV Phoenix) crash mid-flight, have I lost the flight hours for BA Virtual? A. Not necessarily! So long as you meet the three criteria listed in Section 4 of the Manual, your flight should be recovered. Unfortunately though, if you are unable to meet these requirements within the given time frames you won t be able to record the hours for BA Virtual. 8. I ve missed my PosRep; have I lost the flight hours for BA Virtual? A. Sorry, but in a word, YES! You can continue to fly the flight and enjoy your simming, but you won t be able to record the hours for BA Virtual. 9. I ve followed all the instructions here and filed a PIREP, but it has not appeared in my logbook, what can I do? A. Wait about an hour and if it s still not there, please file a PIREP Resolution Form at the BAV Website. Don t forget that you can subscribe to receive an confirmation of your PIREP in your settings on the BAV Website (Waterside Edit Profile and then tick the box). NOTE: If you have ended the flight but encounter issues upon BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 37

38 trying to submit the PIREP (internet connection loss, server down) you have 3 hours to submit the PIREP before it is discarded. 10. Will BA Virtual be updating BAV Phoenix in the future? A. Absolutely! It is a work in progress. Sometimes you will be asked to download a new file, other changes will take place on the server side that you mightn t even notice. BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 38

39 9 Table of Figures FIGURE 1 FOLDER SETUP... 7 FIGURE 2 NEW PILOT DETAILS... 8 FIGURE 3 PILOT DETAILS ENTERED... 9 FIGURE 4 SETTINGS WINDOW FIGURE 5 NOTAM WINDOW ALL UNREAD FIGURE 6 NOTAM WINDOW MIX OF READ AND UNREAD FIGURE 7 NOTAM WINDOW SELECTING A NOTAM TO READ FIGURE 8 NOTAM WINDOW READING A NOTAM FIGURE 9 NOTAM WINDOW ALL NOTAMS READ FIGURE 10 BAV WEBSITE ALL NOTAMS READ FIGURE 11 BOOKING LIST FIGURE 12 SELECT YOUR FLIGHT FIGURE 13 ENTER YOUR FLIGHT DETAILS FIGURE 14 COPY AND PASTE YOUR FLIGHTPLAN FIGURE 15 READY TO FLY FIGURE 16 WARNING MESSAGE ENGINES NOT OFF AND BRAKES NOT ON FIGURE 17 CONNECTED TO BAV PHOENIX FIGURE 18 POSREP WINDOW FIGURE 19 CLIMBING AND CONNECTED TO VATSIM FIGURE 20 VATSIM DETECTION FIGURE 21 IN THE CRUISE FIGURE 22 FLIGHTSIM MESSAGE FIGURE 23 POSREP WINDOW FIGURE 24 POSREP SENT FIGURE 25 FLIGHTSIM PAUSE WARNING FIGURE 26 PAUSE ALLOWANCE COUNTDOWN FIGURE 27 STOP RECORDING FIGURE 28 WARNING BOX FIGURE 29 PIREP WINDOW FIGURE 30 SUBMIT PIREP FIGURE 31 PIREP CONFIRMATION BOX FIGURE 32 DIVERT TAB FIGURE 33 DIVERT ICAO AND REASON FIGURE 34 DIVERSION REASON AND COMMENTS FIGURE 35 DIVERSION CONFIRMATION BOX FIGURE 36 DIVERT TAB AFTER DECLARING DIVERT FIGURE 37 FSUIPC AUTO SAVE SETTINGS WINDOW FIGURE 38 FLIGHT RECOVERY WINDOW FIGURE 39 FUEL DISCREPANCY WARNING WINDOW FIGURE 40 REPORT ISSUE WINDOW BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 39

40 10 Manual Revisions Version Number Date Released Revision 0.1a 28 July 2012 First draft release to Beta Testers Team 0.1b 5 August 2012 Second draft release following feedback from Beta team August 2012 First official release for packaging with BAV Phoenix January 2013 Final manual release with formal introduction of BAV Phoenix to BAV operations from 01JAN13, including new features added during public Beta phase January 2015 FSX: Steam Edition added to supported clients list may 2015 X-Plane 10 added to supported clients list may 2015 Prepar3d added to supported clients list June 2016 P3Dv4 added to supported clients list BAV Phoenix Instruction Manual v1.4 Page 40