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ACARS and PIREPs

If you fly for a virtual airline (VA) running phpVMS, FSAirSync can report your flights there automatically. You book the flight as usual on your VA's website, load it in the client, and FSAirSync takes care of position reports during the flight and of filing the PIREP at the end.

This is independent of the FSAirSync network: you can use ACARS on its own, together with the network, or not at all.

Setting up a virtual airline

  1. Open the ACARS tab in the Windows client.
  2. Under Virtual Airlines, click Add.
  3. Enter a Name, the Address (your VA's phpVMS installation, e.g. https://hub.example-va.com), and your API key. You'll find the key in your pilot profile on the phpVMS website.
  4. Click Test connection to verify the address and key.

You can add several virtual airlines if you fly for more than one. Whichever one is selected in the dropdown is the active one.

Keys stay local

Every API key is stored encrypted on your own machine only, never on the FSAirSync server.

Booking and loading a flight

Booking and flight planning happen entirely on your VA's website, not in the FSAirSync client. Once you've booked a flight there:

  1. Open the ACARS tab and select your virtual airline.
  2. Your open booking appears under Bookings. With exactly one booking it's already selected; with several, pick one from the list.
  3. Click Load to transfer departure, arrival, and flight number to the Flight tab.

Without a booking, no ACARS flight can be started - the hint text points you to your VA's website to book one.

Starting the flight

On the Flight tab, choose the start mode:

  • FSAirSync network - visible on the FSAirSync network only, no ACARS.
  • ACARS only - no FSAirSync sign-in needed, just the report to your VA.
  • Both - visible on the network and reported to your VA at the same time.

Only start the flight once your simulator flight is ready. FSAirSync then creates the flight with your VA - from that moment it appears on their live map, if they have one.

During the flight

Instead of the booking list, the ACARS tab shows a Status table with the key events of your flight: start, takeoff, landing, end, PIREP filed. Bookings and status share the same space - both reappear once the flight has ended.

Your position is reported automatically; the interval adapts to your flight phase, more often on the ground than in cruise.

Ending the flight

End the flight in the client once you've landed and taxied in. If you actually flew and landed, FSAirSync automatically files the PIREP with your VA - review and approval from then on is entirely up to your VA, either automatic or by a staff pilot, depending on their settings.

If you end the flight before taking off or landing, the flight is simply cancelled with your VA instead - no PIREP is created for a flight that never happened.

Distance flown

The distance reported in the PIREP is currently your booking's planned route distance, not the distance actually flown.