FDR Version History


V5.24 - 19.07.2024

V5.23 - 19.07.2024

V5.22 - 16.07.2024

V5.21 - 01.01.2024

V5.20 - 26.12.2023

V5.19 - 29.09.2022

V5.18 - 15.07.2022

V5.17 - 03.07.2022

V5.16 - 30.05.2022

• High CPU usage was decreased.

• Rules for LL and STB light usage have been regulated.

• Bugs that were encountered when starting another flight have been fixed. • Flights filtering bug has been fixed.

• Some evaluation criteria have been made controllable via the web page (by the management) so that a new version is not required if those criteria are decided to be regulated.

• Solved the problem that occurs when the coordinates of the sceneries do not match with the real world coordinates. (For this problem and similar problems like LTFM scenery published by Scenery TR for p3d)

• The enroute announcement, which cannot be disabled in the sound menu due to a bug, can now be disabled when requested.

• A minor bug encountered with OnRunway True/False flag has been fixed.

• Parking brake and seatbelt Lvars of Fenix A320 have been defined in the LVarFix.dll file.

V5.15 - 22.05.2022

• Added runway detection system. According to the runway coordinates defined in the database, it is possible to determine whether the aircraft is on the runway or its distance to the nearest runway (runway centre line). This application requires a proper scenery to be installed that matches the real world coordinates. MSFS and Xplane's default sceneries exactly match the real world coordinates. However, the same is not valid for other simulations, and it is recommended not to fly to the airports with the default scenery.

• Improved the flight filtering feature in the ''Create a Flight'' menu.

• The airports and runway database Airports.dll file in FDR was separated from FDR, allowing FDR to receive airport updates.

• Made some improvements to FDR menus (Colour and shape adjustments)

• Some new rules have been added, and some old rules have been adjusted (detailed in FDR Penalties item 5 above).

• Fixed a bug in saving PID and password on FDR.

• Fixed error-generating codes that were supposed to prevent student pilots from flying abroad. • Made some code optimizations.

• F/O conversations were cancelled from the conversations between the hostess and the F/O, who were exchanging a short chat about the cabin readiness for takeoff/landing. Only the hostess will report.

• The penalties written by FDR were recorded on the website so that it was possible to understand which penalty was received where, how and why.

• The amount of fuel consumed in flights was recorded together with the flight report.

• Fixed the notification error when METAR cannot be imported from VATSIM.

• Fixed some minor typos.

• Sound settings have been added and can cancel desired announcements or sounds. • Improved the ''SYSTEMS'' menu that opens at the bottom left. Displaying the required basic information is provided (restricted on VFR flights).

• Flight selection buttons in the main menu have been renewed, making selection easier.

• At the end of the flight, the announcement of the stewardess to "thank the passengers for choosing THY" has been removed if the flight is back to the take-off airport or diverted to another airport.

• Fixed the bugs that caused some flights to be selected even though it was stated in the main menu that some flights could not be selected.

• At the end of the flight, together with the flight report, the time/altitude flight profile became visible on the graphic diagram.

• FDR is now compatible for writing cargo flights as an Assignment. We will make a new arrangement on the web page in the coming period and give monthly compulsory assignment cargo flights to those who wish.

• When administrators send a message via FDR, it is displayed as an information box and is better visible.

• Alternative airport and ''OPR Turkish Virtual Airlines'' reminders have been added for the flight plan.

• With FDR Assistant, when the door is opened, the button turns yellow (on the Systems menu) until the door is closed.

• Suppose the door is opened with FDR Assistant, and the door is forgotten. It will be closed automatically during the takeoff, and cabin decompression will not occur at 18.000 ft since it will already incur several penalties.

• If the door is opened with FDR Assistant, the keys will disappear when starting takeoff (to prevent accidental reopening), and it is reopened during shutdown (on the Systems menu).

• The error that caused the flight plan not to be found in the VATSIM control system was clearly shown to the pilot.

• The fuel unit (lb/kg/lt) button has been changed.

• When there is an FSUIPC error (when FDR is run on the same pc), the waiting tolerance increases from 15 seconds to 60 seconds (because the FSX Scenery upload process may take a long time, FSUIPC may freeze during this time).

• Added the "Fuel Endurance" menu, which estimates how long the remaining fuel can fly the plane.

• Provided fast exit up to 50 kts speed after landing.

• A warning appears on the FDR when an update in the LvarFix.dll file is updated.

• When testing an unrecognised aircraft in the A/C & FDR Test menu, blocked testing with unrecognised aircraft due to an FSUIPC error.

• "Loading complete" announcement was added for Cargo flights, loading complete was removed from the following announcement, and only the "all doors and hatches closed..." part was left. New sound recordings were made.

• The filenames of the ''fdrSlidesarmedXXX.mp3'' series has been changed to ''fdrDoorsClosedXXX.mp3''.

• If the door is closed while boarding is in progress, the announcements that started in their order are stopped, and they are made to continue as soon as the door is opened. If the door is not opened and push n start is started with a missing load/passenger, an arrangement has been made so that it will not activate the announcements waiting in the queue.

• A button has been added to open the FDR Guide from the main menu in FDR.

• For new pilots, the information menu button has been added to the Final Preflight Checklist menu when the flight is not allowed to be created because the aircraft is not heavy enough.

• A problem which prevented reading the penalty exclusions defined for some aircraft, has been fixed.

V5.14 - 16.10.2021

• A new FSUIPC client module has been added, and with this module, by passing to the use of LvarsFix.dll, many parameters that cannot be read due to LVar being used in aircraft have been made readable.

• Password can be saved and filled automatically on the login screen.

• A new main menu has been added to FDR, information boxes called infobox have been renewed. Notifications has been made to be in blue, and warning and error notifications has been made as red information boxes.

• Fuel units conversion has been added (AVGAS for VFR flights, JET A fuel coefficients for other flights)

• The country restriction on Charter Cargo flights has been removed.

• Charter Cargo runway restriction has been changed to 8000 ft.

• Touchdown limit for Crash increased to -1000 fps (excluding VFR)

• Short information about the flight is put into display in the Charter flight selection.

• ICAO code entry procedures in charter flight selection have been made more practical.

• A pilot who will fly for the first time is asked where he/she wants to start his/her career.

• In the Assignment flight menu, even if there isn't an assignment that the pilot can fly, it is now possible to see all pending assignments by clicking a button.

• It has been ensured that all legs are shown to the pilot who will enter the Charter Ring flight round, and the remaining legs to those who have already entered.

• Provided automatic reading of MSFSA FBW A320's door status by FDR (DLL system).

• ZBAD Beijing Daxing airport has been added to FDR.

• Seat Belt light and penalty system has been added to FDR.

• A/C & FDR Compatibility Test menu has been added (with DLL update checking, testing, and reporting functions)

• PMDG 747 strobe and beacon, PMDG 738 nav and strobe, MSFS CRJ door, MSFS FBW A320 parking brake problems defined in DLL.

• Cargo Event option has been added to FDR.

• Flightplan compatibility was provided for Touch n Go Event; added to FDR as an event option.

• When status remains descending due to step descend, it is changed back to enroute after 2.5 minutes (over FL250).

• TIME-OUT / TIME-IN option has been added (10% more seniority) for flights (assignment and scheduled) for which flight time is given from Dispatch.

• Reworked fdr.lua file for XPlane.

• Seat belt reading code has been added to XPUIPC for XPlane.

• Flight Radar error code has been fixed.

• FDR user's guide reworked.

V5.13 - 14.12.2020

• A new era of flight simulation has arrived and Turkish Virtual Management is proud to announce that we now officially support Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS2020) on FDR. As a difference from other simulators, the FDR text messages will be shown on an info-box instead of a scrolling text line (provided by FSUIPC) on top of the screen. If you think the info-box blocks your view on the aircraft panel, you may reposition the box, minimize it or close it. Additionally; although other simulations have made no such problems so far, MSFS and the FSUIPC connected to it has a problem like this: The state of the landing gear on the aircraft which has no retractable landing gear (such as C152 and C172), was always GEAR UP. This caused the FDR to produce a crash state on landing due to thinking that the aircraft landed on its belly, and now FDR can cope with this problem. It will be shown on FDR as GEAR DOWN on the beginning of the flight. However, if you touch the ''G'' button after boarding begins, the FSUIPC will tell FDR that GEAR is UP again. So, be advised that you don't touch the ''G'' button on aircraft with static landing gear during the whole flight.

• A new airport, URRP Platov International Airport, has been added to the database of FDR.

• The problem arising from XPlane regarding the "realtime cheat" penalty has now been found. This penalty was applied unfairly on Xplane planes once the time had passed 03.00 Turkish Local Time (00.00 Z). With the new FDR version, Xplane's problem has been fixed.

• It has been found out that on some p3d simulations there is a sudden rise or fall on the amount of fuel on the aircraft momentarily. This problem occurs on a very short period of time (1/10seconds), it turns back to normal even before the pilot recognizes the problem, but FDR never misses it and recognizes it as a fuel cheating, and disqualifies the flight as a result. This problem is believed to occur due to 3rd party add-ons. Now FDR will recognize this problem, will tolerate it for a while and will not immediately disqualify the flight, however, if the fuel level doesn't turn back to where it was, then FDR will disqualify the flight. FDR will continue to check the fuel level against pilot interdictions, be advised not to add or jettison fuel after boarding phase begins.

• Some code optimizations have been made on FDR.

V5.12 - 26.08.2019

• A bug, which caused an inadequate/excessive fuel penalty at the end of the flight due to a fuel adjusting during the boarding phase, has been found and fixed.

• We have implemented some code corrections against the QNH & Landing Light penalties received during take off/landing on very high altitude airports (such as SLLP - La Paz - 13.000 ft).

• Simulator type data has been added to flight report which is sent at the end of the flight in order to keep sim-type statistics and to understand with which simulator the pilot flew when a bug/error report was sent to the management.

V5.11 - 19.08.2019

FDR has been implemented with two new flight types:

(1) Delivery Flights:

• When the official Turkish Airlines buy a new aircraft and fly them to Istanbul/Turkey, some of our pilots request to make the same flight at the same time with the real flight. With this new flight type, it is now possible. The management board will declare on the main web page that a new aircraft will be brought and will ask for volunteering pilots, then they will make a selection among those pilots. The selected pilot will be given a deadline to accomplish the flight. If he/she accomplishes the delivery before deadline, then he/she will be awarded with +3 extra seniority as bonus. If not, the flight will be deleted from his/her duty roster and the pilot will receive a penalty ticket. The delivery flight is a silent flight on which the cabin announcements will not be heard, besides, the number of pax on board will be ''6'', which is the number of the crew on board required for delivery, the aircraft's weight will not matter on pax calculation. Selected pilot will be given a promotion ticket in order to help the pilot reach the aircraft's production facility. FDR will not produce any emergency situations during the delivery flights.

(2) Event Flights:

• In group flight events, pilots would fly whatever flight type they wished, their flight types were being converted to ''Event'' type after the event had been completed. As of now, the management board will declare the group flight event on the main web page, the pilots will register to the event if they wish to attend, they will receive 2 free promotion tickets to handle their transfers back and forth (if they request transfer), the event flight will be shown on the flight list of FDR as of (-) 2 hours until (+) hours of the event beginning time. Pilots will be able to select this event flight on FDR, and receive extra seniority points automatically when the flight is completed. Note: Due to the programming structure, FDR has 2 main types of flights. They are: Passenger Flights and Cargo Flights. Due to this structure we had to make a selection about the event flights and the management has chosen that Event flights are passenger flights, which means you will not be able to select a cargoliner (freighter) aircraft on event flights.

• It is now possible to adjust the fuel level of the aircraft during boarding phase (only until pushback/engine start), FDR will not disqualify the flights due to change in the fuel amount.

• FDR has been introduced with a settings menu. With this menu, it is now possible to set the FDR's Pop Up Windows Settings which the pilots used to make on the main web page. This menu is visible on FDR Destinations menu on which the flight is selected.

• The flight selection buttons have been implemented with a visible/invisible property in order to help the pilot understand which flight type he/she is selecting.

• FDR has been implemented with crash report capability. Pilots will be able to see the report of this crash on the main web page under ''crew centre/my profile/Incidents'' menu.

• A problem, which had no negative impact on the course of a flight process and which caused the flights to stay on the ''Who is online'' table on the main web page when the FDR was shut down with improper methods instead of pressing the ''Exit Recorder'' button, has been identified and fixed by some code improvements.

• Juana Azurduy De Padilla Military Airbase (SLSU - Sucre, Bolivia) have been added to FDR's airports database.

• Charter Rings flights have been coloured in order to make them more noticeable.

V5.10 - 18.02.2019

• Some corrections have been made with take off flaps settings. It is now possible to use 20 or more degrees flap settings on take off, besides, the flap recognition problem which was seen with some Airbus models, have been found and corrected.

• Some improvements with data surveillance over vatsim servers have been injected into FDR. All vatsim data servers are now under the tracking of turkishvirtual.com main web site. If any of the vatsim servers are detected malfunctioning, then the web site will remove it from FDR's tracking list. If all servers are down, the FDR will not disqualify the flight until any of the servers is back online again.

• The use of ''vatsim refresh'' button, which was being used by our pilots to refresh the vatsim data upon a flight plan crisis, but mostly used in an unproper way and in turn which caused the loss of the flight by a disqualify, has been restricted. From now on, the button will be disabled once the push&start phase starts. The system will refresh the data by itself once every 5 minutes.

• FDR Vatsim menu is now showing the name of the vatsim data server which the FDR currently receives online flights data. Please report the name of the server if you continuously receive flight plan errors on a specific server (Please make sure your flight plan is correct before reporting).

• The function button for bringing the aircraft to its last parked position has been cancelled for XPlane. The XPlane starts the simulation only on specific start points which are defined on a scenery. If the aircraft is forced to start on a random point on any airport, the XPlane gets into turmoil. That's why, this function has been cancelled for Xplane. (FSX and p3d users will still be able to use it)

V5.09 - 28.10.2018

• LTFM (Istanbul New Airport) and LTSV (Sivrihisar Private Airport) have been added to the FDR's database.

• FDR now allows you to take off with 1 degree flap configuration.

• When the DOOR OFFSET of FSUIPC is triggered somehow (when the DOOR OPEN = TRUE state happens) at higher altitudes than 18.000 ft, FDR used to disqualify the flight with a ''CRASH BY SUDDEN DEOMPRESSION'' reason. It will not disqualify the flight anymore, instead, it will inject a decompression emergency and will expect you to descend under FL140 within 12 minutes (oxygen tubes discharge within 12 minutes). Besides, you will be expected to land at any airport within 35 minutes. If you fail to descend below FL140 or fail to land the aircraft within 35 minutes, FDR will penalize you.

• The pilots, that are dealing with an emergency situation, will be shown with an ''EMERGENCY'' code on our website.

• The Interphone Call window, that opens during the cabin crew's phone call to cockpit for reporting ''the cabin ready for take off/landing'', is now optional. If you don't want to see that window pop up, just go the main web page - crew centre - my FDR prefs menu, make the proper adjustments there. The conversation between the flight deck and cabin crew is not adjustable, you will continue to hear them whatever settings you will make.

• You may now set your QNH according to the values published on your charts when departing from or approaching to high elevation airports.

• The limit of the fuel left on the center tank has been increased to 12% of the total center tank capacity for the evaluation of the FDR at the end of the flight. (For example, at the end of a flight, you may leave 1.200 liters of fuel on the center tank of which has a total fuel capacity of 10.000 liters, this will not result with a penalty)

• Vatsim has a special procedure for the flights to LCEN (Ercan Airport - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). On their flight plans, pilots have to report ''LCLK'' as destination and ''LCEN'' as divert airport, but FDR was not able find this flight report and as a result it was disqualifying the flight. Now, FDR has been coded to find the flight plan if filled up in accordance with Vatsim procedures.

• FDR has a better evaluation coding regarding the Landing Light and Strobe Lights evaluation. Pilots may use their Landing Lights and Strobes during their backtracking or runway crossings.

• From now on, the FDR will decide if the passengers are happy with the flight or not, so, they will applaud or not after landing, besides, the cabin crew will not ''thank the passengers for choosing the airline'' for example if the aircraft had survived a ''cabin decompression emergency''.

• FDR will not anymore give penalty to aircraft in emergency which has landing gear down above 1.500 ft AGL when returning back or descending to an airport.

• Some minor bugs fixed.

V5.08 - 29.05.2018

• Turkish Virtual has been moved to secure servers and the website has gained ''HTTPS'' feature. FDR is now compatible to work with secure server.

• ''Cabin Clear'' PA announcement has been moved to ''Interphone''. We thought it would be irrelevant to talk for a Turkish Crew in English on the interphone, so we made the conversation in Turkish, however, the conversation was reflected on the screen with subtitles in order to help our foreign virtual pilots to understand what's the topic of the interphone talk.

• A simple LUA code file, which helps FDR to recognize the switch positions of FsLAbs' A320 aircraft, has been added to download pack's ''documents'' folder. (Courtesy of Cpt.Fikret Anil HAKSEVER)

V5.07 - 16.05.2018

• FDR can now be restarted without having to enter pid and password at the end of the flight.

• FDR now will help you to bring your aircraft to the position of the last parked position if your last flight was one of ''charter'', ''event'', ''scheduled'' or ''assignment'' flights (you must use the same aircraft with your last flight's as well to use this option).

• Due to the well-known server errors of Vatsim, the pilots were receiving ''flight plan not found'' warning although they send their plan properly, now FDR has been coded to comply with this annoying problem. (The pilots may still receive this warning, but we strongly advice you to ignore the warning, the FDR will handle the problem by its own codes if it is due to the Vatsim servers)

• The XPlane's Flight Factor Airbus A320 airplane produces non constant offset values due to it's code infrastructure, and this unfortunately causes FDR to wrong evaluate the offsets, create unfair penalties as a result. Whatever we do with the codings of FDR, there is nothing to do about it, so we decided to prevent FDR to create penalties about lights, qnh and fuel imbalance when used with FF A320.

• A new cabin announcement, (''cabin clear'') which is a real life practice, has been added to FDR. The timing of this new announcement has been implemented by the coordination with real life Turkish Airlines pilots.

• Some minor unharmful bugs, which have never been noticed before, have been fixed.

• The pilots were receiving ''crash'' when the ''G'' button is accidentally pressed during the taxi on ground. Now it's cancelled. (Be aware that you will still receive a crash if you land with landing gears UP)

V5.06 - 20.01.2018

• FDR has been coded to comply with the new dispatch system of the web site.

• TIME MODEs FDR has been implemented with a new system (which is called ''runway advisory system'') in order to minimize the conflicts about the selection of departure/arrival runways of airports which are not controlled by ATCs. The new system provides real life METAR and VATSIM METAR data as well as the real life status of the airport that the pilot intends to depart or arrive via the web site ''Flight Radar'' so that the pilot can determine which runway to use.

• The previous captain announcements and cabin crew announcements have been replaced.

• Security and welcome announcement timings during ''Boarding'', ''push/start'' and ''taxi to runway'' phases have been corrected.

• Some minor bugs have been fixed.

• The METAR report, which used to be provided during the ''Taxi to Runway'' phase, will be provided on ''Boarding'' phase.

• The penalty, which was given if the NAV lights were ON when the flight report was being sent, has been cancelled. You may leave the NAV lights ON if you wish to fly again.

V5.05 - 10.12.2017

• Throughout the last phases of a flight, some pilots were getting disqualified or crashed by some invisible scenery objects or by some other unlucky factors, now if the pilot makes a proper landing, then starts a proper taxi to gates, he will be able to send the flight report even if he gets disqualified or crashed.

• Many problems that were encountered during the use of Xplane with FDR have been fixed. As of now, FDR will be able to behave differently to different simulator environments as well as different softwares (aircraft). FDR is now 99,5% compatible with Xplane. (Except the door recognition, even the Xplane can not open most aircraft's doors.

• The error that was received when the vatsim menu button clicked soon after the boarding begins, has been fixed.

• The birdstrike emergency situation, that was reported to be received on high altitudes, has been fixed.

• Real world time setting is not the only time setting option anymore. Now there is also departure time based flights on which you can set your simulator time according to the scheduled departure time.

• Throughout the last phases of a flight, some pilots were getting disqualified or crashed by some invisible scenery objects or by some other unlucky factors, now if the pilot made a proper landing, then started a proper taxi to gates, he will be able to send the flight report even if he gets disqualified or crashed. Pilots are now able to set the proper timing by the help of Time Sync button that has been added on the Final PreFlight Check menu.

• Vatsim data controller chronometer error has been fixed.

• If the pilot has filed a wrong flight plan, it will be marked with red lines and shown to the pilot so that the pilot sees where the error is.

• The database of FDR, which consists of airports and runways data, has been enriched with thousands of new data.

• There has been some new coding on OFP and Final Preflight Check Menus which would provide a more robust process.

• Some minor bugs have been fixed.

• Charter cargo flights are now available. You may see the further details during the use on FDR.

• FDR now has a new seniority points calculation module which evaluates the state of ILS/VOR, day/night conditions, the length of the runway, the weight of the aircraft etc.

• We have added some filtering options on the destinations menu.

• Some unlogical codes which triggered the applauding of the passengers on some situations have been fixed.

• FDR login time has been decreased down to 2-3 seconds from 30-35 seconds.

V5.04 - 07.09.2017

• FDR is now fully compatible with p3d v4 64 bit version.

• We have added a warning system for ''realtime cheat penalty'' on the ''Final Preflight Check'' menu which makes the final checks for FDR-Sim compatibility. By this warning, the pilot can now be aware of the fact that the real world time and the simulation time don't match each other.

• When a pilot got disqualified or crashed, this situation used to be shown on the main web page as long as the FDR was kept open. From now on the ''disqualified'' or ''crashed'' states will be shown for 10 minutes maximum if the FDR is not shut down.

• 4 ICAO code changes have been made on FDR and on the database of our website. These ICAO code changes had been implemented by Kyrgyzstan in 2013.

V5.03 - 01.05.2017

• FDR is now fully compatible with Xplane Flight Simulator System.

• It is now possible to take off with a full fuel tank even if the pilot do not use it all, FSEconomy program is now compatible with our VFR flights.

• 10.000 ft callout will not be given anymore for VFR flights.

• The reason of CRASH or DISQUALIFIED status will be sent to web site.

• Boarding Complete announce will be heard on jetliner flights.

• Crash evaluation on landings have been redefined. (Please see the related article on 3rd part of the FDR guide)

V5.02 - 02.04.2017

• When there is a scenery problem on the scenery or on the mesh files, the airplane hoppings were sensed as take off- then landed just after the take off, the module that senses the flight status have been improved.

• Time synchronization between the user's computer and web server has been redefined.

V5.01 - 01.04.2017

• The systems menu (always on top), which could not be replaced on v5.00, can now be placed to another place.

• Time synchronization between the user's computer and web server has been redefined.

• Flight status is shown as APPROACH after touch and go (It used to stay as LANDED even if the pilot takes off again)

• Some minor changes have been applied to VFR flight logic.

V5.00 - 26.03.2017

• After logging into FDR' a flight selection menu has been regulated to appear. Alternative Callsign's will be shown on the list thus in order to use it while connecting to Vatsim, the corresponding flight will appear early as a call sign.

• Cargo flights are now available. Cargo flights previously were unable to take place however now are in the position of being able to select. Cargo flights are the same as the scheduled and assignment flights for which flights are compulsory with the selected model. Since the models available at THY used for cargo flights are only A300, A310, A330 ve 747F models; appropriate cargo routes have been defined.

• Due to the nature of the cargo flights, the communication sounds between F/O and loadmasters have been edited.

• A crash detector has been defined for the FDR. Although pilots may close the crash mode from the flight simulator; in real life, with the guiding of our pilot friends, FDR has been introduced with some of the resulting crash situations. These are:

• A 10 second time intervention has been placed for overseed. Previously due to sudden wind changes; penalties were given at the point of overspeed, however now when overspeed occurs, any sort of penalties will not be given during the first 10 seconds. Penalties are given after the 10 seconds, and if within 30 seconds, intervention to the situation is not carried out and the plane is not saved from overspeed; then the plane will crash after 30 seconds.

• Tailstrike penalty has been defined. During departure or taking wheels, whilst the wheels are still on the ground, if the nose of the plane lifts higher than 11 degrees; the tailstrike penalty is defined as the tail hits the ground.

• The landing gear penalties have been suited to match the reality. Practically, landing teams can be dropped up to 280kts, in this situation a penalty will not be given. However, the gathering of the landing teams must be taken to 240 kts. Previously, landing it above 240 kts would of resulted in a penalty.

• From Vatsim, during the obtaining of flight data and online atc/pilots data, some problems were encountered which resulted in the sudden freezing of the FDR. However now, it was fixed.

• FDR has been upgraded as real world airline THY's taxi speeds have increased to 30 kts, therefore it has been agreed that for up to 30 kts taxi speeds will not receive a penalty. • With the previous versions of FDR, it was possible to open the programme at the same time many times, though now this problem has been fixed.

• For those pilots that do not fly their assignment flights, a ''restriction'' practice has been put into place. If a pilot has more than 6 unattended task flights; this pilot will not be able to take part in the ''charter'', ''cargo'' and ''scheduled'' flights as these options will be shut and only the task awaiting for the pilot will be available to take part. The pilot then has only the option of carrying out the assignment flight. The pilot for his first assignment on the list will be able to use ''business ticket'', ''free jumpseat'' or FDR's own offer of a flight, any other flight options will not be available.

• At each phase of the flight, the lights that get followed have been improved. Previously penalties were given for switching the lights on and off accidently however this now has been further developed to giving 5seconds of tolerance before penalty is given. The assessment of the lights is as below:

• All the flight models presented to the FDR have had the maximum passenger capacity defined. Thus as previously done, carrying absurd amount of passenger numbers have been disabled.

• Heavy planes including B777 and B747's flap penality limits have been redefined. A penalty will not be given as long as the flap limits have been complied to, given by the QRH along with the plane. WARNING: It is recommended one does not come within the reach of these limits till the end. For example, 1 degree flap opening for the B747 is maximum 280 kts. Against the possibility that the FDR values do not coincide with the smaller values of the software, it is always recommended that 6-7 kts is left as a safety margin.

• Changes have been made to the plane lists on our home web page (www.turkishvirtual.com). Now as status: Boarding - Push Start - Taxi Rwy - Take off - Departing - Enroute - Descend - Approach - Landed - Taxi Gates - Shutdown statuses will appear. The same status’s will be shown within the FDR.

• THY's favoured ''captain announcements'' has also been reflected onto our system. The planes captain pilot can announce to passengers both during taxi mode and shortly after departing.

• After landing, the touchdown VS - Landing rate that everyone is curious about has been reflected onto the FDR's information boxes, and will appear till shutdown.

• Any penalties that arise by FDR during a flight, can be identified by the pilot. However, this situation can only be seen by an authorized person. Penalties given by the FDR will be closed at the end of the specified period for the purpose of training more new pilots in order to track the time at which stage and how they are taken. These penalties can be requested by the management.

• We have added a new feature called 'random emergency' which we believe is exciting. This new feature includes: - Bird Strike: this has been programmed to prevent a bird hitting a motor at any time during lift off and landing during AGL 2000-6000 ft. After landing, the pilot will not receive a divert, fuel or flap penalty. - Passenger Emergency: After completing 40% of the flight, up until 55%, you will be informed of a passenger emergency, and the pilot will be expected to land in their chosen area within 35 minutes. The pilot will be able to see the remaining time left to submit the flight report. If the pilot fails to do so, this will result in the passenger losing their life, and at the end of the flight will receive a -100 penalty point. After landing, a divert penalty of below 10.000 ft, 250 knt overspeed and fuel penalty will not be given. This emergency situation might occur only on assignment and scheduled flights. If the flight takes longer than 2000 nm, it will not occur.

• Administration have made a decision that during group events organised by Turkish Virtual, FDR may only allow flights to specific destinations chosen for the event.

• From now on, our pilots will experience VFR flights to be more realistic on terms with FDR. If the flying plane is of FDR and has less than 25 passenger capacity; this flight will be accepted as a VFR flight. VFR flights: will not apply real time penalties, at departure - flaps will not be sought, reverser will not be checked, bank angle status will not be looked at, landing evaluation will not be made, for the last 100 feet - stall status will not be checked, instead of 6 passengers, 2 will be looked for, and instead of jetliner announcements, a suitable voice from VFR will be used.

• Prior to starting a flight, the final checklist and operational flight plan (OFP) and the plane simulator, fsuipc - the suitability between the flights will be checked. The flight will not begin if suitable conditions are not met for the start of the FDR. Over OFP, assignment and scheduled flights will certainly have a flight plan produced. For other flights; for flights to well-known locations, a flight plan will most likely be made. The flight plan over OFP is not compulsory. The responsibility for producing this plan is with the pilot. The flight duration and flight level calculations made over the OFP is 98% accurate. (Wind factor is not calculated.)

• Instead of constantly clicking the FDR main programme and leaving during the flight in order to check which systems are used (LIGHT or flight system) therefore checking whether a situation will lead to penalty or not - a small menu is created which will be fixed on the screen. Through this small menu, whether you click; the flight systems will always be presented. (Within the tools menu)

• in possible penalty situations, please do not think that FDR is giving wrong solutions. FDR receives data from FSUIPC at least 10 times per second. The data received is completely via FSUIPC and not created by FDR. Therefore the evaluation criteria is completely made according to FSUIPC data. FDR penalty criteria is tested from 100's of flights and it has been 100% verified that errors have not been found. Instead of claiming that FDR had made an error - please try to find out where you've made a mistake. Everyday there are many flights being made without getting any penalties. Any problems regarding this topic can be questioned through the forum or Facebook in order for improvement.

• FDR reads many data from FSUIPC. This data is the standard OFFSET evaluation gained from the FSUIPC's FS world. Within the FS world, many external programs use this standard offset (variable). For example, IAS value in all flights over FSUIPC has 4 byte value with 02BC read with an integer variable offset. As long as all flights or flight record programs use this variable, within the FS world; any program will be able to be used with any plane. However, some plane software firms use their own local variables (LVAR) instead of the standard offsets. In this case, some programs will experience problems with some planes. For example, the PMDG 738 planes for STROBE value has used standard offset instead of the LVAR. For this reason, FDR, PMDG 738 planes does not recognise strobe. Similarly, Aerosoft, Airbus softwares BEACON variable has not used the standard offset. In this case, the biggest problem is experienced with the FSLABS firm Airbus A320 plane. Many offsets are not used. This situation has given rise to suitability problems with the FDR. The solution to fixing this problem for all the planes excluding the FSLABS A320 is with the FSUIPC simple key assignments. In order to do this, a registered FSUIPC is required. For example, to overcome the PMDG Strobe perception problem, below the FSUIPC keypresses menu, choose the toggle strobe option either by the keyboard or the joystick, assigning a key to this option and whenever the option STROBE ON/OFF is required; by clicking that assigned key to toggle through - a problem will not be experienced. However, to overcome the FSLABS A320, other methods may be required. To fly with the FSLABS A320 – the required procedures will be presented within this packet.

• FDR does not allow for offline flights. From the moment Pushback begins, if you cannot connect to the VATSIM servers or if you do connect but cannot obtain a valid flight plan - every 5 minutes, you will receive a warning, on the 6th warning; your flight will be disqualified. Only being connected to Vatsim and just sending any flight plan is not enough. Callsign must begin with THY (For example: THY1234 or THY2AB). Your flight plan will not be accepted if you have received a Callsign that does not start with THY. Your flight plan must have at least 3 words. Your departure location's ICAO code and landing location ICAO codes must be the same as the flight you have selected. If the plan cannot be found ''plan not foun'', and if found but has errors ''error on flight plan'' warning will be received. Throughout the flight duration, you must ensure that there is connection available for both your planes internet connection and Vatsim connection. The Vatsim connection can be checked by clicking the refresh button bellow the Vatsim menu. However, as of a pushback - if a plan is not found each time after a refresh; the tolerance of 5 amounts would be reduced by one.

• This flight record programme has taken real life flights into account to make your FDR flights to a specified discipline. It is recommended to gain pleasure rather than do speed. The penalties given via the FDR should not be made a problem. Cancelling flights or not carrying out any flights at all due to the concern of getting a penalty will only prevent you from enjoying your time. With FDR's aim of having flights suitable for everyone and every pleasure; you can have very enjoyable flights very close to realism in many different ways.

V4.019 - 11.11.2016

• Due to a problem on Vatsim, the Vatsim Data and Flight Plan information's that weren't showing through FDR and website have now been fixed.

• A few FDR v4.18 crash problems have now been resolved with FDR v4.19.

• Announcements have been updated with a new FDR v4.19.

V4.018 - 01.11.2016

• After the new changes, Flight Recorder (FDR) v4.18 is now compatible with Prepar 3D.

• Also, LTCW-Hakkari/Yuksekova, LTCU-Bingol, LTCV-Sirnak and LTCB-Ordu/Giresun airports have been added to FDR v4.18's version.

V4.002 - 22.01.2013

• Active Flights, Flight Watch, Flight Report & Schedule Maps had been modified to show actual flight path flown and planned VATSIM route.

• Active Flights & Flight Watch system is now s howing real time flight information with a maximum latency of 15 seconds.

V4.001 - 14.01.2013

• Initial release of Turkish Virtual WEB Site v4. Online flight map added to homepage.

• Online flight watch function added to homepage.