Andy Borka

New 6.9.5 release this weekend

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Hi everyone!

This blog post is more about features we were able to put into priority boarding (preview features) since the last blog post. In the last one, we talked about priority boarding as a feature itself. Well, we can’t add priority boarding to itself, so it goes into the official release as a stable feature. Since the clipboard and checklist editor were buggy, we also put them into priority boarding. The rest of the blog post will cover some basic info about the features included in priority boarding and some website features we promised to talk about in this blog post. So, without delay, say welcome to our new priority boarding members!

New priority boarding members

GSX Ground Services Integration

This feature was largely based on an app that TFM’s founder Jason Fayre had created called access GSX. Thanks to him for allowing us to use his idea directly in TFM. Below are his originally implemented features.

• Fully accessible interface to GSX Pro ground handling services

• Dedicated GSX view under Tools menu with real-time connection status monitoring

• Press F5 to open the GSX menu, then use number keys (0-9) or letter keys (A-E) to select services

• Context-sensitive tooltips spoken aloud for each menu option

• Independent toggles for “Speak menu” and “Speak tooltips” speech output

• Auto-reconnect: if MSFS isn’t running at TFM startup, GSX retries automatically every 5 seconds

• Pop-out window support

First Officer

• Automated checklist execution system that sets switches, buttons, and systems to their correct states hands-free

• Select a flight phase (Preflight, Before Start, Before Takeoff, Approach, etc.) and run procedures with one click or F5

• Real-time voice announcements of each action as it executes (“Battery Switch, on”)

• Smart skip: detects controls already in the correct state and announces “checked” without toggling

• Pause (F6), Resume, Stop (Escape), and Skip Item controls for full user control during execution

• Supports wait conditions (e.g., “Wait for APU to be available”), timed delays, and voice-only announcements

• Data-driven: uses the same checklist JSON files as manual checklists, so community checklists work automatically

• Currently supports PMDG 777 and PMDG 737

SimBrief Integration

As users of assistive technology, we can find the SimBrief website clunky to use. So, we brought back the SimBrief feature in TFM. Only thing… It’s much better than the last one. The following should make your simbrief flight plans easier to create and navigate.

• View Flight Plan: Browse imported SimBrief plans with organized sections — Overview, Navlog, Fuel, Weights, Performance, and Weather (METAR/TAF)

• Create Flight Plan: Fill out a form in TFM (origin, destination, aircraft type, cruise level, passengers, etc.) and generate directly in SimBrief

• Search within flight plan data (F2 to search, F4 to clear)

• Full keyboard navigation and assistive technology support throughout

• Supports 17+ common aircraft types (Boeing 737/747/777/787, Airbus A319-A380)

SayIntentions.AI Integration

This is one of the highly requested features in the past year. When will we put Say intentions into TFM. Well, here it is. Below are our initial set of features. However, we need your help with this one. We need users to drop us a line on their support portal letting us know what additional features they would like in Say intentions support. When giving us your feature, try and make it directly related to something the Say intentions platform already does. Below is what we already have.

• Real-time connection status view showing flight info: callsign, route, assigned gate, taxi path

• Monitors takeoff and landing clearance status from ATC

• Automatic telemetry reporting (airspeed, altitude, position, engine data) to SayIntentions

• Works in the background — initializes automatically at TFM startup

FS2024 Support

This is probably the most requested feature of all time. We did it, and it is now here! Airports database for Flight simulator 2024, but wait… Is that all it is? No, it’s more than an airports database! The ‘Airports database’ for FS2024 is extensive compared to the old make runways used in FS2020. The scenery in FS2024 gives us the ability to extract more information about gates, runways, taxiways, terrain when available, etc. Our extraction method also extracts the currently installed Navigraph cycle and combines it with the scenery information, making a complete solution for FS2024. Below are the initial features.

• Full Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 compatibility

• Build scenery database: One-click database generation from FS2024 scenery data with real-time progress display

• Browse runways: Search any airport by ICAO, view runway length/width/surface/heading/ILS details, filter by ILS-equipped or surface type

• Browse gates/parking: View all gates and parking positions, filter by type (passenger, GA, cargo, military), size, and jetway availability

• Jump to location: Press Enter to teleport aircraft to any runway threshold or parking spot

• Ground position detection: TFM identifies your exact location — runway, gate, or taxiway — in real time

• Full ILS data: frequency, magnetic course, glideslope angle, category (CAT-I/II/III) (more on this in another section)

• Automatic simulator detection (FS2024 vs. MSFS 2020) with separate databases

Electronic Clipboard & Checklist Editor Bug Fixes

Many users have reported problems with the clipboard and checklist editor in the last update (initial release). So, we moved them into priority boarding until we can verify that everything works as expected. Given that, we fixed a lot of problems while working on first officer, and think we             have things fixed. Note that for first officer and the clipboard to work, any checklist files you already created are no longer usable. You will have to recreate them again.

New ILS detection system (FS2024 only)

Since there is more info available in the FS2024 database, and things are easier to find, we were able to completely revise TFM’s ILS detection and announcement system, which is included in the FS2024 support. Turn it off in priority boarding, and you will have to turn it on again to get the new ILS system. There aren’t many points to cover, so we will forget those for now.

The new ILS system currently works as before. Turn it on when needed, turns off automatically on touchdown. The new part is how it provides ILS indications (announcements) to you. There is a new mode called ‘dots’ that provides glide slope and localizer alignment in dots. The dots mode uses new calculations and directly makes use of the NAV1 and NAV2 ILS indicators on the aircraft to provide TFM with the required info. In the ‘dots’ mode, an announcement might sound like the following: 4.8 miles. 1.1 dots high/low. Left/right 0.4 dots. High = too high, low = too low, left = to the left of, right = to the right of, and center line = perfectly on path. The format is distance, glide slope, localizer. This new system is more accurate than the current feet/meter and heading calculations. So, we recommend using the dots method whenever possible. In fact, the dots method is used in the real world as well.

New website features

Help center

When released, the help center will be available to everyone. It will be much easier to navigate documentation ‘books’ and find content. Along with the new help center, we are rewriting all the documentation, so it matches TFM, and is more user friendly. There isn’t any word at this point when help center will release. When it does, you can go to the help center and find the help you need.

New support portal

At least a few times today, we have mentioned the support portal. It is a new tab in your store account. Activating the support tab will take you to the support portal where you can create, manage, and delete tickets, reply/add information to a ticket, add attachments when needed (up to 10MB in size). The best part is that you aren’t required to have multiple accounts on the TFM platform. Only your store account username/password is required. So, the next time you need help, send in a support ticket and one of us will get back with you ASAP.

Well, we covered a lot today. When TFM 6.9.5 is out, don’t forget to turn on the priority boarding features you want to use. Don’t forget to give us feedback on them through your new support portal, and look for the new help center soon. Until next time, happy flying!

Organizational shift, priority boarding

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Hi everyone!

Welcome back to the blog! A lot has been going on lately. Eventually, we will talk about all of our updates, but for now, let’s just focus on the most recent. In this post, we are going to cover a few logistical/policy updates and an update on the task force. We are also going to cover a new upcoming feature and provide an update on our clipboard and checklist editor. So, without delay, here we go!

Task force resigns

Everyone in the task force had to leave because they had other responsibilities outside of TFM that demanded all of their attention. So, they are no longer representing us in any official capacity. We thank them for their valuable time and effort and wish them well in the future.

Logistical/policy updates

Normally, we don’t put these types of updates on a blog post, but this is an exception. As we try to be more transparent with the general public and our users, the way in which we conduct ourselves has changed. Even though Talking flight monitor (TFM) is closed source, we also try to be more open about what we are doing to create features, and a little about what goes into making those features (EG: design choices, etc.). Here are a few design choices we have made at an organizational level.

  • No more private preview – This means that users are not required to follow or sign an NDA. Preview features are available to anyone who wants to try them out.
  • Starting on 02/20/2026, anyone with access to an active license will have to pay the normal subscription price (TFM pricing).
  • Anyone who contributes to TFM such as documentation, source code, etc., is a paying user (see above).
  • All preview licenses and subscriptions will be discontinued after the new terms of use go into effect.

Now that the boring part is out of the way, let’s get on to something more fun.

Priority boarding

Starting at TFM 6.9.5, priority boarding will be available for features not yet ready for production use. We came up with the idea after several popular apps such as Visual studio, Chrome, GitHub, and Gmail have found success with this style of ‘preview’. In TFM settings, you will be able to go to the priority boarding section and check/uncheck the preview features you want or don’t want to use. Everything is unchecked by default. Once a feature in priority boarding is released, it will be removed from the priority boarding program and will be made available to everyone.

Clipboard

Since the release of the clipboard, we have seen some confusion about what it does and how it works. We will try to dispel the confusion here. However, if you still need help, feel free to contact us at info (@) talkingflightmonitor (dot) com.

In the PMDG aircraft, there is a clipboard that you can drop down from the yoke if the feature is turned on in settings. On the clipboard, there are checklists and flows you can follow. A green check means the item is done, and a red X means it is not done yet. Clicking on a red item will perform the task and mark it as complete. TFM’s clipboard does the same thing, just in an accessible format. Pressing enter/space on an item performs the task and marks it as complete. However, there are items that are set to ‘set as required’, ‘verify’, or some other language that indicates the clipboard doesn’t know what to expect for that item, or the item changes based on flight conditions. Examples are autobrake, MCP altitude, heading, speed, etc. Those items are ‘manual’ items that require you to set the values in the panels.

We had quite a bit to say today, so, we will go for now. Next time, we will talk more about some of our upcoming web features, the checklist editor, and anything else TFM throws our way. Until then, happy flying!

Talking flight monitor moves to a closed source platform, will offer it for purchase

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Welcome back to the blog. In this post we will describe future plans for Talking flight monitor and its move to a closed source platform. It will also move to a software as a service subscription model. There is a decent amount to cover, so let’s get started.

After careful review of the GPL3 license, along with professional consulting from a licensed attorney, we decided that the paid addon model will not work. The GPL3 license requires that any software interfacing with paid plugins that work from a proprietary license is in violation of the GPL3 license. On the other hand, any software licensed under a proprietary license accessing portions of a GPL3 licensed application must comply with the GPL3 license. This means that the paid plugins we would make requires distribution of that plugin’s source code. Since the closed source plugins would have security mechanisms to validate user licenses in place, it is a security risk to both users and Talking flight monitor. It opens the door for hackers, viruses, and other issues that compromise security. Another aspect of this decision is in Talking flight monitor’s current codebase. At this time, it would take significant rewrites to portions of the code to accommodate a paid plugin system. It also presents a security risk while in the open-source market. When closed source, it would take minimal code modification to implement a security mechanism to validate users and subscriptions.

Currently, there is no interest in Talking flight monitor’s source. During the past three years, there have been a few pull requests to add minimal functionality to Talking flight monitor. There also seems to be a lack of interest in the preview builds as offered. Compared to the official release, the preview builds are hardly used. Sure, there are some community users that make use of the preview builds, but it is minimal. As Talking flight monitor grows and expands its offering, it is starting to incur expenses that need a consistent revenue to stay alive. With the amount of research, coding time, and hours of work dedicated to Talking flight monitor, the project cannot continue unless it is compensated for its time and effort. We also have put our vested interest on the line. In its current state, anyone can take the source, modify it, and claim it as their own derivative work. With the past three years on the line, we need to protect our intellectual property.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will start to shut down the opensource aspect of Talking flight monitor. During this time, development will stop while we make the transition. Any official downloads or preview builds will still be available during the transition period. Once the transition is complete, we will modify the website to accommodate paid subscriptions, feature request forms, bug report forms, and new contact forms. Once that is complete, we will make any adjustments to comply with local and international copyright laws, licenses, and distribution requirements. Once Talking flight monitor is secure, we will remove the official build and any preview builds that are available on the website. We will then modify Talking flight monitor to validate subscriptions, then offer it for purchase. The preview builds will be available to anyone who has a paid subscription. Talking flight monitor will also offer private beta cycles for a select few that apply as a private beta tester. The terms of the beta testing program will be announced later.

Again, the move to closed source is to simplify the licensing process and compensate the developers for their time and expenses. More about the transition will be released as more details become available. We hope you have enjoyed Talking flight monitor as an open source project, and continue enjoying it as we move to closed source.

Preview 2024.1, updates, and spring feedback form results

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Welcome back to this week’s blog post. Last time, we played catch-up and let you know about the spring 2024 feedback form we posted. This week I want to cover a few things, so this post may be a little longer than normal. We are going to cover preview builds, Talking flight monitor updates, project priorities, project restructuring, a new partnership, and results from the spring 2024 feedback form. So, let’s get started!

Preview builds

It has been a little over a year since we posted a preview build. Since then, Talking flight monitor has been going through growing pains in the form of a complete conversion from dotnet 4.8 to dotnet 8.0. We also started converting the windows and dialogs in Talking flight monitor over to a newer, more accessible user interface library. The conversion is going well. However, many people have been anxious, wanting to know when the next preview would be posted. We then posted a poll late last week, asking whether or not we should bring back the preview builds before the conversion was complete. The pole indicated that 99.9% of the respondents wanted the preview builds to return, even if the conversion wasn’t complete. In response to this interest, we brought back the preview builds. Preview 2024.1.503 is available for downloaded, and can be found on this website under the preview releases link. Make sure you read the entire release notes before downloading and using. By using the preview builds, you agree that Talking flight monitor and all of its associates, developers, and partners aren’t responsible for damage caused by the preview. The preview will be released around the 15th of each month.

Updates

After the preview release, the only updates are that the PMDG 737 overhead/anti-ice panel and the main area of the overhead panel are complete.

Project priorities

The BVI pilots communities have been talking about Talking flight monitor project priorities over the past week or so. It has come to our attention that a projected feature, ‘flows and checklists’ be implemented as soon as possible. This is because many of the community members feel that they would lose access to a first officer feature (provided by another developer) if we don’t act fast. Our official position is that we need to finish the PMDG 737 panels before attempting to create flows and checklists for it. Among other things, we are in the middle of a conversion/restructuring project at this time and might find it difficult to respond to the request quickly.

Project restructuring and new partnership

While we go through the conversion process, we will also go through and implement a modular approach to Talking flight monitor development. This means that when portions of source code can be isolated from the rest of the codebase, it should then be isolated and packaged so it can be reused in other projects. Doing this will make the software faster and more reliable. It also gives users the ability to download components or modules they are interested in using. For example, why force everyone to download Talking flight monitor with PMDG 747/777 support when they will never use it? So, while we work through the conversion process and other items on the table, we will work on the modular design for the project. This modular redesign will not require a redesign of what is already finished or planned, so no worries there.
On the restructuring side of things, I recently started a software development company that focuses on supporting other software developers in their journey of becoming a professional software developer, student, or other professional in the field. It develops accessible software tools for those students/professionals so they can independently complete their work tasks. Inspiragon (my company) and Talking flight monitor agreed to a partnership. The terms of the agreement are Inspiragon will provide me at no cost as a three-quarter time contractor to work on Talking flight monitor. It will also cover Talking flight monitor’s development related expenses, if any, in exchange for revenue on paid addons. This also means that Talking flight monitor’s website will change throughout the rest of this year. Inspiragon will add a new feature request form, a new contact form, and potentially a new bug tracker. This way, there is no need to create an account on GitHub. Just fill out the form and submit it, and you are done. Now, coming out of this partnership is the requirement that Talking flight monitor develop paid addons to be sold on Inspiragon’s website. So, at some point in the future, we will start working on those paid addons. At this point, I don’t know much about the paid addons, other than they will be on a monthly or yearly subscription rate. When the time comes, we will release more details. You can visit Inspiragon’s website at www.inspiragon.com. At the time of writing, the website is nearly empty. It is just getting started. Bare with us as we go through growing pains together.

Spring 2024 feedback form results

In the spring 2024 feedback form, we got some interesting results. Some we were expecting, others were a surprise. To start, Most participants use P3D. However, most of them also voted for us to drop support for it. Next, everyone used payware aircraft and voted to consolidate features, preserve the state of the trim toggle, and convert the automatic detection of aircraft into a manual selection process. Finally, most of the participants voted to have the left and right bracket (command keys) separated from the TFM virtual keyboard while providing a way to turn them on and off without affecting the TFM keyboard. There may be follow up polls or feedback forms throughout the year to further narrow down the interest of the communities that use Talking flight monitor.
This has been a long post, so I will end it now. Keep watching YouTube for new videos, the website for new content, and the TFM communities for support in your flying adventures. Until next time…

Catching up, spring 2024 feedback form

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Welcome back to the blog. It has been a while since we last posted here. In the last post, we mentioned that we would start vlogging on YouTube. We also mentioned that any significant amount of text updates would come here instead. Well, here we are with a text-based update.

TFM progress

We would have to write a novel to cover the updates and things that happened since the last update. Some of them are listed below.

• TFM is now running on dotnet 8.
• We now recommend people build from source.
• * At this point, focus is on MSFS, not P3D.
• We are waiting for the upcoming PMDG 777 for MSFS.
• … and more.

We will be getting back to our text-based updates with more PMDG 737 development. It will be an exciting time for TFM/PMDG users!

Spring 2024 feedback form

There have been some technical problems with the fall 2023 feedback form. As a result, not very many people had the chance to fill it out. Besides, end of the year feedback forms might have a conflict with the end of year holidays. So, we decided to try our feedback forms at the start of the year. The spring 2024 feedback form is now available. We are seeking feedback from the BVI pilots community and others with a vested interest in TFM’s direction. This feedback form focuses on keyboard commands, consolidating similar/related features into a single feature, and removing legacy (no longer used) components. Feel free to fill it out. We are looking for solid direction, so be sure to follow the directions at the beginning of the form. You can find the link at the top of any page on this website.
This is all we have for this week. Stay tuned for more posts here and on YouTube. Until next time, have fun flying!

Post surgery update/P3D support

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In last month’s blog post, we covered the heartbeat of Talking flight monitor and what it will take to address existing bugs and to do an in-place upgrade of the entire system. This week, we will update everyone on my surgery and provide some important news about supporting P3D and Navigraph.

 

Surgery update

 

Surgery went well. The doctor wants me off my feet for at least four weeks. This means I can do light weight activities inside. He put a limit on how long I can be on my feet, including how long I can sit at a desk during the day. As a result, I had limited time with my laptop, until my wife found a workaround. Now, I can “sit at my desk” as long as possible. This still means limited times because sitting on the couch with my feet up on my desk chair stresses out my back after a while. At least it is as many times during the day as I want. Doing flights is easy because I can be at my desk until autopilot takes over, then move to the couch. I will keep everyone updated on the next stage of recovery with the next blog post.

 

Navigraph support

 

Talking flight monitor is now added to the Navigraph HUB. Anyone with a subscription should be able to add the current cycle. This is only for the source builds though. If you would like to build from source to test bleeding edge code, follow the directions found at Building TFM from source. We are currently adding support for the database, so no new features will arrive until this is finished and tested.

 

P3D support

 

P3D 6 was released sometime last month. Some significant changes were made to improve the P3D framework and scenery. However, these changes broke support for the PMDG line of aircraft. In other words, PMDG aircraft do not work in P3d6. PMDG announced that after trying to add support for P3D 6, they had deeper problems than just changing some installer files. In the same announcement, they stated that revisiting this problem wouldn’t happen until the 777 and 747 were added to MSFS. This puts the timeframe sometime in mid or late 2024. As reported in the announcement, PMDG most likely won’t continue support for P3D if the changes require too many resources or too much time. Since MSFS arrived on the scene, the market share for P3D 4 and later has significantly declined. Even though more addons and scenery exist for P3D than MSFS, more addons are being altered or newly developed for MSFS. This brings us to Talking flight monitor’s placement in the market.

Talking flight monitor strives to support as many simulators as possible. However, we are also limited in time and resources. Since market value of P3D is declining in favor of MSFS, and PMDG doesn’t support P3d 6, we are not supporting P3D 6 nor continuing new development on P3D 5. Any new development in Talking flight monitor will be focused on MSFS. Keep the following in mind.

 

  • When features are identical in both simulators, we will support P3D5 and earlier.
  • If Talking flight monitor works in P3D6, it is at your own risk.
  • As long as the PMDG SDKs are the same or close to the same, we will support the P3D versions.
  • When the PMDG SDKs are drastically different, the MSFS versions take priority.
  • Navigraph support is independent of a simulator, so works in both P3D and MSFS.
  • We will not support Aerosoft products.
  • We do not support FS2Crew or similar products.
  • We do not support the PMDG DC6, TS4xxx, or similar aircraft.
  • Support for Osobo aircraft requires an evaluation.

Again, we will do our best to keep P3D5 and earlier support going. However, we can’t make promises to the effect. We hope everyone understands our decision to back off on P3D support. In the event PMDG does support P3D 6, we will reassess the situation.

 

Future preview builds and current status

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Welcome back. Last time, we covered important info about Flight sim expo, some Talking flight monitor updates, and that there is going to be down time because of my surgery this week. Before that happens, I would like to take a little time to explain what will happen with updates going forward. So, let’s start.

The heartbeat for Talking flight monitor monitors aircraft and simulator state, then announces changes based on some user settings. This heartbeat also gives pilots the ability to press a key command to open dialogs or get aircraft information on demand. We also have some utility or satellite systems to help the heartbeat do its job. The previous version of the user interface library we used forced us into a specific coding pattern, which was less than desirable. In the process of building Talking flight monitor over the past three years, we built its heartbeat into a single block of code that is over 5400 lines of related and unrelated source. All together, our code base has over 25000 lines of source that needs to be sorted out. Our plan is to fix as many current bugs and add as many new features as possible while reorganizing the code base. This may take some time since we also have to convert the existing source into the new framework version and move the dialogs and windows over to the new user interface library. The process may take a decent amount of time. However, the plan is to do an in-place upgrade. This means that pilots will not be interrupted with down times or lack preview builds to test. The entire process is always ongoing, so an estimated time is unknown at this time. Starting today, I will not be actively working on Talking flight monitor until my recovery process allows me the comfortable time to do so. I will keep everyone updated on the process and how things are going, especially with Talking flight monitor.

This will most likely be the last blog post for the week. I will evaluate the ability to write one next week and go from there. I hope everyone is having fun flying with Talking flight monitor. It is always our goal to make more and more systems or simulator features accessible with Talking flight monitor. If you have any ideas, feel free to send them through the contact form, and one of us will get back with you as soon as possible. Good luck on all your flights, and I will see you on the other side of surgery.

Flight sim expo/TFM updates

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Welcome back! Last time we covered the new PMDG 737 cockpit panels window and our intent to list all converted panels in each update. During our time off, we went to Flight sim expo and had a great time. There is a little to cover, so let’s get started!

 

Flight sim expo

 

Flight sim expo was a great experience, and we plan on doing it again next year. The museum staff and expo volunteers did an excellent job helping out and accommodating us as blind visitors. We took a look at several exhibitors and have things to report.

 

Navigraph support

 

One of our main stops was the Navigraph booth. Everyone there had great things to say about Talking flight monitor. We had the time to explain what Talking flight monitor did for the BVI pilots community, which was one of the problems they had when we applied for access to the Navigraph database. As a result of talking to them in person, we are ever so close to getting access. At this time, I am in conversation with their CEO on where to save the nav data when it is available. He also pointed out that since FMS data manager is going away at the end of this year, and since it is not accessible for us, they are going to include us in the Navigraph HUB. We will keep everyone up to date on this matter when something new comes around.

 

Fly by wire A320N support

 

A new development came out of visiting Fly by wire’s booth. After talking to

their head developer, we discovered that we could support the A320N and the A388 when it is released. This would require pilots to make use of a helper utility called sim bridge. It comes with the A320N and is the mode in which we would access the FMC. The Fly by wire SDK is complete and well documented. The only thing we are waiting on is access to the EFB. Without it, it is impossible to set your Sim Brief user ID and access settings.

 

Beyond ATC

 

The Beyond ATC booth had a few things in store for us as well. After talking to the lead developer about accessibility problems BVI pilots ad with ATC software in the past, he was interested in making Beyond ATC completely accessible for assistive technology. We will see what is in store for us when it is released.

 

Talking flight monitor presentation

 

Our presentation went better than expected. I don’t know the final count on attendance, but we had a few key people present. Among them were the Navigraph CEO with two other managers, some active-duty pilots, some retired pilots, and some interested hobbyists. You can access the presentations from expo by accessing your flight sim expo account or waiting until the no-share clause of our agreement is no longer valid. Once this done, anyone can watch them on YouTube for free.

 

Talking flight monitor’s 3rd anniversary event

 

Talking flight monitor is now three years hold! Happy birthday TFM! This year’s event will take us from George Bush International (KIAH) to Toronto (CYYZ) on September 2, 2023. This is the first Saturday in September. Everyone should start parking at KIAH between 11:30AM and 12:00PM EST. We hope to have everyone off the ground no later than 1:00PM EST. This is a Vatsim event, but is not required for those who don’t want to use Vatsim as their ATC. For those who want to watch the event streamed live, we will stream it live from our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@talkingflightmonitor).

 

Development down time

 

I am having surgery on August 2, 2023. There will be at least a week of down time for initial recovery, so there will be no development progress during this time. I will reevaluate my recovery progress after the first week to see if resuming work is possible. I will keep everyone updated on my progress. My problem is not serious or critical, so I will remain stable through the recovery time. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers – I hate general anesthetic!

 

 

Talking flight monitor updates

 

Now, on to Talking flight monitor updates. July has been busy, so not much in terms of development has happened. We do have a new jump to runway, jump to gate, and destination runway dialog available. We will cover jump to gate and destination runway. Jump to runway has no new features at this time.

 

Jump to gate

 

Jump to gate is a dialog where pilots can enter an airport code and get a list of gates and ramps available at the given airport. In the current release of Talking flight monitor, pilots have to sift through gates and ramps to find a suitable gate or ramp to park. In the new version, pilots have the ability to narrow down the list of interested gates or ramps, making it easier to find one to use.

 

Destination runway

 

Destination runway is a feature that gives pilots the ability to track ILS landings with heading and altitudes instead of percentages. In the current release, pilots enter their destination airport code, choose an ILS runway and press OK. When the ILS becomes active, Talking flight monitor will start reporting ILS tracking information in heading and altitude values. In the event the system crashes or restarts, pilots have to choose their destination runway once again. This could cause problems on descent or on final approach. In the new version, pilots still enter their destination airport code and choose an available runway. However, we expanded the list of runways to include ILS and LOC only approaches. New in the destination runway dialog is a checkbox allowing the pilot to save their current destination runway for future use. When checked, the system will save the chosen airport and runway. We also included a new key command ‘destination runway info’. To access this new feature, press right bracket (]), then the letter N on the keyboard. This will announce information about the current destination runway. Now, there are safety nets in place if the system crashes or the pilot is forced to restart.

 

We don’t have a release date for the new Talking flight monitor, but we will keep everyone updated as we make progress. We hope to see you in the next blog post. Happy flying, and if you need anything, send us a contact us form on the website.

 

PMDG 737 cockpit window, panels list

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Welcome back to this week’s blog post. There is a lot in store for this week, so let’s get started. We put some heavy work into the PMDG 737 cockpit window, and got some panels converted. We will take a look below.

 

Tracking panel progress

 

It isn’t easy keeping track of panels and their progress when they are scattered over several blog posts. So, from now on, each blog post will list all of the completed cockpit panels, even if they were mentioned in previous posts. This will make it easier for everyone to keep track of a single list. Here are the finished panels at this point.

 

  • Overhead: ADIRU.
  • Overhead: CVR (formerly flight recorder).
  • Overhead: Dome lights.
  • Overhead: EEC.
  • Overhead: Gear.
  • Overhead: Oxygen.
  • MCP box: Altitude.
  • MCP box: Heading.
  • MCP box: Speed.
  • MCP box: Nav aids (formerly navigation or flight controls).
  • MCP box: Vertical speed.
  • CDU/FMC.
  • Transponder window.
  • Trim window.

 

PMDG 737 cockpit window

 

We spent a lot of time working on the PMDG 737 cockpit window and came up with some features that make the cockpit panels easier to use. Here is a list of them. Watch the video to see a demo of them at work.

 

  • Search for panels by keyword (F2)
  • Focus the panels tree (F3).
  • Clear search results (F4).
  • Factory reset panels (F5) [see below].
  • Rearrange panels (CONTROL+UP/CONTROL+DOWN).
  • Sort ascending or descending (Panels tree context menu).
  • Save layout (Close the window or panels tree context menu).

 

We look forward to seeing you for the next blog post. Don’t forget to register for FlightSim expo going on later this month in Houston TX USA. We hope to see you there!