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Operations

Flight Logging / PIREP

DALVirtual can support flight logging and PIREPs, but it needs a backend database and either manual reports, a custom ACARS client, or VATSIM live-data matching.

Important VATSIM note

VATSIM provides official developer services such as VATSIM Connect for account login and the live network data feed for current online aircraft. VATSIM does not provide a complete virtual-airline ACARS system that stores your airline PIREPs for you. DALVirtual needs its own logging system or an existing VA platform.

Recommended first version

  1. Pilot logs in with a DALVirtual account, preferably linked to VATSIM Connect.
  2. Pilot selects a schedule or enters a callsign, departure, arrival, aircraft, and route.
  3. System creates a pending flight record.
  4. During the flight, the system checks VATSIM live data by callsign and VATSIM CID.
  5. When the pilot lands or disconnects near the destination, the system marks the flight ready for review.
  6. Staff can approve, reject, or request changes to the PIREP.

Data to store

  • Pilot ID, VATSIM CID, callsign, aircraft type, departure, arrival, route, and schedule ID.
  • Off-block, takeoff, landing, and on-block times where available.
  • Flight time, distance, status, remarks, and staff review notes.
  • VATSIM snapshot data such as altitude, groundspeed, latitude, longitude, and transponder code.

Implementation options

  • Simple manual PIREP: easiest to launch, pilots submit a form, staff approve it.
  • VATSIM-assisted PIREP: your backend periodically reads VATSIM live data and matches flights by callsign/CID.
  • Custom ACARS client: most advanced, a desktop app reads simulator data and sends telemetry to your server.
  • Existing VA software: phpVMS or similar can provide schedules, pilots, PIREPs, and integrations faster than building from scratch.

Suggested database tables

  • pilots: id, name, email, vatsim_cid, discord_username, rank, status.
  • schedules: id, flight_number, departure, arrival, aircraft, route, active.
  • pireps: id, pilot_id, schedule_id, callsign, dep, arr, aircraft, status, submitted_at, reviewed_at.
  • flight_positions: pirep_id, latitude, longitude, altitude, groundspeed, heading, recorded_at.

Next build step

The cleanest next step is to add a backend. For this site, a good stack would be Cloudflare Pages for the frontend, Cloudflare Workers for API routes, D1 or Supabase for the database, and VATSIM Connect for pilot login.