Propilot & time compression:

[EHM-2470 kivanc]

Hi,

I would like to report an event that had occurred to me when I was flying as propilot and using time compression at the very start of my carrier at Euroharmony. As far as I see in the new propilot manual this point is not covered.

'Note: I would like to thank to Murray for his attention and help for the explanations and solutions on this problem.'

Even for the longer flights it was stated that saving is not permitted and the flights must be finished in one session; for any need of  hurry, the use of time compression was advised (< x4!!). When applying the time compression in the climb or decend sequence the flightlogger calculates the inclination time and height and reports 'high g' penalty. Consequently, keep the time compression 'off ' during the decend or climb.

I would like to read more of these kind of experiences from our higher rank pilots, thus looking forward for reading them in the forum, please.

Kivanc EHM-2470

[EHM-2383 Ian]

Hi

Can we have clarification on this one? I understood that it was not permitted to use flight compression with Propilot. I, for one, would love to be able to do so as I don't have the time to fly longhaul and thus, unfortunately, have been unable to fly level 7 aircraft very much - something that is very disappointing for me.

Ian

[EHM-1001 Robert]

I think time compression is not forbidden, it is only not advised. Perhaps I do not know clearly the rulebook, but I used to fly with x4 speed over the Ocean (only offline !!!) with ProPilot and I have never been penalized for that. It is crazyness to use compression during climb or descend because anything can happen that you need to react immedately, but it is possible to use on cruise... correct me if I was wrong.

[EHM-2383 Ian]

That's great news for me, Robert. I will now, at last, be able to do some long haul. I take the point about x4 problems during climbing and descent but I wouldn't normally do that anyway - only while level cruising.

Regards,
Ian

[EHM-0654 Murray]

What's time spent sitting in an airport for if not to plough through documentation you haven't read in an age

OK, the official position of the VA with regards simulation rate is as follows (section "4.6 Regulations" of the Operations Manual, point 2 (even though the sub-points aren't numbered))

It's permitted to fly at a simulation rate of 2x, 4x... as you have to submit your PC time.

There's no "static limit" applied, nor any advice on the use of simulation rate, so I think it's safe to make the following "official":

• There's no reason not to use simulation rates above 1x with either normal EHM flights or ProPilot flights as long as you:
  
  • Record your PC real-time times for start-up, shutdown, etc and report these times, not the FS UTC or local times.
  • Use a simulation rate of 1x while in the climb and descent phases of your flight, as this is where the majority of high-cost penalties may be encountered.
  • Choose a rate to cruise at (be it 2x, 4x, 8x or whatever) and stick with it. Changing rates can cause problems (overspeeds, for instance).
  • Finally, if you're flying on any of the online networks (IVAO/VATSIM) their regulations forbid the use of simulation rates other than 1x.

Once Dom is back with us, we'll get this integrated into the Operations manual and ProPilot manual.

[EHM-2470 kivanc]

I think time compression is not forbidden, it is only not advised. Perhaps I do not know clearly the rulebook, but I used to fly with x4 speed over the Ocean (only offline !!!) with ProPilot and I have never been penalized for that. It is crazyness to use compression during climb or descend because anything can happen that you need to react immedately, but it is possible to use on cruise... correct me if I was wrong.

Advise (it seems like) or not, it is not a problem of words here, the statement is this from 4.6 Regulations:

 '*4.6 Regulations*
....
It’s permitted to fly _at a simulation rate of 2x, 4x… as you have to submit your PC time_. For
example, if you’ve flown an 8-hour London – New York flight with 4x time compression in 2

hours, please report only those 2 hours!

/We’d like to know how much time you actually spend

flying for EuroHarmony

/. Note that if you fly online (VATSIM, IVAO), it is not possible to use

time compression.

...

You are not allowed to save a flight and continue it later as flights have to be reported only

via one pirep. _If you don’t have time for longer flights, use time compression,_ or fly shorter

ones...
'
Well,
Robert, I do not think that using any feature of sim. at any time is crazyness or wise-ness. If the conditions are sufficient they could be used in any need. It is not permitted in online since the reference frame should coincide for all users at every instant. Besides that the speed of time applied during the flights is a relative quantity, one could be slow for me for a reason and that is crazy for you (Let me tell if pilot  should leave the flight in say ten min. in the middle of a 5 hours flight, time compression would work well even at the decent). Actually, I conclude this feature as a calculation  error of flightlogger which should be repaired.  

[EHM-1001 Robert]

Okay okay, I wrote crazyness because I lived through many "bugs" of the simulator together with the airplane which would lead me an immediate crash under 4x time compression. You are right, you can do anything, but as a pilot you should consider that sudden things can happen at a dynamic part of the flight: climb or descend. Of course weird things can happen during cruise, but much less frequently. For example a sudden wind change or a scenery bug can anytime kick off your autopilot or FMC/FMS, that is almost "normal". But during the climb and descend you must have more control on the things to happen smoothly - not to mention PP penalties which are hardly possible to avoid under time compression.

All in all with a pilots thinking, it is technically "possible" but logically "forbidden"

[EHM-1438]

you should consider that sudden things can happen

It all depends on the aircraft model you use (how good and trustworthy it is) and how well you know it. As I fly mostly POSKY and IFDG, having hundreds of hours in their models, I find it easy to react even in 4x. However I believe that POSKY and IFDG are much more trustworthy than most payware models out there and I could share funny stories but it is not the subject here. As a conclusion I would suggest to keep the time compression at 1x at least during takeoff and 2-3 minutes after and also 1-2 minutes at least before the final approach.