Andrew Heath

@Callum Wilkinson Check this link out https://forums.poscon.net/docs/faq/#6 Your answer should be there PS You may need to scroll up just a tad to see the question/answer

The Invite-Only Beta is almost upon us, so it is a great time for another development update! Pending final bug fixes, we will be sending out the approval emails to the invited users soon. If you are lucky enough to get one, you will be authorized to access our software at the time you receive the email. Those who make it into Phase 1 will receive invite codes for Phase 2 to distribute at your discretion, but those codes will not be immediately available. We will keep you posted on when they become available to distribute. Here is a quick recap on the original plan for Invite-Only Beta, Phase 1 and what may or may not have changed since the announcement was first released: Pilots will require an invite code and subsequent approval in order to participate Status Update: This is still the case. All available invites have been distributed and those who received an invite are patiently waiting for the approval email, which will come soon. ATC will be hand-picked by POSCON staff and will be required to sign an NDA Status Update: This is still the case. One thing to note, however, is that we will most likely be very slowly implementing ATC. In fact, the first couple of weeks will most likely see little to no ATC coverage on the network as it still requires some additional dev work. Operating times will be schedule limited Status Update: This is no longer true. We plan to have the server up and running 24/7 as we have separated our development and production environments. We will inform everyone of scheduled down times when we make updates to the production servers. Number of users was planned at between 500-1000 Status Update: This is still the case; we have invited between 600-700 users to Phase 1. NDA is not required for Invite-Only Beta, Phase 1 Status Update: This is still the case. You are not required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) unless you are hand-picked to be an ATC. We will continue to maintain a select group of NDA pilot beta testers to test new features in our development environment. Having said all that, now I want to take some time to outline features that made it into this phase. I think outlining these features is an important part of the process of managing expectations. Voice System One of the main blockers that prevented us from releasing POSCON sooner was the decision to completely rewrite our voice system. Six months ago we were using the TeamSpeak 3 SDK for our voice infrastructure, but we decided using TeamSpeak 3 would limit our technical growth into the future. As a result, we opted to get rid of TeamSpeak completely before any sort of public release. Over the past few months we have worked tirelessly to develop our very own custom infrastructure and I am happy to report that it is now completed. Our voice will have the following features at Invite-Only release: Voice Server Supports: Many simultaneous connections. Ground-based transceiver locations; there are currently 4,667 locations entered into our database. Propagation of transceiver locations to the Radar Client. Option for separate PTTs per radio (e.g. VHF #1 and VHF #2), separate volume controls per radio, and separate audio devices per radio. The server supports this, but the pilot clients do not support this yet. Voice Effects Supported: Full VHF simulation including: 8.33 kHz and 25 kHz spacing. Terrain line-of-sight processing. Beat simulation. End-of-transmission popping tones. Wavelength simulation. Website & Administration Another factor that prevented us from releasing POSCON sooner was the decision to build out a custom Single-Sign-On or SSO. It became apparent, as we added new products and technologies to our software suite, that the generic open-source or even payware services would not meet our needs. I am happy to report that our custom SSO has been completed and is fully functional. Here are some additional web features we will release with: GDPR compliance. A support system. Basic flight statistics. ICAO 2012 formatted flight plan form: An integrated help tutorial is provided on the page. The form validates while entering data. Feedback and generic points system. Live Map used to view online traffic (updates every 2 seconds). Users can leave feedback about each other using the map. Moderators can initiate ghosting, disconnects, and bans using the Live Map interface. Pilot Client Web UI, which can be accessed on any device with an internet connection (see below for more details). Pilot Clients, Pilot Client Web UI, & Pilot Server The Pilot Clients are by far the most completed products that we have in our software suite. They have been closely designed in parallel so that the features remain consistent across the various platforms. Once you have logged in to the network, the Pilot Client will send information about your plane’s location, altitude, attitude, as well as a number of the plane’s parameters such as gear and flap deployment, engine RPM, state of various beacon and navigation lights, transponder mode and code, etc. The Pilot Clients also receive similar information from the network about aircraft that are within range of your plane. This information is used to draw 3D models of the aircraft at their correct position and orientation. The information is also used to populate various datarefs so that your aircraft’s TCAS system will be aware of nearby planes. In addition to the aforementioned features, the Pilot Clients also feature: Enhanced ground-clamping using various methods for a smooth experience regardless of differences in terrain. Model matching. Here is how we handle model matching with the various platforms: For X-Plane, the models are distributed with the pilot client itself and contain custom model matching logic. For FSX/P3D, we have integrated the FLAi model set through our Launcher Client application (see below for more details). ICAO equipment and airline code validation. Accurate ground speed monitoring (X-Plane Only). VHF push-to-talk activation indications. AI model sounds and controls (X-Plane Only). The ability to control the maximum number of AI planes that will be displayed. In-game notification of ghosting and disconnects with explanations. The ability to manually toggle ghost mode or request to unghost. Automatic detection of change in aircraft. The Pilot Clients will automatically ghost for: Sim rate increase, entering slew mode, using replay mode, or deliberate pausing (this can also sometimes be triggered by accessing a sim menu). If you are on the ground and not moving, pausing is allowed. Connecting on or re-positioning to a runway (through a menu) will prevent connection or disconnect the user as applicable. Pilot Client Web UI Features: Some functions of CPDLC (Controller-Pilot Data Link) will be operational such as the login function and automatic squawk code assignment. Real world D-ATIS (Digital Automated Terminal Information Service) broadcasts are integrated and can be requested in real-time by pilots. The voice portion of D-ATIS is not working yet, only the text portion. METAR and TAF reports can be requested in real-time by pilots. Radio syncing. Ghost and unghost toggle. Disconnect. Pilot Server Supports: Many simultaneous connections. A variable update rate based on range. When in close proximity to other aircraft, models will update 15 times a second for a smooth visual experience. Airspace awareness. The server can determine a planes position in relation to defined airspace boundaries (both vertical and lateral). This is a very unique feature not implemented on any other network. In the future, this will enable POSCON to build many other features using this core server functionality. Launcher Client The Launcher Client is the centralized hub to keep you up-to-date on everything related to POSCON. This product was designed around the idea of "platform software" similar to what Origin, Steam, and other gaming platforms offer. The POSCON Launcher Client mirrors the content contained in the POSCON HQ, but with enhanced functionality: The ability to download, install, launch, and update all available network software. The ability to switch between development and production environments (for NDA testers only). Token authentication. Once you enter your username and password once, the Launcher Client will take care of the rest. That's it for now, we hope you enjoyed this update. In the near future we will post a list of frequently asked questions that should help first-time users when accessing the network. If you have any questions you think would be a good addition to this list, feel free to comment below! Thanks for all the support over the last few years, it continues to keep us motivated!

Stand numbers will eventually become important, but not in the immediate future.

Soon. Here are a few previews for you.

@Philip J We were thinking about it for ramp and oceanic control down the road.

No, ya no permitimos que los miembros creen servidores de discordia para POSCON. Solicite que se cree en # division-chat de POSCON Public Discord.

Por Argentinos? Nadie ha creado el servidor todavía.

Gracias, ya tenemos un programador de bot

@Mahmoud F. Of course you would follow up something with a "disclaimer" ???

@Ronald Price Oh yes, Sint Maarten will be controlled.

Me bebe nuevo jerba mate de San Martin de Los Andes: Necesitamos un servidor Discord para Argentina. ¿Alguien quiere crearlo?

Está yendo bien. Deberíamos estar listos pronto.

I think you nailed it.

Because you can set them in PMDG doesn't mean they are supported in P3D. I think they are there for ascetically purposes in the case of PMDG. Perhaps someday we could integrate directly with PMDG and avoid P3D altogether.

They support these ranges? Since when?

I have not posted because a lot of this has not been finalized yet. I can assure you that when it is, you will be the first to know.

@Marc D. https://forums.poscon.net/clubs/3-france-division/ @Sergio M. https://forums.poscon.net/clubs/22-colombia-division/

Drones are coming after the new year at the earliest.

Earlier this year, we created an MVP (or Minimum Viable Product) list of features that need to be completed before our first public release. Since defining these specific objectives, our development team has been laser focused and, as a result, we have made tremendous strides in POSCON's technological development. In June 2019, we attended FSExpo where I was interviewed by Callum Martin from FSElite and we revealed our roadmap to release announcement. This announcement had a significant impact on our development team because it assigned a series of deadlines as to when the MVP objectives need to be completed by. Here are some additional interviews I took part in during FSxpo: Flight Simulation Addon Developers Panel Ground_Point_Niner Interview Lets first talk about the voice client, since voice quality seems to be the hottest topic in network development spheres. The truth is, we have only pushed one or two revisions to our voice code since my last update in April 2019. The reason for the lack of updates is not because we have given up working on it, but because we are done. The POSCON voice system was one of the very first projects we worked on and because of that, it has been stable and ready to be released for the past 6 months. We have an update to the voice infrastructure planned before public release, but the update is not a no-go item and can be delayed if it were to prevent our release. The current features of our voice communication system include: Low latency. Realistic VHF distortion. Line-of-sight simulation including both curvature of the earth and terrain modelling. Blocking simulation. The ability to add custom transmitter locations for ATC through our website. Full integration into all of our clients. Second, lets talk about the server... and the first word that comes to my mind is "wow". The server update rate (15 Hz) is absolutely phenomenal and extremely smooth. I find myself bugging our testers to join me in VFR group flights constantly because the update rate makes these types of flights extremely enjoyable. If you haven't seen some of our demos, you can can view them on our YouTube channel. Other than the update rate though, the server has had a lot of work performed on it. Here is brief summary of recent changes: The server can now determine what FIR and sector an airplane is in by analyzing known lateral and vertical airspace stratum. Below are two images showing our custom Discord bot reporting: The active aircraft on the server, shown with their Mode-S hexadecimal readouts (first column), The FIRs the aircraft are currently in (AOR column); and, What FIRs the aircraft are in the vicinity of (APD column). We have also extended this capability to sector level granularity. The image below shows what sector the aircraft is currently in and also what sector the aircraft is projected to be in the next 180 seconds based on the current aircraft trajectory. Why on earth is this important? Well this core functionality can be used for many different applications such as ATC scheduling, traffic management, auto-handoffs, auto squawk code assignments, and auto "contact me" messages... just to name a few. Speaking about auto-squawk code assignments, the server can already do this! When you file an IFR flight plan on POSCON, regardless of whether ATC is online or offline, the server automatically sends you a squawk code assignment. This is important so that your flight plan and target are properly correlated because on POSCON, your callsign is not tied to your actual connection. Another recent update to our server is that ghost mode has been re-enabled. Earlier this year we disabled our ghost mode code while we worked on other aspects of the server because the feature was interfering with our testing. I am pleased to announce that we have finished those peripheral updates and have re-enabled ghost mode. Ghost mode allows members to remain connected and enjoy the server, while not being a bother to other users. While on the topic of ghost mode, we recently added runway definitions and buffer zones to the server so that when an aircraft spawns to a runway, instead of interfering with traffic, they are automatically ghosted. This server functionality can also later be used for Runway Safety Area (RSA) alerts in the Radar Client. In addition to automatically ghosting for spawning on a runway, the server will also automatically ghost aircraft that slew or that connect in the vicinity of another aircraft (e.g. at the same gate as someone already connected). In regards to server infrastructure, we are utilizing the Google Cloud Platform. Some features of our server infrastructure include: Automatic server selection and negotiation. Memory-only flight servers (no need to read from disk). Multi-gigabit network uplinks per server. RAM-based databases for our core services. Next, lets discuss the pilot clients. Like the voice system, most of the work on these clients has been finished for a few months. Right now, our main focus is sorting through bugs and working on the Pilot Client Web UI, which I will discuss later in this post. The X-Plane Pilot Client was recently updated with better model matching logic. The new logic closely emulates the logic that most people are already familiar with on other networks. In addition to this new logic, we also added a new ground clamping algorithm. As a pilot approaches or departs from the ground, the client will now evaluate the terrain underneath the aircraft and intelligently chose from one of two methods to display an aircraft in your sim. This will prevent models from making unrealistic movements during the takeoff or landing phase of flight. I have personally tested this extensively and I can tell you, it works very well when you are flying with people using different sims and/or terrain meshes. As with all things pilot client related, we will ensure feature parity, so the FSX/P3D client will soon have the same features that have been added to the X-Plane client. Since FSExpo, the website (we call "HQ" or Headquarters) continues to be updated to the new design. We currently have a fully functional ICAO 2012 flight plan form with an integrated tutorial for users who are not completely familiar with how to fill out the form. Some additional features of the HQ include: The ability to view your profile, statistics, and change account preferences. View training documentation and modules. Submit support requests. View upcoming events and bookings. Browse available Discord servers. Schedule ATC sessions. Submit airline and aircraft ICAO codes to be approved for inclusion in the global database. If you were at FSExpo, you will be familiar with our Live Map which consists of a globe, continents, and FIR boundaries. Currently it displays airspace and aircraft with the ability to view activity in a 3D perspective. We have included a live weather radar on this map as well that covers most major areas around the world. By clicking on an aircraft on the map, a sidebar appears which displays some basic flight data and a series of options to choose from including: "Leave Feedback" "Report Issue" - in other networks, this is the same as the "Wallop" command. "Message" - this is restricted to Moderators only. Because our map is derived from OpenStreetMap, users are able to update their home airport and make it as detailed as they want. Here is EHAM: The Pilot Client Web UI, which is part of HQ, is coming along nicely. The Web UI is already capable of: Changing VHF radio frequencies in your sim. Changing squawk code, transponder mode, and identing. Changing the active radio transmitter and receiver in your sim. Requesting and displaying weather reports (METARs, TAFs, etc.). Changing your connection mode (ghost or live). Disconnecting from the network. Sending PIREPs to the server. Communicating with Moderators. We are currently working on implementing CPDLC via the Web UI. This will be the only way users are able to use text to communicate with ATC. Last but not least, lets discuss the Radar Client. Development on this software is coming along nicely as well. One of the unique things about our Radar Client is the way you log in and choose what position you are going to control. The first step is to pick the authority in which you desire to work in. In this case "FAA", which is the USA. Then pick the enroute facility. In this case "ZNY", which is New York ARTCC. Then pick the sub-facility. In this case "N90", which is New York TRACON (Apporach/Departure). Then pick the sub-facility area. In this case "JFK", which is of course Kennedy International Airport. Then pick the sector or position. In this case "2G", which is a sector of the Kennedy Area. Pick the configuration. In this case I picked "Default". After clicking "Login", the server automatically downloads all the proper sector and voice communication data. Why is this important? It makes the setup process extremely seamless. With our software, all a user needs to worry about is basic preference settings. Right now, the login menu exists in the Radar Client itself, but eventually we will move it, along with a lot of other things, to the Launcher Client software which will automatically download and keep POSCON files up-to-date. Another feature of the Radar Client worth discussing is our VSCS (Voice Switching and Control System). The VSCS panel data is automatically populated from the server based on the position you select at login. No extra configuration is required other than selecting which transmitters you want to activate. In the example below, we have set up a single frequency with multiple transmitter locations. I have activated the transmitter located at Matawan (MAT), New Jersey and I am transmitting on 125.325. I am also monitoring Guard on both VHF and UHF frequencies. The Radar Client also gives the user the ability to change the rate at which targets update. This is important because different air traffic control positions use different types of radars that update at different rates. We wanted to give the user the ability to control this variable. Here is an image from our WX and ALTIM SET panels. These can be setup using the "WR" and "QD" commands respectively. Well, that about sums up our technical development progress. I am sure I left out some points but there is just so much to cover! I want to stress the point that we have accomplished the majority of this work in just over a year. Imagine where we will be at next year. I also want to take this opportunity and remind everyone to follow us on our Twitch channel! You can expect that to become active in the VERY near future!

@Kobi L. Btw, Of Monsters and Men rock!

Hello and welcome to everyone interested in the Iceland Division of POSCON! I have created this forum to explore the possibility of releasing a division for Iceland during beta testing. The only way we will release with this division is if enough people show interest, so get all your friends to join this club and make sure that they stay active! If there is enough interest and discussion, we will devote our resources to creating the necessary infrastructure. We are going to need your help though with sector file construction and writing procedures! If you have any interest in helping us write this material, please email [email protected] Halló og velkomin öllum sem áhuga hafa á Íslandsdeild POSCON! Ég hef stofnað þennan vettvang til að kanna möguleikann á að gefa út deild fyrir Ísland í beta prófunum. Eina leiðin sem við sleppum með þessari deild er ef nóg af fólki sýnir áhuga, svo fáðu alla vini þína til að ganga í þennan klúbb og ganga úr skugga um að þeir haldist virkir! Ef nægur áhugi og umræða er um munum við verja fjármunum okkar til að skapa nauðsynlega innviði. Við munum þurfa á aðstoð þinni að halda við smíði atvinnulífs og ritunarferli! Ef þú hefur áhuga á að hjálpa okkur að skrifa þetta efni, vinsamlegast sendu tölvupóst á [email protected]

Yes.

What is the issue? Can you elaborate?

@Teodor T.

Hello and welcome to everyone interested in the Bulgaria Division of POSCON! I have created this forum to explore the possibility of releasing a division for Bulgaria during beta testing. The only way we will release with this division is if enough people show interest, so get all your friends to join this club and make sure that they stay active! If there is enough interest and discussion, we will devote our resources to creating the necessary infrastructure. We are going to need your help though with sector file construction and writing procedures! If you have any interest in helping us write this material, please [email protected] Здравейте и добре дошли на всички, които се интересуват от отдел България на ПОСКОН! Създадох този форум, за да проуча възможността за освобождаване на разделение за България по време на бета тестове. Единственият начин да се освободим с това разделение е, ако достатъчно хора проявят интерес, така че накарайте всички ваши приятели да се присъединят към този клуб и се уверете, че те остават активни! Ако има достатъчно интерес и дискусия, ние ще отделим ресурсите си за създаването на необходимата инфраструктура. Ние ще се нуждаем от вашата помощ, въпреки че секторите на секторни файлове и процедурите за писане! Ако имате някакъв интерес да ни помогнете да напишем този материал, моля, изпратете [email protected]