Q: Why does it sometimes take days or even a week or more to post screenshots I've submitted?
A: Putting aside issues of quality or variety, if you look at any of our Galleries, you'll notice a few things:
-Every row in a Gallery always has four screenshots.
-Screenshots from the same flight are (almost) always grouped together.
-Groups of four or smaller are always included within one row and not split between two rows.
-Groups are always included in the same Gallery and not split between two Galleries.
From the above rules I try to adhere to, a few things become evident with some thought:
-Screenshots must be posted in groups of four. If I have three screenshots in the queue to post, I won't post them until a fourth is available. Screenshots never seem to come in a steady stream; it's usually a small trickle or a large deluge.
-It may be that I have more than four screenshots to post, but I have a group of three and a group of two. This would mean splitting one of these groups between two rows or even two Galleries. One trend over the last few years has been for pilots to submit many good screenshots for a single flight; this makes it more difficult to fit the pieces together. As a result, a small number of submissions will generally be posted faster than a large number.
Fri, 10. July 2009
Q & A: Old-Style Terminal Maps
Q: What is the plan for updating the content of and replacing our old terminal maps?
A: Our goal is to release 25 terminal maps per year, or one every two weeks. Because of the effort involved in researching these maps, we have decided not to update the content of the old-style maps. At the end of the year, we will be removing any additional old-style maps from the website.
For more on terminal maps, here are two other Q & A's:
-With Delta and Northwest moving gates at numerous airports, when will our terminal maps be updated to reflect their new locations?
-Most of the new terminal maps being released are of North American airports. Why aren't there more maps from the rest of the world?
A: Our goal is to release 25 terminal maps per year, or one every two weeks. Because of the effort involved in researching these maps, we have decided not to update the content of the old-style maps. At the end of the year, we will be removing any additional old-style maps from the website.
For more on terminal maps, here are two other Q & A's:
-With Delta and Northwest moving gates at numerous airports, when will our terminal maps be updated to reflect their new locations?
-Most of the new terminal maps being released are of North American airports. Why aren't there more maps from the rest of the world?
Sat, 27. June 2009
Q & A: Backups
Q: With the recent Avsim closure and concerns over backups, I'm wondering about SimAirline.net's data management.
A: There are thousands of files on our website and that support it, located both on our server and on personal hard drives of our management. In particular, there are:
-the website content
-old versions of the website
-management documents supporting the website and organization
-email archives
-the Pilot Roster System code
-the database behind the Pilot Roster system and the Message Boards
Many of the above, such as the website content and the database, are backed up on a weekly basis. Others that change less frequently, such as the Pilot Roster system code, are backed up less often.
A: There are thousands of files on our website and that support it, located both on our server and on personal hard drives of our management. In particular, there are:
-the website content
-old versions of the website
-management documents supporting the website and organization
-email archives
-the Pilot Roster System code
-the database behind the Pilot Roster system and the Message Boards
Many of the above, such as the website content and the database, are backed up on a weekly basis. Others that change less frequently, such as the Pilot Roster system code, are backed up less often.
Thu, 4. June 2009
Q & A: Delta and Northwest in Terminal Maps
Q: With Delta and Northwest moving gates at numerous airports, when will our terminal maps be updated to reflect their new locations?
A: With over 60 airports left to consolidate gates (including some major airports like Los Angeles) and a classic Northwest Virtual on the way when the Northwest brand disappears next year, we've decided to wait on changing terminal maps until things have settled in this year. The current expectation is that all airport locations will be relocated near the end of the year. At that time, we'll move/add additional Delta gates and set Northwest gates to those to be used in our classic version.
A: With over 60 airports left to consolidate gates (including some major airports like Los Angeles) and a classic Northwest Virtual on the way when the Northwest brand disappears next year, we've decided to wait on changing terminal maps until things have settled in this year. The current expectation is that all airport locations will be relocated near the end of the year. At that time, we'll move/add additional Delta gates and set Northwest gates to those to be used in our classic version.
Sun, 5. April 2009
Q & A: PIREP Approval
Q: Why does only one person at SimAirline.net approve PIREPs rather than each VA Manager?
A: This process began when we first started in 2000 and we only had a management of one. PIREPs were originally all standardized format emails and had to be tabulated manually before editing a web page containing the roster. Despite the shift to a database-centered roster system, there are still some good reasons for having one person approve all PIREPs:
-Consistency in approval standards: one manager might opt to allow a PIREP that arrived unusually early, while another might not.
-Consistency in approval time: one manager might approve PIREPs every day, while another might take longer.
-Better treatment of returning pilots: pilots that flew with us in the past often don't mention that they previously flew for us, so they don't request that those hours be credited. My memory is good at recognizing names, and has let to hours credited for pilots that haven't flown for us in years.
-Maintain database integrity and security: PIREP approval often requires database access to edit or delete PIREPs. This can be complicated to do and also raises security risks.
-Schedule knowledge: SimAirline.net's airlines fly over 20,000 flights per day. While it's impossible to know all of the schedules, it is possible to tell quickly if a PIREP has an obvious problem. This is the goal of checking PIREPs, and it's difficult to pass this skill (acquired over the last nine years) on.
-Efficiency: because of a deep schedule knowledge, I am able to approve PIREPs at a very fast rate. Presuming the PIREP is straightforward, I can approve around ten PIREPs per minute, much faster than a VA Manager who might have to look every flight up.
Based on recent input from pilots on the Message Boards, the management team is discussing whether a change in procedures should be made. If so, we'll be sure to let you know.
A: This process began when we first started in 2000 and we only had a management of one. PIREPs were originally all standardized format emails and had to be tabulated manually before editing a web page containing the roster. Despite the shift to a database-centered roster system, there are still some good reasons for having one person approve all PIREPs:
-Consistency in approval standards: one manager might opt to allow a PIREP that arrived unusually early, while another might not.
-Consistency in approval time: one manager might approve PIREPs every day, while another might take longer.
-Better treatment of returning pilots: pilots that flew with us in the past often don't mention that they previously flew for us, so they don't request that those hours be credited. My memory is good at recognizing names, and has let to hours credited for pilots that haven't flown for us in years.
-Maintain database integrity and security: PIREP approval often requires database access to edit or delete PIREPs. This can be complicated to do and also raises security risks.
-Schedule knowledge: SimAirline.net's airlines fly over 20,000 flights per day. While it's impossible to know all of the schedules, it is possible to tell quickly if a PIREP has an obvious problem. This is the goal of checking PIREPs, and it's difficult to pass this skill (acquired over the last nine years) on.
-Efficiency: because of a deep schedule knowledge, I am able to approve PIREPs at a very fast rate. Presuming the PIREP is straightforward, I can approve around ten PIREPs per minute, much faster than a VA Manager who might have to look every flight up.
Based on recent input from pilots on the Message Boards, the management team is discussing whether a change in procedures should be made. If so, we'll be sure to let you know.
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