vPilot, Helicopters and Serious Identity Issues

Support Pilot Software
1

Hello all. My question is… after installing vPilot, setting up the basics like PTT, etc, you are able to get into settings and advanced settings.

There, you’ll see where vPilot inventories your hangar - the “Aircrafts” hangar.

But, it doesn’t do anything with/about the “Rotocrafts” hangar and the Helis you may have - default or payware.

That would IMO explain or, at least be plausible, that if you’re flying a helicopter online, another pilot - running vPilot - will see you as, maybe an A380 or B77W or an MD11 or an A321 or whatever equipment ‘they’ selected for when vPilot fails model matching?

Does that make sense?

I’ve searched through all the files/folders within vPilot install. Files I can open with Notepad ++ and scroll through makes a lot of sense.

I just can’t find a trigger/switch i can set (anywhere) that’ll force vPilot to include the contents of the Rotorcrafts hangar.

I’m really curious because a couple weeks ago while flying the BK17 - at uncontrolled KLAX on a weekday morning 7am local time - a pilot WALLOP’d me to a Vatsim Sup with the complaint I was preforming “aerobatics” over the airport. In actuality, I had just crossed over the 6s/24s from the North and was in slow flight from East to West above the terminal/gates with a controlled turn heading back to the East.

If it matters? I have over fifteen thousand hours on the network in all types of equipment except the DeLorean Back To The Future Time Machine.

Im particularly hoping Mr Carlson might stumble on this topic and shed som light or offer a suggestion?

TIA

Keith

2

The aircraft that you are flying has literally zero impact on how others see you. What matters is the aircraft type code that you enter into the “Connect” window in vPilot, as well as your callsign. The aircraft type code and callsign are used together to try to find the best match for your aircraft, among the models that the other user has installed.

So if other users are seeing your BK17 as an airliner, that’s simply because they don’t have any models installed (or proper VMR model matching rules) that can render your BK17 as a helicopter, so their vPilot is falling back to the default model, whatever that is. The default model is usually a regional jet, but each user can choose their own default model.

It’s an unfortunate reality that most people won’t have good models installed for helicopter model matching.

1 Like
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Gd’morning Mr. Carlson,

Thank you for your massive development efforts over the years AND your immediate response to this ‘topic’.

You’ve completely validated my thought process on this subject, hopefully assisting other pilots as they fly online.

I use the Type: BK17 and the Callsign: EXEnnn.

So, the Kawasaki BK 117-B2 Helicopter and EXE callsign ‘translates’ back to Executive Helicopter Service out of Pasadena California… so my vPilot log in would be EXE121 and BK17 respectively.

More importantly Ross, as it is (and always has been) a terrible idea to become confrontational with a Vatsim Supervisor - while online or otherwise - absorbing the accusation of wrong-doing on the Network is (in my case) a no -issue.

My hope, I suppose, is to help shed a brighter light on the complexities and inner workings of many of the Sim tool we have at our disposal.

Also, it is NOT a happy place SWATTING another pilot on the network because YOU think you’ve been somehow impacted by what YOU think is the deliberate action of a fellow online pilot.

a) Running Vatspy or Vatsim Radar concurrently with your Sim platform
b) Maintaining a current AIRAC database
c) Having access to valid (or even expired) SID, STAR charts

My biggest chuckle comes from watching a ‘blip’ on Vatsim Radar report a groundspeed of 385kts heading westbound over the USA - knowing my WX engine is reporting 102kts on the nose - I, too, heading westbound - YET… that ‘blip’ is covering 4x to 8x the distance on the moving map.

Whenever I see “ctaf KBUR” pop up on vPilot and a response from another pilot of the actual ctaf frequency (if there actually is one)… I immediately think about… “it’s easier to give someone a fish versus teaching that person how to fish”. My response typically is… “dotCTAF icao”.

Take care Ross and thank you,

Keith