Where are you ? ... How does the Tracking Work ?

One of the most frequently asked Questions during WorldFlight is how does all our Tracking Software work ?

As in the real Aircraft the Simulator has Flight Management Computers which work in the same way. These Flight Management Computers (FMC) use a system called ACARS which is a little bit like Text Messaging from your Mobile Phone, Pilots are able to request Air Traffic Clearances, obtain Weather reports and even message the Airline Company and other Aircraft.

This system also sends out Position reports and other flight and engine performance data.

Flight Management Computer (Top Left)

In our Simulator the System does exactly the same however the postion reports go to a website in Holland maintained by one of our Crew Members Jeroen (Hoppie) Hoppenbrouwers, he has developed a lot of the software that runs our simulator. Hoppie has then worked his magic to display our position on Google Earth, An Eath View, an Airshow Type display (like you see in the seatback TV) and also our flight board all of which update every 2 minutes from the signal sent out of the simulator.As The "Meerkat" says Seeemple !! ... of course the system does have one fatal floor, it needs the Pilots to set it up ! , dont worry they will do ... if Not "Hoppie" will be on them like a Ton of bricks ! :)
All of the Tracking appears in the side margins of this blog and will be on the front page of the Website when we start the event, but if you wish to view it now you can do here