Changelog

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Virtual Air Canada Cargo Routes

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New Cargo Operations Available

• Virtual Air Canada Cargo routes are now available for booking through the Pilot Portal
• Fly dedicated freight missions using our Boeing 767-300 Cargo fleet
• Fictional cargo additions include Airbus A300 Cargo and Boeing 777F Cargo aircraft

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Fleet and Aircraft

• Boeing 767-300 Cargo: Primary aircraft based on Air Canada’s actual cargo fleet
• Airbus A300 Cargo: Fictional addition for medium-haul cargo operations
• Boeing 777F Cargo: Fictional addition for long-haul cargo operations

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Beta Status

• Cargo routes are currently in beta testing phase
• Some scheduling inconsistencies may occur as we continue system improvements
• Report any issues in our Discord server to help us enhance the cargo operations experience

Learn more: Cargo Operations Guide

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Pilot Hub App Update

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Performance Improvements

• Minor performance updates to enhance app responsiveness and stability
• Optimized loading times for better user experience

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Automatic Updates

• The app now regularly checks for updates automatically
• Users will be notified when new versions are available
• Ensures you always have the latest features and improvements

Download the latest version: https://canadava.com/software

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Events & Activities

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Beta Test: Try Out Roster Schedules and Earn Extra Points

• Test period runs through June 16
• Earn 500 bonus points for completing your roster

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June Focus Airport: Start Flying Today

• The focus airport will be open until June 30
• Earn unique award when completing at least one flight
• Fly exclusive Jetz flights from that airport
• Earn +100 points per flight when flying to and from that airport

See all events

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Pilot Portal Updates

These updates will be available starting May 29, at 13:00 UTC.

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New Features

• Improved SimBrief integration: You can now link your SimBrief account to your vAYSIM profile and have a better flight booking experience. This is a mandatory requirement if you’re booking flights via SimBrief. View our getting-started guide

• Monthly focus airports: We’ve added a focus airports that allow earning extra points and awards when flying to and from the focus airport. See this month’s airport in the Pilot Portal.

• Rosters (coming soon): We are looking to soon add rosters to the Pilot Portal that will provide realistic and engaging flight schedules from our main hubs. This feature is perfect if you want your entire day pre-planned by the dispatcher.

• Route operation days: Flights now have operating days, which you can see on the booking page. You don’t need to fly these routes exactly on the specified days—you can adjust your sim start and end dates and times to match them. Since we’re enriching over 900+ flights, we’re still testing this feature, so some schedules might not be perfectly accurate.

• SimBrief profiles: You can now select your airframe profile on the booking page after setting up your SimBrief integration in Account Settings.

• OFP in the booking page: The booking page now includes the full OFP, allowing you to prepare for your flight without leaving the Pilot Portal.

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Performance Data Integration

You can now view detailed information about:

• Runway conditions and wind components for departure and arrival
• Performance parameters including V-speeds, flap settings, and de-rate options
• Comprehensive fuel calculations including block, trip, contingency, and reserve fuel
• Weight data including ZFW, TOW, and landing weights
• Detailed flight specifications including cruise speed, altitude, and estimated times

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Behind the Scenes

Instead of news, we want to share how we’re crafting tools and experiences to enhance your flight journey. Let’s take a peek behind the scenes. Bonus: Check out what’s on the roadmap for our pilots.

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Our Workflow

• Creating flight routes: Our custom-built software pulls real-life flight schedules from multiple APIs into our operational database. This tool consolidates all the data and passes it to enrichment.

• Enriching routes: After the initial import, we use specialized tools to enhance the data with historical flight information, including altitudes, call signs, and terminals. Not all the data is available in a single source so we try to have as best historical flight data as possible.

• Cleanup: We run multiple data cleanup tools after importing new routes to ensure accuracy. For instance, we compare flight distances against a reference API that contains average route distances between departure and arrival airports.

• Publishing changes: After the data is properly processed, we upload it to our Pilot Portal. We use a custom-built comparison tool to check the new database against the existing one, filtering out potential issues that may arise from changes in both production and staging environments.

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Future Plans

We are looking to add more publicly available tools for pilots soon. Here are some of our roadmap items:

• Experimental - AI Routes: We are testing an experimental and optional routing feature. Since Air Canada only flies to certain destinations, routes are currently limited to their network. However, we are developing AI-based routing that expands beyond Air Canada’s realistic routes and imagines potential expansion. Pilots can filter these expanded routes in the Pilot Portal for greater variety. This will be a completely optional feature and pilots can still fly the regular routes.

• In-sim ACARS Integration: Integration with Fenix and FlyByWire aircraft. Currently, ACARS is limited to flight tracking and PIREP reporting. We plan to add a tool that incorporates operations information into the aircraft’s ACARS and CPDLC systems. This AI-powered service will enhance the realism of offline flying.

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Pilot Hub: A New Desktop App for Flight Booking

We’re excited to announce that our updated desktop app is now available for booking flights across all platforms. It offers the same Pilot Portal experience as our web version, but as a standalone app, you can install and access it anytime. Don’t worry—you can still use the browser version if you prefer.

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Features

• Book flights
• View routes
• Manage pilot profile
• Access docs, including getting started guides and AOPs
• Keep track of NOTAMs

Download here: https://canadava.com/software