TFM is pleased to announce the launch of our first beta cycle, which in this case is for the pmdg 777 series within MSFS. This also marks the start of the TFM subscription process with the TFM Beta Access Member Role. This will, as stated, help TFM to both sustain itself going forward and to grow as a project. The Beta release you will receive has been extensively tested in the alpha phase, so that it can be used in combination with First Officer to fly the aircraft from A to B. It is therefore stable, usable and refined, hence the subscription process begins here. The goal of the Beta will be to enhance the support for the 777 to reach the stage where TFM can give access to all parts of the aircraft that are present and applicable. The discounted rate of 7.99 monthly reflects our gratitude to the selected team for providing feedback and devoting their time to the product, whilst also demonstrating the existing quality of the Beta release you will receive.
Please read the application form carefully, paying particular attention to the requirements alongside the various agreements linked at the bottom, including the non-disclosure agreement you will enter into if you are accepted as part of the beta team. If you have any questions about these agreements before choosing to apply, please ask one of the team, as they will be legally binding once you have been accepted into the process. If you wish to apply, complete the form in full, and all applications will then be considered after the form is closed on the 21st of December. We aim to let you know if you were successful in the application by the 22nd of December. In forming this team, we will aim to create a group with varied skill sets, and so not every applicant will be successful. Please feel free however to apply for future beta cycles, as we will try to ensure teams are not uniform in terms of personnel. The beta cycle will then begin at some point within the first half of January, and we will confirm release details to the successful applicants nearer the time. Please feel free to share this with friends, as we are looking to receive as wide a pool of applications as possible.
Please find the link below:
Declan Webster
progress update for tfm
We are pleased to report that Talking Flight Monitor is making excellent progress. This weekend, we entered the internal alpha phase, where we will be addressing any critical bugs before starting the official beta cycle. The beta will then gradually incorporate select new features alongside levelling up the existing infrastructure, which will already be comprehensive in allowing pilots to fly aircraft from A to B comfortably from day one. While we cannot provide specific timelines or estimate the duration of the alpha phase, everything is progressing well, and we are currently on track—if not slightly ahead of schedule. Stay tuned for more updates!
a brief update from TFM
Welcome Back
Hello everyone. We’d like to begin by reaffirming our continued commitment to releasing the first paid version of TFM as soon as possible. The work continues, and below you can find a brief discussion of what is yet to come. The work has slowed as of the last month since Andy was absent on a necessary trip but rest assured things will quickly pick back up on the software side now that he has returned.
What is Being Updated
So, what are we doing inside TFM itself:
- The settings screen is being re-worked, alongside the airports database which was in need of some love. A new, reliable connection screen to display various pieces of information related to TFM’s status will be created, alongside additions to the TFM menu improving ease of access. A single window for TFM will be implemented, meaning that any interface elements that are displayed will appear here.
- We have further separated out keyboard commands. The right bracket offerings that you will be familiar with are now named the ‘PFD’, primary flight display, and include key instruments, I.E heading, altitude, speed and vertical speed. Other right bracket commands will be moved elsewhere. Similarly, the left bracket keys have now been titled the ‘SFD’ or secondary flight display, which includes key areas such as your MCP, and other functions will be moved elsewhere. The ‘pfd’ and ‘sfd’ will be viewable in a user interface window, which may be useful for those with braille displays for example.
- You will find many other ease of use changes which make TFM more reliable and streamlined. For example pilots will now choose which aircraft they’re flying when launching, a measure designed to insure any detection issues are overcome. TFM’s logging system has also been refined alongside the user’s ability to find and send said logs.
Support
So, what else?
- We are completing our bug tracking processes, but do remember our support form system is now active. Official support is taking place via this method. Any support through the various other groups, especially that from team members, should be considered unofficial but will of course continue. A reminder that we will no longer be officially supporting the opensource versions of TFM, whilst community based support will continue unofficially. After the launch of the subscription, any bugs or feature requests will have to be logged.
Concluding Thoughts
We thank those who sent in applications relating to documentation and will soon form a team for this, although much of the work will begin after the initial release since we do not wish to make large-scale changes to TFM’s core immediately after the process of creation has begun, since this seems rather counter-productive.
Thanks for reading this brief update, we’ll be back with more soon.
Talking Flight Monitor’s pricing model revealed, a sim update 15 bug and more
Welcome along to this latest TFM blog post. This week, we’ll be covering, amongst other points, the pricing for the upcoming release, the new TFM ticket system, and a sim update 15 bug that means you should not update to the beta just yet.
Pricing Model
We will be charging 9.99 dollars per month, or 100 dollars per year, for access to the TFM subscription. This will include the latest TFM version with frequent feature updates, the ability to apply for beta versions, and the ability to receive official support.
We believe this pricing model is proportionate to the value you as a consumer will receive, particularly with reference to upcoming features, some of which are under investigation as we speak. It also ensures that the project will remain sustainable in the longer-term.
A reminder that for the moment, the old release version of TFM remains freely available on the site up until the release of the subscription model. We will speak more at the time of the paid release with regard to keeping a free, unsupported version of tfm around, but rest assured this, alongside the pricing model, have been carefully considered.
sim update 15 fmc bug
Some users have reported having difficulties with tfm and the pmdg 737 in MSFS sim update 15, in that the output of the FMC could not be received. We believe this is an issue on Microsoft’s end, as many users have reported having blackouts within the cockpit in various aircraft and with FSUIPC7 uninstalled. We hope this issue will be fixed before the release, and believe it is something Microsoft are looking into at the time of writing.
support ticketing system
TFM has a new ticketing system which allows users to receive support. Visit talkingflightmonitor.com/contact
to send a request, and it will be catalogued so that an agent can respond. Note that bug reports and suggestions will be handled through a different platform once we have the release out and the beta cycle up and running. This system is for support if you as a user are having difficulties with a part of talking flight monitor’s operation. Other unofficial channels, such as WhatsApp groups, remain open but are, as always, more difficult to organise.
documentation
Applications for documentation remain open at this time. Drop a member of the team a private message or send an email to info@talkingflightmonitor.com with your application. Refer to the previous post for full details, but note that this application can be for video or written documentation, with an example included for one of the MCP boxes for the pmdg 737 within tfm. We will leave applications open for at least a further week, and will let you know when they are closed. Keep in mind we may form a small team for this project if necessary.
concluding thoughts
Thanks for sticking with us through this transition. Stay tuned for more information as we near the release. We hope to soon be able to turn away from talk of a transition and toward talk of feature roadmaps. The 737 remains to be finished, whilst some other features are currently in the early stages of exploration.
As always, send in thoughts, suggestions and requests, we will try to provide an official response.
Declan.
A New Chapter for Talking Flight Monitor
Welcome to a vital update from Talking Flight Monitor (TFM), brought to you by Declan, your new Communications Manager. This week marks a significant milestone for the project, so it’s important you read this post in full to gain an understanding of the new landscape in its entirety.
Management transition
As you may have seen over the past week, TFM’s management processes have undergone a transition. Andy and Jason believed that, given the shift to payware and the increase in tasks and expectation that this would lead to, it was necessary to diversify the ways in which TFM consults with the community. They therefore decided to create a ‘tfm taskforce’ comprised of three individuals to support in managing different parts of the project. This trio, including myself, is set to spearhead various new segments of the project, ensuring a seamless and efficient operation.
As the Communications Manager, my role encompasses handling all forms of communication, including this blog, and fostering a dialogue with our valued community. I’m here to bridge your thoughts with actionable outcomes, working closely with the team to ensure your voice is heard, valued, and acted upon.
Rob Kipp joins us to steer the logistical aspect, focusing primarily on our transition to beta cycles, which is crucial for refining our offerings. Meanwhile, Gus Pacleb will lend his expertise in crafting clear, long-term strategies for feature planning, ensuring TFM’s roadmap is both ambitious and achievable.
Andy continues to lead the development efforts, with Jason providing support and advisory insights when possible. This collective effort aims to secure a future for TFM where quality and innovation are at the forefront, reflecting our commitment to excellence as we move towards a payware model.
Website downtime
You may have noticed some temporary downtime with the TFM website. The transition to a new server was completed much quicker than expected, and the website has returned to normal operations for now. Expect to see some fluctuation with the site over the next month, I.E individual pages not working as expected, as we continue the transition. If you have a particular issue on a given day, keep trying. Hopefully you’ll notice a slightly smoother experience, and this marks the beginning of Andy’s switch to focus full-time on TFM to reflect the necessary increase in development in the coming months. You should, as happened in this case, begin to see the fruits of this decision.
Contact methodology and support
We understand this transition brings questions and maybe even concerns. Rest assured, our team is fully committed to delivering value that meets your expectations and that is ultimately proportional to the subscription fee.
Our engagement channels remain open through the official contact form on our website or via email at info@talkingflightmonitor.com. Additionally, I’m personally available for private discussions through dm, acknowledging the relationships I’ve built within this community.
Support will remain a cornerstone of our service. We aim to provide clear, focused assistance on TFM-related inquiries through our official channels. We remind you that TFM support cannot provide you with detailed guides on aircraft systems or simulator issues and will focus primarily upon the workings of TFM which is, ultimately, simply a tool to give you access to other complex addons which all have individual support mechanisms alongside documentation of their own. We would be grateful therefore if you could keep questions routed in specifics. As we develop our documentation, we anticipate this will streamline support requests further.
Call for help with documentation
In line with this, we’re calling on the community to contribute to TFM’s documentation. Whether it’s through written guides or video tutorials, your expertise can greatly benefit users and enrich our resources. Contributors will enjoy the perk of free TFM releases for the duration of their involvement, as a token of our appreciation. We encourage interested candidates to submit a sample peace of documentation, covering how to operate the TFM speed or altitude boxes in the pmdg 737. This can be submitted via email at the above address, or by DM to one of the team. We will eventually require videos to be made as part of the documentation, so please do indicate if you would like to do this alongside the written documentation, as we are willing to form a small team if that turns out to be necessary. Any documentation would be simple to follow, perhaps contain thoughtful but concise bullet points, and does not need to go into inordinate detail regarding aircraft systems since such detail can be found elsewhere. You may, if you wish, use any of the tutorial information on bvipilots.net and include it in your work, given that this is custom material.
Closing thoughts
Lastly, our subscription and beta infrastructure remain under development. The old official release version of TFM, which was made freely available prior to the last preview cycle, will remain accessible via our website, offering a solid foundation for users whilst we prepare for the next phase. This version includes support to varying levels for the 737, 747 and 777.
This week symbolizes a rebirth of sorts for TFM, invigorating a project that has admittedly stagnated for various reasons in previous months.
Stay tuned for more updates. We intend to publish another detailed blog post within the next fortnight to keep you updated on the transitioning infrastructure.
Best wishes
Declan
Communications Manager, Talking Flight Monitor
