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
Talking flight monitor moves to a closed source platform, will offer it for purchase
Welcome back to the blog. In this post we will describe future plans for Talking flight monitor and its move to a closed source platform. It will also move to a software as a service subscription model. There is a decent amount to cover, so let’s get started.
After careful review of the GPL3 license, along with professional consulting from a licensed attorney, we decided that the paid addon model will not work. The GPL3 license requires that any software interfacing with paid plugins that work from a proprietary license is in violation of the GPL3 license. On the other hand, any software licensed under a proprietary license accessing portions of a GPL3 licensed application must comply with the GPL3 license. This means that the paid plugins we would make requires distribution of that plugin’s source code. Since the closed source plugins would have security mechanisms to validate user licenses in place, it is a security risk to both users and Talking flight monitor. It opens the door for hackers, viruses, and other issues that compromise security. Another aspect of this decision is in Talking flight monitor’s current codebase. At this time, it would take significant rewrites to portions of the code to accommodate a paid plugin system. It also presents a security risk while in the open-source market. When closed source, it would take minimal code modification to implement a security mechanism to validate users and subscriptions.
Currently, there is no interest in Talking flight monitor’s source. During the past three years, there have been a few pull requests to add minimal functionality to Talking flight monitor. There also seems to be a lack of interest in the preview builds as offered. Compared to the official release, the preview builds are hardly used. Sure, there are some community users that make use of the preview builds, but it is minimal. As Talking flight monitor grows and expands its offering, it is starting to incur expenses that need a consistent revenue to stay alive. With the amount of research, coding time, and hours of work dedicated to Talking flight monitor, the project cannot continue unless it is compensated for its time and effort. We also have put our vested interest on the line. In its current state, anyone can take the source, modify it, and claim it as their own derivative work. With the past three years on the line, we need to protect our intellectual property.
Over the coming weeks and months, we will start to shut down the opensource aspect of Talking flight monitor. During this time, development will stop while we make the transition. Any official downloads or preview builds will still be available during the transition period. Once the transition is complete, we will modify the website to accommodate paid subscriptions, feature request forms, bug report forms, and new contact forms. Once that is complete, we will make any adjustments to comply with local and international copyright laws, licenses, and distribution requirements. Once Talking flight monitor is secure, we will remove the official build and any preview builds that are available on the website. We will then modify Talking flight monitor to validate subscriptions, then offer it for purchase. The preview builds will be available to anyone who has a paid subscription. Talking flight monitor will also offer private beta cycles for a select few that apply as a private beta tester. The terms of the beta testing program will be announced later.
Again, the move to closed source is to simplify the licensing process and compensate the developers for their time and expenses. More about the transition will be released as more details become available. We hope you have enjoyed Talking flight monitor as an open source project, and continue enjoying it as we move to closed source.
Preview 2024.1, updates, and spring feedback form results
Welcome back to this week’s blog post. Last time, we played catch-up and let you know about the spring 2024 feedback form we posted. This week I want to cover a few things, so this post may be a little longer than normal. We are going to cover preview builds, Talking flight monitor updates, project priorities, project restructuring, a new partnership, and results from the spring 2024 feedback form. So, let’s get started!
Preview builds
It has been a little over a year since we posted a preview build. Since then, Talking flight monitor has been going through growing pains in the form of a complete conversion from dotnet 4.8 to dotnet 8.0. We also started converting the windows and dialogs in Talking flight monitor over to a newer, more accessible user interface library. The conversion is going well. However, many people have been anxious, wanting to know when the next preview would be posted. We then posted a poll late last week, asking whether or not we should bring back the preview builds before the conversion was complete. The pole indicated that 99.9% of the respondents wanted the preview builds to return, even if the conversion wasn’t complete. In response to this interest, we brought back the preview builds. Preview 2024.1.503 is available for downloaded, and can be found on this website under the preview releases link. Make sure you read the entire release notes before downloading and using. By using the preview builds, you agree that Talking flight monitor and all of its associates, developers, and partners aren’t responsible for damage caused by the preview. The preview will be released around the 15th of each month.
Updates
After the preview release, the only updates are that the PMDG 737 overhead/anti-ice panel and the main area of the overhead panel are complete.
Project priorities
The BVI pilots communities have been talking about Talking flight monitor project priorities over the past week or so. It has come to our attention that a projected feature, ‘flows and checklists’ be implemented as soon as possible. This is because many of the community members feel that they would lose access to a first officer feature (provided by another developer) if we don’t act fast. Our official position is that we need to finish the PMDG 737 panels before attempting to create flows and checklists for it. Among other things, we are in the middle of a conversion/restructuring project at this time and might find it difficult to respond to the request quickly.
Project restructuring and new partnership
While we go through the conversion process, we will also go through and implement a modular approach to Talking flight monitor development. This means that when portions of source code can be isolated from the rest of the codebase, it should then be isolated and packaged so it can be reused in other projects. Doing this will make the software faster and more reliable. It also gives users the ability to download components or modules they are interested in using. For example, why force everyone to download Talking flight monitor with PMDG 747/777 support when they will never use it? So, while we work through the conversion process and other items on the table, we will work on the modular design for the project. This modular redesign will not require a redesign of what is already finished or planned, so no worries there.
On the restructuring side of things, I recently started a software development company that focuses on supporting other software developers in their journey of becoming a professional software developer, student, or other professional in the field. It develops accessible software tools for those students/professionals so they can independently complete their work tasks. Inspiragon (my company) and Talking flight monitor agreed to a partnership. The terms of the agreement are Inspiragon will provide me at no cost as a three-quarter time contractor to work on Talking flight monitor. It will also cover Talking flight monitor’s development related expenses, if any, in exchange for revenue on paid addons. This also means that Talking flight monitor’s website will change throughout the rest of this year. Inspiragon will add a new feature request form, a new contact form, and potentially a new bug tracker. This way, there is no need to create an account on GitHub. Just fill out the form and submit it, and you are done. Now, coming out of this partnership is the requirement that Talking flight monitor develop paid addons to be sold on Inspiragon’s website. So, at some point in the future, we will start working on those paid addons. At this point, I don’t know much about the paid addons, other than they will be on a monthly or yearly subscription rate. When the time comes, we will release more details. You can visit Inspiragon’s website at www.inspiragon.com. At the time of writing, the website is nearly empty. It is just getting started. Bare with us as we go through growing pains together.
Spring 2024 feedback form results
In the spring 2024 feedback form, we got some interesting results. Some we were expecting, others were a surprise. To start, Most participants use P3D. However, most of them also voted for us to drop support for it. Next, everyone used payware aircraft and voted to consolidate features, preserve the state of the trim toggle, and convert the automatic detection of aircraft into a manual selection process. Finally, most of the participants voted to have the left and right bracket (command keys) separated from the TFM virtual keyboard while providing a way to turn them on and off without affecting the TFM keyboard. There may be follow up polls or feedback forms throughout the year to further narrow down the interest of the communities that use Talking flight monitor.
This has been a long post, so I will end it now. Keep watching YouTube for new videos, the website for new content, and the TFM communities for support in your flying adventures. Until next time…
Catching up, spring 2024 feedback form
Welcome back to the blog. It has been a while since we last posted here. In the last post, we mentioned that we would start vlogging on YouTube. We also mentioned that any significant amount of text updates would come here instead. Well, here we are with a text-based update.
TFM progress
We would have to write a novel to cover the updates and things that happened since the last update. Some of them are listed below.
• TFM is now running on dotnet 8.
• We now recommend people build from source.
• * At this point, focus is on MSFS, not P3D.
• We are waiting for the upcoming PMDG 777 for MSFS.
• … and more.
We will be getting back to our text-based updates with more PMDG 737 development. It will be an exciting time for TFM/PMDG users!
Spring 2024 feedback form
There have been some technical problems with the fall 2023 feedback form. As a result, not very many people had the chance to fill it out. Besides, end of the year feedback forms might have a conflict with the end of year holidays. So, we decided to try our feedback forms at the start of the year. The spring 2024 feedback form is now available. We are seeking feedback from the BVI pilots community and others with a vested interest in TFM’s direction. This feedback form focuses on keyboard commands, consolidating similar/related features into a single feature, and removing legacy (no longer used) components. Feel free to fill it out. We are looking for solid direction, so be sure to follow the directions at the beginning of the form. You can find the link at the top of any page on this website.
This is all we have for this week. Stay tuned for more posts here and on YouTube. Until next time, have fun flying!
Post surgery update/P3D support
In last month’s blog post, we covered the heartbeat of Talking flight monitor and what it will take to address existing bugs and to do an in-place upgrade of the entire system. This week, we will update everyone on my surgery and provide some important news about supporting P3D and Navigraph.
Surgery update
Surgery went well. The doctor wants me off my feet for at least four weeks. This means I can do light weight activities inside. He put a limit on how long I can be on my feet, including how long I can sit at a desk during the day. As a result, I had limited time with my laptop, until my wife found a workaround. Now, I can “sit at my desk” as long as possible. This still means limited times because sitting on the couch with my feet up on my desk chair stresses out my back after a while. At least it is as many times during the day as I want. Doing flights is easy because I can be at my desk until autopilot takes over, then move to the couch. I will keep everyone updated on the next stage of recovery with the next blog post.
Navigraph support
Talking flight monitor is now added to the Navigraph HUB. Anyone with a subscription should be able to add the current cycle. This is only for the source builds though. If you would like to build from source to test bleeding edge code, follow the directions found at Building TFM from source. We are currently adding support for the database, so no new features will arrive until this is finished and tested.
P3D support
P3D 6 was released sometime last month. Some significant changes were made to improve the P3D framework and scenery. However, these changes broke support for the PMDG line of aircraft. In other words, PMDG aircraft do not work in P3d6. PMDG announced that after trying to add support for P3D 6, they had deeper problems than just changing some installer files. In the same announcement, they stated that revisiting this problem wouldn’t happen until the 777 and 747 were added to MSFS. This puts the timeframe sometime in mid or late 2024. As reported in the announcement, PMDG most likely won’t continue support for P3D if the changes require too many resources or too much time. Since MSFS arrived on the scene, the market share for P3D 4 and later has significantly declined. Even though more addons and scenery exist for P3D than MSFS, more addons are being altered or newly developed for MSFS. This brings us to Talking flight monitor’s placement in the market.
Talking flight monitor strives to support as many simulators as possible. However, we are also limited in time and resources. Since market value of P3D is declining in favor of MSFS, and PMDG doesn’t support P3d 6, we are not supporting P3D 6 nor continuing new development on P3D 5. Any new development in Talking flight monitor will be focused on MSFS. Keep the following in mind.
- When features are identical in both simulators, we will support P3D5 and earlier.
- If Talking flight monitor works in P3D6, it is at your own risk.
- As long as the PMDG SDKs are the same or close to the same, we will support the P3D versions.
- When the PMDG SDKs are drastically different, the MSFS versions take priority.
- Navigraph support is independent of a simulator, so works in both P3D and MSFS.
- We will not support Aerosoft products.
- We do not support FS2Crew or similar products.
- We do not support the PMDG DC6, TS4xxx, or similar aircraft.
- Support for Osobo aircraft requires an evaluation.
Again, we will do our best to keep P3D5 and earlier support going. However, we can’t make promises to the effect. We hope everyone understands our decision to back off on P3D support. In the event PMDG does support P3D 6, we will reassess the situation.
Future preview builds and current status
Welcome back. Last time, we covered important info about Flight sim expo, some Talking flight monitor updates, and that there is going to be down time because of my surgery this week. Before that happens, I would like to take a little time to explain what will happen with updates going forward. So, let’s start.
The heartbeat for Talking flight monitor monitors aircraft and simulator state, then announces changes based on some user settings. This heartbeat also gives pilots the ability to press a key command to open dialogs or get aircraft information on demand. We also have some utility or satellite systems to help the heartbeat do its job. The previous version of the user interface library we used forced us into a specific coding pattern, which was less than desirable. In the process of building Talking flight monitor over the past three years, we built its heartbeat into a single block of code that is over 5400 lines of related and unrelated source. All together, our code base has over 25000 lines of source that needs to be sorted out. Our plan is to fix as many current bugs and add as many new features as possible while reorganizing the code base. This may take some time since we also have to convert the existing source into the new framework version and move the dialogs and windows over to the new user interface library. The process may take a decent amount of time. However, the plan is to do an in-place upgrade. This means that pilots will not be interrupted with down times or lack preview builds to test. The entire process is always ongoing, so an estimated time is unknown at this time. Starting today, I will not be actively working on Talking flight monitor until my recovery process allows me the comfortable time to do so. I will keep everyone updated on the process and how things are going, especially with Talking flight monitor.
This will most likely be the last blog post for the week. I will evaluate the ability to write one next week and go from there. I hope everyone is having fun flying with Talking flight monitor. It is always our goal to make more and more systems or simulator features accessible with Talking flight monitor. If you have any ideas, feel free to send them through the contact form, and one of us will get back with you as soon as possible. Good luck on all your flights, and I will see you on the other side of surgery.
