This program was originally a way for me to keep track of flights that I
took in flight simulator. I was always curious to know what the distance
was when flying from one place to another, since from time to time, I have
varying amounts of time for this hobby. So the idea was to track basic
information on time and distance. It evolved into more, after seeing some
of the other programs out there for flight sim enthusiasts. The program
now has the capability of tracking the following:
First... a little about the program.
The idea is straightforward, log the flights for future reference. The bulk
of the user interface is for the information for a given flight log. To
start, the program starts up blank as shown above. The same is true after
pressing the 'N' button in the Flight Logger Control section. A flight
title, departure location, and aircraft are required before starting the
logger. This is a rule I put in place, since these are the pieces required
to get started, and are known at the time of take-off. Whether the flight
is VFR or IFR, you can give it a title, along with what airport you are
leaving from and what aircraft you are using. If your arrival location changes,
that is OK to change during the logging process, but the airport you left
from doesn't change, nor does the aircraft. So once these three items are
entered, selecting the 'Begin' button notes the time on the computer that is
running the program. It also now locks out the title, departure location
and aircraft from being changed.
One note on this: I choose a time that is consistent across all flights I
take to click the begin button. For flights with a IFR flight plan, I click
'Begin' after receiving clearance. For VFR flights, it is after the engines
are started and I'm ready to request taxi clearance. For me, something along
these lines is good for consistency.
The rest of the information can be filled in at any time during the flight,
or if flying with a flight plan, before you begin. It can also be changed
during the flight if anything changes, like altitude changes, location and
distance.
The final item that can be logged is any notes the pilot has from the flight.
This really can be anything desired, and after typing the note, clicking
'Add Note' will add it to the notes section. The notes section is not
directly editable, however, the 'Remove Note' button will allow the user
to select a note to be removed.
Once the flight is complete (at the gate, parked, engines off, etc), the
flight can be ended. By selecting the 'End' button, the flight log will
note the local computer time of the button click. This will also check to
make sure all the fields are filled, and lock everything out. The program
does require the user at this point to select the 'S' or save button from
the Flight Logger Control section. Once saved, the program is ready to be
ended without losing information or click the 'N' button for a new flight
to log.
More on the flight logger control section...
The other two buttons in this section not previously discussed are the 'E' or Edit button, and the 'O' or Open button. They do exactly as you would expect and both open the following list to select a previous flight log from:
Both buttons use this list for the user to select a flight to edit or view. The window that follows a valid selection is a window that is largely the same under both instances, but the edit button will allow the information to be edited. In this case, a flight log can then be edited for anything that was missed or incorrect. Otherwise, it is a read only panel for viewing the information for a given flight. This window looks like this:
About the aircraft list control section...
In order to select an aircraft for the flight, a list of aircraft have to be maintained. It all starts with being able to add a new aircraft using the 'N' button in this section. The following panel is displayed for entering information about an aircraft, in the case of a new aircraft, it is blank:
In the case where 'E' for Edit, or 'O' for Open are selected, a list will initially popup allowing the user to select the aircraft to edit or view. This list will contain all of the previously entered aircraft:
Once selected, the same window as above will appear, populated with the information previously entered, and will either be editable or read only.
About the airport list control section...
The final section is on controlling the airport list. This is similar to
the list of aircraft, but for airports. This list is used by both the
FlightLogger program, as well as the AirportView program.
As with the aircraft list, selecting 'N' will allow the user to enter
in a new airport, with fully editable fields:
The 'E' and 'O' buttons also stand for the same as before - edit and open respectively. They will bring up this same popup window with information already populated, and be either editable or read only. When selecting these buttons, a list will first appear to be able to select the airport to edit or view:
A note about the lists and information records...
Each of the lists, or records, of flight logs, aircraft, and/or airports are all stored in a MySQL database table. The program will look for a default config file when starting up, and either use that, or one selected by the user. Additionally, if one doesn't exist, one can be created. These options are available under the File menu, and can be used with any MySQL database that is available locally or over the internet, provided the user has the proper credentials. The following pops up when selecting 'Create config file...' from the File menu:
This information is then used by the program to access the tables for the information needed to run.