New Pilot Orientation
Welcome to New Pilot Orientation! Your success in our Airline is based solely upon how well you grasp and understand the features and functionality of our customized, proprietary Flight Data System and how well you're able to use it and an ACARS data exchange application. If you can master the sections that follow, you'll be ready to take to the virtual skies confidently in your new career and have fun doing so!
- Welcome
- Downloading & Installing Liveries
- Downloading & Installing ACARS
- Flying Your First Flight
- Reviewing Your PIREP
- Completing Your Flight
- Conclusion
Welcome
Before you proceed with this part of your Orientation, you must complete reading through the The Crew Operations Website module. It'll make what follows much less frustrating and more easily understandable and enjoyable.
Link: The Crew Operations Website
Once again, welcome to Walker Air Transport! We’re very pleased to have you with us. It’s our intent to get you into the air as soon as possible. Experience, though, has taught us that following a formal process to bring new Pilots onboard is best for everyone.
That being said, let’s get going…
Our Pilots are expected to know how to fly before they arrive. For that reason, we don't have nor do we offer a Flight Training Program – formal flight training is well beyond the scope of what we do here. Instead, advancing our belief the more one knows about something, the more fun they’re likely to have doing it, we’ve worked very hard to create a safe and fun environment where continual learning is strongly encouraged and practiced.
And what might that include?
For us, it’s about creating and having experiences to develop new piloting skills – or enhance existing ones – and practicing them often to improve proficiency. It’s also about enjoying the time spent flying to its fullest. That means using automation to its maximum potential and using it to make flying with us as user-friendly... painless... frustration free... and painless as possible.
Our Flight Operations Process is streamlined and fully-automated so our Pilots can focus on what’s truly important to them – flying! For a first-timer, though, all of this might seem intimidating at first, so the Onboarding | Orientation Process we’ve detailed in the following pages will help you get acquainted with:
- how we do things here; and,
- how you can be a success – and have fun – as a Walker Air Transport Pilot.
Well, enough talking... It's time for us to go exploring!
Downloading & Installing Liveries
Whenever you fly using our Flight Data System, your aircraft must be 'wearing our colors'. In other words, your flight must be flown in an aircraft using our livery. This section addresses how to locate the livery you need and how to install it.
Downloading Liveries
Download | install a livery for each aircraft you intend to fly.
Location: Downloads > Liveries > Active
This is the top section of the Liveries page.
Let's use the Airbus A320 as an example for this process.
To make it easy to find a livery for the A320, there are a number of sorting/filtering options that can be used in the top section of the Liveries Page. You may search by any of these categories:
| Aircraft Type | Flight Simulator | Fleet Assignment |
| All Aircraft Types currently available for Flight Operations in our three (3) Fleets. | All Lockheed Martin Prepar3D® Microsoft® Flight Simulator 2020 X-Plane |
All |
We'll scroll through the offerings to find our aircraft by entering A320 in the Aircraft Type Search Box. This is what you'll see:
In a format we've standardized across our Fleets, this is what we see for the A320:
- A screen shot of the aircraft.
- The Flight Simulators where this aircraft can be flown are noted.
- In some instances, multiple Walker Air Transport liveries may be available. Here, there happen to be two [2] available – Modern and Vintage. This will not, however, be the case for all Fleet aircraft.
- The Developers whose aircraft we support are noted.
Click the Download button. That will enable us to determine the Flight Simulator in which this aircraft can be flown.
In the company’s Google Drive, each Flight Simulator for which we have a livery will have its own sub-folder. In our example, we can see the A320 can be flown in Prepar3D and X-Plane.
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Within the Flight Simulator sub-folder, the Developer(s) of the aircraft in our Fleet will have their own sub-folder. In our example, we have an A320 from Aerosoft and FSLabs that can be flown in Prepar3D.
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In our example, we also have an A320 from FlightFactor and JARDesigns that can be flown in X-Plane.
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The A320 is a very popular aircraft. As a result, a large number of flight simulator and Developer options exist. This will not necessarily be the case, however, with each aircraft in the Company’s Cargo, Charter and Scheduled Fleets.
To be clear about aircraft and liveries… All liveries are Developer-specific and flight simulator-specific. If you have questions about compatibility, post them to the #general channel in Discord – or – submit a Help Ticket.
Click on the livery you want to download. Follow the onscreen prompts.
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In addition to having two [2] liveries, this aircraft also has a number of mods available (#modifications Folder) you can download and install if you wish to do so. It’s not a requirement you use them.
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Installing Liveries
Once downloaded on your computer, install the livery into your Flight Simulator in the prescribed manner. Afterwards, with your Flight Simulator running, what you downloaded will then be available for you to see.
Repeat this process as many times as necessary to obtain the liveries and mods [as available] you want.
If you need assistance installing a livery in your Sim, go here.
Downloading & Installing ACARS
In order for our customized, proprietary Flight Data System to function properly, it must be connected to your Sim so the data your flight generates can be transmitted to it. That transmission of data is facilitated by ACARS software.
The term ACARS is intended to cover all Fight Tracking Software.
| Windows | PC | MacOS (X-Plane Only) |
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smartCARS 3 |
FlightTrackerXP |
Depending on your computer's Operating System and the Sim you use, one of these Flight Tracking Software programs must be installed in order for you to fly with us.
Flying Your First Flight
We've covered all of the supportive areas. Now, it's time to bid your first flight and actually fly it.
Log In To The Crew Ops Website
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Go to https://walkerair.us/. Click Crew Login in the Navigation Bar. After doing so, the login box will appear. |
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Enter your Email address and Password in the spaces provided.
If you wish to have the website remember you, click the box beside Remember Me. Click the Log In button. |
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Determine Your Flight Profile
Once logged in to the Crew Ops website, you need to determine what kind of a flight you want to make.
| Cargo | To plan and fly a Cargo Flight, click the link below and follow the instructions. LINK: Cargo Flights |
| Charter | To plan and fly a Charter Flight, click the link below and follow the instructions. LINK: Charter Flights |
| Scheduled | To plan and fly a Scheduled Flight, click the link below and follow the instructions. LINK: Scheduled Flights |
| Tour | To plan and fly a Tour Flight, click the link below and follow the instructions. LINK: Tour Flights |
Determine Your Flight Route
While it's not required, most of our Pilots find it valuable and enjoyable to formally plan their Flight Route.
simBrief is a very popular flight planning tool. SkyVector is another popular alternative. There are, however, others – and they can be found using an Internet search.
| simBrief | SkyVector |
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To plan your flight using simBrief, click the link and follow the instructions. The Flight Plan simBrief generates is merely a suggestion. There's no requirement you actually fly it. |
To plan your flight using SkyVector, click the link and follow the instructions. LINK: https://skyvector.com/ |
Start Your Flight Simulator – Pre-Flight
Start your Flight Simulator. Load the aircraft you intend to fly at the departure airport in your Bid/Flight Plan.
Verify your aircraft is 'wearing' a Walker Air Transport livery before you start ACARS.
If you fail to use a Walker Air Transport livery and operate your flight using our ACARS-based Flight Data System, your flight will be rejected and, if this becomes a pattern, you risk being terminated.
Start ACARS
Open ACARS.
Make this a habit. If you fail to start ACARS before you pushback and begin your flight, none of its data can be transferred to our Flight Data System – and that means you will not receive credit for the flight.
To start ACARS, click here and follow the instructions specific to your computer's Operating System and supported Flight Simulator.
Online Air Traffic Control
If you're using live Air Traffic Control for your flight – IVAO, PilotEdge or VATSIM – log in to their system and follow their instructions and/or prompts.
Fly Your Flight
Once you've reached this point, your aircraft is on the ramp at your departure airport – and your Pre-Flight is underway.
Complete your checks – and with your engine(s) running, you're ready for pushback. Enjoy!
NOTE: Once your aircraft moves, the Pre-Flight segment of your flight is complete.
Reviewing Your PIREP
The data produced by your simulator during your flight was transmitted to our Flight Data System (FDS) by ACARS.
After receiving and processing it, our FDS was able to generate the reports and displays found in your Logbook.
To review the PIREP for the flight you just completed, click here and follow the instructions it contains.
And just a reminder... Manual PIREPS are not allowed.
Completing Your Flight
After landing, taxi to your parking spot and stop. Once you do that, your flight officially ends.
Take a moment to review your ACARS Flight Log before filing it. Details about doing that can be found here.
File your Flight Log.
After doing so, a PIREP for your flight will be automatically completed and saved to your Logbook.
It'll be categorized as being Approved, Rejected or Diverted based on the criteria noted below.
If you did not land at your planned Arrival Airport, your flight will be categorized as being Diverted.
| Approved | Rejected | Diverted |
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The criteria for an Approved flight are:
All Points, Flight Hours and Pay are awarded.
The PIREP is posted to your Logbook as being Completed | Approved. |
The criteria for a Rejected flight are:
No Points, Flight Hours or Pay are awarded.
The PIREP is posted to the your Logbook as being Completed | Rejected. |
The criteria for a Diverted flight are:
All Points, Flight Hours and Pay are awarded.
If this occurs when flying a Tour leg, you will not be advanced to the next leg. The leg will have to be reflown.
The PIREP is posted to your Logbook as being Completed | Diverted. |
If you think your flight was categorized incorrectly or you'd like to ask a question about it, submit a Help Ticket.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You've now completed the first of what we hope will be many more flights with us.
As with anything new and unfamiliar, the more you fly, the more comfortable you'll become with how we do things, so we strongly and enthusiastically encourage you to do that. We also encourage you to tell us what could've made the orientation experience better... easier... and/or more clear. Let us know by submitting a Help Ticket or messaging us at help@walker.us.
You'll likely have questions along the way, too. Ask them by posting in the #general channel in our Discord – or – by messaging us at help@walker.us.