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smartCARS 3 | Windows PC, Mac OS, and Linux

Key Things to Know

If you haven't already read the Flight Operations chapter, we recommend you do so now before continuing.

1. You must use the appropriate settings for both MSFS (20/24) and Xplane, as shown below.

Microsoft Flight Simulator

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X-Plane

If you have a VPN program installed, it needs to be connected, uninstalled, or you need to adjust the network adapter weight (according to Laminar this is a solution for those who need to retain a VPN but don't use it all the time) so that it will not interfere with XP UDP connectivity to 3rd party apps.

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2. You cannot run your simulator as administrator. If you have "User Access Control" enabled on your PC and you received a popup asking you if you wanted to run X-Plane, MSFS, or Prepar3D and you clicked yes -- your application has been hard set to "run as administrator". If you attempt to try and fly you will be presented with this error.

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How can I fix this?

 

You will need to find your executable file (not your shortcut file), right click and choose properties, compatibility, and uncheck the "Run as Administrator".

 

Another option is to also completely disable 'User Access Control' but that is your choice. You can watch this video and decide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2XlznYAcAQ

 

If you continue to have problems after doing this, you will need to contact TFDi at the support links above.

 

Downloading and Support

To download smartCARS 3 for PC, Mac, or Linux, please visit here: https://smartcars.tfdidesign.com/central/download

Plug-In's Required

If you require support with the application, you need to contact TFDi Designs at one of the links below.
Walker Air Transport cannot provide support for the application.

Discord: https://tfdidesign.com/chat
GitHub: https://github.com/invernyx/smartcars-3-bugs
Support Portal: https://support.tfdidesign.com/support/home

You can view the official user manual from TFDi here: https://docs.invernyx.com/en/smartcars3/user-guide

The following details below will walk you through the application from the perspective of a pilot at Walker Air Transport. There are features in the TFDi user manual that we will/do not deploy in our virtual airline.

Logging into smartCARS 3

When you launch smartCARS 3, you will be asked to log in with your TFDi account.

 

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You do not have to create or login with an account, you can simply click on 'Skip TFDi Design Login.

If you choose to not create and/or login with a TFDi account, you will not be visible on their map under our virtual airline. You will also be unable to access your premium features you purchased from TFDi.

On the next screen, choose 'Walker Air Transport'.

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You can now log into our virtual airline by using your email or pilot ID number (do not include WAT, just enter the 3-4 digits.)
The username and password here is the exact same username and password used to log into our website.

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If you cannot log in, please attempt to log into https://crew.walkerair.us -- if that works then you are typing something wrong in smartCARS 3.

Main Page

The Main Page screen containing your name, pilot ID, and rank will appear together with your personal statistics – total hours, total flights and average landing rate. You will also get notifications in this panel as well as be able to logout using the button under your name and rank.

For a new, first time Pilot, these fields will be blank because no flights have been completed.

To navigate through the remaining sections within smartCARS, click the icons in the left column. You can drag these icons around as well to create your preferred menu layout.

 

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My Flights

In order to see the flights that you’ve completed a bid from the crew site, click on this image-1688300033767.pngicon on the left side of the screen.

You no longer need to start a flight manually, smartCars3 should automatically detect you are at the departure airport and start the bid. In case you have multiple bids from the same origin airport, SC3 will ask which bid you would like to use.

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NOTE:  If you've completed a Bid and it doesn't show up, click the image-1688300076378.pngicon on the top right.

 

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Please read this section in it's entirety, the way smartCARS 3 operates is completely different than smartCARS 2.

In smartCARS 3, a pilot is no longer required to enter their route, cruise altitude, and load. This information comes from a couple different sources within the Walker Air Transport bid as well as simBrief.

Route Your route will be blank unless you used our simBrief integration to build your flight plan, and you have the SimBrief plugin installed and SimBrief ID set in smartCARS 3 settings
Cruise Altitude Cruise is automated in smartCARS 3, it will detect when you are in this phase and adjust if you should have to conduct step climbs or descents.
Load Every pilot briefing is given a random load based on a couple variables. You can see this load by visiting your pilot briefing and looking at the left side. If you use our simBrief integration to generate your flight plan, it will use the load provided by our website or a custom load you enter. Read more here.

Using our simBrief integration (read more here) will ensure that your route and load are prepopulated for your flight.

Selection of online service (VATSIM, IVAO, POSCON, PilotEdge) should be done in the flight tracking page by popping out the logs using the white arrow on the left side. This will allow you to show up on the CrewOps map in your ATC network color.

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Using the image-1688300396124.png button here will also delete your bid in our CrewOps.

 

Flight Tracking

Spawning in the correct origin airport will bring you to the Flight Tracking page. In this page, you can monitor your flight log for any erroneous logs. In this page, you can also change your route (by clicking the Show Route) and add comments (by typing into comment field then pressing enter) to the flight log in realtime as needed. You can find these options by opening the flight log as above.

Pause at TOD is now the toggle button at the bottom left of the screen, under the comment field.

There is also a drop down that will allow you to change your online network status while in flight. If you are on VATSIM or any other online service and accidentally forget to specify that at the start of your flight, you can now do it while in flight.

Your TOD is a rough approximation by the application based on your altitude and thus will not exactly match the TOD on your aircraft's ND and may, in certain cases, be after your FMS-calculated TOD.

 

Flight Completion & PIREP Submission

After landing at your destination, taxi to the ramp, and come to a complete stop.

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Once stopped, a Submit PIREP button will show on the lower right hand, which once you hit, will send your PIREP to the Walker system. Once it is processed, a confirmatory notification on the bottom right will show up. If you have smartCARS premium, it will also notify that the logs have been sent to TFDi servers. You can also configure smartCARS 3 to autosend your PIREP through its settings.

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If you didn’t exceed our flight requirements and/or standards, your PIREP will be automatically approved – and that will be verified by its presence in your Logbook.

Flight Length Calculation

Veteran pilots who used smartCARS2 before may be confused with how total flight time is calculated in smartCARS 3 - unlike the previous version where it starts from pushback and ends only once the plane has reached a complete stop, the current version calculates total flight time using off blocks to in blocks.

Map Tab

The Map referenced here is not the same one on the Crew Ops website. This shows various densities depending on your filter selection on the top right - ranging from VA-only to online networks.

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Logbook

This page allows you to see your previous logged flights with the VA, and its PIREP status. You can also use the search and filter options if you are looking for a certain flight.

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You can click on a flight to see more details, including the flight log, map, route, etc.

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We highly recommend using the Walker CrewOps Logbook instead of the smartCARS one as that provides more detailed information. Further, flights logged with SC2 will not show all details in the SC3 viewer - particularly actual route flown on the map.

Plugins

In this page, you may add community-built plugins to enhance your smartCARS user experience.

As of now, there are no Walker-specific plugins added, nor are there any aside from the default ones that you will need to be able to fly for Walker.

Do note that the available SimBrief plugin in SC3 does not communicate with the Walker website - which means your passenger counts, routes, etc will not automatically sync on the CrewOps OFP page. We highly suggest using Walker's own SimBrief integration available on the CrewOps site, and we will not be liable for any PIREP inaccuracies or rejections resulting from the usage of the SC3 SimBrief plugin.

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Settings

smartCARS 3 has a number of settings that you may adjust as you see fit and to align with your preferences - none of these settings should stop you from being able to log flights with Walker aside from tracking provider, so set them as you'd like.

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