Please find below a summary of my findings (so far) re the XML interface into VA Central:
- Updating VA information seems to be working, i.e. I can see the correct number of pilots and also flight hours. I can't say whether the flights and scheudles information is correct, as I don't see this on VA Central.
- Updating pilot information seems to be working, i.e. at least I get a success message back
- Adding a PIREP is working partially, i.e. my PIREP is loaded and showing in the "Activity Feed". However the PIREP count for my virtual airline is not correct and does not correspond to the information in the activity feed.
- Removing a PIREP is NOT working. Although I do not get an XML error and a SUCCESS message, I always get 0 of 1 PIREP removed and the PIREP is still there.
- Updating schedules is NOT working and failing with an XML error.
There are still some further questions regarding the ACARS functionality:
- When are ACARS records removed and can I force a removal ? Main reason for asking, is that we allow users to abandon an active flight (e.g. because their simulator has crashed, they get interrupted, and so on). In this case we revert the ACARS, plane and other informatiom back to the pre-flight status, but I am not sure how I would tell the VA Central ACARS system.
- The same applies to the completion of a flight. Is the ACARS records automatically removed, or do I need to do something ??
- Which date and time format is to be used for the lastupdate information for an ACARS record or the submitdate for a PIREP (Unix timestamp), i.e. just the serial time (number of seconds since 1/1/1970) or a formatted date and time string (and in which format).
Thanks in advance for any help anybody can provide.
I am at my wits end.