OnCourse Software

I noticed an aircraft that should use callsign AERODIENST using "ADN" today, which is its ICAO code. I appreciate there isn't an AERODIENST callsign in PFE but what is it that actually makes it use that code?

Noted that AERODIENST does not appear in pfe_callsigns.dat or Callsigns_Map.dat, which would normally cause it to call out the first three letters, e.g Alpha Echo Romeo.

But also noted that it is listed in airline_icao.dat - although there are many here that DO have callsigns, is it this list that governs that? Yet the listing is:
ADN, Aerodienst GmbH so how does it identify AERODIENST?

Yes, I'm a bit confused but my interest is to learn whether I can manually add other airlines to use their ICAO as it gets a bit tiresome hearing ALPHA INDIA ROMEO for any AIR something-or-other (e.g. AIR FORCE) that doesn't have a callsign.

John

As I didn't get a response on this, I've been doing a lot more research. It is hard to be certain without positive knowledge of how PFE works but I believe the sole function of the file airline_icao.dat is to make aircraft use their ICAO code when no callsign exists in the system.

However, if this is the case, I believe the system is fatally flawed because it is trying to compare your aircraft's atc_airline= entry with its list, but the list is of airline names. Occasionally it works, most of the time it doesn't.

For instance, the callsign for Sudan Airways is SUDANAIR. This is (oddly) not included in the range of callsigns so it searches the airline_icao.dat and finds an entry:
SUD, Sudan Airways
As (I think) PFE seems to ignore spaces and hyphens, this is near enough for AI aircraft to describe themselves as Sierra Uniform Delta. (I have proved this by experimentally changing it to the IATA code of SD; it then reads itself as Sierra Delta)

But if you have an aircraft with a callsign completely different to the airline's name in that listing, e.g. Antonov Design Bureau, atc_airline=ANTONOV BUREAU, but listed as:
ADB, Antonov Design Bureau / Antonov Airlines
. . . it doesn't work.

I think it would always work properly if the airline_icao.dat actually listed the callsigns and not the airline names, e.g:
KAA, AASCO
BOI, ABAIR
ABG, ABAKAN-AVIA
ABE, ABAN
MRP, ABAS
AIJ, ABC AEROLINEAS
AHU, ABC HUNGARY

Unfortunately, the full list makes a document about four times the size of the original and seems to put to heavy a load on the rest of the software and some things like ATIS and taxi guidance start failing on my system. Heigh ho. Maybe I should remove all ICAO codes that already have a callsign in PFE, but that will be a long slow process as I can't figure a way to automate it.

On the subject of fatal flaws in PFE there is also an issue with the airline callsigns themselves. Callsigns such as S-TAIL and ATLANT-SOYUZ do not work because PFE seems to ignore hyphens, they therefore just read out the first three letters - Sierra Tango Alpha or whatever. It would be nice if bugs like this could be fixed but given the long waiting list for bug-fixes on this software I'm not holding my breath.

John