AALOPS Clean Flight Guide

What is a clean flight?

On every flight, AALOPS (American Virtual dispatch) talks to you by telex, just like a real airline. Answer dispatch the way a real crew does, and your flight is clean.

Send every message below to AALOPS from your aircraft's ACARS.

Your 4 steps

Only if dispatch asks

A telex with PLZ ACK MSG XXXX (fuel low, holding, diversion) must be answered: send ACK XXXX. Most flights never get one.

Flying the Fenix A319/A320/A321

Dispatch uses your aircraft's own numbers, the same way a real crew's loadsheet works:

1. When you sign, you get a PRELIM loadsheet ending FINAL TO FOLLOW. Fuel and board as usual (GSX and so on); there is no rush.
2. When loading is complete (by GSX or the aircraft itself), the EFB produces its final loadsheet on its own, and dispatch sends you the FINAL loadsheet, ending T/O DATA: SEND TPS 28. Nothing to press.
3. EFB takeoff page → CALCULATE → SEND TO MCDU.
   Or type your takeoff numbers straight into the MCDU PERF page yourself: that works just as well, because dispatch reads the numbers from your MCDU, not from the EFB.
4. Then send TPS 28 (your runway). This is step 2 in the table.
5. After landing: the Fenix resets the MCDU and erases your flight number, so ACARS can no longer send or receive telexes. Go to the MCDU INIT page and re-enter your flight number, exactly as the callsign on your bid.
6. Then send one message with both: BRK 5 ARR FUEL 6100 (braking action code, then your fuel to the nearest 100). This is step 4 in the table.

• Got T/O DATA NOT AVAILABLE? Your MCDU PERF page is still empty: fill it (EFB CALCULATE → SEND TO MCDU, or type the numbers in yourself) and send TPS again.
• Load changed after the FINAL? When the EFB produces a new edition, dispatch sends it too (FINAL ED 2); recalculate and send TPS again.

Flying the FlyByWire A320neo

Dispatch reads your MCDU PERF TAKE OFF numbers here too.

One-time setup (flyPad)

1. flyPad → Settings → ATSU / AOC.
2. ACARS Provider: SayIntentions.AI.
3. SAI API Key: your SayIntentions key (the same one you use in Stratos).

On every flight

• Send your messages from the MCDU: ATSU → AOC MENU → FREE TEXT, TO: AALOPS. The page shows the network as HOPPIE: leave it there. That is FBW's name for your ACARS provider, so it goes through SayIntentions. Don't switch it to FBW.
• Loadsheet: a PRELIM when you sign. The FINAL comes by itself about a minute and a half after loading stops and your block fuel is on board (flyPad, GSX or any other way). Nothing to press.
• TPS: fill the MCDU PERF TAKE OFF page (V1, VR, V2, FLAPS/THS, FLEX), then send TPS 28 (your runway). Got T/O DATA NOT AVAILABLE? A speed is still missing on the PERF page: fill it and send TPS again.

Flying the iniBuilds A350

Dispatch can't read the A350's takeoff numbers from the aircraft, so you have two ways to get your TPS.

Option 1: SimBrief's numbers

Plan your OFP in SimBrief with takeoff performance (the Runway Analysis page), then send TPS 09R (your runway) as usual. The TPS comes back with SimBrief's flaps, V-speeds and flex for that runway. Check them, enter them in your MCDU and send ACCEPT XXXX.

Option 2: your own numbers

Calculated your takeoff yourself (on the A350's EFB, for example)? Send them with the TPS request, all on one line:

TPS 09R F1 V1 139 VR 139 V2 146 FLEX 68

• F1, F2 or F3: your takeoff flaps (1+F and CONF 2 work too).
• FLEX 68: your flex temperature. Full thrust? Write TOGA instead.

The TPS comes back with your numbers, marked CREW CALC. Accept it like any other: ACCEPT XXXX. It counts for the clean flight the same way.

Dispatch checks your numbers before it takes them. If they aren't plausible for an A350, you get T/O DATA NOT ACCEPTED with the reason: check your numbers and send again.

Asked for flaps, a runway or a temperature SimBrief didn't plan? The reply says UNABLE TO COMPUTE TPS and shows you how to send your own numbers instead.

Flying the BlueBird 757

Dispatch can't read the 757's takeoff numbers from the aircraft (its CDU keeps them to itself), so it works like the A350: SimBrief's numbers, or your own.

• Setup: in the 757's EFB, enter your SayIntentions API key for ACARS. The 757 receives every telex, but it can't send free text to AALOPS: send your messages from the ACARS tab of the American Virtual toolbar app (or PocketSky, if you have it).

Option 1: SimBrief's numbers

Plan your OFP with takeoff performance (SimBrief's Runway Analysis), then send TPS 26L (your runway). The TPS comes back with SimBrief's flaps, V-speeds and assumed temperature, in Boeing terms:

RWY FLP  V1  VR  V2 SEL
26L   5  140 145 150 40C

SEL is the assumed temperature to enter on TAKEOFF REF; TO in that column means full rated thrust. Check them, enter them in your CDU and send ACCEPT XXXX.

Option 2: your own numbers

Calculated your takeoff yourself (on the CDU TAKEOFF REF page or the EFB)? Send them with the TPS request, all on one line:

TPS 26L F5 V1 141 VR 146 V2 151 SEL 42

• F1, F5 or F15: your takeoff flaps.
• SEL 42: your assumed temperature (ATM 42 works too). Full rated thrust? Leave it out.

The TPS comes back with your numbers, marked CREW CALC. Accept it like any other: ACCEPT XXXX. It counts for the clean flight the same way. If your numbers aren't plausible for a 757, you get T/O DATA NOT ACCEPTED with the reason.

Flying the PMDG 737

The 737 receives every telex on its CDU, and dispatch reads your takeoff numbers straight from the CDU TAKEOFF REF page. The CDU has no free-text telex to a company station, so you send your messages from the ACARS tab of the American Virtual toolbar app in the sim.

One-time setup: all of these are needed

1. Tablet EFB settings: ATC Network = Say Intentions, and enter your Say Intentions API key (the same key you use in Stratos).
2. CDU: DLNK → TECHNICAL: ATC NETWORK = SAY INTENSIONS (PMDG's spelling), and check the SAYINTENTIONS KEY is filled in. If the page shows NO SIAI KEY, the key is missing: enter it again.
3. PMDG data for dispatch: dispatch reads the CDU through PMDG's SDK, which is normally on. Only if your TPS comes back with SimBrief's numbers instead of your CDU's, open 737_Options.ini (in the 737's work folder) and check the [SDK] section has EnableDataBroadcast=1, EnableCDUBroadcast.0=1 and EnableCDUBroadcast.1=1, then restart the sim.
4. Stratos plugin Live Data Extractor 2.1.11 or later (it updates by itself when you start Stratos).

On every flight: all of these before any telex can arrive

The 737 downloads no message at all until it has been initialized and logged on to KUSA. Stratos can already be running and your INIT REQ can already be done, but the LOGON must be done too, or nothing arrives.

1. Radio tuning panel 3: VHF 3 on DATA. Select VHF 3 and make the active side show DATA, not a frequency. On a voice frequency the 737 has no datalink, and incoming telexes are never collected.
2. Flight number: CDU RTE page, FLT NO exactly as the callsign on your bid (for example AAL46).
3. Connect ACARS: ACARS → PREFLIGHT → INIT DATA → INIT REQ. This is the aircraft's first datalink request; without it the 737 collects nothing.
4. Log on to KUSA: in the CDU open the downlink ATC menu, select LOGON, then log on to KUSA and establish the connection. This is what makes the aircraft start downloading messages. Without the logon no telex arrives, even with INIT REQ done and Stratos running.
5. Start the flight in Stratos (if it isn't already), and open the ACARS tab of the toolbar app: that is where you answer dispatch.

Where the telexes show up

• PMDG files our telexes in two logs, with no pattern: ATC menu → DLK ATC MSG LOG, and ATS menu → DLK ATS MSG LOG. Check both, and their second page.
• On the 737 every telex starts with its title, so the logs list it by name: AAL46 RELEASE 1/2, AAL46 LOADSHEET, AAL46 TPS 17R. The dispatch header follows on the next lines.
• The toolbar's ACARS tab shows a copy of every telex too, so you can read them there as well.

Your 4 steps on the 737

1. RELEASE: send SIGN AALXXXX from the toolbar ACARS tab. You get a PRELIM loadsheet.
2. Loadsheet: the FINAL comes by itself about a minute and a half after loading stops and your block fuel is on board. Nothing to press. Then put the final ZFW in PERF INIT.
3. TPS: select your departure runway (DEP/ARR), then fill the TAKEOFF REF page: flaps, CG, and V1, VR, V2. Leave TAKEOFF REF on screen for about 20 seconds after it is complete: dispatch reads the runway, CG, trim, TOW and thrust from it. Then send TPS 17R (your runway) from the toolbar. Dispatch answers with your CDU's numbers:

   RWY FLP  V1  VR  V2 THR
   17R   5  138 140 149 26K
   TRIM 4.80 CG 24.8

   THR is your thrust rating (the 737 has no flex temperature on TAKEOFF REF). Check the card against your CDU and send ACCEPT XXXX.
4. After landing: send one message from the toolbar: BRK 5 ARR FUEL 6100, and wait for the ARR REPORT before you file.

Dispatch checks your CDU numbers before it sends them:

Flying the iFly 737 MAX 8

The iFly has no ACARS: no telex reaches the aircraft, and it can't send one. Everything goes through the ACARS tab of the American Virtual toolbar app in the sim: you read dispatch's telexes there and you answer from there.

Dispatch reads your takeoff numbers straight from the CDU TAKEOFF REF page, like on the PMDG 737, as long as the iFly's own plugin (737MAX_Plugin.exe, the iFly app you start before the sim) is running. Without it, dispatch can't see your CDU, and the TPS works like the 757: SimBrief's numbers, or your own.

One-time setup

1. Stratos plugin Live Data Extractor 2.1.12 or later (it updates by itself when you start Stratos).
2. Start the iFly plugin before the sim, as iFly asks. It can't be started once the aircraft is loaded.

On every flight

1. Start the flight in Stratos at the gate, before fueling and boarding.
2. Open the ACARS tab of the toolbar app straight away and keep it at hand. It's your only line to dispatch: without a SayIntentions key, dispatch starts sending only once the tab is open.
3. Nothing to set in the aircraft: no ACARS network, no flight number for dispatch, no logon.

Your 4 steps on the iFly

1. RELEASE: it shows up in the toolbar ACARS tab. Send SIGN AALXXXX from the tab. You get a PRELIM loadsheet; the FINAL comes by itself about a minute and a half after loading stops and your block fuel is on board. Nothing to press. (Without the iFly plugin you get one loadsheet straight away.)
2. TPS: fill the CDU TAKEOFF REF page (flaps, V1, VR, V2 selected) and leave it on screen for about 20 seconds: dispatch also reads the CG, trim and thrust from it. Then send TPS 17R (your runway) from the tab. Dispatch answers with your CDU's numbers:

   RWY FLP  V1  VR  V2 THR
   17R   5  107 112 124 TO
   TRIM 3.56 CG 22.4

   Check the card against your CDU.
3. Accept it: send ACCEPT XXXX.
4. After landing: send one message from the tab: BRK 5 ARR FUEL 6100, and wait for the ARR REPORT before you file.

Without the iFly plugin: SimBrief's numbers or your own

Plan your OFP with takeoff performance (SimBrief's Runway Analysis) and send TPS 17R: the TPS comes back with SimBrief's numbers, in Boeing terms:

RWY FLP  V1  VR  V2 SEL
17R   5  142 144 149 45C

SEL is the assumed temperature to enter in your CDU; TO in that column means full rated thrust.

Your own numbers instead? Send them with the request, all on one line: TPS 17R F5 V1 143 VR 145 V2 150 SEL 47. F1, F5, F10, F15 or F25 are your takeoff flaps; SEL 47 is your assumed temperature (ATM 47 works too; full rated thrust: leave it out). The TPS comes back with your numbers, marked CREW CALC, and counts for the clean flight the same way. This works with the iFly plugin running too.

Dispatch checks your own numbers before it takes them. If they aren't plausible for a 737 MAX, you get T/O DATA NOT ACCEPTED with the reason: check them and send again.

Walkthrough: a real Fenix flight, gate to takeoff

These are real screens from a test flight (AVC8619, KHDN–KSFO, Fenix A319). Your numbers will be different, but every screen will look the same. Telexes from dispatch show on the MCDU's AOC MSG DISPLAY page; you send yours from AOC FREE TEXT, always TO: AALOPS.

First, on the MCDU INIT page: enter the flight number exactly as the callsign on your bid (here AVC8619). Otherwise no telex reaches you.

Braking action codes (step 4)

How the runway felt when you braked. Most landings are BRK 6 (dry) or BRK 5 (good).

Delay codes (optional)

Running late? Tell dispatch why: DLY + code + minutes. Example: DLY 03 15 means 15 minutes waiting for push clearance from ATC. Not needed for the bonus; it goes on your PIREP.

Optional extras

Never needed for the bonus.

Good to know

• No ARR REPORT after your arrival message? It wasn't recorded: check it starts with BRK and send it again. If the ARR REPORT ends with RECEIVED instead of THANK YOU, CLEAN FLIGHT, an earlier step was missed (look at your PIREP's Dispatch Communications card).
• Never got your RELEASE? Send RELEASE and dispatch sends it again, with the SIGN line.
• No telexes at all? Check the flight number on the MCDU INIT page: it must be exactly the callsign on your bid.
• Be patient: replies can take a couple of minutes. Don't resend. A 2ND REQUEST only means dispatch hasn't read your answer yet.
• Runway changed? Send a new TPS for the new runway and accept that one; the old one is replaced.
• Numbers don't match your aircraft? Send REJECT XXXX, then ask again.
• PMDG 737: no telexes? Check VHF 3 is on DATA, the SayIntentions key is on DLNK → TECHNICAL, you sent INIT REQ, and you logged on to KUSA (downlink ATC menu → LOGON): the 737 downloads nothing until the logon is done. Then look in both the DLK ATC MSG LOG and the DLK ATS MSG LOG (see the 737 section).
• iFly 737 MAX: no telexes? They never come to the aircraft: open the ACARS tab of the toolbar app. Dispatch starts sending once the tab is open (see the iFly section).
• A350, 757 or iFly MAX: got T/O DATA NOT ACCEPTED? One of your own numbers is outside the limits (A350, 757, iFly); the reply says which. Check it and send the TPS again.
• Got ARR FUEL NOT CONFIRMED? Your fuel figure doesn't match your aircraft (it must be within 300 lbs / 150 kg). Read your fuel on board again and send ARR FUEL with the right number. A wrong figure does not count for the bonus.
• Forgot to sign by pushback? The loadsheet still comes, but the bonus is lost.
• Dispatch telexes off in the Stratos plugin (ACARS Delivery = Off): no telexes, no bonus.
• Check your result on your PIREP's Dispatch Communications card: every message, your answers, and the clean-flight badge.

Quick start checklist

1. Start your flight in Stratos at the gate, before fueling and boarding.
2. MCDU INIT page: flight number exactly as the callsign on your bid.
3. At the gate, wait for the RELEASE, then send SIGN AALXXXX.
4. Fenix only: wait for the FINAL loadsheet (it comes by itself when loading is complete), then fill your MCDU PERF page (EFB CALCULATE → SEND TO MCDU, or type the numbers in yourself).
5. PMDG 737: VHF 3 on DATA, RTE FLT NO = your callsign, ACARS INIT REQ, LOGON to KUSA (downlink ATC menu), fill TAKEOFF REF, and send everything from the toolbar's ACARS tab (see above).
6. iFly 737 MAX: iFly plugin running, open the toolbar's ACARS tab after starting Stratos, fill TAKEOFF REF, and read and send everything in the tab (see above).
7. Send TPS + your runway (A350, 757 and iFly MAX: add your own numbers if you calculated them, see A350, 757 and iFly above), check the numbers, send ACCEPT XXXX.
8. If a telex says PLZ ACK MSG XXXX, send ACK XXXX.
9. After landing (Fenix: re-enter your flight number on the MCDU INIT page first), send one message: BRK 5 ARR FUEL 6100 (your braking code and your fuel).
10. File your PIREP and look for the clean-flight badge.