Cargo System/Packages

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Cat
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Cat » Fri Mar 20, 2020 1:36 pm

Well after review, each video has some information the others do not... maybe put the new one up one slot so the package video's are all together.

While the first package video does have some outdated information regarding using the 'all' tab in the search engine, we covered that in the most recent video so I really don't see the need to redo any of them at this point.

Of course it's your call Joe and if you things would be more simple with one long package video instead of several shorter ones, I could do that. But most people's attention span when it comes to "instructional" things like this won't last long enough to sit through a really long video.

The two video's on getting started (one for new pilots and one for new owners) are pretty long but the necessary information takes a bit of time to get through without rushing. The other topics are more "optional" and pilots can see them as they get "stuck" when trying to figure things out on their own.

I did go through and change the titles of the Package Series videos with tags to indicate the subject matter: 1) Basics 2) Releasing & Ground Delivery 3) Aircraft Transfers & Warehouse Storage 4) Using The Search Engine.
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joefremont
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by joefremont » Sat Mar 21, 2020 12:18 am

Sam I reordered and retitled as you suggested. I should figure out how I can give you access to update the page where all the videos are listed so you can change them as you see fit. I am usually in favor several shorter videos that are more focused. If its too long some ppl just will not watch it.
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Queenofsky747
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Queenofsky747 » Tue Mar 24, 2020 12:14 am

Hello

I did fly from MMMX to SEQM. I had some Package for other Destination.
But after landing I cannot select them for Ground delivery.
Unfortunatly I did delete it and had to pay -9.924.825v$ for not delivery.

What did I do wrong?

Thank you.

P.S. I saw the the last Video from Sam.
Kind Regards

Stephan Ricci
CEO Swissair Virtual Airline
https://www.swissair-va.ch/

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Cat
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Cat » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:27 pm

What was the distance you tried to ground deliver?

Anything over 50nm won't make much money anyway and I think Joe changed the ground delivery radius from 100 to 50 nm in one of those updates to the system.

If the distance was greater you can always transfer packages to other aircraft that have the ability to take the same size of packages and just fly them to their destination.
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by joefremont » Wed Apr 01, 2020 12:20 am

I have noticed some errors where airlines are transferring aircraft with packages on-board, so for now I am disabling transfers in that situation.
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Cat » Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:23 pm

Yes, we just did it after a serious crash at -34,000 fpm to bring the pieces back to our Service Center to repair the aircraft. When an aircraft crashes and is at some podunk airport or heliport (nearest facility), there would be no way to retrieve those packages from the aircraft without transferring the aircraft first.

Perhaps an "auto release" when an aircraft crashes should be installed? The odds of recovering packages still in a condition to deliver after such a catastrophic crash are slim to none anyway. As well as the idea we can put Humpty Dumpty back together again..... I'm surprised there is not a crash rate threshold whereby the aircraft simply cannot be repaired but must be a "write off". That feature would really fire up the forum with protests though :shock: :lol:
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Ezaco » Wed Mar 10, 2021 2:01 am

At the risk of thread necroing...

Is there any updated information on package generation? We're currently moving into the FSA space as a purely cargo hauling VA and have noticed we've been drying up some of our originally targeted hubs (we've since targeted more but haven't gotten to much leg work done on them yet). We're working primarily out of KSDF and the idea is to take packages from there, fly to a hub, pick up packages from there going to KSDF (or another hub) and go back. At the moment though I'm kind of stuck at KDTW with only 4 packages bound for KSDF and only 9 for KATL (there's some for other places, of course, just those are the two I was working with tonight). No one from my VA has flown that route since yesterday - I'm sure it's possible another VA did and grabbed the packages but I don't know how to check for that.

So my long-winded questions are.. did another VA grab potential packages, or are they just not really generating at KDTW for whatever reason?

Also to note.. we're pretty much limited to A320neos because MSFS, so I'm working with max packages containers of 441 lbs.
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Cat » Wed Mar 10, 2021 2:45 am

All airlines have the ability to accept any package available, so it may just be market saturation. As time goes on the system should note the increased demand and increase the amount of packages generated between those city pairs.

265 nm is not a very long trip either so that may also be a factor on the lack of 441's available.

Perhaps Joe has some more insight to this matter as our only Developer, but please keep in mind he is also busy with his punch list of other faults/glitches/features to fix as well as answer support tickets.

You should still be getting full loads of "generic cargo" when packages are not available so you shouldn't be losing money. Unless of course you have turned the generic cargo off by selecting "0" in the cargo limit on your aircraft and flight routes.
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Ezaco » Wed Mar 10, 2021 4:10 am

We haven't turned off cargo, but we haven't usually gotten a lot of it. Maybe I'll try it with no packages and see what happens..

And no worries on response time, I understand, it was more out of curiosity than anything :D
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joefremont
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by joefremont » Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:23 am

In general they system looks at the population served by the local airport and the volume of cargo (both generic and packages) and uses that to calculate a priority for each airport that it uses to decide which airports get packages, then where that package should go. About 1/3 are purely random and 2/3 are based on flights/routes connected to that airport. In total about 500k packages are generated each day and if nobody takes them they will stay in the database for about 2 weeks.

In deciding which airport the package should go to, each package size has a distance range it uses to select airports, airports closer to the middle of the range get higher priority and it curves down to zero as it gets closer to the min and max distances. In the case of the 200kg/441 lb package 90% of them are distributed them over a distance range of 250 nm to 4000 nm, the other 10% are distributed over a distance range of 2500 nm to 8000 nm.
40kg/88 lb packages have a shorter distance and 2000kg/4410 lb packages farther.

So in the situation you have where the flights are only 265 nm you're getting close to the minimum distance so its not going to be that many on that route. But looking at KSDF for 200kg packages, there are 2761 packages waiting to go somewhere and 2659 at other places wanting to go there.
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Ezaco
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Ezaco » Thu Mar 11, 2021 2:36 pm

Ahhh! Thank you so much, that further explains some information I had found and makes sense. Easy adjustment.

Follow-up question... how is pay disbursement done? One of our VA pilots, who had previously run a VA here, said that it only dispersed the leg of the trip that actually delivered the packages. But we've just found that not to be true.

Flight #1 went from KSDF to KSAN, with packages bound for KSAN and KLAX. Arriving at KSAN those packages were delivered, and he picked up more backages for KLAX.

Flight #2 went from KSAN to KLAX, with packages only for KLAX (maybe some other LA airports). Upon landing those packages were delivered.... and Flight #1's Flight Revenue was changed with the delivery of these packages.

Is this normal? It's not the end of the world, it just makes it a little more work for finance tracking that a flight I wrote down three days before may go back and update itself.
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Cat » Thu Mar 11, 2021 4:04 pm

Yes that is normal and it drives us bonkers too with our own paperwork. Welcome to the club. LOL

All Flights that carry a package will be affected when said package is finally delivered to it's destination. So if you Fly A to B with packages for E and then fly B to C and then C to D and then finally D to E, every one of those flights will have revenue changes when the packages finally arrive at E.

It is very much a PITA for those of us who track things in our own book work, but it is what it is. We ask our pilots not to fly too many multiple stops or if they do to PLEASE PLEASE tell us they have packages for another destination in the pilot comment section on the flights in question.

It would be a nice feature if we got some sort of notice of a flight revenue change but the system does not do that.
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Ezaco » Thu Mar 11, 2021 4:08 pm

Hnnng. Okay! It's not a huge deal, since we're not doing anything too complicated yet and I'm the only one doing the books (more for curiosity than anything), but it's good to know. Thank you again! (Between these two responses and your videos you're one of the main reasons we came to FSA and are able to understand it :lol: )
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by Cat » Thu Mar 11, 2021 4:11 pm

Thanks, I try to help when I can.

If you want to see how we have our books set up, you can go to our website, click on Finance Dept link in the top of the home page then the 2021 Ledger and it will show our entire airline at a glance.

We have individual log sheets for each aircraft as well, you can access those by clicking on the registration number of the aircraft in question.

www.flyvegasvirtual.com

Once a pilot reaches our Senior Pilot status, they get their own column in the Master Ledger so they can see in a glance how much income they have generated for the airline with each airplane.

Our CFO set up the Ledger to automatically pull the data from the aircraft log sheets, so all I have to do is enter the flight data and the Master Ledger then automatically updates. It's pretty nifty.
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Re: Cargo System/Packages

Post by joefremont » Thu Mar 11, 2021 5:14 pm

When I designed it I had hoped that pilots would work in teams to move packages the way real cargo airlines fly. Fly from the remote airports to a central hub, then pick up all the packages going back to there remote hub and return. Here is a video of how FedEx does it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xEczrGIy08

When packages finally get to there destination the revenue is divided based on the proportion of the distance takes it. So if a package is taken 100 nm from airport A to B, then 700 nm from B to C and finally 200 nm from C to the final destination D, for a total distance of 1000 nm. The first flight gets 10%, the second 70% and the final 20%. I agree its not perfect, the pilots who do long hauls between hubs would get the lions share, but the only other alternative I can think of is the last leg gets all which is worse. Notifications would be possible but I fear the volume of the messages in a large hub and spoke operation and most of the time its the same pilot flying most of the legs. If there is another way to divide it I am happy to listen.
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