ACARS Download
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In aviation, ACARS (an acronym for Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) is a digital datalink system for transmission of short messages between aircraft and ground stations via airband radio or satellite. The protocol was designed by ARINC and deployed in 1978,
In the VA world, ACARS is a stand alone program that you run with your sim in the background which keeps track of everything you do on your flight like a "Black Box", then records your flight for you in your logbook.
In the VA world, ACARS is a stand alone program that you run with your sim in the background which keeps track of everything you do on your flight like a "Black Box", then records your flight for you in your logbook.
How to install ACARS
1- Download the program above. ACARS will only work for Windows 7-10-11
2- Unzip the folder(s) and put the folder ACARS on your hard drive anyplace you want. IE:C/ACARS
2- Unzip the folder(s) and put the folder ACARS on your hard drive anyplace you want. IE:C/ACARS
3- Open the ACARS folder on your hard drive and make a shortcut to the acars.exe file(s) to your desktop.
Right click on the acars.exe file, then choose Send To, then Desktop (create shortcut).The shortcut will be on your desktop. This is the program you need to run separately from your flight simulator. If you do not want to fly with ACARS, simply don't start the program. Your sim works as usual with or without ACARS.
ACARS runs as a stand alone program. It is not part of your sim. You can run the ACARS either before or after you start your sim. If you forget, it will not allow you to start and run it once you have begun your flight. In this case, keep track of your own times, fuel etc and file the flight manually, or just start your flight over. It might be a good idea to put your ACARS shortcut right next to your flightsim shortcut so you won't forget.
4- Click on your new shortcut and open the ACARS program. Accept any updates if there are any. Download any other files it requires like .NET 5 Runtime, FSUIPC, XPUIPC. There are a few settings that you will have to do once then the program will remember for next time. You will need two pieces of information to enter. The first is the phpVMS URL - This is the website where our program is hosted telling the Acars where to look for data. The URL is:
https://pacificairways.net/
5- You will need to locate and copy/paste your API key. The API key is like a social security number identifying you from all other pilots. To find your API key, go to pacificairways.net and sign in to your dashboard. On the top blue bar, click your name, then profile. Here is where you can edit your password, email, see your stats etc. On the left side, you can view your API key once you click the eyeball to expose the code. Just highlight, copy/paste or manually type it into the Acars. It should look like this. (see right).once you have the URL and API entered, the program will connect. When you are connected, you will see your name at the top. (RED) If you are not connected, it will say not connected up at the top. Check your URL and API for errors if it doesn't connect. Once you see your name up there, ACARS is good to go.
The newest version of ACARS has a new line called Profile. (yellow). This is to keep people who are not with a VA who has purchased the program from using it. Our license is pacificairways.net which is the name of everybodys profile while flying for PAY. If you fly for another airline that uses the same software, their profile can be added to the dropdown. Just ignore this line for the most part. You may have to click LOAD if you somehow loose the data in the setup.
The newest version of ACARS has a new line called Profile. (yellow). This is to keep people who are not with a VA who has purchased the program from using it. Our license is pacificairways.net which is the name of everybodys profile while flying for PAY. If you fly for another airline that uses the same software, their profile can be added to the dropdown. Just ignore this line for the most part. You may have to click LOAD if you somehow loose the data in the setup.
The other settings here tell Acars which sim you are using and where to find your scenery. Our Acars has a moving map that uses data from your sim. We check all three selections for check beta versions, show discord status, and detect scenery changes.
Under Simulator, you choose the sim you will be using with the Acars installation. Here is where you would need to change your active simulator each time you switch simulators. IE - Xplane to MSFS.
Be sure to click SAVE when you switch active simulator. Next time you start ACARS, it will populate the info on the last sim you used.
XPLANE - Xplane 11 and 12 work identical as far as Acars is concerned. The only difference is your xplane folder path. For xplane, choose Copy Plugin to Xplane. This installs the plugin to your sim's plug in's folder which is how Acars communicates with Xplane. Under scenery, choose Re-Sync scenery and it reads scenery data from your sim. If you change your scenery, Acars will detect it and ask to Re-Sync scenery again when you restart the program.
FS2020 - You do not need to enter your folder path for FS2020. Acars knows where to look. For FS2020, there are two ways for Acars to find your scenery data. The Scenery Scan Mode has two selections - Native - and Make Runways. In my opinion, using the Native setting allows Acars to access your scenery data directly from the sim. It worked well for me. The other option is to use a program called "Make Runways" I am not sure the benefit of using Make Runways with FS2020, but you can download it here and read about it to decide.
Under Simulator, you choose the sim you will be using with the Acars installation. Here is where you would need to change your active simulator each time you switch simulators. IE - Xplane to MSFS.
Be sure to click SAVE when you switch active simulator. Next time you start ACARS, it will populate the info on the last sim you used.
XPLANE - Xplane 11 and 12 work identical as far as Acars is concerned. The only difference is your xplane folder path. For xplane, choose Copy Plugin to Xplane. This installs the plugin to your sim's plug in's folder which is how Acars communicates with Xplane. Under scenery, choose Re-Sync scenery and it reads scenery data from your sim. If you change your scenery, Acars will detect it and ask to Re-Sync scenery again when you restart the program.
FS2020 - You do not need to enter your folder path for FS2020. Acars knows where to look. For FS2020, there are two ways for Acars to find your scenery data. The Scenery Scan Mode has two selections - Native - and Make Runways. In my opinion, using the Native setting allows Acars to access your scenery data directly from the sim. It worked well for me. The other option is to use a program called "Make Runways" I am not sure the benefit of using Make Runways with FS2020, but you can download it here and read about it to decide.
FSX - FS9 - Prepar3d - For these sims, you enter the simulator folder path. I do not have any of these sims, but I understand that Make Runways is required for Parepar3d and in some cases, FSX. You can read more about installing these sims at.
Here is a quick tutorial to get you started. Once acars is up and running, on the left side (YELLOW) are the icons to switch from page to page. Clicking HOME, shows you your last position, news and information. Next icon is Flight Information where you enter your flight data. We are not currently using the leg and code boxes. (GREEN).These are for future routes and charters, leave them blank. You can import your flightplan from Simbrief or manually type it in. Once you choose your aircraft, a box appears below it (RED).We simulate charging fares to passenger and cargo. Be sure to enter the number of passengers you had or the weight of cargo in pounds here. The other icons (YELLOW) are search where you can search the database for flights and import, Your loadsheet is the next icon down. The world icon is the moving map which will show your position in your flightplan and all other PAY pilots who are flying near you, both online and offline pilots. The last icon shows you a summary of your flight once you complete it. Fill out the flight data, then click Start Flight and Acars will go to the moving map showing you are ready to go. You can minimize the Acars window and use your flightsim as usual from here.
NOTEM: You can start Acars anytime you wish. It knows when you are boarding, taxiing, flying, landing and records your times accordingly. Enjoy....
NOTEM: You can start Acars anytime you wish. It knows when you are boarding, taxiing, flying, landing and records your times accordingly. Enjoy....