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Frequently Asked Questions

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Aviation Link

Fleet PC

Form 41

Mapinfo

OAG

T100

 

Aviation Link

How do I automatically open a download file for Aviation Link?     Top

A new, easier-to-use Set Default File Viewers screen is being included with each Aviation Link release, including the FLEET PC version 3.0 release. The first time you install any Aviation Link product which includes this new screen, you must complete it as follows to ensure that your data is displayed automatically after it is downloaded:

1.  Select Set Default File Viewers from the View menu. The Set Default File Viewers screen appears. Complete the appropriate fields as follows. If you do not have an application, leave the box blank.

If you need help specifying an exact file path and name, click on Browse button to the right of the viewer you are setting.

Text Viewer: Enter the disk drive, a colon, a back slash, the Notepad (or other program you will be using) directory name, a back slash and the start-up command file name plus extension, e.g., C:\WINDOWS\NOTEPAD.EXE.

MS Excel Viewer: Enter the disk drive, a colon, a back slash, the Excel directory name, a back slash and the start-up command file name plus extension, e.g., C:\MSOFFICE\EXCEL\EXCEL.EXE.

Lotus Viewer: Enter the disk drive, a colon, a back slash, the Lotus directory name, a back slash and the start-up file name plus extension, e.g., C:\LOTUS\123W.EXE.

2.  Click on OK. The program checks your settings. If any of the information is incorrect, the screen reappears with the cursor at the error.

3.  Once you’ve completed this screen, you can create projects and download the corresponding data, which you will be able to automatically retrieve by choosing AutoSelect File + Viewer from the View menu.

I am having problems connecting to the BACK host computer. What can I do to solve this?     Top

In the rare instance that you can't sign on to the BACK host computer when using Aviation Link, or another BACK product or service, try these steps in the following order:

  1. Try to connect again several times.

  2. Make sure that you have the minimum amount of memory and disk space available, as described in the various BACK product user's guides.

  3. Check for loose wires.

  4. Check that the modem is turned on and properly connected.

  5. Reboot your PC and then try again.

  6. Turn off your modem and PC, wait for several seconds and then turn them back on.

  7. Dial your network telephone number manually and listen to your telephone handset, to ensure that you are getting a computer modem tone.

  8. Use a terminal emulator to get your modem to dial a voice telephone line in your office. This is to ensure that your modem can dial out.

  9. If your PC environment has recently changed, for example, if you have copied the BACK software to a new directory or PC, try reinstalling the BACK software from the original distribution disks.

If you have tried all of the above and still can't sign on to the BACK host computer, call your local BACK representative and make sure that you have the following information handy:

  • User number, network telephone number and network. Are you connected to a LAN? Do you have any TSRs (Terminate and Stay Resident programs also known as memory-resident programs) running?

  • The most important thing you can do is to accurately describe the behavior of your system. Describe all messages which appear on your screen and at what point they appear. Describe whether or not you can actually hear the modem dialing out, etc..

  • Be aware if anything on your system has changed since the last time you successfully connected to the BACK host computer. For example, did you get a new modem, PC or telephone line? Are you now dialing into a different network? Did you install any other software since the original BACK product installations

Fleet PC

What is the difference between business jets and regional turboprops in the Fleet database? How do I differentiate them within the Fleet database?     Top

Business jets are designated for corporate use only and are designed to carry between 6 and 18 passengers, Regional turbo- props are designated for commercial airline service only and carry between 30 to 1 00 passengers.

The following aircraft categories apply to all BACK Fleet products:

  • Commercial jets (any jet designated for airline operations)

  • Regional turboprops (any turboprop aircraft designated for airline operations)

  • Corporate jet (any jet designated for corporate use)

  • Russian aircraft

  • Miscellaneous aircraft (piston aircraft, airliners no longer in widespread use).

I receive a "Workspace Full" message during data retrieval. What can I do to solve this?     Top

To overcome this, try the following:

  1. Right click on FLEET PC icon and click on Properties.
  2. Select Shortcut tab. Target field will show input similar to the following: C:\FLEETPC\FLEETPC.EXE
  3. Change it to read as follows: C:\FLEETPC\FLEETPC.EXE IWS=16

The " 16" refers to 16 MB. If you have large amount of RAM (e.g., 64 MB) try entering /WS=60 instead. You may have to try different options. However, be careful not to allocate all of your RAM.

How do I create age and seat ranges?     Top

Ranges have always been available when constraining the Age of Aircraft field in both the CD-ROM and on-line versions of Aviation Link: Fleet for Windows. For example, suppose you are interested in comparing the number of 4--engine jets for two manufacturers in 5-year range intervals between 0 and 25:

  1. Choose display fields, for example, Aircraft Manufacturer, Age of Aircraft and Number of Aircraft.

  2. Specify sort order, for example, Age of Aircraft.

  3. Specify constraints, for example, Aircraft Manufacturer EQ MFI MF2 and Equipment Classification EQ J4.

  4. Specify range as constraint for ace field, for example, Aircraft Age EQ 0-25 R 5. In this example, 0-25 means data will be downloaded for aircraft ranging in age between 0 and 25 years. R 5 means data will be downloaded in 5-year range intervals. The Fleet graph on page 4 was produced using the data downloaded for this example.

Other Range Options:

  • Specify a range interval only (e.g., Aircraft Age EQ R5) to download data as follows: 0-4 years, 5-9 years, 10- 14 years, 15-19 years, 20-24 years, 25-29 years, etc., until all eligible aircraft are covered. There is no top or bottom limit to the age range in d-@s example.

  • Specify a ragged range (e.g., Aircraft Age EQ RR 5 10 20) to download data as follows: 0-4 years, 5-9 years, 10- 19 years and 20+ years.

  • Similarly, you can constrain all seats fields (First Class, Business Class, Coach and Total) using ranges and range intervals.

Form41

Is Form41 account 3901 (Passenger Revenues) the sum of 3901.1 (Passenger Revenues 1st Class) and 3901.2 (Passenger Revenues-Coach)?     Top

Yes, account 3901 is the sum of 3901.1 and 3901.2. However, account 3901 is not separated into the two sub-accounts for domestic carriers.

Mapinfo

How can I increase the performance of Mapinfo?     Top

Here are several things to keep in mind when you are using BACK's Aviation Mapping software, designed for use within Maplnfo:

  • Suppose origins and destinations appear to be offset from the actual airport. Use the Route Settings – Route Offset on the Configure AvMap screen to offset origins and destinations, measured in the units of your choice. The purpose of Route Offset is to ensure that in cases where multiple records have the same origin-destination pair, the routes do not appear one on top of the other. You specify the direction and the amount of the offset.

  • Suppose you find that Mapinfo takes too long to redraw your screen. Try turning the Autolabel Airports setting off on the Aviation Mapping menu i.e., ensure that Autolabel Airports is not checked.

  • Suppose you cannot find certain airport labels on a map. This may be because various labels are on top of each other so that they appear invisible. To get around this problem, turn the Autolabel Airports setting off on the Aviation Mapping menu. Then, select Draw Autolabels from the Map menu and click on Allow Overlapping Labels.

OAG

When downloading monthly data from November 1999 to April 2000 using Aviation Link: OAG Online, why do the column headers appear as follows?     Top

9911 9912 1 2 3 4

Although this looks like an error, it isn't. If you choose Short Numeric as the Date Format setting on the Download Parameters screen, the first two digits of the year are automatically dropped. Therefore, 0001 is correctly displayed as 1, 0002 is displayed as 2, etc..

To get around this, choose Long Numeric as the Date Format and the four column headers 1, 2, 3 and 4 above will now appear as 200001, 200002, 200003 and 200004.

What is the difference between the NOTIMESERIES and TIMESERIES output formats?     Top

On your Project Parameters screen there is a list box for choosing an output format such as Mapinfo, Text etc. Each output format offers both a TIMESERIES and a NOTIMESERIES option setting. It is this setting that profoundly affects the way that output is presented to you.

If you select a NOTIMESERIES setting, the system will treat the start and end dates you select as defining a singular window of time and return data consolidated over the entire time span. If you select a TIMESERIES setting, the system will return a series of data items, one for each time period, between your start and end dates based on the frequency setting (daily, monthly, yearly etc.).

For example to find the total number of flights from LAX to JFK during the years 1998 and 1999:

  1. Select NUMBER OF OPERATIONS as an output field

  2. Select constraints of: ORIGIN EQUALS LAX and DESTINATION EQUALS JFK

  3. Select one of the NOTIMESERIES output formats

  4. Set START and END dates covering the 2 years of 1998 and 1999

You can set your dates using any frequency you desire e.g.

DAILY: January 1st 1998 to December 31st 1999
MONTHLY: January 1998 to December 1999
QUARTERLY: 1ST quarter 1998 to 4th quarter 1999
SEMI-ANNUAL: 1ST period 1998 to 2nd period 1999
YEARLY: 1998 to 1999

With a NOTIMESERIES output setting any one of the above timeframes will yield exactly the same singular number - the sum of the total number of departures from LAX to JFK during the years 1998 and 1999.

To find the number of flights from LAX to JFK during the years of 1998 and 1999 on a periodic basis (e.g. daily, or monthly), you would set up a project as described above and select a TIMESERIES output format, your output would contain one number for each time period in your timeframe.

For example: setting a monthly timeframe of January 1998 to December 1999, would cause the system to return 24 numbers representing the number of departures from LAX to JFK in each month of the two years.

A yearly timeframe of: 1998 to 1999 would return two numbers - the number of departures in 1998 and the number of departures in 1999.

Please note: When you select a TIMESERIES setting, you are requesting that the system perform a numeric count of something and return the count for each time period in your timeframe. With a TIMESERIES setting you must select one, and only one of the following display items in your project:

NUMBER OF OPERATIONS
SCHEDULED SEATS
AVAILABLE SEAT DISTANCE
Q.S.I. INDEX
PAYLOAD
AVAILABLE PAYLOAD DISTANCE

If you do not select one of these display items, the system will select the NUMBER OF OPERATIONS field by default.

If you use the NOTIMESERIES setting, you may select any or all of the above numeric display items in you project.

T100

How is it determined whether data in the Tl00 database is considered to be domestic or international? Is this determined from the carrier's perspective or the flight's perspective?     Top

Determining whether a flight is international or domestic in the T100 database has to do with the flights themselves. T100 domestic data refers to U.S. carriers operating between U.S. airports, while T100 international data refers to U.S. and international carriers operating between the U.S. and foreign airports.