continue-flightplan: a php-script to continue flightplans in Microsoft Flightsimulator MSFS 2020

continue-flightplan is a PHP-Script to be executed after closing the flugsimulator.

It tries to recover flightplan-data, which have been lost when saving a flt-file.

A formerly loaded flightplan will be reduced to the remaining parts.
Therefor a saved flight can be continued at the saved position with the remaining flightplan.

Aircraft-properties like position or settings should be saved independantly from the saved location (parkposition, runway, outback, in the air).

- A saved fligthplan may be continued with another aircraft
- or a flightplan to be loaded may start at another position.

Requirements

You might create a directory c:\tools for software tools like PHP, Sinkrate 2, continue-flightplan e.g.

There are no regular installations, because your windows-system will not be touched.
There are only some files in some directories which might be deleted in case of dislike.
None of the mentioned software-tools need a change of settings in Windows or the flightsimulator.

PHP

Required is an "installation" of the PHP programming language (if not done yet).

Get a zip-download of PHP and extract it in any directory (e.g. c:\tools\php).

Sinkrate 2 and continue-flightplan have been developed with PHP 7 and should run even with older or newer versions.

Download

Installation

Even here a regular installation does not happen.

You only have to create a directory, where some files are to be copied.
A deinstallation might be done with deleting this directory.
Additionally there is a call e.g. inside a batch-file.

continue-flightplan-x-y.zip

Call inside a batch-file

After closing the flightsimulator a batch-file may execute a command like this:
php -f C:\Tools\continue-flightplan\continue-flightplan.php

As a template you may look at my batch-file or simply use it.

Usage

My flightsimulator is started via a batch-file, which afterwards calls the continue-flightplan-script.
Running this batch-file opens a shell-window staying in the background.

A flightplan might be created

This flightplan is to be loaded and stored (before closing the simulator) as flt-file.

After leaving MSFS 2020 the restoring of flight-plan-data can be confirmed inside the shell-window.

Here some hopefully successfull messages of the continue-flightplan-script should appear.

After another confirmation other tools will be closed as well as the shell-window.

Tools (change aircraft or airport, debug-mode, restore last flight-files)

Changing the aircraft

The batch-file aircraft-switch.bat allows to switch to another aircraft.

When executing the batch-file

The text-file aircraft-switch.txt contains informations about editing the aircraft list.

The ini-file aircraft-switch.ini is the editable list of choosable aircrafts.

When loading the current flt-file the selected aircraft will appear at the saved location.

Teleport to another airport

The batch-file aircraft-teleport.bat allows choosing another airport within the active flightplan.

So you may retry a section within a larger flightplan.

When executing the batch-Datei

When loading the current flt-file the aircraft will be positioned with northern heading in the middle of the selected airport.

Testing und editing the script in a webbrowser

The batch-file develop-web-environment.bat

Processed flight-plan-data is shown in the browser-window without writing any files.

Restoring backuped files

continue-flightplan overwrites several files.

The batch-file restore-backup-files.bat restores their last versions.