Sky Dolly - free flight recorder / replay app (FS2020)

[Steeler 11]

Dear community,

I am excited to announce that the latest Sky Dolly v0.6 preview release has just been made available yesterday:

  https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

Sky Dolly v0.6 as reached a major milestone, namely the support of database (SQLite) persistence - the "logbook". Flights are automatically persisted - away with pesky file handling 🙂

 

Features include:

• Smooth replay with cubic spline interpolation of the sample points
• Variable record rates, from as low as 1 Hz (great for conserving space on long commercial airline flights) up to "auto" ("as fast as possible" - great for "acrobatic flying")
• Basic simulation variables "with visual impact" are recorded: flaps, gears, ailerons, rudder, spoilers, ...
• Initial flight conditions, aircraft information, waypoints and simulation times (local and zulu) are recorded
• Basic store / restore / delete database functionality (including backup and disk space optimisation), with sophisticated flight filtering on the roadmap
• Easy and inutitive user interface, with keyboard shortcuts
• Very resource friendly (< 1% CPU usage during recording, on an i7 4.2 GHz CPU)
• Basic CSV import/export

 

Source and (older) binary releases:

  https://github.com/till213/SkyDolly

Happy flying and recording 🙂

[Steeler 11]

Dear community,

The freshly released Sky Dolly v0.7 preview has introduced a major new feature: recording & replay of "formations":

Recording

Adding new aircrafts to an existing (or new) flight is as easy as:

• Switch to the "Formation" module (press F2)
• Press the "Record" button (key R)

That's it! The newly recorded aircraft is automatically stored in the "Logbook" (database). Sky Dolly does not impose any limit on the number of aircrafts in a given formation. And the best part of it: while you are recording an aircraft all existing aircrafts are replayed at the same time! So you know exactly where you are flying in relation to the other aircrafts in your formation. While their replay sample rate is set to "auto" (interpolation for each "simulated frame" event) you may still change the recording sample rate at any time (also during recording - because why not), from "auto" to as low as 1 Hz.

Replay

Replaying a formation flight is equally simple:

• Load a flight (by double-clicking on it in the "Logbook")
• Press the "Play" button (spacebar)

And all aircrafts are replayed in sync. Press the "Pause" (key P) button or seek in the timeline (left or right arrow keys): all aircrafts are controlled with a single user interface instance (as you would expect, actually ;)).

Additional Features

• Set the initial recording position relative to the current "user aircraft" (the aircraft which is being followed by the camera in the flight simulator)
• Remove aircrafts from a flight
• Jump "from cockpit to cockpit", by changing the "user aircraft"
• Or why not take control of the "user aircraft" yourself, at any time during replay? And if you "get lost": simply hand back control to Sky Dolly 🙂

And if screen space is at a premium you may switch to "Minimal UI" mode at any time, which still provides the required features to record & replay formation flights:

Known Issues

The "AI controlled aircrafts" are "jittering" quite substantially, especially at "higher speeds" (something above 120 knots or so). The ugly "jitter" effect is less extreme (or hardly noticeable) the farther away aircrafts are from the camera, or when using a static drone camera. So you should still get some nice "cinematic shots" done.

But the "jittering" somewhat limits the fun factor in manual formation flying, which is really only acceptable with slower aircrafts such as then Zlin Savage Cub for the time being.

An improvement could be to be able to send all position and instrument data "in one go" (with just one fuction call) per "simulated frame" events. But to my knowledge the SimConnect API does not yet offer such a function which would take "an array of data requests" as argument. It is also possible that the "physics engine" is still trying to influence the AI aircraft's position, despite corresponding "release AI" and "freeze position" calls beforehand.

As other replay tools show the same "jitter" effect I believe that this is simply a shortcoming of the current SimConnect implementation, which will hopefully be improved in the future.

In any case, have fun with the new feature - and I am looking forward to seeing your new "cinematic formation flights" 😉

Edited June 18, 2021 by Steeler

[Steeler 11]

Dear community,

I am thrilled to announce Sky Dolly v0.8 which introduces a new plugin architecture and multiplayer formation flying! While the SimConnect API does not give access to multiplayer aircrafts the CSV import plugin now allows to add the imported aircraft to an existing flight. The aircraft type can now also be chosen.

In the Formation module each aircraft can then be time-shifted, by adding or subtracting a time offset. This synchronises the formation flight.

Further hightlights

• A new KML ("Google Earth") export plugin with basic style options
• Filtering of the logbook by creation date, free text search, aircraft type, duration and formation
• New "fly with formation" replay mode (in the Formation module)
• Usability improvements

For instance, by hiding the "replay speed" group box the user interface can now be truly minimised:

Sky Dolly is open source. The latest binaries are available at:

https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

Edited July 31, 2021 by Steeler
Updated screenshot

[Steeler 11]

Dear community,

The latest bug fix release Sky Dolly v0.8.6 also introduces an new IGC file import plugin. IGC stands for International Gliding Commission and the file format is produced by flight recorders in (real-world) gliders.

This plugin allows you to import such IGC flight recordings and replay them via Sky Dolly in MSFS. Note that pitch, bank and heading are reconstructed based on the imported position data and optional "additions" (as specified by the "I record") such as environmental noise level (ENL) are currently ignored (the ENL is parsed in the upcoming Sky Dolly v0.9, in order to detect propeller start/stop, which will also feature an IGC export plugin).

Sky Dolly is open source. The latest binaries are available at:

https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

[Steeler 11]

Dear community,

I am happy to announce Sky Dolly v0.9 which revolves around more import / export functionality, namely:

• CSV: import of flightradar24.com and Flight Recorder files
• KML: import of flightradar24.com and generic KML files (having at least one gx:Track element)
• GPX: import of GPS echange format files, with mappable waypoints, routes and tracks as well as default altitude and velocity (the later being used in absence of elevation and timestamp data)
• IGC: International Gliding Commission file export, including "C records" which contain the waypoints (according to the flight plan in MSFS)
• The existing IGC import plugin now
  • also parses the environmental noise level (ENL) if available and turns on/off the engine (propeller) according to a selectable noise threshold
  • updates the waypoint ("C record") timestamps according to the actual flown path ("closest point")

Further improvements

• The aircraft selection in the various import dialogs is now editable, with autocompletion
• The "Delete" key now deletes the selected flight in the logbook
• Logbook columns are only resized ("fit to content") upon initial flight loading; after that manual column resizes are kept
• The replay can now be "looped"
• The "indicated altitude" simulation variable is now recorded, for "analytical purposes" (e.g. the new IGC export plugin exports it as "pressure altitude")

The complete changelog is available on github.com.

Sky Dolly is open source. The latest binaries are available at:

https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

[Steeler 11]

Dear community,

I am happy to announce Sky Dolly v0.10 which further improves import and export functionality, including two new plugins:

• GeoJSON export, including style properties
  • style properties interpreted e.g by https://geojson.io)
• GPX export plugin, including the possibility to export real-world timestamps
  • Suitable for GPX "photo tagging" of screenshots taken during flight recording

Further improvements

• Import
  • All files (of the same format) can now be imported from the selected directory ("batch import")
  • Imported aircraft can be added to the same (formation) flight, or into distinct flights
• Export
  • File existence is now checked before overwriting existing files
  • The entire flight formation may now be exported, into separate files or - if supported - into a single file (e.g. KML and GPX)
  • All export plugins support data resampling (1 Hz, 2 Hz, 5 Hz, original data, ...)
  • The CSV plugin now supports export in flightradar24.com CSV format
  • The IGC plugin now exports "K records" (every 20 seconds), including true heading (HDT) and indicated airspeed (IAS)
  • The KML export plugin does not have any line segment size limitation anymore
• Various usability improvements and bug fixes

The complete changelog is available on github.com.

Sky Dolly is open source. The latest binaries are available at:

https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

[Steeler 11]

Dear community,

I am happy to announce Sky Dolly v0.11 which brings a lot of "under the hood" improvements (among them reduced RAM usage), but also some new features and improvements of existing functionality:

• With the introduction of the GeographicLib (open source, third-party) the altitude differences ("undulation") between the WGS84 reference ellipsoid and the EGM2008 geoid are now properly calculated in the GPX and IGC import/export
• The CSV export plugin now supports a simple "position & attitude" format, suitable for flight path analysis e.g. in table editors
• The Formation module now allows to keep the aircraft to be recorded at its current position, by introducing a new Set relative position option
• A truly minimal UI mode (configurable in the settings) saves even more valuable screen space

Further improvements

• Table columns can now be moved, tables have alternating colours per row
• AI object management (creation and deletion) has been improved in the Formation module, resulting in less aircraft flickering when e.g. switching the user aircraft
• Various usability and user interface layout improvements and bug fixes

The complete changelog is available on github.com.

Sky Dolly is open source. The latest binaries are available at:

https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

[Steeler 11]

Dear community,

I am happy to announce Sky Dolly v0.12 which brings the software architecture of Sky Dolly one huge step closer towards "the final picture": the modules are now also implemented as plugins (just like the import/export plugins and the flight simulator connection plugin). This reduces memory usage even further (below the 10 MB RAM mark when the application launches in "minimal mode"), because the plugins - and so now also the modules - are unloaded from memory right after use.

A new Location module is also introduced:

• Capture, manage and teleport to locations
• Locations may have attributes such as category, country, identifier and description
• A selection of default ("system") locations is provided, including a challenging visual approach to Santos Dumont (Rio de Janeiro - based on a real-world flight)
• Latitude/longitude coordinates may be copied from e.g. a forum post or Google Maps and pasted right into the Location module (with CTRL + V)
  • Various formats are supported: decimals (with optional comma-separator) and DMS notation

Note that locations can even be captured during a flight recording - nice.

Further improvements

• Tables are now more efficiently updated "per row"
• When starting a new recording the user aircraft is now updated in the Logbook module as soon as it becomes available
• Various usability and user interface layout improvements and bug fixes

The complete changelog is available on github.com.

Sky Dolly is open source. The latest binaries are available at:

https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

[Steeler 11]

Dear community,

I am happy to announce Sky Dolly v0.13 ("Dapper Daher") which introduces location import & export. This makes it not only possible to exchange user points with Little Navmap, but also allows to literally import all POIs, photogrammetric cities, airports and more from free POI databases such as Little Navmap - MSFS POI Database (hosted on flightsim.to).

The engine state (start, shutdown, keep) can now also be stored together with locations, making it effectively possible to define your own custom starting points, for instance your own helipads.

Locations can now also be conveniently filtered by keyword search, type (system, user, imported), category and country.

In addtion Sky Dolly ships with 100 system locations, fine-tuned and validated GPS coordinates, most of which now come from https://flightspots.co/ (unfortunately this website notifies visitors that it will "terminate its radar services"). It has never been easier to reach or take-off from beautiful spots such as this one:

Further improvements

• Reduction of exported Sky Dolly CSV file sizes (by rounding to two decimal digits - GPS coordinates are rounded to 6 decimal digits)
• The [Sky Dolly installation directory]/Resources/migr/Locations.csv file is now optional and can be deleted (it is used to migrate the system locations into newly generated logbooks)
• All aircraft types from the 40th anniversary update have been added to the aircraft selector combo box (when importing a flight); third-party aircraft are automatically added as they are recorded
• The Flight Recorder CSV importer now also imports the propeller lever position
• Keyword search text fields now have a clear button
• Performance improvements and bug fixes

The complete changelog is available on github.com.

Sky Dolly is open source. The latest binaries are available at:

https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

Edited December 3, 2022 by Steeler

[Steeler 11]

Release 0.14.0

For the Big Birds

Sky Dolly v0.14 (“Ethereal Embraer”) has just been released. This release focuses “on the big birds”, namely improved 3rd-party aircraft support.

Improvements

• Control surfaces such as flaps, ailerons, rudders, elevators and spoilers should work better with 3rd-party aircraft such as the PMDG 737 and IniBuilds A310
  • Note that while there are also some improvements for the Fenix A320 the latest release 1.0.6 does not report some “simulation variables” as reliably as previous versions
• Improved support for thrust levers, tailhooks and wing folding
• Improved light switch support
• Improved replay code for AI aircraft (“formation flight”), including animated ailerons, elevators and rudders, wing folding and tailhooks
• New location categories, including improved CSV import & export with Little Navmap v2.8.8
  • Addon, Cabin, Carrier, History, Obstacle, Oil Platform, Settlement
• When pausing recording the simulation is now also paused (“time to take a coffee, Capt’n!”)
• “Repeat flaps” replay option removed (due to improved replay code)
• Added new flight information simulation variables (dialog Flight → Conditions):
  • Surface condition (normal, wet, icy, snow)
  • On any runway
  • On parking spot
• Increasing the replay speed now also increases the simulation rate (up to a maximum rate of 16x)
  • The simulation rate is a power of 2: 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 16.0 - the nearest simulation rate is chosen, given the current replay speed
  • Note: certain aircraft may reduce or even fix the simulation rate to 1.0 (for instance the Fenix A320)

Bug Fixes

Among some other small fixes a most annoying bug has finally been fixed:

• Rudders, ailerons and elevators don’t “counteract” anymore for aircraft with “PID controllers”: they now move into the expected direction

For all details please refer to the complete CHANGELOG on github.com.

Sky Dolly is open source. The latest binaries are available at:

https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

 

 

[Steeler 11]

Release 0.15.0

Paint It Black!

Sky Dolly “Flamboyant Fokker” (v0.15) has just been released. This is a no-new-features release. Instead several 3rd-party libraries are upgraded, most importantly the Qt 6 framework.

Improvements

• The new Qt 6 framework provides improved Windows 11 support and initial “dark mode” support
  • Dark mode is still not enabled by default, however can be enabled via the command line with:
    • SkyDolly.exe -platform windows:darkmode=2 or
    • SkyDolly.exe -platform windows:darkmode=2 -style=fusion (the “Fusion” style currently looks arguably better)
  • In both cases dark mode needs to be enabled in the Windows user settings
• Improved event state handling, specifically for “asynchronous events” like flaps (e.g with the PMDG 737)

Bug Fixes

• Improved AI object lifetime management, especially in the case of failed aircraft imports
• When importing flights without waypoint data (e.g. in CSV format) the generated start- and end waypoints have now unique timestamps specifically in the case when only one position sample (“parked aircraft”) has been imported, preventing a “unique key violation” (= the imported flight can be properly stored)
• The “Show replay speed” option (defining the default behaviour when switching to minimal UI mode) is now properly restored from the application settings

For all details please refer to the complete CHANGELOG on github.com.

Sky Dolly is open source. The latest binaries are available at:

https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Steeler

[STUART_H 12]

Apologies if this is a silly question, but is it possible to replay a previous flight in the log book from an earlier day, if one first sets the same aircraft at the location in MSFS2020. Or does one have to also have recorded that flight with Flight Recorder at the time and then import it from Flight Recorder in order to replay it using Sky Dolly?

[Steeler 11]

⚠️⚠️⚠️ IMPORTANT PATCH RELEASE: 0.15.1 ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Previous patch releases (< 0.15.1) like the 0.13.1 and the previous 0.15.0 would generate a logbook backup each time the application was started (and if the logbook option "Before migration of an older logbook" is enabled, which is the case by default).

This has been fixed with the 0.15.1 patch relase.

How to reclaim storage space:

• In Sky Dolly: File | Logbook Settings... | Show
• In File Explorer: Open the Backups folder
• Delete any logbook backups that are not required anymore (the file names contain the backup date)

I am terribly sorry for this inconvenience 😞

[Steeler 11]

20 hours ago, STUART_H said:

Apologies if this is a silly question, but is it possible to replay a previous flight in the log book from an earlier day, if one first sets the same aircraft at the location in MSFS2020. Or does one have to also have recorded that flight with Flight Recorder at the time and then import it from Flight Recorder in order to replay it using Sky Dolly?

Uh... my brain starts to spin: is this some kind of "back to the future" question? 😉

But seriously, the recorded flight dates (for the flight: start/end simulation time, including date) is purely "for your information" only: it does not - yet (*) - have any impact whatsoever on the actual replay.

In fact, for replay:

• You can choose any "user aircraft" (on the MSFS "world map" main screen, before you start the flight) that you want. And yes, that really means that you can go as silly as replaying a flight recorded with a Cessna and have it flown (replayed) with a Boeing 747
• And to answer your question about date and time: during replay you can select / change any desired date and time (and weather) as you see fit

Or in other words: you can take any Sky Dolly recording, from today, yesterday or from a year ago and have it replayed in MSFS, at any (simulation) date & time of your choice.

All that Sky Dolly essentially does is sending the previously recorded "aircraft simulation variables" (most importantly latitude, longitude, altitude + attitude + velocity, plus any other "simulation variables" that do have a "major visual impact" on the replay, such as flaps, spoilers, gears position...). But that is all completely independent on the date/time when those variables have been recorded.

That being said, here is the resolution for the above (*) footnote: yes, I intend to also set the current simulation date and/or time in MSFS, according to the flight dates & times as recorded in Sky Dolly. Optionally, of course (I think the fact that you can change your date, time and weather at will is quite a convenient feature for many, so I want to keep that as well). The advantage of setting the time etc.: when you would seek on the timeline the time in the simulator would change accordingly. This is most important for video editors that want to "shoot the same scene from different angles": like this you have consistent lighting (sun) conditions (note that we cannot control the actual weather via SimConnect: so "the clouds always move on" ;)).

Does that answer your question?

Best, "Steeeler"

Edited February 5, 2023 by Steeler
Clarify answer

[STUART_H 12]

Thanks Steeler, I'll give it try.  Love the ability to speed up / slow down the replay too.