Steeler

Release 0.19.0 Sky Dolly “Jaunty Jodel” carries the Olympic spirit into the world: over 200 new locations - each country taking part in the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 - have been added as location presets. Please enjoy the diversity and beauty of our little planet - happy flying! Improvements Better sorting, focus handling and visibility support of newly inserted items in the logbook, aircraft and location tables 200+ default locations added Renamed some countries (common English names) Added new location categories: Beach and Castle The On Ground column in the logbook table is now sortable, too Bug Fixes No duplicate entries when adding new locations Properly restore table layout, specifically column sort 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

Release 0.18.0 Sky Dolly "Illustrious Ikarus" supports flights with a recording duration over a day. Or over a year. In fact, for a very long time. New features New location Sky Dolly logbook (*.sdlog) *export* plugin New location Sky Dolly logbook (*.sdlog) *import* plugin Locations exported from older Sky Dolly releases are automatically migrated Improvements Recording & Replay The maximum simulation rate spinbox in the application settings now steps in powers of two (1, 2, 4, 8, ..., 128) The maximum custom replay speed factor has been increased from 200 to 99999 The recording sample rate setting has been removed The *Statistics* dialog now shows separate recording rates, for both positition (always around 1 Hz) and attitude samples (e.g. 30 Hz, that is the *simulation frame* rate) The simulation time is now updated in the flight simulator during replay: this can be disabled in the *Replay* application settings The replay time widget now properly displays replay times longer than a day, by displaying the date as needed (for recordings with a duration over a day) When loading a flight from the logbook the replay mode is automatically reset to *Normal* which will properly position the user aircraft at the initial replay position Import & Export A new *Export system locations* option has been added to the location export When importing flights via the Sky Dolly logbook (*.sdlog) format no *system* (default) locations are added (migrated) anymore (they are already created and present in the main logbook) A distance threshold option has been added to the location import settings, allowing to *update* existing locations (or either *ignore* the location to be imported or unconditionally import the new locations) GPX export: the geoid height (<geoidheight>) can now also optionally be exported The exported GPX waypoints now have a description (<desc>) element: *Departure*, *Waypoint* and *Arrival* IGC export: the proper standard pressure altitude (at a 1013.25 hPa (1 atmosphere) setting) instead of the indicated altitude is now exported Simulation Variables Position- and attitude simulation variables are now sampled separately Position data (latitude, longitude, altitude) is only sampled at 1Hz: the expectation is that "stutters" during recording should be automatically smoothened out Removed `SMOKE_ENABLE` support (there exists no "default smoke system*) New simulation variables are being recorded, among them nose wheel steering Logbook Rename column *Date* to *Recording Date*, for clarity Also show the simulation departure- and arrival dates in the tooltip The *Total Time of Flight* column now supports durations measured in *days*, *weeks*, *months* and even *years* Application Settings The application may now be automatically restarted after changing the user interface style ("Windows Vista", "Windows 11", "Fusion", ...) Bug Fixes GPX export: The elevation (<ele>) values are now properly exported as "above mean sea level" (and not "above WGS84 reference ellipsoid" anymore) GPX export: the trackpoint timestamps are properly calculated and exported when exporting the entire flight (and not just the user aircraft); the proper timezone suffix (Z) is appended, too (ISO 8601 format) Record the flight conditions - specifically the flight start date/time - when the *first* aircraft is recorded directly from within the Formation module Prevent teleporation to the equator (0° latitude, 0° longitude) when no flight is currently loaded and *Fly with formation* is selected Do not reset the time edit widget when the recording is paused (keep the current recorded time) Migrate (update) missing logbook start- and end simulation times (local and zulu) based on the actual recorded positions (timestamps) amd/or the recording creation date/time Documentation Added new timelapse example SQL script Added new "analytical" SQL example script for the various altitude measurements Under the Hood Ensure common creation- and start/end date (local and zulu) date & time formats on database level, add "not null" constraint for data conistency Upgrade GeographicLib to version 2.4 (from version 2.3) Upgrade cpptrace to version 0.6.3 (from 0.5.2) 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

Release 0.17.0 Sky Dolly “Humble Hawker” (v0.17) has just been released. This release introduces keyboard shortcut support for MSFS, for basic recording and replay control. New features: Keyboard shortcut support in the flight simulator For record (CTRL + R), replay (CTRL + P) and other basic replay functions The keyboard shortcuts can be re-assigned in the Sky Dolly application settings (no restart required) In case of recording start/stop a desktop notification message will inform the user SimConnect network support Sky Dolly comes with a SimConnect.cfg configuration that works "out of the box" on the same machine ("localhost") with the automatically generated SimConnect.xml server configuration (located in the MSFS data folder) For an actual network configuration edit this SimConnect.cfg with a text editor and adjust the server address and port numbers as needed Conveniently select between the three provided configurations (pipe, IPv4, IPv6) in the Sky Dolly application settings (no restart required) Dark theme support via selectable styles Windows 10 users can select the "Fusion" style for dark theme support Windows 11 users have a new "Windows 11" style that natively supports dark theme In either case the dark theme has to be enabled in the Windows system settings Improvements: The default logbook name is now *Sky Dolly Logbook* This should make the actual data folder more distinguishable from the application folder (and hopefully prevent data loss due to the accidental deletion of the wrong folder) The flight number is now also shown in the Logbook table The Formation module settings (relative position, replay mode) are now persisted A flight recording in progress is now automatically stopped and the flight stored to the logbook in case the flight simulator is terminated (e.g. also due to a crash) The full range of flight simulator simulation rates 0.0625 up to 128.0 is now supported The maximum simulation rate can be set in the Sky Dolly application settings, as higher simulation rates can take up quite a lot of CPU power Note that the actual replay speed can still be set to higher values (up to 200) Bug fixes: KML export: the _first_ position point is now properly exported as well Flight condition is not overwritten anymore when recording additional formation aircraft Toggling the "active pause" in MSFS while recording now properly resumes/pauses recording and the flight itself Prevent a crash that would occur when a flight is loaded and the replay mode in the Formation module is changed to "Fly with formation", but no connection with MSFS exists yet Remove last recorded flight or aircraft in case persistence fails (improved error handling) In the Formation module the reference aircraft icon is properly initialised During replay the replay speed is now properly set to the last "custom speed" (e.g. 0.1) when checking the "Custom" radio button (previously the actual replay speed was always wrongly set to 1.0, mismatching with the *displayed* custom speed value, e.g. 0.1) Seeking on the timeline now correctly re-establishes the current flap (and other control element) 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

While Sky Dolly cannot export your MSFS logbook itself it can record flights (into its own logbook: an SQLite database) for replay and also export (and import) your flights to various formats, among them KML (Keyhole Markup Language) e.g. for Google Earth: https://flightsim.to/file/9067/sky-dolly Sky Dolly is open source. Disclosure: I am the author. Happy flying! Steeler

Release 0.16.0 Kia ora! Sky Dolly “Gregarious Gee Bee” (v0.16) has just been released. This release introduces new Sky Dolly logbook export & import plugins, incuding automated time synchronisation for formation flights based on real-world timestamps. New Features Sky Dolly logbook import & export plugins Improvements Automatic time offset synchronisation for formats that support real-world timestamps (such as the Sky Dolly logbooks) New “import mode” parameter for import plugins A new recent logbooks menu allows to quickly re-open previous logbooks Logbooks can now be opened via drag and drop (e.g. from Windows File Explorer) The Logbook and Location module now persist their settings (todo: Formation module) and provide a “reset” button to quickly reset the search filters Kia ora! Five new locations in New Zealand Various bug fixes & improvements 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

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"

⚠️⚠️⚠️ 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 😞

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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