Update! MSFS2020 - Pilot Path Recorder - V.1.3.0

Record your flight path with key flight information archived during the trip. Then export that data to a KML file to use with Google Earth for 3 dimensional flight analysis, flight plan information and a chance to review your flight from the first person perspective.

This is a stand-alone application that must be run outside of Microsft Flight Simulator 2020. Once run, this application allows the user to set various settings to control the recording and exporting experience. A database is used to store your flights so feel free to fly during one session and export in another.

V.1.3.0

Added ability to automatically start and stop the recorder based on flight ground speed. This way you will never forget to log your flight.

Some more details: There is a new setting on the main page that allows you to turn on and off this feature (default is on) and also set the ground velocity to a specific value to your liking. Above that value, logging starts and below that value, it stops and the flight log is saved. You can still manually start, pause, continue, and stop logging as you did before. Some rules about how manual and automatic logging work together. If you manually start logging then you must manually stop it. If you manually stop an automatically started log then once you go below the threshold speed and then above that speed again it will start an automatic log as a new flight. If you pause a log and then go below the threshold speed you must manually stop the log.

Rewrote the logging subsystem for simplicity and to support automatic logging

V.1.2.2

Fixed issue with FlightSampleDetails table create missing sim_on_ground column

Added database exception logging. The errors are now stored in a PilotPathRecorderLog.txt and a message is shown on the user interface if an exception occurs

Added ability for the application to check for updates

V.1.2.0 

Added the ability to know if your plane is on the ground or in the air. Changed yellow push-pins on Flight Path Data Points to green meaning plane is on the ground or blue meaning plane is the air. This way people can zoom in on when their plane landed or took off and look at detail easier.

Note that previous flights recorded in the database assume plane is in the air the entire flight. Only new flights recorded will distinguish whether the plane is on the ground or in the air.

Instructions for use

Note that the Flight Simluator should be up and running before launching Pilot Path Recorder. If not, then click Retry Sim Connection until you get the "SimConnect Connected" message. Next choose the write frequency of how often to write to the database when above the minimum altitude threshold. Adjust the minimum altitude threshold as well. For example if you want to write every 30 seconds when above ground by 5000 feet use the values 30 and 5000 respectfully.

Before start a logging session, start a flight in the simulator and click 'Start Logging' when you are ready to start the recording. You may pause at anytime using the pause function and continue logging when ready. 'Stop Logging' ends the recording for that flight.

When ready, choose a flight (newest are on the top) and if needed pick a directory to store the KML file. Click 'Create KML File' to export the data to a KML file in the location chosen. Be sure to choose whether you will be using Google Earth application or Google Earth Web to view your KML. There are a few differences between the applications that will hamper your experience if you use the application different than you chose when the KML file was exported.

You may also keep your database clean and tidy by deleting a flight from the database.

Once you have a KML file, you may either use Google Earth on the web (earth.google.com) or download and install Google Earth (https://www.google.com/earth/) for your computer.

If using Google Earth web do the follwing to load the KML file:

1. Click the Hamburger menu icon and pick projects
2. Click open and Import KML from computer.
3. Find KML file and select it.
   Note to look at another KML file, you may want to click the trash icon on the current Flight Data to make the map less confusing

If using Google Earth application:

1. Find the KML file on your computer and double-click or press enter to automatically start Google Earth and use this KML file

At this point you should see the path and flight plan if your flight involved one.. With either tool expand the 'Flight Data' line and either click the eye icon (web version) or checkbox (Google Earth computer version) to turn on or off any layer or particular pin from your flight. To see detailed information of the various flight paramters, click a pin to see what was going on at that particular moment of your flight.

Click on First Person View to review your flight from the first person perspective. You can use first person view with any of the other layers turned on or off.

Instructions for install

1. Install .NET 4.7.2 - download can be found at https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net472

2. Unzip contents of Pilot Path Recorder to a directory

3. Launch FS2020PlanePath.exe to start Pilot Path Recorder