Issue Description

Users flying the PMDG 777 aircraft within Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (MSFS 2024) are currently experiencing a persistent issue where smartCARS repeatedly logs "Paused" and "Unpaused" messages. This can lead to a cluttered flight log and an inaccurate representation of flight activity.


Understanding the Root Cause

smartCARS actively monitors various simulator variables to accurately track your flight. Specifically, smartCARS subscribes to the simulator's pause and unpause variables via SimConnect, Microsoft Flight Simulator's external interface. When smartCARS detects a change in these variables, it logs the corresponding "Paused" or "Unpaused" event.


Our investigation indicates that the root cause of this particular issue lies within the PMDG 777 aircraft itself, rather than smartCARS or the core simulator. The PMDG 777, as of the writing of this article, appears to be intermittently triggering the simulator's pause/unpause events internally, even when the user has not manually paused or unpaused the simulation. This behavior is then detected by smartCARS, leading to the excessive logging.


It's important to note that our tracking software is not alone in encountering this issue; other tracking solutions on the market, that are configured to log pause events, have also reported similar anomalous pause/unpause detections when used with the PMDG 777 in MSFS 2024.


Resolution and Mitigation

Since the issue originates with the aircraft, a permanent fix will require PMDG to investigate the internal reasons for these pause triggers and subsequently release a patch or update for their product. Until such a patch is available, we can only offer mitigation strategies.


For Virtual Airline Pilots:

If you are flying for a Virtual Airline and experiencing this issue, please share this solutions article with your VA administrators. They have the ability to apply the configuration changes mentioned below to resolve the issue for all pilots in your community.


For smartCARS Community Licensees (Virtual Airlines):

If you are a smartCARS Community license holder, you can adjust your smartCARS Tracking Config settings to mitigate the impact of these messages. This configuration can be found within the Flight Tracking Plugin's settings in smartCARS Central. Through editing the config, we have two mitigation strategies to present:

  • Add "Timeouts": We recommend adding "timeouts" for the "Paused" and "Unpaused" log events. This will prevent smartCARS from logging these events repeatedly within a short timeframe, effectively reducing the spam. An example of this is available below:
    { 
    "condition": "{pauseFlag} equals true", 
    "message": "Paused", 
    "timeout": 5000
},
{
    "condition": "{pauseFlag} not_equals true",
    "message": "Unpaused", "initialValue": true,
    "timeout": 5000
},

    In this example, if smartCARS detects the simulator being paused, it will wait 5000 milliseconds (5 seconds) before logging the "Paused" event. The same applies to the "Unpaused" message.

  • Remove Log Events Entirely: Alternatively, if you deem these specific log events less critical for your VA's tracking purposes, you may choose to remove them entirely from your smartCARS Tracking Config.


For smartCARS Pro Users (Not Flying for a Community):

If you are using smartCARS Pro independently and are not flying for a virtual community, we have applied the timeout value of 5000 (5 seconds) to these events in our smartCARS tracking config. These adjustments are designed to minimize the impact of the excessive pause/unpause logging.


We appreciate your understanding and patience as we await a resolution from PMDG for this aircraft-specific behavior.