PIREP Approval Criteria

To maintain consistency and uphold standards, United Virtual Airlines (UVA) follows specific criteria for Pilot Report (PIREP) approval. Pilots are required to adhere to the following guidelines:

Simulation Rate:

1. CRUISE Phase Time Acceleration:

   • Pilots may use any simulation rate (time acceleration) during the CRUISE phase only, from top-of-climb (TOC) to top-of-descent (TOD).
   • Time acceleration is strictly prohibited during taxi, take-off, climb, descent, approach, and landing.

2. ATC Permission on VATSIM:

   • Pilots on VATSIM must receive permission from ATC before using time acceleration.

3. Phases Jumping Prohibition:

   • Use of any feature allowing jumping between flight phases (e.g., to the next waypoint, top of descent, slewing) is strictly prohibited.

Landing Rate:

1. Maximum Landing Rate:
   • Landing rate must not exceed -600 feet per minute (fpm).
   • Multiple touchdowns must not exceed -600 fpm each.

Routing:

1. smartCARS Routing Requirement:
   • Routing must be entered in smartCARS.
   • Direct (airport to airport) routes are not permitted.

Flight Errors:

1. Stalls, Overspeeds, Violations:
   • Stalls, overspeeds, and >250kts below 10,000 ft. MSL violations may lead to PIREP rejection, based on severity and/or duration.
   • MSFS2020/2024 users: note that using “Active Pause” registers as a stall; avoid using this feature during flight recording.

Fuel Guidelines:

1. Minimum Fuel at Landing:

   • At landing, fuel must be more than 2000 lbs. for all passenger transport aircraft.

2. Reserve Fuel:

   • Reserve fuel should be added before departure for emergency, holding, or unforeseen circumstances.
   • Using "Unlimited Fuel" option in any simulator is strictly prohibited.
   • In-flight refueling is NOT permitted and any PIREPs submitted with a logged inflight refueling will be rejected (at Hub Manager/Executive/Admin Staff discretion).

Staff:

1. Discretionary Approval/Rejection:

   • Staff may approve or reject a PIREP at their discretion.
   • A reason for rejection will always be provided in the comments section.
   • Any administrative team member may overrule a rejection if found unnecessary.
   • Pireps of any staff member must be reviewed by a member of the executive or administrative team.

2. Self-Approval Prohibition:

   • No staff member may accept their own PIREP. 

Diversions:

1. Notation Requirement:
   • Pilots must note the diversion airport and reason in the “Comments” section of smartCARS if flight conditions are unsafe or in case of an emergency.

Slew Mode:

1. Slew Mode Restriction:
   • PIREPs showing slew mode toggled on for more than 3 seconds after pushback completion will be rejected.

Double Dipping:

1. Hours Accrual Limitation:
   • Accruing hours for another virtual airline during the same flight is strictly prohibited.
   • Violators may face PIREP rejection and possible disciplinary action by the Executive/Administration Team.

Airline & Aircraft Type Restrictions:

1. General Requirements:
   • Pilots may fly any airline and aircraft type, considering fuel range, appropriate aircraft size for departure and arrival airports, and runway length.
   • Substituting aircraft is allowed, but pilots must leave a comment in the “Comments” section of smartCARS before PIREP submission.

Charter Operations:

1. Charters Creation Limitation:
   • Charters (also known as Free Flights) can only be created for routes not already in the scheduling system.
   • Aircraft substitutions can be made through smartCARS, so charters/free flights should not be created solely for changing aircraft type.