Hello,
I purchased the TriStar on the Marketplace full of hope and high expectations—especially with the intention of adding this beautiful legend to our virtual airline. I have been in flight simulation for 33 years and have flown almost every simulator and add-on that has ever graced the virtual skies. I am also a real-world pilot. First of all, I would like to thank you for bringing the TriStar to life here.
However, I have a request for you, and I am speaking on behalf of my pilots and many friends: Could you please take add-ons like this TriStar more seriously, especially for pilots who do not use the useless MSFS flight planner, but instead use SimBrief or Navigraph to file their flight routes? We take our flights very seriously and don't just play around with a gamepad in external view.
During our testing, we found that the aircraft is completely unusable for our flight operations. It doesn't even react to the flight plan, let alone do the CIVA or ground service functions work. Absolutely nothing happens there. Furthermore, we ask you to keep in mind that VATSIM and IVAO are no longer the only ATC standards. There is SayIntentions, which almost everyone in our group uses, as well as BeyondATC in combination with GSX.
Now, I'm not just here to complain ... the external model and the cockpit turned out well. You did a great job on that. Personally, however, it remains incomprehensible to me how something like this can still make it to the public. I find it quite frustrating that the included CIVA and ground panels do not function, or that the aircraft cannot be started at the gate.
Nevertheless, we are very interested in seeing this add-on improve and rise in the ratings. Or, to ask another question: did we miss something?
Best regards,
Thomas

Hello Thomas,

Thank you for taking the time to write such detailed feedback, and for the kind words about the model and cockpit. We take this seriously, especially coming from a virtual airline.

You may indeed have missed a few things, so here are some points that should help:

Flight plan / SimBrief: our route planner works from the MSFS flight plan. If you file with SimBrief or Navigraph, export your plan as an MSFS .PLN and load it into the world map before starting the flight. The planner will then import it for the CIVA. Alternatively, the CIVA can be programmed manually on the CDU, just like in the real aircraft.

CIVA: the INS units must be fully aligned and set to NAV mode before they will navigate. If the alignment wasn't completed, the CIVA will not react.

https://youtube.com/shorts/D69oOpab8EE

Starting at the gate: a cold & dark start follows the full flight engineer procedure in the included checklists. If the engines still won't start, please tell us at which step it stops.

Ground services: the ground panel currently uses the default MSFS ground services. If GSX is installed, the two can conflict. Over time, we plan to add GSX compatibility as far as technically possible. At the same time, please keep in mind that not all our users have GSX, so the aircraft must keep working well for everyone, with or without it.

ATC tools: could you tell us what exactly you expect from the TriStar in terms of compatibility with SayIntentions and BeyondATC? Knowing which features or issues matter most to your pilots will help us prioritize.

We're also preparing a major update that will be released soon.

We'd very much like to see the TriStar flying in your virtual airline.

Hello, thank you for the detailed video of the startup process. I will pass it on to our team immediately. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to test it myself yet. As soon as I have, I will reach out here regarding it.

The reason I mentioned SayIntentions and B-ATC is that we combine these ATC tools with GSX and ground handling, including cargo, pushback, and many other ground service instructions. This also includes the ground power unit (GPU) and cargo loading. Since the CIVA operation didn't display any ground services, the reason why this isn't working yet was explained logically and precisely. Thank you for that. We all completely agree with this approach—catering to everyone first is fully understandable.
Unfortunately, there is no PAX (passenger) version, which of course would have been of greater importance to us as a virtual airline. The cargo variant was barely used in real life and didn't catch on. So, we are hoping for a PAX version, which was also more efficient. I will report back on confirmed flight operations with us once the tests are successful. Until then, thank you very much for your great support and have a wonderful weekend."

Regards Thomas