SimRoster v1.1.0: Real Data, Real Flights

When we launched SimRoster, the promise was simple: give pilots a realistic roster experience with the airlines they love. But the reality didn't match. Routes went to airports the airline doesn't serve. Flight numbers looked like serial codes. A Boeing 777 would show up on a 45-minute hop. We heard every piece of that feedback, and it stung because we knew you were right.

v1.1.0 is the fix. Not a patch, a rebuild. This is the biggest update we've shipped since launch, and it touches every layer of the platform. Here's everything that changed.

We replaced every route in the system

This is the change that started everything. We built a completely new pipeline that syncs with major flight tracking services to pull real, scheduled flight data for every airline in SimRoster. That data now feeds directly into the routes, flight numbers, departure times, and aircraft assignments on your roster.

Here's what "real" actually means in practice, because the difference is night and day.

• Your flight number is a real flight number. When you see UA1524 on your roster, that's a real United Airlines flight. Not "UA12B" or "DL-7X." Every flight number now corresponds to a real, scheduled service.
• Your route is a route the airline actually flies. If you're flying Delta, you'll see Atlanta to Los Angeles, not Atlanta to some random airport Delta has never served. Every origin-destination pair comes from the airline's actual network.
• Your departure and arrival times are realistic. No more flights departing at 3:47 AM for no reason. Times are based on when the airline actually operates that route, with slight daily variation so your roster isn't identical every day.
• Your aircraft makes sense for the route. Short-haul flights get narrow-body aircraft like the A320 or 737. Long-haul flights get wide-bodies like the 777, A350, or 787. No more 777s doing 45-minute hops.
• Your aircraft registration looks real. US carriers get N-numbers, British Airways gets G-registrations, Lufthansa gets D-, Ryanair gets EI-, Air France gets F-. Each country follows its real ICAO registration prefix.

This applies to Delta, United, American, Southwest, Spirit, Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, and Ryanair, all synced with real flight data. The remaining airlines use curated route data that we'll migrate to the same pipeline in upcoming updates.

Your existing logbook, PIREPs, flight hours, and completed flights are completely untouched. Nothing you've already flown or logged has changed. Only your future assignments use the new data.

Realistic Mode, completely rethought

This one matters a lot because it was one of the most common sources of confusion.

Here's what used to happen: during onboarding, Realistic Mode was pre-selected by default. Many pilots didn't fully understand what it meant, tapped through, and suddenly found themselves with a roster full of multi-leg duty days, return legs, and mandatory rest periods. For a casual sim pilot who just wants a single flight to fly tonight, that's overwhelming. Some users thought their roster was broken. Others left because they assumed the app was too complicated.

We've fixed all of that.

Realistic Mode is no longer pre-selected during onboarding. You now see two clearly labeled options side by side:

• Realistic: multi-leg duty days with outbound and return legs, crew rest periods between duties, and scheduling that mirrors how airlines actually build rosters. For pilots who want the full airline experience.
• Standard: clean, single-leg assignments. One flight at a time. Simple and perfect for pilots who want to pick a flight and go.

Neither option is pre-selected. You make an active choice, no surprises.

You can also switch between modes at any time in Settings, not just on the last day of the month like before. When you switch, all your future assignments (both scheduled and accepted) are replaced immediately with flights matching your new mode. Completed flights are never touched.

Time you can actually read

We heard from users that not everyone reads Zulu time fluently, and that's completely fair. Flight times throughout the app now display in two formats: bold local time in 12-hour AM/PM format (like "2:30 PM") with muted UTC/Zulu time alongside ("14:30Z") for the aviation-minded. Both are always visible.

You also have control over what "local" means. In Settings, choose between Base timezone (relative to your home airport) or your personal timezone. Set it once and every screen in the app follows your preference.

Ryanair and multi-base operations

Ryanair is fully available with real route data synced from real schedules. During onboarding, Ryanair pilots can select a second operating base, and that second base now actually affects your roster. Assignments draw from both bases, reflecting how Ryanair crews operate across multiple stations.

Your flight time, your numbers

This was a subtle but important fix. Previously, the system would silently overwrite the flight time you entered in a PIREP with a calculated departure-minus-arrival value. That's wrong. Flight time is airborne time, not block time, and the pilot's manual entry is the correct record.

Now, the time you enter is exactly what gets stored. It counts toward your totals, your rankings, and your progression. If your entered time differs significantly, you'll see a brief "are you sure?" confirmation to catch typos. Small variations pass through silently. Your hours are your hours.

Landings in your logbook

Landing counts (day and night) now always display in your logbook. Previously, leaving the fields blank during PIREP filing stored nothing and the logbook showed a dash. Now blank fields default to 0, so the Landings column always shows a clear number.

Fuel in kilograms

Most pilots outside the US work in kilograms. You can now set your preferred fuel unit in Settings: kilograms (the new default) or US gallons. The PIREP form labels update to match, and the unit is stored with every PIREP so your logbook stays consistent.

A better contract experience

The employment contract modal was too large on mobile, and the "Sign" button would get cropped off screen. We've reworked the sizing so the modal is smaller, properly scrollable, and the action buttons are always visible. The contract text now clearly identifies SimRoster as the platform, and the welcome message directs you to sign from your Home page.

Faster airline changes

The minimum waiting period to change airlines dropped from 30 days to 14 days. You still get a full month of assignments, but you're not locked in if you want to try a different airline after two weeks.

Onboarding improvements

• Airline search: there's now a search bar at the top of the airline selection step. Type an airline name or IATA code and the grid filters instantly. Airlines are sorted alphabetically too.
• Departure time preferences: a new step lets you indicate when you prefer to fly (morning, afternoon, evening). The assignment engine uses this as a soft preference.
• Cleaner license numbers: the CODE-###-ABCD format is more readable and looks more realistic.

Add all flights to your calendar in one tap

You can now export your entire upcoming roster to your device calendar with a single button. On the Flights page, hit "Add to Calendar" and SimRoster generates a single .ics file containing every upcoming flight: dates, times, routes, flight numbers, all of it. Import it into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, or any app that supports .ics files.

Each event includes a reminder the day before and an hour before departure, so you never forget to log your flight.