For pilots
What is a PIREP? Pilot reports in flight sim explained
In flight simulation, a PIREP (pilot report) is the record of a completed flight that a pilot files with their virtual airline. It holds the route, aircraft, flight time, fuel used, landing rate and a flight log, and once the airline accepts it the flight counts toward the pilot's hours and rank.
Jordan HavardFounder, Skyvex SoftwareEvery flight you fly for a virtual airline (VA) ends with a PIREP. It's the line in your logbook, the thing staff review, and the reason your hours and rank go up. If you're new to VAs, understanding what's in a PIREP and what gets one rejected saves you a lot of refiled flights.
What PIREP means in real aviation and in the sim
PIREP is short for pilot report. In real aviation, a PIREP is something different: a report from a pilot to air traffic control or a weather office about conditions in flight, such as turbulence, icing or cloud tops, which other pilots then use.
Virtual airlines borrowed the word for the report you file after a flight. In flight sim, a PIREP means the record of a flight you flew for your airline, not a weather report.
What's in a flight sim PIREP
The exact contents depend on your airline's software. These are the fields a PIREP can include:
| Field | What it records |
|---|---|
| Flight number and route | Departure and arrival airports, and the flight number if you booked one |
| Aircraft | The type (and sometimes registration) you flew |
| Flight time | Block time (gate to gate) or air time (takeoff to landing), depending on the airline |
| Fuel used | How much fuel you burned, sometimes with the fuel on board at departure |
| Landing rate | How hard you touched down, in feet per minute |
| Position history | A track of where you flew, shown as a line on a map |
| Flight log | Timed events: engines started, takeoff, flaps, landing, engines off |
| Simulator | Which sim and version you flew in |
| Comments | Your remarks, plus any notes the software adds |
The difference between block and air time matters because a VA credits one or the other. Block time vs flight time explains both.
Manual PIREPs vs ACARS PIREPs
There are two ways a PIREP gets filed.
Manual PIREPs are typed into a form on the airline's website: route, aircraft, times, fuel and a landing rate. They're quick, but staff have to trust the numbers, so some airlines limit them or don't accept them at all.
ACARS PIREPs are built automatically by an ACARS client running next to your simulator. The client reads the sim, records the flight as it happens and files the report at the end. Because the data comes from the simulator, staff can see the actual track, times and landing. See what ACARS is in flight simulation for how that works.
Our view: ACARS PIREPs suit normal flying, and manual PIREPs are best kept for special cases (a flight lost to a crash, an event flown with a different setup) at staff discretion.
What happens after you file
Once filed, a PIREP sits in one of three states:
- Pending. It's waiting for review. Some airlines review every PIREP by hand; others only review flagged ones.
- Accepted. The flight counts. Your hours, flight count and any points go up, and the flight appears in your logbook and the airline's statistics.
- Rejected. Staff decided it doesn't meet the airline's rules. Depending on the airline, you'll see a reason and can fix and refile, or fly it again.
Some airlines auto-accept PIREPs that pass set checks (landing rate under a limit, no slew, route matches the booking) and only send exceptions to a person.
Why PIREPs get rejected
A rejection doesn't have to mean bad flying. These are the reasons to watch for, and most of them are a mismatch with the rules:
- Wrong flight. The departure, arrival, aircraft type or flight number doesn't match what you booked.
- Incomplete tracking. Tracking started after takeoff or stopped before you parked, so part of the flight is missing.
- Position jumps. Slew mode, teleporting to the runway or reloading the aircraft somewhere else shows up in the track.
- Time acceleration. Some airlines ban it, others allow it in cruise only.
- Landing rate over the limit. A VA can set a hard limit, and what counts as acceptable varies; what is a good landing rate covers the bands we use.
- Landing somewhere else. Your airline may accept a diversion, but explain it in your comments.
- Breaking airline rules. Overspeeding below 10,000 ft, flying an aircraft your rank can't fly yet, or skipping a required network.
If a PIREP is rejected and the reason isn't clear, ask staff before refiling. They can see the log and track, so they can tell you what tripped it.
How to file a clean PIREP
In our view, nearly every rejection above is avoided by the same few habits. Book first and fly exactly what you booked. Keep tracking running from gate to gate, with no slewing or repositioning in between. Let the client register that you've arrived before you submit, and add a comment for anything unusual, like a diversion, a go-around or a sim stutter. Your first virtual airline flight walks through the whole sequence step by step.
Frequently asked questions
What does PIREP stand for?
Pilot report. In real aviation it's a pilot's report of weather conditions in flight; in flight sim it's the record of a completed flight filed with a virtual airline.
How long does it take for a PIREP to be accepted?
It depends on the airline. Auto-accepted PIREPs count straight away, while manually reviewed ones can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending on how many staff the VA has.
Can I edit a PIREP after filing it?
That's up to your airline. If you can't edit it yourself, contact staff if something's wrong rather than filing a second one.
What happens to my PIREP if I divert?
Check your airline's rules, but our advice is the same either way. Fly the diversion, park, file the PIREP and use the comments to say where you landed and why.
Do PIREPs count toward rank?
Yes, if your VA bases its ranks on hours or flights. Accepted PIREPs add to both.
Where Stratos fits
Stratos builds the PIREP as the flight runs, with flight time, fuel used, distance flown, the position history, a flight log and the landing report, and you submit it once you're parked. Pilots can turn on auto-submit so the PIREP is filed when the engines are off at the gate, as long as you're within 5 nm of the planned arrival. The getting started guide walks through tracking and submitting a flight.
Stratos by Skyvex Software
Free ACARS for every pilot.
On Windows, macOS and Linux.
Stratos reads Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane directly. Continuous telemetry, a landing score from the raw data, and the PIREP filed before you leave the cockpit.