Flight Phases
JetCard automatically tracks your flight through a state machine that detects phase transitions from sim data. You don’t need to manually advance phases — just fly.
Phase Sequence
| Phase | Trigger | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BOARDING | Charter accepted | Starting phase. Passengers are loading |
| TAXI OUT | Ground speed > 6 kts | Aircraft moving on the ground |
| TAKEOFF | Ground speed > 40 kts | Acceleration on runway |
| CLIMB | Wheels off ground | Hard gate — sets airborne timestamp |
| CRUISE | Level flight detected | Informational only |
| DESCENT | Altitude decreasing | Informational only |
| APPROACH | Near destination, descending | Informational only |
| TAXI IN | Wheels on ground after airborne | Hard gate — unlocks flight completion |
| BLOCK IN | Both engines below 15% N1 | Optional — some aircraft don’t report clean shutdown |
Hard Gates vs Optional Phases
Only three phases are hard gates that affect flight mechanics:
- CLIMB (wheels off) — records your airborne time
- TAXI IN (wheels on after airborne) — unlocks the Complete Flight button
- BLOCK IN (engines off) — sets deboarding status
CRUISE, DESCENT, and APPROACH are informational — they appear in the EFB and ACARS log but never block completion.
Completing a Flight
Once you reach TAXI IN, the Complete Flight button becomes available. You don’t need to wait for BLOCK IN — taxi in is sufficient. This handles aircraft that don’t report clean engine shutdown data.
Elapsed Time Guard
JetCard checks your actual block time against the estimated flight time:
- 90%+ of estimated time — full payout
- 65-90% — pro-rated payout
- Below 65% — flight flagged for review
Abandoning a Flight
You can abandon a charter at any point:
- Pre-departure (before airborne) — -1.5 reputation penalty
- In-flight (after airborne) — -3.0 reputation penalty
Abandoned charters return to the board for other pilots to pick up. Your aircraft is released back to available status.
Landing Rate
JetCard captures your touchdown vertical speed for the after-action report. This data is stored in the charter’s completion record and visible on the Logbook detail page.