So, what programming genius thought that the identification data should apply to EVERY plane in the sim... I mean HUH?? If I set the tail number of my Piper Arrow but then fly an Airbus ATC calls me Arrow 984JV for example...  Utterly ridiculous 🤣

I don't know, but there is difference between tail number and callsign. If you tail number is Arrow and you are using it as your callsign then "identification" for Airbus will be exactly that.

12 hours ago, sd_flyer said:

I don't know, but there is difference between tail number and callsign. If you tail number is Arrow and you are using it as your callsign then "identification" for Airbus will be exactly that.

The point is that the identification data should be specific to EACH aircraft in the database, if you enter a tail number the stupid thing assigns that to everything as well. If I own a Piper and a Bonanaza they each have a unique tail number right, its like your license plate on a car.  This needs to be fixed!

BTW, callsign is no mystery either, it's what ATC calls an airline, if you are a British Airways flight, you are always "Speed Bird ###" for instance. In the case of GA there isn't really an equivalent, other than maybe the fact that sometimes they use your type aircraft, for instance when flying my Piper Cherokee, it might be "Piper 7839J" etc etc...

The main thing about this whole issue, is it should not only be per aircraft, really it should be per livery. I think MS/Asobo are just being cheap here on the data they need to keep, and I'm calling BS on it!

 

2 hours ago, jfv said:

The point is that the identification data should be specific to EACH aircraft in the database, if you enter a tail number the stupid thing assigns that to everything as well. If I own a Piper and a Bonanaza they each have a unique tail number right, its like your license plate on a car.  This needs to be fixed!

Identification is a callsign. For GA aircraft callsign is tail number. As you know all commercial companies don't use tail number but rather callsign. Even none profit orgs like "Angel Flight" also don't use tail number.

Since I own airplane I can tell you that tail number is not necessarily unique number. It is number assign by FAA and it's not uncommon to get tail number of another aircraft that for example crashed long time ago. Unique number is serial number of your airframe or engine 

2 hours ago, jfv said:

 

The main thing about this whole issue, is it should not only be per aircraft, really it should be per livery. I think MS/Asobo are just being cheap here on the data they need to keep, and I'm calling BS on it!

 

If you don't put anything in custom box, each aircraft in MSFS will have own unique default callsign. You are making fuss about nothing, really not worth a thread LOL

1 hour ago, sd_flyer said:

If you don't put anything in custom box, each aircraft in MSFS will have own unique default callsign. 

Is this data pulled from the aircraft.cfg?  Or some cfg file with the livery?

36 minutes ago, Mace said:

Is this data pulled from the aircraft.cfg?  Or some cfg file with the livery?

I can’t tell for sure where exactly it pulls it from, but all my fslabs airbuses  have different callsign depending on livery 

20 hours ago, jfv said:

So, what programming genius thought that the identification data should apply to EVERY plane in the sim..

Probably Bruce Artwick since this functionality might go all the way back to SubLogic Flight Simulator if memory serves ...  Asobo didn't come up with this on their own.  

Some folks, myself included, use registration numbers that may have special meaning to us, so I quite like having my favorite rego number showing up as default.

Asobo, please don't "fix" this after being called out on it after 48 years! 😀

21 hours ago, jfv said:

So, what programming genius thought that the identification data should apply to EVERY plane in the sim... I mean HUH?? If I set the tail number of my Piper Arrow but then fly an Airbus ATC calls me Arrow 984JV for example...  Utterly ridiculous 🤣

Don't enter a value as Stoopy mentions. It appears to be the same as in P3D and FSX and it's not a bug, it's by design for the reason he mentions.  Most developers set this per livery/individual in the atc_id field in the aircraft.cfg file for the plane/livery.  I'm gonna assume this behavior is the same as it's always been...i.e. if no atc_id, then it won't be used in the sim.

21 hours ago, sd_flyer said:

Identification is a callsign. For GA aircraft callsign is tail number. As you know all commercial companies don't use tail number but rather callsign. Even none profit orgs like "Angel Flight" also don't use tail number.

Since I own airplane I can tell you that tail number is not necessarily unique number. It is number assign by FAA and it's not uncommon to get tail number of another aircraft that for example crashed long time ago. Unique number is serial number of your airframe or engine 

I have a PPL, I owned a Cherokee until 2023 when I decided to sell, I know its assigned by the FAA, I was considering building but finally didn't. I also know the difference between that and callsign, its the very point I was trying to make.  The way the current setup works, if I insert a value into my 737 with a Delta livery of "Delta" for a callsign, but then I decide I want to fly a United flight, it will still say "Delta", because that database value is now assigned irregardless of livery.

Maybe people want to get huffy and say "it's always been this way",  so what, I'm saying it shouldn't, I'm saying this should be a per livery set of data.

You don't want to call it a bug... fine, but its unrealistic and with everything else 2024 is supposed to be, this should be better, how's that?

I'm done debating.

 

51 minutes ago, jfv said:

I have a PPL, I owned a Cherokee until 2023 when I decided to sell, I know its assigned by the FAA, I was considering building but finally didn't. I also know the difference between that and callsign, its the very point I was trying to make.  The way the current setup works, if I insert a value into my 737 with a Delta livery of "Delta" for a callsign, but then I decide I want to fly a United flight, it will still say "Delta", because that database value is now assigned irregardless of livery.

Maybe people want to get huffy and say "it's always been this way",  so what, I'm saying it shouldn't, I'm saying this should be a per livery set of data.

You don't want to call it a bug... fine, but its unrealistic and with everything else 2024 is supposed to be, this should be better, how's that?

I'm done debating.

 

There's only one person getting huffy 'round here and it's the OP engaging in histrionics, calling things utter nonsense etc and acting as if the current developer came up with this on their own, which isn't the case.  If by "done debating" you mean you're done overreacting, well then, congrats!

I suppose you could go into Simbrief and make a plane for each liveries with your call sign and tail number. 

I own to many planes to start doing that, but it should work

Edited August 26, 2025Aug 26 by Ron Lefebvre