Military Debriefing
Tacview is used for military debriefings, such as those conducted by the French Air Force during VOLFA exercises
Prepare and conduct customized military debreifings following the steps outlined in this chapter:
Prepare your tools
Use GPS tools which export flight data in Tacview-compatible formats, preferably EAG or GPX.
Tacview supports numerous variants of CSV files also - if you have a CSV file try opening it in Tacview and if it doesn't work and you're not sure why, contact us.
Make sure each track is named after the aircraft's voice call sign such as JE121 for Juliette 121.
Prepare your terrain
By default, Tacview Enterprise displays the entire 3D earth in low resolution. (ETOPO1).
You may wish to display more terrain details for the area over which you will be flying missions.
Some areas are already available for download.
Add areas and scenarios
The best way to display areas, such as air corridors and training ranges, is to export static data from your preferred tool in KML format.
For example, you could use Global Mapper or Google Earth to create your data set, then use the appropriate functions to export in KML.
Tacview supports only a subset of the KML file format. You will be able to display lines, areas, and 3D volumes. Bitmaps are not supported. Make sure your data is exported with an appropriate resolution. If it is too high, it can be too slow to display in real-time, if it is too low, then some areas will not follow the curvature of earth in the 3D view.
See the static objects documentation for further instructions.
Add Bullseyes, SAMs and Static Watercraft
You can easily add Bullseyes and SAMs in Tacview by right-clicking on the 3D view.
You may find it more efficient to prepare mini track files (ACMI or GPX) so you can easily inject them in each debriefing battlefield as needed.
Merge the mini track files with the loaded data by CTRL + Drag and Drop or File → Merge.
Alternatively, use the Static Object Injector add-on.
Build your database
If you open your telemetry files in Tacview they will work but you might not see the correct aircraft or color.
A quick fix is to edit the object directly in the 3D view by right-clicking on it.
However, if you have lots of aircraft it is more efficient to create a database to automatically assign aircraft types and colors based on each gps track voice call sign.
To do so, use the built-in Tacview add-on Database Builder.
Fill out the Event Log / Shot Log
To add event details (including any interactions between aircraft and SAM as well as air boss remarks), fill out one or several Shot Logs / Event Logs.
Incorporate media files
Up to 8 audio and video media files may be replayed in sync with the telemetry.
Bring it all together
Open your telemetry (ACMI) files and KML files together in Tacview by CTRL + Drag & Drop or File-> Merge.
If you have built a custom database, it is automatically active.
Load your event log(s) / shot log(s) by navigating to Add-Ons -> Event Logs -> Load/Merge
Trimming the Length of ACMI Files
Is your acmi file longer than it needs to be? Navigate to the starting time that you are interested in and time that you are interested in and go to Debriefing → Trim Before to remove all data before that point. Likewise, navigate to the end of the exercise and go to Debriefing → Trim After to remove any time at the end that may not be useful to you.
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