Livery Review QRH
Introduction
This page was created to provide members and staff an easy to reference/easy to share resource to address common questions and concerns about livery reviews. All information in this document can be found in the Flight Operations Manual.
How this document is used: You may be linked this page in a staff comment on a PIREP along with a section number. Matching the section number you were given to the numbered sections below will give you a quick summary of why your PIREP was held for review, rejected, or invalidated due to the livery and what, if any, next steps you can expect.
Section 1
Booked Aircraft Type Must Match Flown Aircraft Type
This will be mentioned several times below, but this is the most common livery related error that we see when reviewing vspirit PIREPS.
You must book the same type of aircraft that you flew on your PIREP. When you book your flight, if you select an aircraft type different from the one you intend to fly, you must cancel that booking and re-book the flight with the correct aircraft type.
Your PIREP will be invalidated if the booked aircraft type does not match the flown aircraft type.
Please pay attention to the both the aircraft type you book as well as it's subvariant. Please also be aware of the different type codes. The most types most commonly confused by vspirit users are:
- The A320ceo (A320) and A320neo (A20N)
- The A321ceo (A321) and A321neo (A21N)
The ToLiss "A320" is actually an A20N as it is an A320neo; it shows up in PIREP logs as a "Toliss A320" but this is incorrect, they should have either had it show up as an A320neo or A20N.
The ToLiss A321 comes in both a CEO (A321) and a NEO (A21N) variant. Be sure that you are booking the intended flight and also that you are using a CEO or NEO livery, depending on what you intend to fly.
The most common A21N flown is the ToLiss A321 NEO expansion for their A321 CEO. To minimize the chances of avoidable PIREP invalidations, please make sure that the folder name for your ToLiss A21N liveries does not include a CEO engine type (CFM, IAE) or a CEO registration, as this may cause the system to reject your livery and may cause your PIREP to be invalidated.
In MSFS, there is sometimes even greater confusion. The default Asobo, FlyByWire, and iniBuilds A320s are A320neos, A20Ns. They cannot be booked as A320s, they must be booked as A20Ns.
The (superb) Fenix A320 is an A320ceo, A320. It must be booked as an A320; it cannot be booked as an A20N.
For a few reasons, we give a little more flexibility with the MD-80. Though Spirit operated both the MD-82 and the MD-83, we do not penalize PIREPs when an MD-82 is booked as an MD-83 and vice versa. The MD-88 is sufficiently different, however, that the PIREP will be flagged, the user warned, and the PIREP possibly rejected or invalidated.
Section 2
PIREP Status: Livery flagged for review. No reply needed unless contacted. See FOM for more information.
If you see this status on a PIREP, you do not need to be concerned, and you do not need to leave a comment unless a staff member leaves a comment on your PIREP asking you for more information. From the FOM:
Every time a PIREP is submitted, Pegasus and vAMSYS logs the livery used on the flight and compares the logged livery against a database of previously flown liveries.
When it flags a livery as having been seen for the first time, it is placed into a manual review queue for the admin/staff team to check. This allows us to ensure you have flown the correct aircraft type and used an appropriate livery.
Having the PIREP held for livery review is not necessarily an indication that there is a problem with your livery and/or PIREP. If you used an appropriate livery and your PIREP was marked by the system as Awaiting Review, please feel free to continue flying and the member of staff reviewing the PIREP will approve the livery and it will be added to the approved livery list.
Section 3
PIREP Status: Livery automatically rejected. Contact staff with questions or see FOM.
If you see this status on a PIREP, it indicates that your livery has been reviewed previously on another PIREP and a problem was identified and the staff team has marked that livery to be automatically rejected.
This status will send the PIREP for manual review and staff will review the PIREP and the livery used to verify that there is, in fact, a problem, and staff will either approve, reject, or invalidate the PIREP, and may leave a comment with more information if we think it is necessary.
The majority of the time when this happens the system has correctly identified something is wrong with the livery you used and the PIREP will be rejected or invalidated.
The most common cause for this is a booked aircraft type vs. flown aircraft type mismatch. It is important to remember that, to the vAMSYS system, a livery is the aircraft type flown combined with the livery used, it is a package. You may have downloaded a livery from the Recommended Livery List, but if you booked a different aircraft type to the aircraft type that that livery is for and that you flew, your PIREP is going to be flagged and likely invalidated.
Section 4
“I don’t understand why my PIREP was held for review, I used a livery off the Recommended Livery List!”
It is important to understand that a livery downloaded from the Recommended Livery List may be flagged for review again in the future.
An update to the addon that was used, a change to the livery’s folder name, changes to the aircraft’s name in its configuration files – things of this nature may prompt a re-review. It is not necessary for you to tell us that the livery came off of the Recommended Livery list as it will not speed up your PIREP’s review, nor will it prevent additional reviews in the future.
For X-Plane users, the most common cause of this is because ToLiss includes the version number of their aircraft in the aircraft name such that it is part of what Pegasus logs. Thus, anytime ToLiss updates their aircraft, every ToLiss livery ever reviewed and approved will ultimately need to be re-reviewed.
Having a PIREP held for livery review is not necessarily an indication that there is a problem with your livery and/or PIREP. If you used an appropriate livery and booked the same type of aircraft taht you flew but your PIREP was sent by the system for manual review, please feel free to continue flying and a member of staff will review the livery and PIREP as soon as practible and, if everything is correct, the livery will be accepted and added to the approved livery list.
Section 5
“I don’t understand why my PIREP was held for review, I used this livery last week and it was fine!”
It is important to understand that a previously approved livery may be flagged for review again in the future. It is not necessary for you to tell us that you’ve used a livery before as it will not speed up your PIREP’s review, nor will it prevent additional reviews in the future.
The most common reason for a livery you have used before to be flagged by the system is a mismatch between the booked aircraft type and the flown aircraft type. It is important to remember that, to the vAMSYS system, a livery is the aircraft type flown combined with the livery used, it is a package. You may have downloaded a livery from the Recommended Livery List, but if you booked a different aircraft type to the aircraft type that that livery is for and that you flew, your PIREP is going to be flagged and likely invalidated.
Other reasons for this happening can be: an update to the addon that was used, a change to the livery’s folder name, changes to the aircraft’s name in its configuration files – things of this nature may prompt a re-review. For X-Plane users, the most common cause of this is because ToLiss includes the version number of their aircraft in the aircraft name such that it is part of what Pegasus logs. Thus, anytime ToLiss updates their aircraft, every ToLiss livery ever reviewed and approved will ultimately need to be re-reviewed.
Having a PIREP held for livery review is not necessarily an indication that there is a problem with your livery and/or PIREP. If you used an appropriate livery and booked the same type of aircraft taht you flew but your PIREP was sent by the system for manual review, please feel free to continue flying and a member of staff will review the livery and PIREP as soon as practible and, if everything is correct, the livery will be accepted and added to the approved livery list.
Section 6
Fake Liveries: Not Allowed
The "black tail" liveries that exist for the various MSFS Airbuses are fictional and cannot be used.
Section 7
Most visual-only modifications of aircraft models are not allowed as type substitutes
Now that there is both an A320ceo and A320neo for X-Plane, we no longer allow visual-only modifications that turn an A320ceo into an A320neo or vice versa. We previously allowed visual-only modification of the FlightFactor A320 where NEO engine models were swapped for the original CEO engine models to count as an A320neo (A20N). As of March 2024, this is now prohibited.
We also will not permit visual-only modifications to the Toliss A320neo (A20N) as a substitute for the A320ceo.
To sum up: the only approved A320ceo for XP11/12 is the FlightFactor A320 and the only approved A320neo for XP11/12 is the ToLiss A320neo (A20N).
For now, we will still permit putting IAE engine models on the FlightFactor A320 to replace the default CFMs, though this may be revisited in the future.
Appendix - Livery Eras and Nicknames
Original Livery, "Blue Belly"
Worn on: DC-9, MD-80
Blue Pixel
Worn on: MD-80, A321
Grey Pixel
Worn on: A319, A321
Skittles
Worn on: A319, A320
Modern/Yellow, "Sketch" or "Scribbles"
Worn on: A319, A320, A321
Modern/Yellow, "Solid Titles"
Worn on: A319, A20N, A320, A321
