SquawkBox is now transmitting text messages over the frequency that is tuned on your Flight Sim's COM1 radio. Once the flight plan dialog and functionality is in place, SB3 will be nominally capable of completing an entire flight.

Your humble narrator, while happy writing code for the new version of SquawkBox, is somewhat artistically challenged. SquawkBox 3 is in need of some art assets. Specifically it needs a logo, an icon, and a splash screen. So I'm holding a contest for this.

I will accept submissions between now and when the program is in alpha (which will happen at some undetermined date in the future). So get your submissions in soon! Here are the specs:

• Icons: I need two icons, 16x16 and 32x32 pixels. These will show up on the application's title bar etc.
  
• Logo: Size should not exceed 250x125 pixels and should be appropriate for placement at the top of the SquawkBox web page, or as a link to the SquawkBox web page on another site.
  
• Splash Screen: Size should not exceed 600x450 pixels and should be appropriate for display when SquawkBox starts up.
  

All images can be up to 24 bit colour.

The images should convey the following idea: SquawkBox lets you fly in a realistic environment with other pilots and in communication with realistic ATC services. SquawkBox is about two things: flying as real as it gets, and being part of an online aviation community of like-minded individuals.

The artists who submit the winning entries will receive all the fame and glory that goes along with receiving credit for contributing to the next generation of online pilot software.

Decisions of which art is chosen to be used rest solely with me. The judges decisions are final. No purchase necessary. Offer void where prohibited. Aim away from face.

If you have any questions about the contest or the art requirements, let me know. Send all entries to contest@squawkbox.ca.

Good luck!

Long hours at my day job this week mean slow development on SquawkBox. Hopefully development will pick up next week. I am accelerating design work on the multiplayer plane model part of SB3. Working with the developers of CSL and Project AI, as well as the author of the X-Plane version of SquawkBox, we are coming up with a strategy for a plug-in architecture for multiplayer model sets.

Info and discussion on this can be found on the discussion forum.

Tonight I took off from KBOS with SB 3 and was seen on a radar scope connected to the same network. So SB 3 is now correctly transmitting its position to the server.