Investigation of ACARS Message Format
I looked up the ACARS data format online and found very limited information. I did manage to find a few helpful links and finally gained a very preliminary understanding of the format. It is too tedious to explain it all here, so I will provide the URLs below; if you are interested, please study them yourself. However, the ACARS message format seems to be customized by each manufacturer. Without internal documentation, it is basically impossible to fully decode it.
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ACARS Overview http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/decoders/acars.pdf The samples and the “MESSAGE TYPES” list here are very helpful. Looking at an example, N330AA QG 3115 AA001 SFO 0507 0516 This refers to AA001 Flight with aircraft registration N330AA. QG is the report for leaving and entering the gate. In this case, the aircraft left the gate at 05:07 UTC.
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Codes http://www.angelfire.com/sc/scannerpost/acars.html This summarizes a lot of abbreviation codes and country codes.
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Detailed Explanation http://acarsonline.pbworks.com/w/page/1286730/Message%20Labels This document is the best, providing a large amount of data and explanations; it is the most helpful for understanding ACARS. Also, it contains some very interesting samples, so I will briefly introduce them.
For example, this is the LOADSHEET data for Cathay Pacific Flight CX088 while on the ground, ACARS mode: 2 Aircraft reg: ..B-HOS Message label: C1 Block id: G Msg. no: .HKG Flight id: YRCX 0 Message content:- 90800 AGM AN B-HOS/GL LAX/MA 408A - LOADSHEET EDNO 04 LAX HKG CX0881/08 B-HOS F18J56W313 4/18/0 09NOV97 ZFW ACT 227720 MAX 244939 TO FUEL 16600 Aircraft registration B-HOS, from LAX Los Angeles to HKG Hong Kong. EDNO 04 indicates this is revision 04 of the loadsheet. The actual Zero Fuel Weight (ZFW) is 227,720 lbs, etc.
This is a Q1 message. The time of leaving the gate is 14:01, time airborne is 14:11, estimated time of arrival is 16:15, and fuel is 31.3. ACARS mode: 2 Aircraft reg: .N54325 Message label: Q1 Block id: Msg. no: 1210 Flight id: TW0429 Message content:- BWI14011411 0313STL/ET 1615