Pilots

So you decided to join other enthusiasts and start flying in a flight simulator. Where should you start?

The first thing to do is to get yourself a flight simulator. As of today the market offers us a few options, the best of which would be either X-Plane 12 or Microsoft Flight Simulator. They are brand new flight simulators, providing the best experience that the developers could create.

If you're more old-school or your PC is not very powerful, you might want to consider some older options, such as X-Plane 11, Prepar3D or Flight Simulator X. These simulators aren't the cream of the crop anymore and won't produce the most beautiful visuals, but they will still let you perform virtual flights.

You can attain a flight simulator from the usual distribution services, such as Steam, or directly from the developers: X-Plane by Laminar Research, Prepar3D by Lockheed Martin, MSFS by Microsoft.

The simulators mentioned earlier primarily focus on civil aviation and have plenty of options in that area, whether it's a small Cessna, the ever popular Boeing 737 or a giant Airbus A380.
Military aircraft are availalbe, however the capabilities and munitions options may be limited. To scratch that itch, consider DCS World by Eagle Dynamics or Falcon BMS from Benchmark Sims.

There are a few options provided with modern flight simulators. The easiest way is to use the built-in multiplayer features.

But, if you would like to make your experience as realistic as possible, you may try flying on an online simulation network, such as VATSIM.
In order to join VATSIM you should create a personal account on the official VATSIM website. Upon successful registration you will be provided with some instructions on how to configure your flight simulator, which extra addons you should use, how to connect to the network, etc.

The official VATSIM documentation provides great instructional material, but if you encounter any difficulties you may always ask for assistance on our Discord server or contact us via email.

VATSIM is the Virtual Air Traffic SIMulation network, connecting people from around the world flying online or acting as virtual Air Traffic Controllers. In short, this allows you to fly in an environment where each and every airplane is piloted by a fellow human, and every Air Traffic Controller is also a real person.

Although VATSIM is a fun way to spend your time (and even learn about certain aspects of aviation), it does have it's rules and limitations.
Primarily, you MUST comply with all the Policies provided by VATSIM, most important of which are the Code of Conduct (CoC) and the User Agreement (UA). Also keep in mind that the network aims for realism, so fooling around is prohibited. You have to follow real life procedures, communicate with Air Traffic Controllers, use charts and up to date navigation information - all to the best of your ability.

And if you would like to be a virtual Air Traffic Controller, prior to providing this service, unlike being a pilot, you have to get proper training and pass the necessary exams to gain an ATC rating. Each ATC rating allows a member to staff a certain position and provide service in a determined area, meaning you have to get training for that location. For example, if you wish to provide Air Traffic Service in Lithuania - you must train within vACC Lithuania.

For the start, we highly recommend that you stick with one aircraft. Pick one that most interests you or one that you like the most. No matter if it's big or small, a purring prop, a roaring jet or a rumbling chopper - the idea is that you will enjoy flying this aircraft for a good length of time.
Once you've chosen the aircraft, you have to get familiar with it - study the manuals provided with it or find some online, watch YouTube tutorials on how to operate the systems and practice offline.
When you feel confident operating the aircraft you chose, it's time to go deeper. You should be about ready to fly under Air Traffic Control coverage - so grab some manuals on how to communicate with ATC (there are already plenty of them online and there are a lot of useful tutorials on YouTube as well) and start practicing your communication in VATSIM flying to and from the airports covered by Air Traffic Control.

The next steps would be to get yourself more familiar with the rules under which airplanes are flying. There are many ways to do this, but we would recommend one of these two ways: get training from a VATSIM Authorized Training Organization or join our Discord server, get in touch with other virtual pilots and ask nicely for their help. The topic on Rules of the Air is quite wide and there is no one person in the world to have learned all of it, so it's a point of constant self-development and it lasts as long as you have interest.