Flying for a Virtual
Airline
What is a Virtual Airline?
A virtual airline simulates the operations
of a real airline, but with only one real component: the pilot. The pilot
is given a choice of flights to fly, flies them on their flight simulator,
and reports their flights. A virtual airline also acts as a community for
flight simulator users worldwide. At SimAirline.net, pilots can fly flights
of any of our virtual airlines. Below you'll learn how to fly for SimAirline.net
using a sample flight from Continental Virtual.
1. Selecting a Flight
a. Most useful pages at a virtual airline
are under the Operations menu. Use the Destinations page to look at route
maps and decide what flight you wish to fly.
In this sample, you'll fly Continental's
Houston Bush-Honolulu route.
b. Go to the Flights page. Some virtual
airlines will have timetables on the site, while most will require downloading
a timetable program. If so, follow the "Instructions" section to pick your
flight.
Continental Virtual uses the SkyTeam
Timetable, so you should download this and then search for flights from
Houston Bush to Honolulu.
c. Look through the timetable and select
your flight.
You'll be flying Continental Flight
1. Note that some flights listed are other possible routings to fly between
Houston Bush and Honolulu, but not other nonstop flights between the two
cities.
d. Note down the arrival and departure
information, the flight number, and the aircraft type.
At the time of writing, Continental
Flight 1 departed Houston Bush at 0935 local time and arrived in Honolulu
at 1405 local time, flown with the aircraft code "767."
e. Whenever a timetable program is used,
the aircraft code should be checked against the Flights page.
At Continental, the "767" code refers
to the 767-400ER, which should be used to fly this flight.
2. Preparing to Fly
a. The scheduled aircraft type must be
used when flying a flight, so you should download the necessary files (aircraft)
and any others you wish to use (panels and sounds).
In this case, the files needed can
be found on the 767-200ER/400ER page
at Continental Virtual.
b. Install the aircraft into your simulator
using the instructions included in the files.
If you have never installed add-on
aircraft, panels, or sounds before, please read our Aircraft Installation
Tutorial (FS2004/FSX),
Panel
Installation Tutorial, and Sounds
Installation Tutorial.
c. Determine where at the origin airport
to start your flight.
The Destinations page offers links
to terminal maps for many major airports (Honolulu,
Houston
Bush).
d. Start your simulator and create a flight
to match the scheduled information.
In this case, the simulator time should
be 0935 local time (or slightly before), departing from the appropriate
terminal in Houston Bush, and using the Continental 767-400ER. Some flights
only occur on certain days of the week, so the date in the simulator should
match this.
3. Flying and After the Flight
a. Flights must be flown at the same time
and date in the simulator as scheduled, and with the same aircraft type.
Flights not flown at the appropriate
time or with the scheduled aircraft will not be accepted.
b. All flights must begin and end at the
gate, or ramp where appropriate.
c. Pilots may accelerate the simulation
rate when at cruising speed and altitude and with the autopilot on, but
to no more than 4x.
We recommend but do not require flying
using online ATC. A list of networks is available in the Pilot
Manual., and a tutorial is available here.
d. After completing a flight, go to the
PIREP (Pilot Report) page through that virtual airline's website.
You will need to have applied to SimAirline.net
and have had your application approved before you can file a PIREP.
e. PIREPs should be filed with the arrival
and departure times in the simulator, in 24-hour
time and local
time.
If you departed from Houston Bush slightly
late (0938 local) and arrived in Honolulu slightly early (1401 local),
you would enter 0938 and 1401 in the PIREP. If a flight is unusually early
or late, or if the flight was flown several times, that should be noted
in the comments. If a mistake is made when filing a PIREP, a corrected
one should immediately filed, with the comments noting that it is a correction.
f. Each flight segment (one takeoff and
landing) should be reported in a separate PIREP.
Continental Flight 1 continues on to
Guam, so if you wanted to fly this as well, you would file two PIREPs,
one for Houston Bush-Honolulu and one for Honolulu-Guam.
g. You will be assigned a pilot ID number
and added to the roster after your PIREP has been approved.
It can take a few days before your
PIREP is processed, so you can file additional PIREPs before you receive
your pilot ID number.
Please be sure
you have read our Pilot Manual before applying.
If you have technical questions about getting started, please consult our
Frequently
Asked Questions. |