The UK flight simulation community has been waiting a long time for a dedicated event of its own. This autumn, that wait comes to an end with FSimUK at Aerospace Bristol.
What started with conversations among members of the Bristol Flight Simulation Group has grown into an event bringing together flight simmers, developers, hardware manufacturers, creators and aviation enthusiasts, all beneath the wings of Concorde.
As Community Partner for FSimUK, AvGeek Hangar wanted to find out more about the story behind the event and the people making it happen. We caught up with Keith from FSimUK to talk about where the idea came from, why Aerospace Bristol was the natural home for it, the challenges of organising the first show and what he hopes visitors will take away from the weekend.
Here’s what he had to say.
A. The original idea for FSimUK came from conversations amongst members of the Bristol Flight Simulation Group. Many of us had been to the previous events at RAF Cosford and longed to have a UK flight simulation event again.We’d been meeting for well over ten years in a local village hall on the outskirts of Bristol and felt that moving to a more relevant location would be better for us. I think it was back in 2023 we made the decision to move to Aerospace Bristol, as we thought it’d be a more relevant environment for the group. It re-energised the group, and once we settled into our new home, we realised we had the perfect launchpad to bring a national flight sim event back to the UK community.
A. I’m not sure there is ever a right time to bring something like this event, but we needed to make a decision on whether we were going to go for autumn 2026 or give ourselves a longer planning cycle and go for autumn 2027. We decided that we should just ‘get on with it’ as the first one would be the hardest, and we’d go for autumn 2026. There was this nagging feeling of a massive gap in the UK calendar that needed filling, and we felt that if we kept waiting for the ‘perfect moment’, we might never actually take the leap.
A. The venue was really important, and it was one of the things we first noticed when we decided to move the Bristol Flight Simulation Group to Aerospace Bristol. We noticed that the space under Concorde was absolutely ideal for running an event such as a flight sim show. Having been to FS Expo in Houston, US, which was hosted within a museum and then attending FS Expo in St. Pauls, US, where it was hosted in a convention centre, it felt compelling to keep the show within an aircraft museum environment. There is an undeniable relevance and perhaps magic; rubbing shoulders with real-world aviation history whilst exploring the latest flight simulation technology and software, I think, elevates the entire experience in a way a sterile exhibition hall never can.
A. The view of the event at the beginning was quite modest; we just wanted to get a UK flight simulation event back in the calendar. We also wanted to showcase the best of British, especially those smaller creators that would never be able to afford the larger shows.We initially envisioned a simple, grassroots gathering with a few vendors. But as word got out, the sheer scale of interest took over. It evolved rapidly from a modest regional meet-up into a full-scale national, in fact international, exhibition with major industry backing (thanks MOZA and iniBuilds!), which has been both terrifying and exciting.
A. I really hope there’s something for everybody at the show, from the novice flight simmer through to the experienced virtual pilot that’s been flying for many years. We’ve purposely designed it to be highly accessible. If you’re a seasoned pilot looking for the latest high-end hardware or complex procedural setups, you’ll find it. But if you’re a curious gamer or an aviation fan who has never even touched a joystick, we have plenty of hands-on displays and welcoming faces to help you take your very first virtual flight.
A. As we started to ask around and get expressions of interest, we realised the UK community was extremely passionate about getting an event back up and running. So, in many respects, the event is a lot bigger than what we expected, with the backing from hardware manufacturers, software developers, and community creators overwhelming. It proved to us that the hunger for a dedicated UK show wasn’t just in our heads; the entire industry was just waiting for someone to light the spark.
A. The hardest bit has been organising the show whilst many of the small team have full-time jobs. Organising a show of this size and complexity in a relatively short space of time, circa five months, has created a significant demand on time in the evenings and weekends. We’re an extremely small team, and all have busy lives. We’ve never hosted an event before, so there are numerous pitfalls that probably would have been helpful to know in advance, everything from managing vendor logistics and floor plans to navigating health and safety regulations. It’s been a steep learning curve, very much learning on the job!
A. The most rewarding part has been seeing the enthusiasm and energy from the UK flight sim community really getting behind this event. Every time a new exhibitor signed up, or we saw people talking about the show on forums or social media, it gave us a boost. Realising that we are building something that hundreds, if not thousands of people are genuinely looking forward to makes all those late nights worth it.
A. No, surprisingly enough! We knew it was going to be an uphill battle from day one, so we braced ourselves for impact! Whilst the sheer volume of emails and admin was staggering, the challenges themselves were exactly what we anticipated. If anything, the only real surprise was just how quickly the floor space sold out, which was a fantastic problem to have.
A. At the moment everything is just on paper and on a website; it’s not until the Friday that you start to see things start to arrive, stands get erected, and all the planning becomes real. So, I think that’s the bit I’m most looking forward to. Walking into the Concorde hangar on Friday morning and hearing the first crates opening, seeing sims light up, and watching months of stressful spreadsheets, emails and documents physically transform into an exhibition space under the wings of Concorde, that’s going to be an unforgettable moment.
A. If there’s a buzz, if there’s excitement, if people go away smiling, then I’ll be happy. If developers go home happy with the connections they made, and if visitors leave inspired to go home, fire up their sims, and try something new, then we’ve done our job. Success for me is knowing we’ve firmly put the UK flight sim scene back on the map.
A. I don’t think it’s for me to make that decision; let’s see how it goes and let’s see what the feedback is. Ask me again on Sunday evening when I have a cold drink in my hand! If the community and exhibitors show us that they want it to return, we’d be daft not to look toward the future.
From a local flight simulation group to a national event, FSimUK has grown considerably from that original idea of simply putting a UK flight sim show back on the calendar.
Now comes the exciting bit: seeing everything Keith and the team have been working on become real beneath Concorde at Aerospace Bristol.
AvGeek Hangar is proud to be a Community Partner for FSimUK, and we’ll be there throughout the event meeting the community, catching up with exhibitors and creators, and sharing plenty of content from the show.
If you’re heading to FSimUK, come and say hello to the AvGeek Hangar team. We’d love to hear what you fly, see your sim setups and find out what you’re most looking forward to at the show.
We’ll see you under Concorde.
