You load the simulator.
You’ve got an A320 sitting at Heathrow.
And then comes that strangely difficult question:
Where shall I fly?
You could open a flight-tracking website, find a real-world service and recreate it. You could pick an airport you’ve never visited. Or you could spend the next 45 minutes deciding where to go before eventually giving up and watching YouTube.
There’s another option.
Join an airline.
Well… sort of.
A Virtual Airline, usually shortened to VA, is an organised community of flight simmers operating together under an airline-style structure.
Some recreate the operations of real-world airlines. Others are completely fictional, with their own branding, liveries, fleets and route networks.
Exactly how they operate varies enormously, but many provide schedules and routes for their pilots to fly, maintain a virtual fleet and record the flights completed by their members.
More sophisticated VAs can use flight-tracking software, often referred to as ACARS, which connects to your simulator and records your flight. Complete a sector and it can be added to your virtual pilot logbook.
Some offer ranks, awards, tours and progression systems. Others organise regular group flights or events.
Suddenly that random evening flight has a purpose.
You’re going somewhere because your airline is going there.
That depends entirely on the VA.
And that’s important.
At one end of the spectrum you’ll find communities focused heavily on recreating real airline operations, procedures, routes and aircraft as accurately as possible.
At the other you’ll find much more relaxed groups where the airline structure is really an excuse to get people flying together.
Neither approach is necessarily better.
The trick is finding one that suits you.
If you love following procedures, planning realistic operations and treating every flight like you’re reporting for duty, there’s a VA for that.
If you’ve got a couple of hours on a Sunday evening and mostly want some people to fly with, there’s probably a VA for that too.
This, for us, is where Virtual Airlines become particularly interesting.
Flight simulation is an unusual hobby.
We can spend hundreds – sometimes thousands – of pounds building incredibly sophisticated setups and then sit in a room completely on our own using them.
Of course, that solitude is part of the attraction for some people.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Behind the aircraft, schedules and flight-tracking systems, a good Virtual Airline is ultimately a community.
People talk.
They share flights.
They organise events.
Experienced simmers help newer ones.
People discuss aircraft, routes, procedures, hardware and everything else happening around the hobby.
You might start by joining because you want somewhere to fly your favourite aircraft.
You may stay because you’ve made friends.
There’s another benefit too: purpose.
Once you’ve learned your favourite aircraft, flight simulation can occasionally become a little directionless.
You can fly anywhere.
You can fly anything.
You can start whenever you want.
Complete freedom sounds fantastic – until you have absolutely no idea what you fancy doing tonight.
A Virtual Airline can provide structure.
Perhaps you’re building hours towards your next rank.
Maybe you’re completing a tour.
Perhaps there’s a group flight that evening.
Maybe you’ve decided to work your way around an entire route network.
That sense of progression can completely change how someone uses their simulator.
Instead of completing another isolated flight, you’re adding another entry to a much bigger virtual career.
There’s something else worth saying.
Community isn’t something you simply join.
It’s something you participate in.
Signing up to a Virtual Airline and joining another Discord server won’t automatically make flight simulation more social.
Talk to people.
Join the group flight.
Ask questions.
Help somebody when you know the answer.
Turn up again next week.
Being part of any community involves a little commitment, and Virtual Airlines are no different.
The more you put into one, the more you’re likely to get back.
If you’ve never tried a Virtual Airline before, don’t simply join the first one you find.
Have a look around.
How seriously do they take operations?
Which aircraft do they fly?
Do their routes interest you?
Do they support your simulator?
How active is their community?
Are there minimum activity requirements?
Do they organise events?
Most importantly, does it look like somewhere you’d actually enjoy spending your time?
A huge membership number doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right community for you.
Sometimes a smaller group where people actually know one another might be exactly what you’re looking for.
There’s another reason Virtual Airlines have caught our attention recently.
We’re working with Lids, Tops & Tails, who create aviation-inspired illuminated light boxes, including aircraft tail designs.
They’re now looking at the possibility of creating custom tail light boxes for Virtual Airlines.
And we think that’s rather cool.
If you run a VA with your own identity and livery, imagine having your airline’s illuminated tail sitting beside your simulator – or perhaps several of them displayed together at a community event.
We’ll be exploring the idea with Lids, Tops & Tails and the Virtual Airline community.
Run a VA and interested in putting your tail up in lights? We’d love to hear from you.
Virtual Airlines won’t be for everybody.
That’s fine.
But if your simulator has started feeling a little repetitive, you want something to work towards or you’d simply like to meet more people who enjoy the same slightly ridiculous hobby as you, perhaps it’s worth giving one a try.
Flight simulation doesn’t have to be about flying alone.
Sometimes it’s about being part of something bigger than the aircraft on your screen.
And your next airline might be considerably easier to join than you thought.
