Flying on your home computer using flight simulation (FS) software is accessible, rewarding, great fun and can substantially improve your understanding of real-world aviation. The processing power of today’s PCs means that virtual flying is both extremely realistic and also affordable.
Getting started in flight simulation can be a mystifying process, so here are some Frequently Asked Questions which should help you if you’re thinking of getting airborne on your PC.
WHAT EXACTLY CAN I FLY IN A PC FLIGHT SIMULATOR?
The short answer is… almost anything that can be (or has been!) flown in real-world aviation. One of the most appealing aspects of flight simulation is that there are absolutely no limits on what you can fly or where you can fly it.
You can fly a huge range of General Aviation aircraft, flash across the Atlantic in Concorde and take the controls of a modern airliner, or perhaps you’d prefer a sortie in a classic Spitfire or a mission in a modern Tornado or F-15 Eagle. Test your skills in an aerobatic competition, seek out thermals in a glider or even manage and fly for your own air freight company.
It’s possible to fly civil and military planes from every era of aviation - helicopters, jets, microlights, gliders and propeller-driven aircraft.
WHERE CAN I FLY?
The entire world is available for you to fly in, from Antarctica to Zanzibar and all points in between. It’s up to you whether you take off from your local airstrip or the busiest international airports around the world.
Practising a touch-and-go in a Cessna is as accessible as shooting an ILS approach in a Jumbo Jet.
You can fly the exact same airline routes that exist in the real world, or create your own flight plans and fly into countries and places you’d never normally have the opportunity to visit.
DO I NEED TO BE A COMPUTER EXPERT TO ENJOY PC FLIGHT SIMULATION?
Not at all, although familiarity with the usual functions of a PC will obviously be necessary. Flight simulation software and hardware are designed to install easily and work with a minimum of fuss, and FS enthusiasts range from those still at school to virtual pilots who are long past retirement age and are using computers specifically to enjoy simulated flying.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED TO GET STARTED IN FLIGHT SIMULATION?
Getting airborne requires a minimum of equipment (hardware) and flight simulation programs (software).
Hardware - You’ll need a reasonably powerful PC, but nothing that isn't readily available from your usual PC retailer.
We’d suggest, as a minimum, that you have a Desktop PC running the Windows 10 operating system, a modern processor (such as the latest generation of Intel Core i7) with a speed of 2GHz or faster, 8GB of RAM, a dedicated graphics card such as the nVidia GTX 770 or AMD Radeon RX 570, 1TB of hard drive space, mouse, sound card and speakers. Laptops are generally not suitable as they are usually less powerful in the processing and graphics areas, and often have smaller and slower hard drives.
It’s worth noting that a good ‘business’ machine may not be as suitable as a machine designed for gaming - the quality of the graphics card is particularly important for flight simulation.
Generally speaking, the better specified the PC, the better the visuals and fluidity of your FS experience will be.
We’d also recommend a joystick or yoke and rudder pedals to control your aircraft. Most FS pilots start with a joystick (which includes a throttle, rudder controls and various button assignments) and this is perfectly adequate for enjoyable flying. We’d recommend buying a joystick with a ‘hat switch’ (a thumb-operated multi-position control at the top of the stick) which is invaluable for scanning the cockpit and views in all directions. Buying a yoke and rudder pedals is generally the next step, although certainly not essential, and will replicate even better the sensation of flying a real aircraft. A good joystick or a yoke and rudder pedals won't break the bank! Many of the latest FS aircraft have also been specifically developed for use with the latest VR headsets and this is becoming an increasingly popular way to fly.
Software – There are a number of excellent PC flight simulation programs on sale, and FS newcomers are currently spoilt for choice.
The latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator performs extremely well, looks absolutely stunning and is constantly evolving. Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) really is a fantastic program which immerses you in a beautifully rich and realistic world and has been a huge hit with newcomers and FS veterans alike. To say that it's shaken up the FS world since its launch in August 2020 would be something of an understatement!
X-Plane is another popular simulator which has been continually refined over the years and is renowned for the accuracy of its flight dynamics. The latest version - X-Plane 11 - provides a significant advance on previous versions in terms of the user interface and graphical upgrades.
Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D (often referred to as P3D) is not, strictly speaking, sold as a home PC simulation, but is based on code from an older edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator and has a loyal following. The latest edition provides an impressive flying environment.
There are several other stand-alone simulations available, including combat sims - the IL-2 Sturmovik series of combat simulations has attracted a huge and active community of pilots, as has Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS World).
The decision as to which one(s) you should buy will depend to a large extent on your personal preferences and the sort of flying you plan to do. We'd suggest chatting to as many current FS pilots as you can to get a better idea of what all the available sims have to offer before committing yourself to one platform or another. All of us at Just Flight have our favourites, but we'll stick our necks out here and say that a newcomer to flight simulation at the moment really can't go wrong with Microsoft Flight Simulator!
WHAT EXACTLY ARE A 'STAND-ALONE' PROGRAM, 'ADD-ON' AND 'FREEWARE'?
A 'stand-alone' program (such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, Prepar3D or X-Plane) is one that doesn’t need any additional software for it to work. You can buy it, install it on your PC and go flying.
With a copy of one of these sims you certainly won’t be stuck for aircraft to fly or places to go, but there is much more that you can add to improve your FS world. Add-ons (or 'expansions') are extra programs designed to expand the host flight simulator program in specific areas which either haven’t been included (additional or more highly detailed aircraft, for example) or could be improved (more detailed airports, specialised cockpit avionic systems, improvements to the terrain, enhanced weather effects and flight planning utilities, to name just a few).
As the name suggests, add-ons need a stand-alone sim with which to work (i.e. a ‘host’ sim), and the host sims in which a particular add-on will work are always clearly marked. Some add-ons only work in one particular version of a host sim, whereas some may work in several, so always check the specifications before buying.
The existence of add-ons shouldn’t suggest that the host sims themselves aren't up to scratch. They're all amazing programs for the price but they obviously can't provide a perfect version of every single feature which a user might want or encompass every single feature of the world and of aviation!
The purpose of add-ons is to allow the virtual flyer to customise various aspects of the default FS world to suit exactly the type of flying he or she wants to do.
Freeware simply refers to add-ons which are created by enthusiasts for others to enjoy and are totally free! You can download thousands of new aircraft, airports and a multitude of other programs, many of which are of the highest quality. There are dozens of websites with enormous libraries of freeware from which you can download as much as you like, perfectly legally!
Software developers are constantly striving to make the simulated experience as close as possible to real aviation, and the software they produce really is impressive. Here are just a few types of add-ons you can buy – or find for absolutely nothing in freeware libraries:
• Aircraft – If you look hard enough, you can probably find a simulated model of every aircraft that has ever graced the skies
• Repaints – Airline liveries, paint schemes and squadron markings
• Airports – Highly detailed versions of specific airports across the globe
• Scenery – Highly detailed versions of certain areas, with buildings, landmarks, roads, rivers, railways and more
• Utilities – This covers a huge range of additional features, such as additional air traffic to populate your virtual skies and airports, flight planners, additional cockpit instrumentation, mission packs, realistic ATC communications and enhanced weather effects
And that's just the tip of the iceberg!
DO I NEED AN INTERNET CONNECTION?
Strictly speaking, no, although we’d strongly recommend it. Firstly, almost all FS software is now only sold and updated by Download. Good Internet access will also let you access features such as online Air Traffic Control and online weather replicating the real-world weather conditions in the location in which you’re flying.
Many Flight Simulators will work perfectly well offline, but given the ease of buying sotware online and all the extra features available online which are sure to enhance your flying experience, fast internet access does provide genuine benefits for your simulated flying.
DO I NEED TO BE AN EXPERT IN AVIATION TO ENJOY FLIGHT SIMULATION?
Not at all. While real-world flying is unfortunately beyond the means of many of us, we can still enjoy the next best thing!
You can find your own level and area of interest and take it as casually or as seriously as you like. All the major stand-alone simulators provide, incidentally, excellent training programmes on which you can build your skills.
Some of us enjoy leisurely flights and short hops in light aircraft or historic planes, while others only want to master the complex cockpit systems of modern jet airliners and all the intricacies of instrument flying. It’s entirely up to you!
IS FLIGHT SIMULATION JUST A SOLITARY ACTIVITY?
Far from it. With an internet connection it can be a very sociable activity. Some pilots fly with Virtual Airlines, some of which are based on the aircraft and schedules of real-world airlines, and this involves flying specific routes in designated aircraft, with reports, promotions and all the trappings of the airline pilot’s career. Others fly online combat missions together in Virtual Squadrons and there are numerous flying clubs which will welcome you as a member; chances are that you’ll find one which caters for the type of flying you want to do.
Voice communication software means you can communicate with other online pilots and you can fly using Air Traffic Control provided by an online ATC service staffed by living and breathing controllers and which replicates real procedures as far as possible. A group of enthusiasts in different locations can even crew the same airliner from different cockpit positions.
FINALLY - JUST HOW REALISTIC ARE TODAY'S FLIGHT SIMULATORS?
Given the constraints of a home PC set-up, today’s sims are impressively realistic.
A real-world pilot can now practise a flight he’s planning to make in the real world using accurate representations of departure and destination airports in a simulator, flying over scenery that is developed from actual photographs of what’s on the ground, navigating with navigation aids in their real-world positions, and flying in the real-time weather conditions applicable to the flight route. Indeed, many pilots do just this.
The realism of today’s sims is such that the aviation press now regularly features simulation software in its pages and the number of real-world pilots now involved in developing FS software shows that the capabilities of modern flight simulators are far beyond what you might consider a ‘game’.
FLIGHT SIMULATION RESOURCES
There are hundreds of websites for the flight simulation enthusiast, providing a huge range of services and resources.
As a starting point on the Web, we recommend you have a look at these major sites for news, reviews, forums and downloads:
AVSIM.com
Mutley's Hangar
FlightSim.com
SimFlight.com
FS News (German)
While several real-world aviation magazines now devote pages to simulated flying, the UK-based PC Pilot is an established and high-quality bi-monthly magazine devoted specifically to flight simulation - it's always an entertaining and informative read!
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
If you’re interested in joining the growing ranks of virtual aviators, we hope these FAQs have been helpful. If there’s anything else you’d like to know, you’re very welcome to contact us by e-mail or use our public forum to post a question. The Just Flight team are Forum regulars and the users are a helpful bunch of enthusiasts who can be relied on to provide answers to any questions you might have.
You're very welcome to check our our Facebook and Twitter pages, where there is always lots going on, and you can keep up to date with everything happening at Just Flight by subscribing to our regular emails.
The complete Just Flight range of FS add-ons is available on this website, along with countless add-ons from other developers.
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