A Warm Welcome for all newcomers to VirtualFlight.Online
May 15, 2022 17:59:57 GMT
Sangeki (Florian) likes this
Post by Jonathan Beckett on May 15, 2022 17:59:57 GMT
Following the release of several new aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator recently, we have had a huge influx of new members to the forum - mostly to download the start-up checklists I put together for the new aircraft.
I would just like to take the opportunity to welcome all the newcomers to VirtualFlight.Online, and to introduce you to the community.
VirtualFlight.Online started perhaps a year ago as a Discord Server, initially to host regular group flights, and then to provide members a platform through which they could hang out with fellow flight simulation enthusiasts. Over time the Discord server grew, and became disorganised and chaotic in the way Discord servers tend to, and I started looking for a "better way" for members to communicate - so started experimenting with a forum - transplanting many of the channels that had existed in Discord into forum discussion boards.
If you've not explored the forums much yet, why not dip into the "Introductions" discussion board, and tell the community how you got started with flight simulation - what kinds of aircraft you like to fly, and what you're flying at the moment. You can find the "Introductions" board at the following URL - virtualflightonline.boards.net/board/5/introductions
I have been astounded at the interest shown in the group flights - welcoming pilots from all over the world to fly together, share knowledge, solve problems, tell stories, and spend time together online. We try really hard to keep the community "family friendly" - over time introducing similar rules that can be found elsewhere on the "social internet" around objectionable content. The vast majority of our visitors have been incredibly supportive of our attempts to keep things somewhat sensible on group flights - something we seem to do better at than the official Microsoft Discord Server (I can't imagine the nightmare their moderators face).
If you were not aware of the regular group flights, they tend to take part on Wednesday and Sunday evenings (GMT), with Sundays seeing everybody come together to fly GA aircraft over a pre-arranged route, and Wednesdays reserved for IFR international flights in the "big jets". Where we started out spoon-feeding visitors with downloadable flight plans, we have gradually stepped back and now supply just the bones of a flight plan - inviting people to create their own plans in whatever tools they prefer, or to just "follow along" during each group flight. It seems to be working well. Each event has extensive notes for those taking part in the forum - telling you when, where, what server to use, and so on.
If you've not wandered into the Discord server yet, you can get an invite from the following URL - bit.ly/virtualflightonlinediscord
Upcoming events are listed in the Calendar of the Forum - at virtualflightonline.boards.net/calendar - and in the Facebook Group, and Discord Server. We also cross-post them into the official Microsoft Flight Simulator Forum event calendar.
Alongside the events, I wrote the "Transmitter" application for Microsoft Flight Simulator - which broadcasts your position so anybody else in the world (or a group flight you are taking part in) can see where you are in LittleNavMap. You can find more out about Transmitter at virtualflight.online/transmitter - and you can see who is online at virtualflight.online/who
If you do get a chance to come fly with us, we'll look forward to meeting you! In the meantime, why not head over to the Forum, and introduce yourself
Best regards,
Jonathan Beckett
Founder, VirtualFlight.Online
I would just like to take the opportunity to welcome all the newcomers to VirtualFlight.Online, and to introduce you to the community.
VirtualFlight.Online started perhaps a year ago as a Discord Server, initially to host regular group flights, and then to provide members a platform through which they could hang out with fellow flight simulation enthusiasts. Over time the Discord server grew, and became disorganised and chaotic in the way Discord servers tend to, and I started looking for a "better way" for members to communicate - so started experimenting with a forum - transplanting many of the channels that had existed in Discord into forum discussion boards.
If you've not explored the forums much yet, why not dip into the "Introductions" discussion board, and tell the community how you got started with flight simulation - what kinds of aircraft you like to fly, and what you're flying at the moment. You can find the "Introductions" board at the following URL - virtualflightonline.boards.net/board/5/introductions
I have been astounded at the interest shown in the group flights - welcoming pilots from all over the world to fly together, share knowledge, solve problems, tell stories, and spend time together online. We try really hard to keep the community "family friendly" - over time introducing similar rules that can be found elsewhere on the "social internet" around objectionable content. The vast majority of our visitors have been incredibly supportive of our attempts to keep things somewhat sensible on group flights - something we seem to do better at than the official Microsoft Discord Server (I can't imagine the nightmare their moderators face).
If you were not aware of the regular group flights, they tend to take part on Wednesday and Sunday evenings (GMT), with Sundays seeing everybody come together to fly GA aircraft over a pre-arranged route, and Wednesdays reserved for IFR international flights in the "big jets". Where we started out spoon-feeding visitors with downloadable flight plans, we have gradually stepped back and now supply just the bones of a flight plan - inviting people to create their own plans in whatever tools they prefer, or to just "follow along" during each group flight. It seems to be working well. Each event has extensive notes for those taking part in the forum - telling you when, where, what server to use, and so on.
If you've not wandered into the Discord server yet, you can get an invite from the following URL - bit.ly/virtualflightonlinediscord
Upcoming events are listed in the Calendar of the Forum - at virtualflightonline.boards.net/calendar - and in the Facebook Group, and Discord Server. We also cross-post them into the official Microsoft Flight Simulator Forum event calendar.
Alongside the events, I wrote the "Transmitter" application for Microsoft Flight Simulator - which broadcasts your position so anybody else in the world (or a group flight you are taking part in) can see where you are in LittleNavMap. You can find more out about Transmitter at virtualflight.online/transmitter - and you can see who is online at virtualflight.online/who
If you do get a chance to come fly with us, we'll look forward to meeting you! In the meantime, why not head over to the Forum, and introduce yourself
Best regards,
Jonathan Beckett
Founder, VirtualFlight.Online
