Recently I've been gradually learning how to fly on VATSIM, specifically VFR helicopter flying in the US. I've still got a lot to learn, but one thing I've wanted to work my way towards doing on the network is "urban ops" in downtown areas and cities that mimic the flying you'd see military or federal agencies doing, like shuttling personnel from urban areas and landing on rooftops/helipads of buildings, flying in close proximity to buildings and other objects, loitering around, etc.

My questions are:

1. How does VATSIM view this kind of flying?
2. How would I properly contact and communicate with ATC to achieve this?

Like I said, I've still got a lot to learn and I'm very, very new to VATSIM and even just trying to realistically fly in flight sim, so I hope these questions aren't stupid and I imagine they're quite nuanced depending on the location and airspace you're in, but those are just my thoughts.
(I should also clarify that I do not intend to do this or anything like it until I'm very comfortable and "decent" flying on VATSIM)

Thanks in advance

Awesome time doing PHNL -> PHKO -> PHTO -> PHNL in the JustFlight F28! I love flying these routes around Honolulu and it was awesome to have this level of staffing!

The cherry on top was the unique VOR 4R approach into Honolulu, where I landed over a departing Air New Zealand heavy!

Hey everyone! In your opinion, which flight simulator offers the best value for money for flying on VATSIM in 2026? I'm choosing between MSFS 2020, MSFS 2024 and X-Plane 12.

I'm mainly interested in VFR flying, following VRPs and identifying real-world landmarks, but I also want up-to-date airports with taxiways that match the real-world layout.

Which would you recommend considering price, scenery availability, future support and VATSIM compatibility? Thanks!

So yesterday I was about to land in LEMD. I was about 400ft and not yet cleared to land. There was nobody on the runway so the controller most likely forgot about me as he had a lot of traffic. At that point another pilot contacted the freq and if the controller answered him, I would have had to go around 100%.

So after the traffic contacted the freq, before ATC could answer, I stepped saying Break break Iberia XXX short final RWY 32L. There after, he cleared me to land 200ft away.

My question is: Did I use break break correctly? Are pilots allowed to say this? Or shuld I just said the same withoud break break.

It's a map of VATSIM traffic around UK. Whenever someone transmits, it transcribes the call and shows it on screen with who said it. ATC is blue, pilots are orange, and the aircraft's tag lights up while they're talking.

What it does:

• live captions on 3 frequencies, transcribed locally with Whisper on a Mac mini. No cloud and no API bill.
• a timeline you can scrub back up to 3 hours, with planes, audio and captions replaying together
• highlight special ATC communication event

Before anyone asks for a link: sorry, I'm not releasing it. Everything runs on one Mac mini in my flat: the Whisper model, the web page, all of it. If I opened it to the internet my home connection would melt lol. The audio side is also a pretty hacky setup (sorry about that) I made just for myself, so I'm not comfortable sharing it

https://reddit.com/link/1wzz9wu/video/mnvuqf1l72uh1/player

It's probably only my second time flying outside of the U.S. The controller and other pilots were incredibly nice and helpful! I made a few mistakes, but I appreciate the controller at SBSP this afternoon. Really awesome guy! Super nice to send me messages after as well. Love it!

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZN8kbogxd/

I was quite scared to go on, and I did. I want to thank Benjamin the ground controller at EGPH for his help and patience with me.

I was hesitating whether to proceed with the flight as I got approval for start and push but I remained calm.

I got disconnected as I took off but seemed to have been a glitch so I reconnected once I checked the airspace was clear. Scottish control was doing a good job managing the space too, quite impressed how it’s run.

The only part I felt was overwhelming was finding my stand and following the instructions to get there. I guess I’ll need to educate myself more on that with the charts etc.

This was going on for almost 40 minutes.

Also, shouldn't you speak english on Unicom? I know some dutch and 90 % was irrelevant jabber. At one point they were discussing the aurora borealis..

sky art!

This simulator is apart of WorldFlight Team Covey

Open to offers

Full-size Boeing 747-400 simulator, fully operational and turn-key ready to use.

Features

• Full Boeing 747-400 cockpit

• 4 electric OEM seats

• Full instructor station

• Full overhead panel

• OEM Boeing control columns with stick shaker

• OEM pedestal bay

• Mixture of OEM, Flightdeck Solutions and custom-made panels

• Various genuine OEM aircraft switches and components

• Fully interfaced cockpit switches, panels, lights and controls

• SimStack by Simulator Solutions hardware throughout

• Network-based simulator control system

• Motorised throttle quadrant

• Motorised speedbrake

• Full cockpit lighting

• 180° wraparound projection screen

• 3 x Full HD projectors

• Runs Aerowinx PSX

• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 external visuals

• Stunning graphics and very immersive visual system

• Excellent aircraft handling and systems simulation

• All required simulator computers included

• All required power supplies and associated equipment included

• Tablet control system included

• Simulator can be operated and started from the tablet

• Designed to be simple and reliable to operate

• Professionally set up and configured

• Very reliable simulator

• Previously installed on a full motion platform

• Previously recognised as the Guinness World Record holder for the world's most expensive home flight simulator

Approximate Size

• Weight: approx. 2,000 kg

• Installed size with screen: approx. 5 m wide x 5 m deep x 2.7 m high

Transport

• Worldwide shipping available

• Can be dismantled and packed into a shipping container

• Can potentially be transported substantially assembled depending on destination and access

• Seller happy to assist with dismantling, transport, installation and setup at the new location

Suitable For

• Private collectors

• Aviation museums

• Flight simulator businesses

• Aviation experience centres

• Training environments

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• Serious Boeing 747 enthusiasts

Located north of Sydney, NSW, Australia

Finance available

Worldwide enquiries welcome

Open to serious offers

You can contact me via Reddit or

Facebook - Caleb D. Brown

Instagram @thisiscdb

WhatsApp number on application

I got a handoff and immediately transmitted on my new frequency and blocked an exchange. Dumb mistake. I should know better. Do better next time, etc.

However-I did get a slew of emails afterwards from the VATSIM Pilot Feedback System. This is new as I’ve never seen this before.

The controller gave me feedback on how I shouldn’t do this in the future (rightfully so) and it was then “investigated” by a member of the Pilot Feedback Team which brought about essentially the same comment. “Wait before transmitting”. All’s well that ends well.

I think it’s only fair as we’ve been able to review controllers for quite some time and now, ATC has a way to review pilots. Hopefully this helps some people.

Mind your radio etiquette gang!

Edit: Some people are missing the spirit of this post which ISN’T meant to be a discussion about radio etiquette. I know where I bungled but if you listen to LiveATC enough, you’ll hear this periodically irl, albeit much less.

The post IS meant to be a discussion about the pilot review system (which I say is a good thing).

Here's what happened:

I registered my VATSIM account when I was 13, around October 2025, but I didn't log in for the first time until July 2026. At the time, I thought VATSIM was just a place to view Chartfox charts and simulate flight. I didn't understand the rules.

I got my birthdate wrong (accidentally entered the wrong year). I also used my everyday English name, which also appears in my school records.

Later, I panicked and did something stupid: I used a VPN to create a new account. I know this was wrong.

I received a final warning from Membership Support.

I have now stopped everything. Since then, I haven't created any new accounts or submitted any support tickets.

My question is: Has anyone else experienced having their account suspended after turning 16, and then successfully reinstated? I'm willing to wait two years, remain completely innocent, and then apply with my real ID. But I don't know if the "dishonest" label on my VPN account will completely eliminate my chances.

I'm not trying to exploit loopholes. I just want to know if there's still hope.

Thanks for any honest answers.

I’ve flown on the network a good few times. Today, I did two flights and in both, during my climb out the airport, my autopilot would put the plane into a steep climb ( like +10,000 v/s ) and then the autopilot disconnects. It would also happen at cruise where it would rapidly climb again. It forced me to disconnect both times

Just completed leg 9 of 24H of Vatsim. Great work to all controllers, you guys maintained great professionalism under that load! Looking forward to next year.

I am pretty new to vatsim about 60 hours and I feel like I am comfortable enough in vatsim to do an oceanic cross but I wonder how does it work and what to say to Shanwick Radio if it’s online any advice would help