Free Flights are GO!

You can now log flights in ACARS without dispatching them.

The next time you start the VirtualFlight.Online ACARS client, you will notice something different - you can now record flights without dispatching them by just filling the form out on the Flight Plan page.

What does this mean? It means you can record any flight in any aircraft type, and it will still count against your hours.

Just open the ACARS client, fill in the flight plan form, and click the “Start Flight” button (as always, your last chance to start ACARS is while at the departure airfield, on the ground, with the parking brake on).

This doesn’t change anything in terms of the Virtual Airline:

• Event and Tour legs will still be dispatched from the airline website (indeed, they must be - otherwise they will not be marked as complete).

• Scheduled flights will still be dispatched from the airline website

• Charter flights will still be dispatched from the airline website

Opening up the ACARS client for free flight simply means:

• Any flight from A to B in any aircraft can be recorded against your hours without being forced through the Charter/Simbrief route.

I have wondered about doing this for some time. In the early days of the airline, having structure was a good idea. Now everybody is used to the idea of tours, events, scheduled flights, and charters - this is a logical step.

Have fun!

Jonathan Beckett
Founder, VirtualFlight.Online