Getting started with VATSIM?

[klesei mike]

Hello everyone--I found out about VATSIM a few days ago and would be interested in getting to play with it. I am a complete noob who's toying with getting a PPL sometime in the future, but want to try it out with simulators before investing in it--I have heard that VATSIM is a very close simulation to flying in real life, and my research so far bears that out.

However, the research I've done (looking up beginner's guides and such) also tells me that even new pilots on VATSIM are expected at least to know basic ATC and how to fly their chosen aircraft. So my question is, how does someone with absolutely, completely zero aviation experience or knowledge gain the prerequisite knowledge to use VATSIM?

I have read about a few solutions that people have suggested in the past. Most people seem to suggest just following along full VATSIM flights on YouTube or listening to ATC.net and slowly muddling it out (I am wondering if there isn't a more efficient, more beginner friendly approach to this?); some people suggest actually flying with a friend (not an option at the moment); others suggest taking a course offered by VATSIM, but after some poking around I am unclear if this course is suitable for a total beginner who doesn't even know how to fly a plane--I was hoping someone would be so kind as to clarify? Some suggest playing with just Microsoft Flight Simulator or X-Plane first and learning from the AI ATC. I'm not clear if that's sufficient to cover the basics expected by VATSIM; I currently don't have a PC that can handle running either game, and thought it wouldn't hurt to ask someone before really investing in it. Everyone was a total noob once--how and where did you guys learn enough to start using VATSIM? Surely not everyone did a full PPL film plus or proper ATC beetv  training first...

I'd really, really love to be able to get to a point where I can try out VATSIM whilst minimizing any noob mistakes, so I don't annoy controllers too much. I'm aware you all have busy lives, I respect VATSIM controllers enormously for what they do, and appreciate that this has probably been asked by many a noob already (I'm sorry guys!), but I must be googling the wrong things, because my research hasn't been very fruitful. Thanks all in advance!

Edited December 12, 2022 at 04:17 PM by klesei mike
spelling mistake

[Torben Andersen]

15 hours ago, klesei mike said:

...others suggest taking a course offered by VATSIM, but after some poking around I am unclear if this course is suitable for a total beginner who doesn't even know how to fly a plane--I was hoping someone would be so kind as to clarify?

Hello Mike

If you're a total beginner, who doesn't even know how to fly a plane, then my advise is simply - Don't connect to VATSIM. Vatsim is not a training platform for you to learn basic flying skills. As you're aware of, these are a prerequisite for connecting to the network for a reason. How to handle to planes in your sim - there are tonnes of info on the internet (and in the simulators themselfes). Use some months to learn to handle you plane - then you can consider connecting to VATSIM.

[Alistair Thomson]

And once you can fly the plane or planes of your choice, VATSIM requires that you study the New Member Orientation Course then pass the test. After that, you can fly on VATSIM

[Andreas Fuchs]

....or at least do your training online in a light aircraft (C152, C172 and similar) at a small back-country airfield where it is unlikely that you will encounter much or any traffic.

[Simon Kelsey]

Hello and welcome to VATSIM!

My suggestion would be that once you have decided which simulator you wish to use, you might consider having a look at the list of VATSIM Authorised Training Organisations (ATOs) which can be found at https://my.vatsim.net/pilots/atos

These are organisations approved to provide training toward the VATSIM Pilot Ratings. It is not required to hold a rating (other than to complete the New Member Orientation Course, as Alistair says) to fly on the network, but I would recommend them to anybody in your position. The first rating, the PPL, is structured along the lines of the real-world Private Pilot Licence syllabus and covers the fundamentals of flying, visual navigation and how this fits in with VATSIM and Air Traffic Control, which would be an excellent place to start -- in many respects, being completely fresh to aviation and flight simulation is a great advantage in this regard because you will not come to the course with any 'baggage' or bad habits. Training toward the VATSIM pilot rating is completely free; all that is required is your time and dedication to the cause. As you will discover, aviation is an enormous topic and there is a lot to learn, but the basics can be picked up relatively quickly.

One thing which I think is worth pointing out that I think perhaps people who are not familiar with aviation don't necessarily recognise is that there is significant variance in procedures and regulations from country to country (and, indeed, even different airfields within a country can have different procedures) and this is reflected on VATSIM. With that in mind, my advice to all new VATSIM pilots is to pick a 'base' and stick to that area to start with because although it can be tempting to 'jump' around the world looking for ATC, for instance, this can very quickly lead to confusion if you don't fully understand the principles to start with. So start with the basics, get comfortable with how things work in one place, then gradually start expanding.

Nobody in history has yet 'completed' aviation, there is always somebody who is more experienced/knowledgeable/has expertise in a particular area or subject and a good pilot is always looking to learn and improve no matter how experienced or qualfied, so welcome to the start of your journey and I look forward to seeing you in the virtual skies as you continue along that journey -- and hopefully to your real-world licence as well!