The VFR Club
External Information & Add-ons
Grow your Flight Simming Experience
Home > Links
There are a huge number of websites devoted to Flight and Flight Simulator. This page contains links to sources of information and add-ons which will be of particular interest to Club members.
Members' suggestions for useful and interesting links will be gladly received. Email suggestions to the CFI.
VATSIM Resources
Vatsim International The main VATSIM web site. Worldwide event news, new developments, resources, statistics, forums and much more.
Vatsim UK Web Site Keep up to date with what's happening on our patch of the planet
Vatsim UK Forum Keep in touch with VATSIM life in the UK, outside the Club environs. Cix VFR Club members are welcome to air their views too of course, in their role as an individual or Club member, but please do not make statements on behalf of the Club without checking first with a Committee member.
VATAWARE Flight tracking history for VATSIM.  The software records and stores data from every registered member's VATSIM flights. Some statistics may be viewed without registering, but the full extent of your personal data can only obtained if you log in as a registered member of Vataware.  Note that Vataware login is not the same as VATSIM membership login. Some features still being developed.
VATSIM Pilot Resource Centre Training and help documentation on anything to do with flying with Flight Simulator and VATSIM.
Cix Indicator Download our own Club Vatsim Indicator for use on the Club forum and Vatsim forums. Needs your Vatsim User ID and password to gain access to the file.
The History of VATSIM A superb write-up by the Author of Squawkbox 2, Joe Jurecka, on the history of On-line flying.
Real World Aviation Source Material
Airfield Diagrams Part of the AIS site (see below). Once you have logged in, the index page is displayed. Select the aerodrome you want the information for and then select the individual file. Choose from Textual data, Airfield Diagram, or various Instrument Approach Procedures. Files are in pdf format.
On Track The CAA have produced detailed flight planning information for some of the UK airspace where navigation can be tricky, and Controlled Airspace "busts" are not infrequent. These briefings are very well put together and well worth a look.
AIS

The NEW UK Aeronatical Information Service web site was launched in May 2008. This site does not require registration or login and is easier to navigate than the original UK AIS web site which has now been closed.

All European countries will be providing their AIP data on the Eurocontrol European AIS Database (EAD) site at sometime in the not-too-distant future. (Registration & Login will be required)

Checklists

This is a wiki-type repository of checklists for many many different aircraft and aircraft systems. Because a lot of Flight-sim aircraft come with less than perfect checklists and performance data, this real world aviation site is extremely useful to us too.

Weather Useful real world weather site to see what sort of conditions VATSIM is likely to present to for your on-line flights. Place your mouse over your nearest airport or destination on the displayed map of the British Isles and you can get a current weather report as well as wind history and predicted winds etc. You can also see an animated 24 hour weather forecast.
The General Aviation Safety Council Real world aviation organisation dedicated to flight safety. Their bulletins are always a good, and sometimes sobering read.
UKGA Lots of very useful real world General Aviation information and onward links to other sources.
Commercial Flight Simulator Resources
RealAir Simulations This company specialises in producing aircraft with fine detail work and highly realistic flight characteristics. Their C172, Spitfire XIV and Saia Marchetti SF260 areregularly seen at Club meets, are extremely highly regarded. New additions include the Citabria Decathlon and Scout.
PC Aviator On-line Flight Simulator shop - this site is a great source of hardware, books, videos and software etc. This collection is all commercial payware. Orders to the UK are shipped from the USA
RC Simulations
The UK Flight Sim Shop
The UKs own Flight Simulator shop based in Bristol, but also on line. Theirs is another of those apochryphal businesses started in the proprietor's garage! Everything and anything you need for Flight Sim can be had from them. If you are also into Train Simulator, this is your site!
SimFlight On-line Flight Simulator shop - this site conatins a mixture of free and commercial products; hardware, books, videos and software etc.
UK2000 Airports for FSX Coming soon.
UK2000 Airports Highly detailed scenery of most airfields in England and Wales for FS9, published in 8 areas. Includes buildings, structures, signs, lighting, fencing etc., as accurate to the real world as is possible in FS. This scenery is highly recommended, particularly the areas which include our operating bases, which is almost essential to get the best out of Club activities.
VFR Scenery UK This scenery allows accurate VFR navigation by recognition of ground features as they exist in the real world , and is therefore virtually essential for club flights. Published in 4 areas, a discount is available for the whole set.
VFR Terrain Mesh A complementary package to the UK VFR Terrain Scenery, also available from Visual Flight. Improves the accuracy of the scontours of hills and valleys.
Visual Flight This is where to find the VFR photographic scenery which the Club relies on for its out-of-the-cockpit-window enjoyment of the delights of The Sceptred Isle - and for navigation of course!
Free Flight Simulator Resources
AVSIM On-line Flight Simulator download site and shop - this site conatins a mixture of free and commercial products; hardware, books, videos and software etc. Almost every aircraft, utility or scenery package you could ever want for FS is very likely to be here. See also FLIGHTSIM above. There are many other repositories, but we have found this to be the best. Downloads include freeware, shareware and commercial packages. Hosts a lively forum too.
MSFS Gateway By Tony Smith. Links to over 500 MSFS sites offering a wide range of aircraft, scenery and other add-ons and downloads. It is regularly maintained and updated.
SImAir 2000 Mainly aircraft, and mainly commrcial passenger jets, but the site includes some interesting and unusual aircraft which members may enjoy.
Simviation Site contains many interesting aircraft - with a bias towards military types.
Tony Meredith He has to be the most well known of the freeware FSX scenery designers, and his output is prolific and excellent, with currently 50 airfields modelled. Anyone flying FSX in the UK without his scenery is truly flying blind.
Horizon For those with Generation X scenery for FSX, here is an ongoing list of FSX designed scenery sorted by Airdfield ICAO code.  This site includes many of Tony Meredith's airfields.
UK Sceneries A very well organised site comprising almost only dozens of links to useful download site.  Airport scenery is listed in alphabetical order.  Scenery for FS2004 and FSX, some free, some payware.  The site also contains links to charts and other aviation material.
VFRAddons This link fails now, but is left hre in case it ever resurrected. It is a great pity, as this site contained a large number of scenery and other files..
Chris's Flightsim Pages This site lists a lot of links to VFR add-ons, many of them non-airport scenery.  Unfortunately a lot of the links point to the apparantly defunct VFRAddons site, but there are plenty of others which might be of interest to members.
Mixed Commercial and Free Resources
AVSIM Flight Simulator site with news, downloads and on-line shop - a mixture of free and commercial products. Downloads include freeware, shareware and commercial packages, aircraft, utilities, scenery, books, videos etc. Hosts a lively forum too. There are many other repositories, but overall, by a small margin, we have found this to be the best.
Flightsim Flight Simulator site with news, downloads and on-line shop - a mixture of free and commercial products. Downloads include freeware, shareware and commercial packages, aircraft, utilities, scenery, books, videos etc. Also has a lively forum.
Surclaro Less well known, but excellent Flight Simulator download site and shop. Downloads include freeware, shareware and commercial packages, aircraft, utilities, scenery, books videos etc. Also has a forum which has a slight bias towards learning from real world aviation practice.
Discussion Forums
AVSIM : VFRAddons : VATSIM : Cix VFR Club : FlightSim : Australian Simulation : FSInn : Squawkbox 3 : Simviation : Surclaro
 
Commercial Magazines
Computer Pilot A monthly magazine all about Flight Simulators. Published in Australia and printed and distributed from the USA, this is a truly international publication. One club member has been privileged to write a number of features for the magazine on VFR flying and related subjects. Most easily obtained from RC Simulations.
PC Pilot the UK's own Flight Simulator magazine, with as formidable a content and reputation as its competitors.
General Flight Simulator Information
Bones Aviation Page A fantastic source of flight and Flight Sim information. Particularly valuable are the technical articles on how and why things are done the way they are done.
The History of Flight Simulator Quite a nice resumé of the history of the worlds most sold software application, plus a lot about a less known but excellent sim - ATP.
Page updated 22/08/08