V-Bird Virtual Airlines Group

Information for new pilots

Hello, thank you very much for your interest in the V-Bird Virtual Airline Group. On behalf of the staff and our pilots, we would like to welcome you to our website. On this page you will get an overview of what the V-Bird VA Group has to offer and hopefully surprise you to join our large community.

At the V-Bird VA Group you will be warmly greeted by a group of flight simulator enthusiasts trying to get the most out of their hobby and having fun. The word 'nice' has always been one of the most important characteristics of our organization and will always remain our #1 priority. That is why we are looking for people with an interest in the world of (virtual) aviation and with the will to take their hobby a step further, to grow as a virtual pilot and make a difference within our group to get so much satisfaction out of it.

Over the last few years, the V-Bird VA Group has been shaped by the wishes and suggestions of its members, so today we have a lot to offer to a wide variety.

For starters, there are a few virtual airlines within our group. each airline has its own characteristics and themes. When you join our group it really doesn't matters which airline you choose because you have access to every airline. The result is that you are able to fly within:

V-Bird Virtual Airline	-	the society that started it all and is still considered the heart of our community, hence the name. The VBVA is the answer for pilots who want to operate modern day-to-day scheduled and cargo flights around the world within a major airline. His planes have the fantastic color scheme of the real airline that unfortunately went bankrupt in 2004!
Virtual Classics Airlines	-	VCA is actually a kind of subgroup that is meant for people who like the old airlines from the time when flying was still adventurous. Within the VCA you can fly with the closed or declared bankrupt companies such as Pan Am, Air Holland, Dutchbird, Sabena and others. Forget FMCs and RNAV, fly the old fashioned way via VORs and landmarks. Until 2022, the VCA had its own website, but since the transition to the new website, all flight schedules have been combined and you can make your own choice.

Coming back to the word "nice", we don't think this word should entail strict rules and procedures, such as checks and exams. We will never try to intimidate people with strict procedures like real airlines. The prepared routes from our database are not mandatory, which makes the V-Bird Virtual Airline Group different from many other clubs. We believe that it should remain a hobby and therefore you are, to a certain extent, as free as a bird! With us you can fly with almost any type of aircraft (except military) to wherever you want. All we expect from you, apart from some behavioral and administrative rules, is that you make at least one (1) flight per month.

FLIGHT DATABASE

Over the years, a huge database has been formed with different types of flights from all kinds of bases. Today you can choose from more than 10,000 routes, and this number is growing every day! If you prefer to fly your own route, you are free to do so, as this is one of our promises. All the routes are stored in our own integrated VA system which makes it possible to search and browse these routes via our website. We also provide complete timetables allowing you to see all routes from a given base.

Each route has its own Pilot Briefing which provides all the details of your flight, including METARs, NOTAMs, airport and weather maps. If you like to fly 'as-real-as-it-gets', you can download a professional flight plan package or use Simbrief (https://www.simbrief.com/home/). You must first register for this (for free).

The great thing about the database is that our logging software will recognize your flight number so you don't have to spend as much time setting up the program! You have to make your own flight plan as routes change.

DOWNLOADS

The V-Bird VA Group also has a large database of downloads! There are currently more than 90 downloads in the download section of our website. Most are our color schemes for free and paid aircraft extensions for both Flight Simulator 2004 and Flight Simulator X, X-plane, Prepar3d and MS Flightsimulator 2020. Other downloads include tours and manuals describing the different types of software.

Within the VBVA Group, people are continuously working on expanding our range of repaint/liveries. Again, we do not place any restrictions on the use of our fleet, you may fly any aircraft as long as it is not a military aircraft.

Our database currently only contains aircraft for the V-Bird Virtual Airline. We have chosen this to save valuable server space, since the repaints for the other airlines can be found freely on the major flight simulator sites.

FLYING ONLINE

At the V-Bird Virtual Airline Group we don't force people to fly online, but we do recommend it! The choice is and remains absolutely up to you whether you fly online or offline. The network we use for flying online is our own V-Bird VA network, VATSIM and IVAO where we are a fully registered VA.

The V-Bird VA network is a very small and user-friendly network which we mainly use for beginners and training sessions and Online Events. We recommend this network for people who are hesitant to fly online but still want to give it a try.

To see each other online, we have our own AI package with V-Bird liveries for the V-Bird VA network and VATSIM. .

PILOT SUPPORT

Within the Group we have a number of people who are specifically there to help you. As soon as you are registered with our Group, you can request the help of one of these people yourself. They will use software such as Skype, Teamspeak and Teamviewer for one-on-one assistance.

There are some other solution we provide to get help. Several times a year we organize meetings in Hilversum, where we give workshops on certain subjects of our hobby. In addition to being always very informative, it is also a fun day out.

You can also find a lot of manuals on our website. We have a dedicated documentalist who is responsible for creating and maintaining all manuals and documentation for the various software we use. These manuals can be found in our download database. In addition, we have a special section of our site called the Pilot Education Center. In the PEC you will find documentation and videos on various aviation related topics that can be useful when you travel through virtual airspace. Topics range from SIDs and STARs to decoding weather reports. For those interested in flying an Airbus we have a special site full of information about this fantastic machine.

Due to the large membership and great sense of community, most of our pilots are very helpful when others have a problem with their setup or computer. Most of our members have years of experience with Flight Simulator and therefore often have the answer to many of your questions. The forum and our Facebook group are a great way to connect with other members if you have questions or are just looking for new ideas.

PILOT AWARDS

Within the Virtual Airline Group, we value the hard work and dedication of our members. That is why we have set up a ranking and award system. This allows our pilots to actually 'grow' and follow a virtual career. Our system looks at the number of hours you have flown and then determines your rank. When you first register with us you start with zero hours below the rank of Second Flight Officer. If you have transferred hours from another Virtual Airline, your rank will of course also be adjusted.

As we've said before, we believe it's a hobby and should stay that way, so you don't have to fly hundreds of hours to get your PhD. Our system is designed in such a way that members with few hours are promoted relatively faster than people with many hours. As a result, members always have something to look forward to.

In addition to the different ranks, we also use awards. Awards are given to members who, for example, have completed a tour or participated in a special event.

FLIGHT LOGGING

A virtual airline will not be a virtual airline if it does not log your flown hours, including with us. We know that there is a lot of different logging software available and that not everyone is equally handy with this.

At the moment it is possible to log your hours via a manual PIREP and vaBaselight. Until 2022 you could also use IPS, but this is no longer possible at the moment!

IPS stands for Integrated PIREP System and makes it possible to stop using any programs on your computer, everything will be completely automatic! What this system does is scan the online networks (IVAO and VATSIM) for members who are flying. If you fly on one of these networks, you will be recognized and the system will automatically log. Once you have arrived at your destination, the PIREP is closed and sent to our system for processing. This means that you no longer have to worry about anything while flying. Unfortunately, IPS only works if you fly online on the V-Bird VA network, VATSIM or IVAO.

Hopefully this can be implemented in the current system in the future.

EVENTS

At the V-Bird Virtual Airline Group, we are very proud of our strong community. To keep this community strong and friendly, we organize an event almost every two weeks. These 'events' normally take place on a Friday evening and last approximately two hours. Events range from regular scheduled flights with airliners to island hopping with the old Lockheed Constellation!

These events are completely voluntary and it is up to you whether you participate or not.

V-Bird wouldn't be V-Bird if we didn't let our members make a difference in these events. If you know of nice places to fly to or have another idea for an event, let us know and maybe we'll organize it!

If your interest in our club has grown and you want to become a member, please read our Pilot's Manual first. This guide contains all the information on how to proceed and our terms and conditions. Although these conditions are very simple within the V-Bird VA Group, we ask that you respect them. To view this manual click on the link below. After you have read our terms and conditions you can click on the registration link to go to the registration page. Please fill in the registration form as accurately as possible to speed up the process. Our administrator will review your registration and add it to our system! Please be patient as this can take some time.

Pilot's Manual

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