Chapter 16 of 16
Glossary and FAQ
The abbreviations decoded, and the questions people actually ask
Half of the confusion in virtual aviation comes from abbreviations. Here they are in plain words, followed by the questions that come up most often.
Glossary
- VA
- virtual airline: a crew of players with a shared account, fleet and schedule.
- Line
- an entry in the airline schedule: a pair of airports, a number, the allowed aircraft types and a departure time. Management creates lines, and a line by itself never flies anywhere.
- Flight
- a single departure on a line: your booking or an AI fleet leg. One line is flown again and again — it has as many flights as the times it was operated.
- PIREP
- the report of a completed flight, filed by the tracker or by you.
- Tracker
- a Windows app that records the flight from the simulator and files the report.
- Type rating
- permission to fly a family of aircraft: one A320 rating covers the A319, the A321 and the neo. Earned by training, kept alive by flying.
- WTC
- wake turbulence category by weight: light (L), medium (M), heavy (H), super (J). It sets the rank you need.
- XP
- pilot experience. Earned per flight, unlocks ranks.
- Hub
- an airline's home airport: cheaper handling and more passengers.
- Reputation
- how an airport regards your airline, 0 to 100. Earned through frequency, a hub, quality and fleet age; it raises the load on flights through that airport.
- Lease
- renting an airframe for a monthly payment instead of buying it.
- Ferry
- an empty repositioning flight to another airport, paid for by the airline.
- Charter
- a one-off flight on a personal hangar aircraft; the income goes to the pilot.
- Free flight
- a flight outside any schedule: personal hours and a little XP, clear of the economy.
- SimBrief
- an external flight planner; the flight is handed over with one button, along with an ATC callsign — yours from your profile, or the flight's own.
- Check (A/C/D)
- scheduled maintenance driven by hours: the aircraft sits for a few hours and comes back with its life restored.
- Defect
- a fault on the aircraft. A critical one grounds it until it is cleared.
- Season
- a calendar quarter of competition, ending in a podium with prizes for pilots and airlines.
- Diversion
- landing at an airport other than the one in the assignment. The flight still counts, but whether the call was justified is checked.
- Assignment
- a flight handed by management to a named pilot: it appears on their flight board to accept or decline.
- Quick flight
- a line with an expiry date, opened for live pilots; the NPC fleet never takes it.
- Contract exchange
- one-off orders for an aircraft, asked for by route: a fixed payment and a deadline instead of a standing line.
Common questions
Do I need VATSIM?
No, it is optional: fly offline or on any network — bookings, scoring and money do not depend on it. But if you fly VATSIM anyway, link your account in your profile: the platform will count the flight as a network flight on its own and add a percentage of the revenue, the same percentage of XP, and badges of its own. How it works is in the “How a flight works” chapter. We do not support IVAO or other networks.
Which simulator do I need?
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 or 2024, or X-Plane 11/12. The tracker needs 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 and nothing else — everything it needs is bundled in.
Do I have to join an airline?
No, but that is where most of the game happens: schedules, money, salary, rankings. Without one you still have free flights and the personal hangar with charters.
Why won't the flight book?
There are six reasons in total: not enough rank; no rating covering that type; the rating has lapsed; the aircraft is booked or in maintenance; the aircraft is at another airport; the aircraft has a critical defect or is worn below 25%. The error message tells you which one.
Where did my booking go?
Your airline's management — the owner or a manager — may have cancelled it, usually because the aircraft was needed for another flight. It never happens silently: you get a notification naming who cancelled it, along with their reason if they gave one. The line stays open, so you can book it again.
Can I fly without the tracker?
Yes, file the report by hand from the flight page. The score then rests on the landing alone — no track, no stage breakdown.
I crashed the aircraft. Now what?
Heavy damage goes into the incident feed, the airframe goes in for repair or, at worst, is written off and its crew released. The airline loses money, not the game.
The airline is out of money. What now?
Check Finance: sell a spare airframe, return a leased one, take a bank loan. For a pilot it is simpler — keep flying, every flight pays a bonus.
Where do I ask if the answer isn't here?
On the forum, where the real pilots are. Bugs and wishes go to Suggestions, which the team reads.