Introducing MyAir - one the hidden gems of the Flight Simulation community
Back in 2021 my Dad upgraded his computer, and I inherited his old one. I suddenly had a computer at home that was capable of running a flight simulator for the first time in years (we were just coming out the other side of bringing up children), so I did what any sensible person might at the time - I bought X-Plane, Prepar3D, and DCS.
While tooling around in the ZiboMod 737-800x on my own in X-Plane was fun for a few weeks, it got rather boring with no purpose to the flying beyond “figuring out how the aircraft worked”. I recorded a few videos about the ZiboMod 737 and put them on YouTube - and that lead to a ridiculous three year oddysey that continues to this day.
Anyway.
While the children were young we would visit my parents in the summer, and see my Dad retreat to the computer on Tuesday and Thursday nights to take part in some sort of group activity on the internet. It was all tremendously serious - with written flight plans on paper, communications with air traffic control on a headset, and so on.
I later discovered he was flying with a group of friends running a virtual airline called “MyAir”. Perhaps not as grand, or as high-fidelity as some of the other virtual airlines, but offering a friendly atmosphere, a wealth of real-world and simulated aviation experience, and a less stressful on-ramp to the world of air traffic control.
I initially joined one of their flights - on Teamspeak back then - with the intention of only “listening in” - to learn the ropes, and to listen to the rest of the pilots communicating with ground, tower, departures, sectors, and so on. “Listening in” lasted all of five minutes - after dispatch called my callsign and asked for the flight level I would be flying at.
I spent the next two hours flying at the back of the group, cribbing from their conversations and making it up as I went along. Somewhat successfully.
MyAir operate a wonderfully simple system - everybody flies the same route a given night, with the controller(s) handing off the aicraft between each other. Once everybody reaches cruise the controllers call “channel is open”, and everybody gets the chance to have a chat - usually all manner of stories about aviation, aircraft, past flight experiences, and everything inbetween.
Over the past couple of years MyAir have migrated most of their activities to Discord. They also run an online airline with ACARS, but you don’t have to use it to take part at all - it’s more about the social interaction than filing plans and ticking boxes. All you need to do is read about the next flight in their Discord server, and arrive at the correct airport in good time to take part.
So.
If you’ve learned your way around flying the big jets from A to B, can program a flight plan, operate the autopilot, but have always wondered about “talking to the tower”, but have seen the likes of VATSIM, Pilot Edge, or IVAO as too intimidating, or too steep a learning curve, I can’t recommend MyAir enough.
Getting started with MyAir
The first thing to do is join their Discord server - click the link to join : https://bit.ly/myairvirtual
Start a new topic to introduce yourself in the #introductions channel - tell the rest of the team a little bit about yourself.
Check out the “Briefing Room” channels in the left margin of Discord - they will list details about the next upcoming Tuesday or Thursday flight.
Drop into the Voice Channels on a flight night and say hello! Perhaps agree to sit in on your first visit, and then take part the next time.
Download some of the MyAir Liveries to fly in their colours!
Prerequisites
In order for the MyAir group flights to operate smoothly, you’ll need to be able to operate your choice of the big jets relatively well - this will mean being able to do at least the following:
Program a flight plan into the aircraft (through whichever means you prefer)
Operate the aircraft well enough to follow instruction when needed (for example, climbing or descending to an instructed altitude, at a given airspeed, or vectored to a specific waypoint or heading).
The group at MyAir are very relaxed, friendly, and will of course answer questions about how to operate the most common aircraft - but not during a group flight - everybody will be busy :)
What typically happens on a flight night?
Flights start at 8pm in the UK (local time), so 1900UTC during the summer months, and 2000UTC in the winter months.
The team start to assemble at the departure airfield twenty minutes or so before the scheduled “start time”.
The nominated controller(s) on a given night will give a short briefing, and request everybody’s flight levels.
During preflight, push-back, engine start, take-off, and departure, voice communication is restricted to communication between pilots and air traffic services.
Once everybody reaches cruise altitude, “open channel” is announced, and everybody is free to talk.
Once aircraft begin to descend towards the destination, communication is restricted once more.
It’s really that simple. Once you’ve done a couple of flights you’ll suddenly see ATC in a different light - as the helpful service they are intended to be, rather than the officious examiners many tend to see them as.
Paying it forward
I’ve flown hundreds of flights with MyAir over the past several years, and feel privileged to call them friends. They set a great example in terms of their knowledge and enthusiasm, and will be only too pleased to show you the ropes.
What are you waiting for? Head to their Discord channel and introduce yourself!
Here’s the joining link again - https://bit.ly/myairvirtual