Surpassing 10000 hours on VATSIM
Ladies and Gentlemen!
First and foremost, I hate talking about myself, but this one feels worth sharing.
I’ve officially hit 10,000 hours on VATSIM.
That is honestly insane to even type out. I crossed the mark flying LHR-YVR, one of my most travelled routes from my early days on the network. Long before Volanta and all the tracking services. Back in the FSX and P3D days. The OG PMDG 777. Bare-bones SimBrief integration, little to none of the GSX functionality we have today. Hell, back then I didn’t even use SimBrief. Young me didn’t believe in “free” software.
The OGs will remember Aerosoft PFPX, TOPCAT, and AivlaSoft EFB.
I still remember my first ever flight on VATSIM. I was so nervous it wasn’t even funny. Sweating, heart racing, and when I made my first radio call, it came out as complete verbal diarrhea. And this was back when the VATSIM voice codec was absolutely god awful. I’m sure some of you remember how bad it was.
Even before VATSIM, I was flight simming constantly. I don’t remember exactly when I found the network, but I was probably 16 or 17. Maybe even younger. Since then, it has been one hell of a ride. I originally started using VATSIM to help my confidence on the radio during my initial PPL flight training. From there, it grew into the passion we all know and love.
The friends I’ve made along the way are the biggest part of it. A lot of my closest friendships today came from the flight sim community. I’ve been lucky enough to meet people from all over the world and from all walks of life, both online and in person, and I genuinely don’t know where I’d be without this community.
Flight sim has been a massive part of my life. It is what truly pushed me toward becoming a pilot in real life.
So yeah. 10,000 hours. From sweaty first radio calls and FSX long-hauls to where we are now.
Thank you all for being part of an amazing journey.
