First network flight helper

Watch the video: Flying on VATSIM or IVAO

Flying on VATSIM or IVAO with live controllers is the best part of the hobby, and the first call is the hardest. Vaeroly writes out the radio calls for your own flight so you can read them through and practise them before you connect. This is the First network flight helper. Your airline switches it on (Staff → Airline settings → Optional features → First network flight helper).

Open it

Book a flight.
On your booking page, under File on a network, press First flight with live controllers? Practise the radio calls.
The page shows your callsign as it is said on the radio, a few things to do before you connect, your clearance request as text, and the calls for six phases: clearance, pushback and start-up, taxi, take-off, approach, and landing and taxi to the stand.

Without a booking, the page shows an example flight.

Reading the calls

You lines are what you say; ATC lines are what the controller says.
Bold values come from your booking: your callsign, airports and, when your booking has a SimBrief plan, the planned runways.
Underlined values are examples: the squawk, frequencies, wind, taxiways and levels. The controller gives you the real ones.
The note under each line says why it is said that way.
Radio calls stay in English, the language used on the frequency, also when the page is in Arabic.

Practice mode

Tick Practice mode above the phases. Your own lines are blurred: read the controller's line, say your answer out loud, then point at your line (or move to it with the Tab key) to check it.

Good to know

Your callsign on the radio is your airline's radio name and the flight number, digit by digit. If your airline uses another radio name, say that one.
If you didn't understand a call, say "Say again". If you can't do what was asked, say "Unable".
Both networks let pilots type instead of speaking. The network's own guide says how to tell controllers in your flight plan.
The calls are practice examples in standard ICAO phrasing, written by Vaeroly. On the network, always follow what the controller actually says and the network's own rules.

Vaeroly is not affiliated with VATSIM or IVAO.