Hi there, I was just wondering if VATSIM is easy to use? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Hi
I’m a very, very new user. Have completed a few VFR flights to be immersed in the ecosystem but without the major need to communicate too much. There is certainly a learning curve and I had to delve round a few websites / pages to find out information on which controller looks after which area, who and when to contact etc.
The software itself is pretty easy to use and setup.
My biggest thing is remembering what to say in the heat of the moment. 
I can certainly recommend it as an extra immersion factor, listening into people flying into Heathrow is amazing! I’m certainly not there yet!
Worth a go.
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And that’s true in the real world as well! You’d be surprised, but a lot of licensed pilots are afraid of ATC and the radio.
Peter, one of the great things about VATSIM is that they provide pilot training as well. You have to sign up for an account to look at the options, but the starting page is here:
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I did a few flights on VATSIM using vPilot as the connecting software; there’s some learning curve with the software (remembering which settings are done in-sim and which are done in vPilot, etc) but the biggest thing for me was just my own anxiety – if I don’t quite understand what’s been asked of me, but I know I’m required to do a read-back, I get very flustered.
But it’s quite a lot of fun to have a real human instead of the computer doing ATC when you’re feeling prepared for it, and I hope to switch it back on once I’m more “in the groove” some day. 
Probably VFR flights within the same air traffic control zone as a major airport (hence ATC coverage) but not right at the airport (hence no high-intensity moments following an approach into a busy airport) would be good practice!
I also find it’s good to fly with a buddy who’s more familiar with ATC lingo if that’s new to you. You can use discord or whatever to chat separately from the VATSIM radio, as long as you put VATSIM on push-to-talk.
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I just bought Pilot2ATC the other day to start practicing so I’ll be more comfortable when I’m ready to start with Vatsim. Pilot2ATC is all voice activated, computer ATC with tools that help you figure out what your doing.
I’m not affiliated, just really enjoying the product.
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I’m looking at the same thing. Figured I would give the AI a go before I start with actual scary humans 
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