More Info for Professional Sim Pilots

Singapore Airlines stellte die A380 als erste Fluggesellschaft in Dienst

Hello and welcome to the OFS, Open Flight School. 

We have deliberately created different entry pages: one for beginners and casual players and one for professional sim pilots.  What do we mean by professional sim pilots?  That was the first question that crossed my mind.  So, I’ll try to explain that.  

Some aspects of flight simulations require a certain amount of time to learn.  Someone who only occasionally has the time and / or desire to play simulations will avoid these areas.  These areas include for example; strict radio discipline, realistic procedures and extensive (strategic) flight and mission planning.  

A person we call a Professional Sim Pilot is attracted by precisely this complexity and challenge.  He or she is willing to learn extensive "dry" theory before putting it into practice.  

Unfortunately, within the ranks of professional sim pilots there are unfortunately also some who adopt a derogatory attitude towards casual players.  I would like to ask everyone to bear in mind that you were a beginner yourself once.  Those who help occasional players to successfully complete the first flight hours, help to form a community.  Maybe it arouses interest to know more and to want to learn more.  

Every pilot who occasionally plays DCS, X-Plane or IL-2 can enrich the experience, at least if he adheres to certain basic rules, so that he does not hinder or detriment his fellow players.  This is exactly what we want to teach within the courses of the Basic-Line.  

We ask our experienced pilots to always be helpful and tolerant towards beginners.  It can be very satisfying to see an inexperienced pilot successfully complete his first take-off and landing with your help.  This is the reason why this website was created and everyone who would like to contribute their experience is cordially invited to participate in the OFS.  

In this manner, we hope that experienced virtual pilots will recognise the potential of the OFS and learn new things for themselves and / or pass on their knowledge to other interested pilots.  

Please keep in mind that most of the current courses are intended for beginners and advanced pilots, the entire layout of the website and many descriptions (especially those in the basic courses) are aimed at beginners.  

Our goal is to reach as wide an audience as possible with this website.  The expectations and needs that an experienced sim pilot and a beginner or casual player have of a virtual flight school like the OFS are very different.  

There are many sim pilots like you who want to get as close as possible to reality in their hobby.  They expect very detailed and correct information.  They are willing to learn a lot of theory before they start with the practical exercises.  That's how it's done in real flight training: first learn, then fly.  There the pilot's life also depends on whether he does everything right.  

Others are more about fun and thrills.  They want to get into the air as fast as possible without a lot of ancillary stuff around.  

Both is perfectly okay for us!  

F-15E beim Ausstoß von Flares über Afghanistan

However, for this flight school it means a huge balancing act.  


When we offer a lot of information on the entry pages and start with details and technical terms, the experienced pilots are satisfied at first sight and find what they are looking for, but beginners may be deterred before they start to deal with it at all.  

However, if at first glance we only offer very superficial and therefore simple courses, experienced pilots may not be interested in taking a closer look at this and participating in the SFO.  But these are just the pilots, with their experience, which we (and also our flight pupils) need as coaches, partners and mentors.  


That's why we decided on a beginner-friendly layout for the general layout of the website and divided the courses into three main sections:

  1. Basic-Line
  2. Advanced-Line
  3. Professional-Line

Basic-Line.  The basic courses, in which you primarily learn how to take off and land a specific aircraft, fall into the Basic-Line.  We try to tailor them to the needs of beginners.  They offer only the most essential theory to be able to gain initial experience quickly.  Sometimes abbreviated procedures and a rather superficial treatment of important topics bring every beginner quickly and unerringly to the respective course goal.  In connection with the first weapon course (military airplanes) one should be well able to collect early experiences with the play, on multiplayer servers.  All basic flight courses can be completed without prerequisites and without compulsory exams.  

Advanced-Line.  The second level for those who want to know more and be able to do more are the Advanced-Line advanced courses.  Here more theory is taught and depending on the course there are final exams or even entrance exams.  The courses build on each other and also require more supervision by trainers.  

Professional-Line.  The Professional Line goes into depth and is designed to appeal to experienced pilots and virtual squadrons who want to get as close as possible to reality.  Accordingly, the courses are extensive and the prerequisites are high.  For this we need tutors who can and want to teach at this level, but also students who meet the course prerequisites.  

What's next?

You are, of course, welcome to read the information in the OFS Basic Information course and to browse the contents of the Basic courses.  For this purpose we have set up introductory “Taster” courses and basic courses that can be viewed without registration.  You are welcome to set up a user account at any time and view and take all courses.  The OFS does not charge any fees.  All contents are free of charge!  Please note that we are still under construction and it may take some time until the courses you are interested in become available.




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(Both can also be accessed via the menu on the right.)

Last modified: Saturday, 26 February 2022, 5:06 PM