Learn how to file a VATSIM flight plan correctly, including callsign, aircraft code, route, altitude, equipment, UTC times and remarks.
To file a VATSIM flight plan correctly, submit it through VATSIM’s prefile form or a compatible pilot client, then connect using the identical callsign. Enter accurate ICAO airports, aircraft and equipment codes, a valid route, realistic cruise level, UTC departure time, endurance and remarks. Filing does not itself grant an ATC clearance.
How to file a VATSIM flight plan step by step
The safest method is to prepare the route first, file once, then connect from a parking position using the callsign on the plan.
- Plan the flight. Choose the aircraft, departure and destination, route, cruise level, fuel and alternate. For an IFR airline flight, our guide can help you build a dispatch-style route in SimBrief.
- Open a filing method. Sign in to VATSIM and use its web prefile form, or use the filing function in a compatible planner or pilot client. Exact buttons vary between clients, but the submitted fields are based on the ICAO flight-plan format.
- Enter your identity. Use the exact callsign with which you will connect. An airline connection callsign normally uses its ICAO operator code and flight number; the spoken airline telephony may be different.
- Describe the aircraft accurately. Select its ICAO type designator, wake category, navigation equipment and surveillance capability. Declare only equipment modelled in the aircraft and which you can operate.
- Complete the flight details. Select IFR or VFR, enter four-letter ICAO airport codes, the planned UTC departure time, estimated en-route time, cruise speed and level.
- Check the route. Confirm that every procedure, waypoint and airway exists in the simulator’s navdata. Remove invalid punctuation and do not repeat the departure or destination airport in the route box.
- Add supplementary information. Enter the planned alternate, fuel endurance, persons on board and concise remarks. Preserve generated ICAO entries such as equipment-related remarks rather than replacing them with free text.
- Submit and verify. Check for a confirmation, then connect with the same callsign. If this is your first controlled flight, it helps to prepare with a short, manageable VATSIM training flight before calling for clearance.
What should each VATSIM flight plan field contain?
Every field should describe the flight you are actually about to fly, not a generic aircraft profile copied from another sector.
| Field | What to enter | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Callsign | The exact network callsign, character for character | Filing under one flight number and connecting under another |
| Flight rules and type | IFR or VFR, plus the applicable scheduled, non-scheduled or general aviation category | Selecting IFR merely because the aircraft has an FMC |
| Aircraft type | The recognised ICAO designator for the exact variant | Entering a marketing name or using a related but different variant |
| Wake category | The category based on the aircraft’s certificated weight class | Basing it on the aircraft’s present fuel or payload |
| Equipment | ICAO navigation and surveillance codes matching the simulated avionics | Claiming capabilities such as RNAV, RVSM or advanced transponder functions that cannot be used |
| Airports | Four-letter ICAO codes rather than three-letter IATA codes | Omitting a regional prefix or using the terminal’s commercial code |
| Times | Planned departure in UTC and elapsed flight time in hours and minutes | Entering local time or putting the arrival clock time in the en-route field |
| Speed and altitude | Realistic planned cruise values in the format requested by the form | Entering an initial cleared altitude instead of the planned cruise level |
| Endurance and POB | Planned usable fuel duration and the number of people aboard | Copying unchanged values from a previous flight |
If the form expects ICAO formatting, a speed may appear as N0450 and a flight level as F350. If it provides separate unit selectors, follow those labels instead of adding letters yourself. For an airport without an ICAO designator, use ZZZZ and provide the departure or destination details in the appropriate remarks format.
How should I format the VATSIM route?
The route box should contain only the route between the dedicated departure and destination fields, written as an orderly sequence of procedures, fixes, airways and direct segments.
- Use waypoint and airway identifiers from the navdata installed in the simulator.
- Use
DCTwhere an explicit direct segment is required by the filing format. - Include a SID or STAR when it is appropriate for the region and expected runway, but do not invent a runway-specific procedure merely to fill the field.
- Do not place the origin and destination airport codes in the route box unless a local filing convention specifically calls for them.
- For VFR, enter a concise route using recognisable reporting points, airfields or direct legs rather than pasting an IFR airway route.
A route accepted by the form is not necessarily flyable. A mistake we see constantly is a plan generated with newer navdata than the aircraft uses, leaving the pilot unable to find a cleared waypoint or procedure. Compare the route with the aircraft database and charts before filing.
Filing the plan and loading it into the aircraft are separate jobs. If the route is not yet in your GPS or FMC, follow our explanation of how to load and use a route inside the simulator.
Should I use SimBrief or file manually?
Use SimBrief for most IFR airline flights, but inspect every imported field before submitting; manual filing is often quicker for a simple VFR or short local flight.
A generated plan reduces route and format errors, but it reflects the selected aircraft profile and planner navdata. Check the callsign, exact aircraft variant, equipment codes, cruise level, fuel, times and alternate. Never prefile one aircraft profile and then change to another aircraft without updating the plan.
Manual filing gives you direct control and works well when ATC has assigned a simple route. It also makes mistakes easier: the most serious are guessed equipment codes, local rather than UTC departure time, and a callsign that differs from the pilot client.
Why can’t ATC see my VATSIM flight plan?
ATC usually cannot see a plan because the connected callsign differs, the submission did not complete, the plan became stale after a long delay, or it was filed with invalid identifying details.
- Compare the callsigns. Spaces, omitted letters and a changed flight number can prevent the plan being associated with your connection.
- Verify the confirmation. Do not assume that pressing the filing button completed the submission.
- Recheck after a delay. If the departure has been postponed substantially, update or refile the plan rather than relying on an old submission.
- Correct invalid codes. Use the aircraft’s ICAO designator and four-letter airport codes; use
ZZZZwith supporting remarks where no code exists. - Avoid repeated duplicates. Submit one corrected plan, allow it to process and tell the controller if it still cannot be found.
ATC may clear a different route, altitude, SID or runway from the one filed. That is normal: a VATSIM flight plan states your request and intentions, while the controller’s clearance is the authority you must read back and fly.