FlightSim.Com: FAQ

Many people wonder the same things about FlightSim.Com, so here we provide answers to those Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

What is FlightSim.Com all about?

FlightSim.Com is a central meeting place for everyone involved in flight simulation. It's an extensive resource for you to use to enhance your simulated flying experience. Flight sims are pretty complex to use and most people find them a lot more fun when there are others with whom they can share their experiences and turn to for help when questions arise.

How long has FlightSim.Com been around?

Our Web site using the flightsim.com domain name first went public in May 1996 and has operated under the FlightSim.Com name continuously since then.

But in fact, the real history is much older. The operators of this site ran an earlier, simpler Web site, that was one of the very first flight sim Web sites. In fact, when it first came on line the "links to other sites" section had only six links, as that was the entire total of other flight sim oriented Web sites that could be found.

But our history is older still. Back in the days when being online meant calling directly to a BBS ("bulletin board system") we operated an online service called the Xevious BBS which, while not entirely devoted to flight sims was heavily oriented that way. Xevious dates back to 1985 and began to concentrate on flight simulation as early as 1988. This is why you will find files in our library dating well before the date the Web site was started.

Why do I have to log in?

Our years of experience in the online world have led us to take a different approach to running a Web site than most others. Many feel that Web activity should be secret and anonymous. We don't. We feel that the way to have the best possible site is to make it a real community of flight sim users, where people actually know each other and interact. We've seen this work before, in online services that existed before the Web, and we feel it will work again here.

Logging in has advantages for you as a regular user of the site. Many settings you make while using the site are recorded as part of your account information so you don't have to reset things on every visit. But perhaps most important to the community aspect of the site is that it lets us offer powerful message forum software unlike what you'll find anywhere else. Try it and you'll see.

What kind of files does FlightSim.Com have available?

Our mission is to collect every possible file related to flight simulation and include it in our download library and searchable database. Our file collection is far larger than any other anywhere else in the world. Even so, every file has been checked and has a custom description written for it. Old versions and duplicate files are removed so you don't have to deal with them. Many files also include a thumbnail image along with the text description.

We also make our file library available in a variety of ways. You can do your own searches but you can also use our newest files list, hot files list, scenery finder maps, airliner quick finder and other methods. No one else provides all these ways to find the files you want to download.

Who uses FlightSim.Com?

FlightSim.Com attracts thousands and thousands of individuals every day. The flight sim community extends all over the world and you will see that represented in our users. Not surprisingly, the majority of users are from the U.S. but on a typical day you will find visitors from over 100 different countries.

How do I upload files to FlightSim.Com?

We accept uploads two ways, either using a browser or using FTP. For full details on uploading, please go here.