Sim Soaring Club

How To Join

Joining our group flights is easy. You’ll just need to install a few essential apps and mods to make sure everything runs smoothly and you’re ready to fly with the rest of the group.

1. Join our Discord server.
2. Make sure you’ve downloaded and installed the glider that’s being used in the event.
3. Download the Robin Towplane. It will guarantee you’ll get a good tow on a lot more airfields than with the default tow planes.
4. Download and install the Soaring Weather Presets. Almost all of our flights use one of these presets (WPR).
5. Download and install the NB21 Logger. We use this app to load the tasks and record our flight tracks (IGC). Enter your Pilot name & ID on the settings page.
6. Download and install the SSC Tracker. We use this app to transmit our location, so pilots can see each other on the map. Enter your Pilot name / ID, and use “SSC” for the group in order to see other SSC pilots on the map.
7. Download the task (PLN). The task and weather info of each group flight are shared in the respective group flight channel on Discord typically a couple of hours before the start of the event.
8. Load the PLN in the NB21 logger. Simply drag and drop it on to the task button.
9. In the sim, make sure to enable Multiplayer in Settings/General/Online and select the South-East Asia server (we use it because it’s less busy and more stable without latency issues).
10. Enable nameplates in the Settings/General/Flight Interface menu (you can also bind a key to toggle nameplates).
11. Make sure the air traffic option is NOT set to OFF in Settings/General/Graphics, otherwise you won’t see any multiplayer aircraft.
12. From the main menu go to Free Flight, choose your glider and click on Configure to select the launch option (aero tow>Robin)
13. Enter the ICAO code of the airfield we’re launching from into the Departure field on the world map and choose the correct runway. This info will be displayed on the Logger if you’ve loaded a task with it.
14. Go to Flight conditions and make sure that Multiplayer is set to All Players on the left. Air traffic can be off.
15. Enter the in-game date/time that’s been specified for the event in the group flight channel / task thread on Discord. It’s best to adjust the time shortly before starting the flight, so it doesn’t change while waiting.
16. Click on “Custom” weather and pick the correct weather that’s been specified for the event from the drop down list.
17. Join the Sim Soaring Club voice channel on Discord when the event starts, and bind a key in the discord settings to be able to use the push-to-talk functionality.
18. We typically synchronize the click on “start flight” to give MSFS a chance to load in the same cloud positions for all players (currently not working in 2024).
19. After you spawned on the runway, verify that weather and time loaded correctly (msfs changes it sometimes). Then you are free to launch immediately. Waggle your rudder to initiate the tow.
20. The start gate usually opens 20 min after we loaded in. The task setter will give a countdown on the Discord voice channel, and we all aim at starting our task around that time.
21. After ending your flight, make sure to share your log (IGC file) in the event thread (same channel you’ve downloaded the PLN from) so the task setter can include you in the results. You can simply drag and drop it directly from the logger (yellow igc icon) into Discord.