A curated collection of resources for the Compass Virtual community — from the simulators we fly to the hardware we sit behind, the aircraft we operate, the scenery we fly over, and the tools we use to plan and track it all. Use the tabs above to jump to a category.
VATSIM
The world's largest online aviation network — real ATC, real procedures, real separation. Compass Virtual is a VATSIM airline. If you're not already on the network, this is where you start.
vatsim.net ↗Navigraph
The gold standard for flight simulator charts and navdata. Includes worldwide enroute charts, IFR approach plates, SimBrief flight planning, and regular FMC database updates for most add-on aircraft. Essential for the serious simmer.
navigraph.com ↗SimBrief
Free virtual dispatch and flight planning — OFPs, fuel calculations, routing, and weight and balance. Now part of the Navigraph ecosystem. Used by Compass pilots for all IFR flights.
simbrief.com ↗The three primary civil simulation platforms supported by Compass Virtual, plus the major annual industry event.
Simulation platforms
- Microsoft Flight Simulator flightsimulator.com ↗ MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 — the main modern civil simulation platform
- X-Plane x-plane.com ↗ Laminar Research's civil simulator — strong flight model and developer ecosystem
- Prepar3D prepar3d.com ↗ Lockheed Martin's professional and training-oriented simulation platform
Events
- Flight Sim Expo flightsimexpo.com ↗ Major annual flight simulation exhibition held in the United States
Add-on aircraft developers covering airliners, business jets, general aviation, and classic aircraft — across MSFS, X-Plane, and legacy platforms.
Airliners, business jets, GA and classic aircraft
- PMDG pmdg.com ↗ High-fidelity Boeing airliners and classics — B737, B747, B777
- Fenix Simulations fenixsim.com ↗ Airbus A320 family for MSFS
- iniBuilds inibuilds.com ↗ Aircraft, scenery and store platform for MSFS and X-Plane — A300, A310, A380
- Just Flight justflight.com ↗ Publisher and developer of aircraft, scenery, utilities and legacy sim add-ons
- A2A Simulations a2asimulations.com ↗ Accu-Sim general aviation and classic aircraft
- Leonardo Software House — Fly the Maddog flythemaddog.com ↗ MD-80 / Maddog series
- iFly iflysimsoft.com ↗ Boeing airliner add-ons
- FlightSim Studio flightsim-studio.com ↗ E-Jets, Tecnam aircraft and airfields
- TFDi Design tfdidesign.com ↗ MD-11 and home of SmartCARS
X-Plane focused aircraft developers
- ToLiss toliss.com ↗ Airbus aircraft for X-Plane
- FlightFactor flightfactor.aero ↗ Boeing and Airbus aircraft for X-Plane
- X-Crafts xcrafts.com ↗ Embraer regional jets for X-Plane
- Aerobask aerobask.com ↗ GA and business jets for X-Plane
Freeware and open-source aircraft projects
- FlyByWire Simulations free open source flybywiresim.com ↗ Open-source A32NX and A380X ecosystem for MSFS
- Headwind Simulations free headwindsim.net ↗ Freeware Airbus A330neo and related aircraft projects for MSFS
- Salty Simulations 747 free open source github.com ↗ Open-source 747-8 improvement mod for MSFS
Flight controls, cockpit hardware and full simulator solutions — from desktop yokes and rudder pedals through to full-scale home cockpits.
Mainstream desktop controls
- Honeycomb Aeronautical flyhoneycomb.com ↗ Yokes, throttles, pedals and compact controllers
- ProDeskSim prodesksim.com ↗ High-end add-ons for Honeycomb controls to make them far more like the real thing
- Thrustmaster thrustmaster.com ↗ Joysticks, HOTAS, Airbus/Boeing-style controls and rudder pedals
- Logitech G / Saitek logitechg.com ↗ Yokes, throttle quadrants, panels and HOTAS controls
- Turtle Beach VelocityOne turtlebeach.com ↗ Yoke/throttle, pedals and flightdeck-style controls
- Octavi octavi.net↗ Multi-function avionics controller
Higher-end and specialist controls
- Virtual Fly virtual-fly.com ↗ Professional yokes, throttles, rudders, radio panels and full control sets, all the way up to full simulator platforms
- VIRPIL Controls virpil-controls.eu ↗ High-end joysticks, throttles and simpit gear
- VKB-SIM vkb-sim.pro ↗ Desk mounts, joysticks, rudder pedals and space/flight sim controllers
- Trak-Racer trakracer.com ↗ Dedicated home sim setups and rigs
- WINWING / WINCTRL winctrl.com ↗ Airline and combat panels, throttles, sticks and mounts
Cockpit, panel and full simulator producers
- Flightdeck Solutions flightdecksolutions.com ↗ Full-scale B737/B747/B777/B787/Dash 8 style flight decks and training devices
- OpenCockpits opencockpits.com ↗ B737/A320 cockpits, panels, shells and electronics
- Skalarki Electronics skalarki-electronics.com ↗ Airbus A320/A330 panels and home/pro cockpit hardware
- CockpitSonic cockpitsonic.de ↗ Turnkey A320/B737 and training cockpit systems
- Flight Simulator Center (FSC) fsc.it ↗ Professional B737, A320, GA and helicopter simulator components and systems
- Pagnian Advanced Simulation AU pagnianimports.com.au ↗ Australian source for flight sim cockpits, hardware and accessories
- MobiFlight free open source mobiflight.com ↗ Essential for DIY cockpit builders — free/open-source hardware-to-sim interface software
- RealSimGear realsimgear.com ↗ Realistic Garmin-style avionics hardware and training systems
Scenery developers and publishers covering airports, mesh, landmarks and regional environments across all major simulator platforms.
Scenery developers and publishers
- Orbx Direct orbxdirect.com ↗ One of the major scenery, airports, mesh, landmarks and aircraft marketplaces and developers
- Flightbeam Studios flightbeam.net ↗ High-quality international airport scenery, including NZAA and NZWN products
- FlyTampa flytampa.org ↗ Well-known airport and city scenery developer
- Drzewiecki Design drzewiecki-design.net ↗ Airports, cities and visualisations for flight simulators
- FSDreamTeam fsdreamteam.com ↗ Airports and the GSX ground services ecosystem
- MK-STUDIOS mkstudios.pl ↗ Airport scenery for MSFS, X-Plane and Prepar3D
- LatinVFR / LVFR latinvfr.com ↗ Scenery and Airbus aircraft add-ons
- NZA Simulations NZ nzasimulations.com ↗ New Zealand and Australia-focused MSFS scenery, freeware and Proline airports
Commercial online retailers and marketplaces for flight simulation software, hardware and add-ons.
Add-on marketplaces and stores
- simMarket simmarket.com ↗ Large multi-sim add-on marketplace
- Aerosoft Shop aerosoft.com ↗ MSFS, X-Plane, P3D, FSX, hardware and simulation software
- Contrail contrail.shop ↗ Curated MSFS aircraft, airports and utilities
- Flightsim.to flightsim.to ↗ Freeware and premium MSFS add-ons
- X-Plane.org Store store.x-plane.org ↗ Primary commercial store for X-Plane aircraft, scenery and utilities
- iniBuilds Store inibuilds.com ↗ MSFS and X-Plane aircraft, scenery and utilities
- Just Flight justflight.com ↗ Direct store and publisher
- PC Aviator pcaviator.com ↗ Legacy, FSX and X-Plane add-on store
- FlightsimWebshop flightsimwebshop.com ↗ European flight sim hardware retailer
- Pilot Shop NZ NZ pilotshop.co.nz ↗ New Zealand source for flight simulator hardware
Community and forums
- AVSIM avsim.com ↗ Major long-running flight simulation forum and file library
Online ATC networks, flight planning tools, moving map software, and hardware/control utilities.
Online ATC and multiplayer networks
- VATSIM vatsim.net ↗ The major free online ATC and pilot network — the only network for Compass
- VATPAC vatpac.org ↗ VATSIM's Australian division
- VATNZ vatnz.net ↗ VATSIM's New Zealand division
- vPilot vpilot.metacraft.com ↗ VATSIM client for MSFS and Prepar3D
- xPilot xpilot-project.org ↗ VATSIM client for X-Plane
- Swift free open source swift-project.org ↗ Open-source cross-platform VATSIM client supporting MSFS, X-Plane, P3D and FSX
Flight planning, charts and tracking
- Navigraph navigraph.com ↗ Charts, navdata and flight planning ecosystem — the gold standard for serious simmers
- SimBrief simbrief.com ↗ Free virtual dispatch and flight planning — now part of the Navigraph ecosystem
- Little Navmap free open source albar965.github.io ↗ Free open-source flight planner, moving map and airport information tool
- Volanta volanta.app ↗ Flight tracking and logbook app covering all major simulators
Hardware and control utilities
- FSUIPC fsuipc.com ↗ Long-standing interface and control utility for MSFS, FSX and Prepar3D
- SPAD.neXt spadnext.com ↗ Control and panel configuration software for flight sim hardware