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A flight plan is your roadmap on the VATSIM network. It tells ATC where you are going, what route you intend to fly, what altitude you want, and what aircraft you are using. Without a flight plan, controllers cannot provide you with proper service - and for IFR flights, filing one is effectively mandatory.

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Callsign Format

Your callsign on VATSIM follows the ICAO airline format: ICAO airline code + flight number (e.g., ACA456 for Air Canada flight 456) The ICAO code identifies the airline and the flight number identifies your specific flight. Controllers will address you using the airline telephony designator - for example, “Air Canada 456” for callsign ACA456. For general aviation flights, use a registration-style callsign such as C-GABC.

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Filing Methods

SimBrief is the easiest and most complete way to file a flight plan on VATSIM. It calculates your fuel, generates a full route, accounts for weather, and can prefile directly to the network.
1

Go to SimBrief

Visit simbrief.com and log in to your account. If you do not have one, registration is free.
2

Enter your flight details

Fill in your departure airport, arrival airport, alternate airport, and aircraft type. SimBrief will suggest routes based on real-world flight data.
3

Generate the OFP

Click Generate Flight to create your Operational Flight Plan (OFP). SimBrief calculates fuel requirements, optimal altitude, estimated flight time, and a detailed route with waypoints and airways.
4

Prefile to VATSIM

Scroll to the bottom of the generated OFP page. Under the Prefile on a Network section, click the Prefile button next to VATSIM. This automatically submits your flight plan to the VATSIM servers.
If you have linked your SimBrief account through the SimBrief integration, your booked flight details will auto-populate when you generate a flight plan. This saves time and ensures your callsign, route, and aircraft type all match your booking.
SimBrief handles all the technical details - equipment codes, performance data, fuel calculations, and route optimization. For most pilots, this is the only flight planning tool you will ever need.
Once you have your route, you will need charts to fly the assigned SID and approach. See the Charts and Plates guide for free and paid chart sources.

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Flight Plan Fields

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Equipment Suffix Codes

The equipment suffix tells ATC what navigation equipment your aircraft has. This affects the types of approaches and routes ATC can assign to you.
If you are unsure which suffix to use, /L is the safe default for any modern airliner or aircraft with GPS and ILS capability. SimBrief will automatically select the correct suffix when you generate a flight plan.

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Remarks Field Best Practices

The remarks field is where you add supplementary information that does not fit into the standard fields. Here are the most common entries: You can combine multiple remarks. For example: RMK/TCAS SIMBRIEF NEW TO VATSIM
Your flight plan becomes active on the network when you connect with a matching callsign. If you change your callsign after filing, you will need to refile your flight plan with the new callsign. The system matches flight plans to connections by callsign.
For a more detailed guide on setting up SimBrief, see the SimBrief Integration page.