November 2024 VA Update

Hello pilots,

In this month's news update we will highlight MSFS2024 support, some development updates, and information about the new flying season.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 support

We expect VAS ACARS to support Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on day 1. We will release an update of VAS ACARS in the coming few days that will add basic support for MSFS2024 based on the TechAlpha and information that is publicly available. This should ensure that you can record flights in MSFS2024 on November 19 by using the VAS ACARS SimConnect connector.

Development updates

In our last update, we shared a preview of our native integration of VAS ACARS with Microsoft Flight Simulator. Unfortunately, this native integration will not be available for Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020), and will only be available for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. We do not yet have a date for this release as we still need to do additional testing and would like to have it available on the MSFS marketplace, but we are still working on bringing this experience to everyone.

We have refreshed our support site: all information is now easier to find in the support section, some documentation has been restructured to be easier to follow, and dark mode is now supported. We would recommend checking it out before creating a support ticket.

Schedule updates

We will be moving to the Northern Winter/Southern Summer flying season in the coming weeks. We expect to complete this changeover by the end of November. If you notice any irregular flight times and/or missing routes after this time please let us know in the Discord server or in a support ticket.

Tour updates

We continue to work on updating our existing tours, and if you have tours that you would like to see do not hesitate to let us know! The first two hub tours will be retired at the end of the year and we aim to roll over all hub tours to new ones throughout 2025.

The monthly tour takes you across the North-Western United States. If you have any suggestions on tours you would like to see please let us know on Discord.

Closed airspaces

Current scheduled flight time durations may need to be amended due to longer flying times on account of closed airspace. We would recommend checking your route prior to departure especially if it crosses and known airspaces with known security warnings. A complete overview can be found here. If the great circle route of your flight crosses any airspace with known safety NOTAMs a notice is placed on your flight briefing page.

Please adhere to these closures when performing flights on the VA.

Event Updates

We are working on adding more events to our event calender. Please let us know via Discord what kind of events you would like to see! If you have other events on online platforms that you feel are a good match to include on the VA please let us know. To receive more frequent updates please subscribe to the Event Announcements notifications on our Discord server. Please check the Events page for more details, we hope to see you there!

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions or questions do not hesitate to let us know.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/5wMqZnpS2w.