Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of the most commonly asked questions about European Virtual Airlines. 

Question: What is a Virtual Airline?
Answer: A Virtual Airline (VA) is an airline that exists solely in cyberspace, and therefore doesn't sell real airline tickets. Instead it gives purpose and added realism to activities held in a flight simulator. Pilots who fly for a VA do so between certain set airports, with one of the airplanes that are part of the VA's fleet, and at certain scheduled times – just like in a real world airline.  A VA is also a meeting place of virtual aviation enthusiasts, and provides flight training to its pilots.

Question: Which simulators and multiplayer networks are supported by European Virtual Airlines?
Answer:  EVA is one of the very few virtual airlines that actively supports all three major flight simulators:  Microsoft  FSX, X-plane and Flightgear. 
You can fly on the flightgear multiplayer servers, on VATSIM or on IVAO as long as you submit evidence of your flight by means of an ACARS system or a tracker URL.

Question: Which airplanes can I use to fly with EVA?
Answer: On the fleet page you find a list of all the "approved equipment", and in the forum you find a list with links where to download the aircraft.
For scheduled flights you must use the aircraft listed in the schedule, or one of its substitutes.
If you want to fly a certain route but with a different aircraft, you may file a charter.

We currently do not restrict airplanes to rank.

Question: What about the "aircraft alternatives" on the fleet page?

Answer: Some of our airplanes can be substituted by an alternative if you wish, as listed on the fleet page. Only aircraft of the same category can be substituted eg you can't use an ATR72 to substitute a 737. When you file the pilot report you specify the original aircraft.

Question: Which airports can I  fly to/from with EVA?
Answer: You can fly between any of the airports on our destination list (see homepage) but we don't allow flights to or from airports that are not on this list. If your favourite airport is not there, please contact us - we are always open for suggestions!

Question: Which networks can I fly on?

Answer: You can fly on VATSIM, on IVAO or on the Flightgear multiplayer network, depending on your simulator.

For Flightgear, you can use the Flightgear multiplayer network and its associated tracker. For a more real-life experience you can download and install Squawkgear, which will connect flightgear to VATSIM. I'm not aware of a possibility to use Flightgear on IVAO.

For X-plane and Microsoft Flight simulator, you can use either VATSIM or IVAO. It's not possible to use X-plane or MSFS on the flightgear network.

At EVA we don't care which of the above combinations you use, as long as you provide a tracker link to prove you actually did the flight OR you use an acars client.

Question: What if I don't want to fly on any multiplayer networks?
Answer: If you want to fly "offline" you should use an ACARS client to prove your flight. 

For MSFS you can choose between Xacars, FSacars, FS flightkeeper and kACARS You can find setup guides for Xacars and kACARS on our forum

For x-plane you can also use Xacars

For Flightgear we currently don't support any acars systems.

 

Question: What if I can't (or don't want to) install an ACARS client?
Answer: In this case you have to file your pilot reports manually, and you need to provide a tracker URL for VATSIM, IVAO or Flightgear MP, so we can verify your flight.

 

Question: Is there a minimum amount of hours that I have to fly?
Answer: No, you may fly as often as you want.
HOWEVER: we expect pilots to file an authentic pilot report within 10 days of signing up. If you sign up and don't fly within 10 days, we reserve the right to remove your account.

Question: What is the policy regarding scheduled flights and delays?
Answer: Pilots who fly our scheduled flights on time will be rewarded with an extra 25% pilot pay when they adhere to the following rules.

- The maximum delay for arrival is 30 minutes on flights with a scheduled duration of up to 4 hours, and 1 hour on longer flights. If you arrive too late we will accept the pirep, but you will receive no bonus.
- Your departure may not take place after the scheduled arrival time. Hence, you can start a 4-hour flight even 3:55 hours late, but no bonus will be given. If you cannot find a suitable scheduled flight, we suggest you fly a charter.
- If your flight is within the boundaries described above, you may set the option flight in time to YES when filing a pilot report Default is NO, so if you don't change it you don't get the bonus.

Keep in mind that all times are UTC! european management will compare times in your tracker URL with the scheduled time. Time-zone confusion is no excuse for flying late.

 

Question: What exactly means departure time: the time I depart from gate or the time of take-off?
Answer: The time of departure is the time your block-time starts. Block-time in real life is when the blocks around the landing gears are removed so the aircraft can begin taxi/pushback. In a simulator, block-time begins when pushing back. 
 

Question: What if I can't find a suitable flight in the schedule?

Answer: You always have the option to fly a charter flight. Head to the charter warehouse and choose your aircraft, cargo and destination. For more info click here

Question: OK, I signed up, now how do I fly for Euopean Virtual Airlines?
Answer: For more details on how to set up your simulator and file pilot reports, see the How to fly with EVA page, and the community forums.

Question: Can I start my scheduled flight early?
Answer: You can start 15 minutes before the scheduled flight time. Just like real pilots, you only get paid for "block time", meaning the time between pushback and arrival at the gate. Preparation time is on your own account, although you may use the 15 minutes for that. 

Question: I can't remember how much fuel I used. How do I file a pirep?
Answer: At the bottom of this page, you find our airplanes and their default fuel payload in Flightgear, as well as the fuel burn rates. If you really don't know how much you used, multiply the burn rate with the amount of hours from your flight, and enter that value. We understand that sometimes people forget things, but we do expect our pilots to keep track of fuel consumption.  So before your next take-off, write down the amount of fuel you started with.

Question: I have bid on a flight, but I have changed my mind, or external circumstances prevent me from flying it. What do I do?

Answer: Go to your pilot center, click on bids, and then click on cancel bid.  

Question:  On some of the schedules there is a route specified. Do I have to follow this route?
Answer:  The proposed routes are just a suggestion, and there to help your flight preparation, but they are not mandatory. It's just much quicker to type a range of known waypoints in the trip planner, rather than finding them yourself. However, many airways lead to Rome, and you are free to choose your own route. On the vatsim network, controllers often expect you to specify a SID or STAR, depending on the runway in use, so you have to keep that in account when submitting a flight plan.

Question: is it mandatory to use real airport charts when flying for EVA?
Answer: On the flightgear multiplayer network it certainly isn't, although it adds realism to your flying experience. On Vatsim and IVAO you probably need them when you arrive or depart under ATC guidance – some ATCs are very strict.

Question: What if the Flightgear multiplayer environment is offline?
Answer: It happens sometimes that the FlightGear multiplayer servers are not tracked. In that case, please write "tracker offline" in the comment. We do encourage pilots to double-check whether tracker is online and, if not, to switch to VATSIM where possible.

Question: I just completed an EVA flight, but the EVA website is down and I can't file a pirep. What do I do?
Answer: You can always file it later. Just write down the fuel consumption, time taken, and the airports you flew from/to.  When the site is back online you can file the pirep(s).

Question: What if my flight simulator or computer crashes? 
Answer: if you can resume the flight within reasonable time (ca 15minutes) and within reasonable distance of your last known position, there is no problem: just post all relevant tracker URL's on your pirep. If your actual airplane crashes due to lack of fuel, flying into obstacles, pilot error etc, we will reject the pirep. 

Question: do you allow simulator time speed-up?
Answer: No, because it is not realistic. If you have one hour to fly, then pick a one-hour flight, don't try to make it across the atlantic.

 

Question: do you allow simulator pause?
Answer: Within reasonable limits (ie a few minutes) you may pause your simulator when using an ACARS system.
Please note, that when flying on VATSIM or IVAO, the management of these networks strictly prohibit pausing your simulator!

Question: If I signed up under the EGKK hub, can I fly flights to/from the EDDM hub?

Answer: Yes. The hub you signed up for should be considered your primary operating hub, however, you are allowed to fly flights starting or ending at either hub. If you find yourself flying more flights from the other hub, please contact us  so you can be switched to that hub.


Question: How long before a flight can I bid on it?
Answer: You can only bid on flights that can be flown at the current time. The add bid link becomes active 15 minutes before block time and expires 15 minutes before end of block time. When you bid a flight we expect you to start flying within 2 hours.


Question: The hours shown on the pilot's page use decimal numbers, but they don't add up correctly to my total flight time. What does this mean?
Answer: The hours shown on the Pilots page (everyone's total hours) are shown in decimal form, but are not actually decimal numbers. For example, if a pilot's total hours show 38.5, he/she has not flown 38 hours and 30 minutes, but has actually flown 38 hours and 50 minutes. The number after the decimal is the number of minutes, not a fraction of an hour. This is due to the way the software represents the time format.

Question: What Rank can I achieve?
Answer: Our ranking system is based on a real life commercial pilots system; the more hours you fly, the greater the possibility of promotion. For every rank there are certain challenges to overcome, please see the "career" page for more information

Question: What are the examinations for?
Answer: EVA has been conceived on the desire to produce a semi-realistic environment for those simulator pilots who wish to enhance their experience. Examinations can be purchased with your pilot pay. When you pass an exam you get an award, which counts towards your career progress. See the EXAM Center for more details when you have an account.

 HINT: When being challenged by the exams, search engines can be very friendly and helpful. Our exams are "open-book," we don't expect you'll know the answers without some help. 

Question: How can I make suggestions or submit comments regarding European Virtual Airlines?
Answer: The forum is the best place to discuss anything you feel could enhance your experience. If not, you can always fill in the contact form.
 

 

We look forward to having you as a part of the European Virtual Airlines Team! If you have any questions not covered here, please feel free to post them in the forum, PM (Personal-Message) the Moderator or use the contact link on the website.

Sincerely,
The European Virtual Airlines Management Team

 

Type	Aircraft/Flightnr	Average fuel burn
Boeing 777-200	GB-EV777	15600
Boeing 737-900	GB-EV737	7800
Boeing 747-400	GB-EV747	No data yet
DeHavilland DHC8-400	GB-EV400	1500
McDonnell-Douglas MD-81	GB-EV081	8000
Airbus A321	GB-EV321	No data yet
Airbus A340	GB-EV340	No data yet
Bombardier CRJ700	AVX9700	3800
Beechcraft B1900d	GB-EV190	640

 

 

 

Note: "European Virtual Airlines" and the European Virtual Airlines logo are copyright of European Virtual Airlines.