How to fly a plane in your browser: a beginner's guide
Your first flight in a browser flight simulator, step by step: choosing the aircraft and the airport, the takeoff, turning, levelling off and the keys you need, with the Cessna 172.
Wide-bodyUnlock or All Access
Fly the Airbus A380 in your browser
The largest airliner ever built: four engines, two decks and a great deal of momentum.
The simulator opens in its hangar, the first step: pick the Airbus A380 there with the arrows or its silhouette. There is no link straight to one aircraft.
The Airbus A380 in figures
The figures the simulator's hangar shows for the Airbus A380, the numbers it keeps for the aircraft: speeds in knots, heights in feet.
| Top speed | Mach 0.89 |
|---|---|
| Cruise | 488 kt |
| Cruise altitude | 39,000 ft |
| Approach | 138 kt |
| Rotation (the coach calls it) | 150 kt |
| Agility (roll rate) | 20°/s |
| Wingspan | 79.8 m |
| Length | 72.7 m |
| Weight | 440 t |
| Engines | 4 × turbofan · 311 kN |
The cockpit
The same layout as the A320: six screens, the autopilot's panel on the glareshield, side sticks on the consoles and the pedestal with its levers. The instruments are drawn live as you fly, and what you move moves in the cockpit too, from the side sticks to the pedals.
How it flies
The Airbus A380 flies with JSBSim, the open-source flight dynamics of FlightGear, running FlightGear's own files for this aircraft, compiled to WebAssembly so it runs in your browser. On top, the controls answer like a game: each stick asks for a rate of turn, and when you let go the aircraft stays where you left it, nose, bank and heading.
In the simple scheme a coach tells you each step, from the takeoff flaps to the flare, and calls the rotation at 150 kt.
Where to fly it
Once the Airbus A380 is yours, fly it from Hong Kong International, which is free, or from any airport you have unlocked. With All Access every aircraft and every airport are open.
Some airports with a page of their own:
- Hong Kong VHHH
- New York JFK KJFK
- Los Angeles KLAX
- San Francisco KSFO
- London Heathrow EGLL
- Paris Charles de Gaulle LFPG
- Madrid Barajas LEMD
- Barcelona El Prat LEBL
- All airports
What it costs
Unlock the Airbus A380 once for $4.49 and it is yours to keep, or take three unlocks for $10.99 to spend on any aircraft or airport. All Access opens every aircraft and every airport from $7.50 a month, billed yearly. + VAT
Questions about the Airbus A380
Is the Airbus A380 free to fly?
No: it is one of the paid aircraft. Unlock it once for $4.49 and it is yours to keep, or fly it with All Access. The Cessna 172 at Hong Kong is free, to try the simulator first.
What speeds does the simulator use for the Airbus A380?
The hangar gives it a cruise of 488 kt at 39,000 ft and an approach speed of 138 kt, and the coach calls the rotation at 150 kt.
Does the Airbus A380 fly with real flight dynamics?
Yes: JSBSim, the flight dynamics of FlightGear, with FlightGear's own files for it. The controls answer like a game on top of it, so a first flight is easy.
The whole fleet
Every aircraft has its own page, cockpit and figures.
-
Cessna 172Free
General aviation
The most flown trainer in the world: slow, forgiving and honest.
Easy
-
Cirrus SR22
General aviation
A modern piston single with a glass cockpit, quick on the controls.
Simple
-
Airbus A380
Wide-body
The largest airliner ever built: four engines and a lot of momentum.
Demanding
Pick a runway and take off.
The Cessna 172 at Hong Kong is free, with no download and no account.
Fly free