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.
GliderUnlock or All Access
Fly the 18 m sailplane in your browser
No engine: it starts 450 m over the runway, off the winch, and stays up on rising air.
The simulator opens in its hangar, the first step: pick the 18 m sailplane there with the arrows or its silhouette. There is no link straight to one aircraft.
The 18 m sailplane in figures
The figures the simulator's hangar shows for the 18 m sailplane, the numbers it keeps for the aircraft: speeds in knots, heights in feet.
| Top speed | 150 kt |
|---|---|
| Cruise | 60 kt |
| Cruise altitude | 4,000 ft |
| Approach | 55 kt |
| Agility (roll rate) | 40°/s |
| Wingspan | 17.0 m |
| Length | 8.4 m |
| Weight | 520 kg |
| Engines | None: a glider |
The cockpit
Round gauges and a flight computer under the canopy, with the stick between the knees. The instruments are drawn live as you fly, and what you move moves in the cockpit too, from the stick to the pedals.
How it flies
The 18 m sailplane 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.
It has no engine: on the runway it starts 450 m up, as a winch launch leaves it, at its best gliding speed, and from there it stays up on rising air.
Where to fly it
Once the 18 m sailplane 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 18 m sailplane 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 18 m sailplane
Is the 18 m sailplane 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 18 m sailplane?
The hangar gives it a cruise of 60 kt at 4,000 ft and an approach speed of 55 kt, and it starts 450 m over the runway.
Does the 18 m sailplane 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