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NextSimFlight.com

There's Always Another Runway To Discover

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About NextSimFlight

Welcome to NextSimFlight

NextSimFlight was created to solve a common challenge in flight simulation: finding interesting destinations (or departures) that match your available time and preferred aircraft type. As a flight simulator enthusiast, I often found myself wanting to fly but unsure where to go or where to start from, especially when I had a specific time frame in mind.


Our platform helps you discover new virtual flights by combining:


  • Distance and flight time calculations based on your aircraft type
  • Real-time METAR and TAF data for realistic weather-based route planning
  • VATSIM network integration for multiplayer flights
  • Scheduled service information to find active commercial airports

How to Use NextSimFlight

1. Finding Destinations or Departures

  • • Enter your departure or destination airport using ICAO code (e.g., EDDF) or search by city name whatever you prefer
  • • Choose between searching by flight time or distance
  • • Select your aircraft type to get accurate time estimates
  • • Specify preferences like scheduled service or VATSIM coverage
  • • Click search to find matching destinations/departures

2. Direct Route Lookup

  • • Use the direct route lookup for specific origin-destination pairs
  • • Enter both ICAO codes to get detailed route information
  • • View weather conditions for both airports
  • • Check VATSIM controller coverage if available

3. Weather Information

  • • Real-time METAR data shows current conditions
  • • Color-coded weather condition indicators (VFR, MVFR, IFR, LIFR)
  • • Detailed cloud visualization with ceiling information
  • • TAF forecasts for flight planning
  • • Runway visualization with wind information

4. VATSIM Integration

  • • View active ATC positions (TWR, APP, CTR, etc.)
  • • See current ATIS information
  • • Monitor traffic levels at airports
  • • Filter destinations by VATSIM coverage

5. Additional Features

  • • Direct dispatch to SimBrief or forwarding to rfinder etc. for further flight planning
  • • Detailed airport information including runways and facilities
  • • Most searched routes in the last 30 days
  • • Support for various aircraft categories and speed profiles
  • • Reference for different weather conditions
  • • BETA: Real life schedule search with specific aircraft model
  • • BETA: ATIS Parser and active runway indicator
  • • And more to come...

Flight Rules Reference

VFR (Visual Flight Rules)

  • Ceiling: Above 3,000 feet AGL
  • Visibility: Greater than 5 SM (8 km)
  • Ideal for VFR flight simulation

MVFR (Marginal VFR)

  • Ceiling: 1,000-3,000 feet AGL
  • Visibility: 3-5 SM (5-8 km)
  • Good for practicing marginal conditions

IFR (Instrument Flight Rules)

  • Ceiling: 500-1,000 feet AGL
  • Visibility: 1-3 SM (1.5-5 km)
  • Perfect for instrument approach practice

LIFR (Low IFR)

  • Ceiling: Below 500 feet AGL
  • Visibility: Less than 1 SM (1.5 km)
  • Challenging conditions for advanced IFR training

Aircraft Categories

Flight time calculations are based on typical cruise speeds:

Light Aircraft

Examples: Cessna 172, Piper PA28

Cruise Speed: 220 km/h

Fast Piston

Examples: Bonanza, Cirrus SR22

Cruise Speed: 310 km/h

Turboprop

Examples: ATR 72, King Air

Cruise Speed: 500 km/h

Fast Twin-Engine Turboprop

Examples: Dash 8

Cruise Speed: 666 km/h

Regional Jet

Examples: CRJ, E-Jets

Cruise Speed: 810 km/h

Narrow-body

Examples: B737, A32X

Cruise Speed: 833 km/h

Wide-body

Examples: B777, B787, A38X

Cruise Speed: 900 km/h

Calculations include adjustments for climb/descent phases and typical route factors. All other aircraft types are calculated based on their cruise speed. All those aircraft performance data are from publicly open sources and may not be accurate.

Technical Details

Airport Database

Our airport database uses data from OurAirports.com and includes:

  • • Over 81,000 aviation facilities worldwide
  • • Accurate ICAO and IATA identifiers
  • • Precise coordinates for flight planning
  • • Elevation data for approach planning
  • • Scheduled service status for commercial flights

METAR and TAF Data Integration

Real-time METAR and TAF information from NOAA includes:

  • • Current temperature and dew point
  • • Surface winds (direction and speed)
  • • Visibility conditions
  • • Cloud layers and ceiling information
  • • Active weather phenomena

NextSimFlight is a hobby project provided free of charge. It does not collect personal data, does not use cookies, and does not generate any revenue through advertisements or other means.

Contact & Feedback

Happy flying! ✈️
- Geri

Airport vector and icon by Chanut Is Industries in CC Attribution License via SVG Repo

Airport data provided by OurAirports

METAR/TAF data from NOAA Aviation Weather Center

VATSIM data provided by VATSIM

Weather Radar data from rainviewer.com