1. Aircraft — Pick your aircraft type and manufacturer. Set a Default Callsign Number so every SimBrief dispatch gets a callsign automatically.
2. Departure — Find departure airports ranked by VATSIM ATC coverage in your time window. The mini timeline shows grey ATC slots within your search window. Hit Select on a result — this reloads the entire app for that airport: ATC data, liveries by country, map view, everything. Use the Code field to check one specific airport — it is shown even if it is outside the ranking; clear the field to get the full list back.
3. Liveries — Browse liveries filtered to the origin airport's country. Click a livery to open its detail view, then hit ✈ Use for Flight to push airline name, ICAO code, and registration straight into Flight Setup — no manual typing needed.
4. Arrival — Find the best destination by ATC coverage in its own arrival window. Distance range and flight phases from Aircraft are used automatically. Checked flight phases define your ATC coverage window — e.g. with Startup + Taxi Out checked, the system verifies coverage from engine start through departure: that means DEL and GND, or whoever works them top-down where those positions are unstaffed. Each card has a mini timeline: grey bars = ATC slots (bordered), blue overlay = your coverage window. Where they overlap, you'll have ATC coverage — hover for details.
5. Route → SimBrief — Click 🧭 Route on a destination card to open the Route tab, then SimBrief ↗ there. Origin, destination, aircraft, airline, callsign and all enabled parameters are assembled into one URL. Done.

Every Select button throughout the app updates the central airport — all tabs follow automatically.

1. Aircraft — Pick your aircraft type so distance range, flight phase times, and ATC coverage windows are set.
2. Arrival → Route Explorer — Open the Arrival tab and make sure you're in Route Explorer mode (amber). Enter your planned landing date and time window — when do you want to arrive? Hit Explore to search.
3. Compare destinations — Results are cards with a weighted score badge (0–4 on arrival), a controller count and position pills (CTR, APP, TWR, GND); the Slots card shows how many ATC slots fall in the window, their times and coverage %. Judge quality by the pills: blue = booked, green/amber/orange = online by session age, hollow = derived top-down — no local station, the one above (e.g. CTR) works you top-down and counts half. Higher weighted scores mean better ATC on paper: blue means booked, not guaranteed — VATSIM bookings are intentions and no-shows happen, so re-check the ATC tab shortly before you push. The mini timeline shows grey bordered bars (ATC slots) with a blue overlay (your arrival window) — where they overlap is your covered arrival time.
4. Pick an Origin — Below each destination, suggested origin airports appear as badges. Every origin has its own departure window — the arrival window minus that origin's flight time — so two origins at different distances show different times. Each badge shows its weighted score, distance and flight time, coverage % and the ATC slot range already clipped to that window; no manual comparison with the destination's slots is needed. Click a badge: it becomes your departure airport, the Departure tab takes over exactly that origin's departure window, and the view switches to Destinations mode.
5. Review Destinations — You're now in Destinations mode (blue) with your origin set. The arrival window is synced from the Departure tab's time + flight time (🔒). Check the destination list — the destination you found in Route Explorer should appear with full timing details: departure and arrival times, the weighted arrival score (0–4), position pills and coverage %.
6. Liveries (optional) — Switch to the Liveries tab to browse liveries for your origin's country. Click ✈ Use for Flight on a livery to push airline, ICAO code and registration into Flight Setup.
7. Route (recommended) — Hit 🧭 Route on the destination card to see the CTR sectors along the way, when each is staffed, and the typical remaining session time.
8. SimBrief — In the Route tab, click SimBrief ↗. Origin, destination, aircraft, times and all enabled parameters are assembled into one URL. Done.

Tip: Switching modes keeps both time windows. Click Route Explorer in the mode switch to go back — your original arrival times are restored automatically.

1. Aircraft — Pick your aircraft type so distance range, flight phase times, and ATC coverage windows are set.
2. Events — Open the Events tab and pick a date. Open the event link first: many events need a booked slot and prescribe routes — read the briefing before you plan. Each event card shows airports with two small plane icons per airport badge (hover for the label):

3. Choose your route — Both paths lead to the Arrival tab with the event times pre-filled. Compare destinations or origins by their score badge, controller count and position pills (CTR, APP, TWR, GND). The mini timeline shows grey bordered bars (ATC slots) with a blue overlay (your time window) — hover for details. If you used 🛬 and picked an origin, you're now in Destinations mode with full timing details.
4. Liveries (optional) — Switch to the Liveries tab to find a matching livery for your origin's country. Click ✈ Use for Flight to push airline and registration into Flight Setup.
5. Route → SimBrief — Click 🧭 Route on your destination card, then SimBrief ↗ in the Route tab. All parameters are pre-filled — origin, destination, aircraft, times. Done.

Tip: Use Depart from here when you know where you want to depart from. Use Arrive here when you want to land at the event and need to find the best origin.

1. Aircraft — Pick your aircraft type so distance range, flight phase times, and ATC coverage windows are set.
2. Map — Open the Map tab and set your time window. Markers appear for every airport with ATC coverage — color-coded by weighted coverage score (gray = 0 none, cyan = 1 minimal/mostly top-down, blue = 2 basic, dark blue = 3 good, violet = 4 very good, fuchsia = 5 full) — the legend below the map lists all levels.
3. Filter & browse — Use the score filter to show only airports with a minimum coverage level. Zoom and pan to explore regions. Click a marker to see airport details in the popup — weighted score, coverage time and percentage, slot count and slot times, plus live ground traffic (✈).
4. Select — Found an interesting airport? Click Select in the marker popup. This sets it as your origin — all tabs reload automatically.
5. Arrival — Switch to the Arrival tab (Destinations mode). The map airport is now your origin — find destinations with ATC coverage along the route.
6. Route → SimBrief — Click 🧭 Route on a destination card, then SimBrief ↗ in the Route tab. Done.

Tip: Great for discovering airports you've never flown to. The map shows the full ATC picture at a glance — no need to check individual airports one by one.

1. Aircraft — Pick your aircraft type and manufacturer.
2. Liveries — Open the Liveries tab. Liveries load by the currently selected airport's country. Use Additional ICAOs to add more countries — enter an ICAO code from any country whose airlines you want to browse (e.g. KJFK for US airlines, RJTT for Japanese airlines).
3. Pick a livery — Browse and filter by airline, type, or engine variant. Click a livery card for details, then hit ✈ Use for Flight — this pushes airline name, ICAO code, and registration into Flight Setup. No manual typing needed.
4. Find a hub — Your livery's airline has a home base. Search for that airport (e.g. EDDF for Lufthansa) to set it as your origin. Alternatively, use the Departure tab to find an airport in the airline's home region with the best ATC coverage.
5. Arrival — Switch to the Arrival tab (Destinations mode). Find a destination that matches the airline's real-world route network — or go anywhere with good ATC coverage.
6. Route → SimBrief — Click 🧭 Route on your destination card, then SimBrief ↗ in the Route tab. Airline, callsign, and registration from your livery are already in Flight Setup — everything goes into the dispatch URL automatically. Done.

Tip: Perfect when you've just downloaded a new livery pack and want to take it for a spin on a realistic route with ATC.

1. Aircraft — Pick your aircraft type so distance range, flight phase times, and ATC coverage windows are set.
2. Search your airport — Enter the ICAO code of the airport you want to fly from (e.g. your home base or a favourite airport).
3. ATC tab — Open the ATC tab. The 7-day overview shows a tile per day with the weighted score badge (0–5, one decimal) and controller count. Click the day with the best score.
4. Find the best slot — Study that day's timeline: one row per position (CTR, DEP, APP, TWR, GND, DEL), colored by source — blue = booked, green/amber/orange = online by session age, hollow = top-down. The Slots list below gives each slot its weighted score; look for the day's highest stretches — 3+ already means several positions staffed. The score decays with session age, so booked stretches score higher than a controller who has been on for hours. The controller list at the bottom shows exactly who's on duty and when.
5. Set the time window — Go to the Departure tab and enter the time window you found in the ATC timeline. Your airport now shows its best score of the day; use the ranking to see whether a neighbouring field is even better staffed at that hour.
6. Arrival — Switch to the Arrival tab (Destinations mode). The arrival window is synced automatically from your departure time + flight time (🔒). Find destinations with ATC coverage during your arrival.
7. Route → SimBrief — Click 🧭 Route on your chosen destination, then SimBrief ↗ in the Route tab. Done.

Tip: Ideal when you have a favourite airport and a flexible schedule. Bookings show intent, not a guarantee — for long flights prefer days with an event or several booked positions, and re-check before departure.

1. Aircraft — Pick your aircraft type so flight phase times, speeds, and ATC coverage windows are set.
2. Departure → Optimal Routes — Switch to the Optimal Routes mode (green). Enter your departure date and time, set the max delay you'd accept, and choose a flight duration range (H:MM).
3. Find Routes — Click Find Routes. The system finds the top origins with ATC, searches the best destination for each, and shifts departure in 15-minute steps to maximize combined ATC coverage. Results are ranked by Combined Score (0–9) = weighted origin score (0–5) + weighted destination score (0–4). Anything in the high single digits is exceptional.
4. Pick a route — Each card shows origin, destination, departure/arrival times, ATC coverage at both ends, and live ground traffic at the origin (✈ icon). The higher the combined score, the better the ATC experience. The mini timeline shows grey (ATC slots) and blue (your departure/arrival window) — where they overlap you have coverage.
5. Route → SimBrief — Click 🧭 Route on your chosen route, then SimBrief ↗ in the Route tab. Origin, destination, times — everything is pre-filled. Done.

Tip: This is the fastest way to find a complete route with maximum ATC. No need to pick origin and destination separately — the system does it for you.

1. Aircraft — Pick your aircraft type so distance range, flight phase times, and ATC coverage windows are set.
2. Departure — Open the Departure tab and set a time window around now. Look for airports that have both a high ATC score and pilots on the ground (✈ count marked (Ground) in the ATC coverage card). More pilots = more traffic on frequency, more realistic experience. The mini timeline shows grey ATC slots within your search window.
3. Map — Alternatively, open the Map and browse visually. Use the Ground Traffic filter below the map (≥5 or ≥15) to show only busy airports. Click markers to check the popup — the ✈ count next to the ICAO code shows pilots sitting on the ground with a flight plan filed out of that airport — your departure queue.
4. Select — Click Select on a busy airport with good ATC coverage. This sets it as your origin.
5. Arrival — Switch to the Arrival tab (Destinations mode). Find a destination with ATC coverage.
6. Route → SimBrief — Click 🧭 Route on your destination card, then SimBrief ↗ in the Route tab. Depart from a busy hub, arrive at another active airport — maximum immersion. Done.

Tip: Ground traffic data refreshes every few minutes. Airports with many pilots on the ground usually have active frequencies — expect realistic taxi, departure, and arrival sequences.