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.
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 with ATC coverage along the route. 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 ATC coverage from engine start through departure, not just at takeoff. 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. SimBrief — Click the SimBrief button on a destination card. 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 show Controller count, Coverage Score, and ATC Slots. Look at the Slots column to judge coverage quality: blue = booked, green/amber/orange = online by session age, hollow = derived top-down (counts half). Higher weighted scores mean more reliable ATC. 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. Each badge shows the origin's ATC slot times — compare these with the destination's slots to find overlapping coverage for your entire route. Click a badge to set it as your departure airport. Depending on the time mode setting (intersection or user-window), the origin's departure window is set automatically in the Departure tab, 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/arrival times, APP Cov and ALL Cov.
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. SimBrief — Click the SimBrief button on your chosen destination card. Origin, destination, aircraft, times and all enabled parameters are assembled into one URL. Done.

Tip: Select buttons never change your time settings. To switch back to Route Explorer with your original times, click ← Route Explorer — saved 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. Each event card shows airports with two action buttons per airport badge:

3. Choose your route — Both paths lead to the Arrival tab with the event times pre-filled. Compare destinations or origins by their Controller count, Coverage Score, and Slots. 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. SimBrief — Click the SimBrief button on your destination card. All parameters are pre-filled — origin, destination, aircraft, times. Done.

Tip: Use 🛫 when you know where you want to depart from. Use 🛬 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 (fuchsia = full ATC, blue = basic, gray = minimal/top-down only).
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 — controller count, coverage score, live ground traffic, and distance from your current airport.
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. SimBrief — Click the SimBrief button on a destination card. 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. SimBrief — Click the SimBrief button. 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 the timeline for that day. Each bar shows a time slot with its coverage score. Look for stretches of score 4–5 (full ATC) — that's when you want to depart. Check the controller list below to see 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 should appear at or near the top of the ranking — confirming it's a great time to fly.
6. Arrival — Switch to the Arrival tab (Destinations mode). The departure window syncs automatically. Find destinations with ATC coverage during your arrival.
7. SimBrief — Click the SimBrief button on your chosen destination. Done.

Tip: Ideal when you have a favourite airport and flexible schedule — let the ATC bookings decide when to fly for the best experience.

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).
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. SimBrief — Click the SimBrief button on your chosen route. 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 (✈ icon in the Pilots column). 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 how many pilots are currently on the ground.
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. SimBrief — Click the SimBrief button. Depart from a busy hub, arrive at another active airport — maximum immersion. Done.

Tip: Ground traffic data is updated every ~10 minutes. Airports with many pilots on the ground usually have active frequencies — expect realistic taxi, departure, and arrival sequences.