FlightSimCon | |
---|---|
Status | Defunct |
Genre | Aviation, aviation safety, flight simulation, hobby |
Venue | Hyatt Regency Dallas, Dallas, TX |
Location(s) | Dallas, Texas (2018) Windsor Locks, Connecticut Bradley International Airport (2014-2017) Hartford, Connecticut (2013) |
Country | United States |
Inaugurated | March 2013 |
Attendance | >1000 (2017) |
Website | http://www.flightsimcon.com/ (Defunct) |
FlightSimCon was an annual aviation and flight simulation conference held on the grounds of Connecticut's Bradley International Airport. [1] Until 2016, the event was held at the nearby New England Air Museum. [2] The event grew in size every year since its inception, from about 40 attendees in 2013 to over 320 in 2015. FlightSimCon 2016 was the fourth annual FlightSimCon event, and was held June 11–12, 2016, at the New England Air Museum. FlightSimCon 2016 saw over 520 people attend the event. [3] [4]
In 2019, FlightSimCon held an online-only conference that claimed to focus specifically on "greed in flight simulation". [5]
No conference was held in 2020. The event's website has been removed and Twitter account has been removed from public viewing, making the event effectively defunct.
The first FlightSimCon was held in March 2013 in downtown Hartford. [6] For FlightSimCon 2014, the event moved north of Hartford to the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, where the event was again held in June 2015. [7]
The event had a strong focus on flight simulation, specifically Microsoft Flight Simulator X and X-Plane [8]
Notable speakers have included PMDG's Robert Randazzo and X-Plane's Austin Meyer.
The conference has drawn the attention of aviation universities like Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, both exhibiting at the 2017 event. [9]
FlightGear Flight Simulator is a free, open source multi-platform flight simulator developed by the FlightGear project since 1997.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 300,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. It hosts the largest aviation gathering of its kind in the world, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
Bradley International Airport – historically known as Bradley Field – is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA), it is the second-largest airport in New England.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs. Founded at Lunken Field in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1926, its main campuses are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona. It is the largest accredited university system specializing in aviation and aerospace. It has numerous online programs and academic programs offered at satellite locations.
X-Plane is a flight simulation software initially launched by Laminar Research in 1995. Commercial desktop versions are sold for macOS, Windows, and Linux. In addition, Laminar Research also distributes FAA-certified versions for professional use. A mobile version has been available for Android, iOS, and webOS since 2009 as well.
Laurence G. Hanscom Field, commonly known as Hanscom Field, is a public use airport operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority, located 14 mi outside Boston in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States.
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows, and Companions of the society can use the post-nominal letters MRAeS, FRAeS, or CRAeS, respectively.
Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network (VATSIM) is a nonprofit organization that operates an online flight-simulation network noted for its active membership and realism. Users are able to connect to VATSIM and fly aircraft as a pilot, or direct traffic as an air traffic controller in what has been described as a close approximation of real-life aviation procedures.
Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater Boston region to the northeast and New York metropolitan area to the south and west. Sitting at the southern end of the Metacomet Ridge, its geology is characterized by land of a level grade along the shores of Connecticut River Valley, with loamy, finer-grained soil than other regions in the state. Greater Hartford, had a total population of 1,213,531 at the 2020 United States census.
The New England Air Museum (NEAM) is an American aerospace museum located adjacent to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The museum consists of three display hangars with additional storage and restoration hangars. Its collections include aircraft ranging from early flying machines to supersonic jets, as well as engines, and other pieces of flight-related equipment. Significant aircraft include
Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) is a 2006 flight simulation video game originally developed by Aces Game Studio and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and the tenth installment of the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, which was first released in 1982. It is built on an upgraded graphics rendering engine, showcasing DirectX 10 features in Windows Vista and was marketed by Microsoft as the most important technological milestone in the series at the time. FSX is the first version in the series to be released on DVD media.
Hartford–Brainard Airport is a towered public airport three miles (5 km) southeast of downtown Hartford, in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is owned by the Connecticut Airport Authority. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a regional reliever airport facility.
Robertson Airport, also known as Robertson Field, is a public use airport in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is owned by the town of Plainville and is located two nautical miles (4 km) north of its central business district. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a local reliever airport facility.
Simsbury Airport is a public use airport located in Simsbury and East Granby, both towns in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is privately owned by the Airport Realty Association, LLC. The airport is operated by the Simsbury Flying Club, a not-for-profit group that operates an FBO at the airport. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a general aviation facility.
Sean Doherty Tucker is an American world champion aerobatic aviator. He was previously sponsored by the Oracle Corporation for many years, performing in air shows worldwide as "Team Oracle". Tucker has won numerous air show championship competitions throughout his career, was named one of the 25 "Living Legends of Flight" by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in 2003, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008. He has led several efforts to assist youth in learning to fly or becoming involved in general aviation, and currently serves as co-chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'s Young Eagles program, a role he has held since 2013.
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach is a residential campus of Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs, and it is located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The university offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in arts, sciences, aviation, business, and engineering.
AVSIM is a nonprofit flight simulation social networking service that focuses on Microsoft Flight Simulator, Prepar3D, and X-Plane. It features a community forum, file library, and product reviews. The website is maintained by a group of volunteers. Bandwidth and equipment are paid for by donations and advertising. It is one of the world's largest flight simulation websites and provides users access to information and add-ons for the flight simulator series of games. On May 12, 2009, the website was attacked by a hacker which resulted in a catastrophic loss of data. AVSIM was able to fully recover from the hack with the help of IT support from around the world.
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is similar, but deals with the electronics side of aerospace engineering.
A flight simulation video game refers to the simulation of various aspects of flight or the flight environment for purposes other than flight training or aircraft development. A significant community of simulation enthusiasts is supported by several commercial software packages, as well as commercial and homebuilt hardware. Open-source software that is used by the aerospace industry like FlightGear, whose flight dynamics engine (JSBSim) is used in a 2015 NASA benchmark to judge new simulation code to space industry standards, is also available for private use. A popular type of flight simulators video games are combat flight simulators, which simulate combat air operations from the pilot and crew's point of view. Combat flight simulation titles are more numerous than civilian flight simulators due to variety of subject matter available and market demand.
International Virtual Aviation Organisation VZW (IVAO) is a non-profit association which operates a free-of-charge online flight-simulation network. Following free registration users can connect to the IVAO Network (IVAN) either as a virtual air traffic controller or as a virtual pilot and engage and interact with each other in a massively multiplayer environment utilising real-world aviation procedures, phraseology and techniques.