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Christmas is fast approaching and here at Fly UK, we always have a few special things and features for our members to enjoy. Here's the rundown of what you can expect and enjoy this festive season. Christmas Liveries Our Special Christmas/Winter liveries have returned to the Fleet Centre and are available to download until New Year. The Christmas liveries cover the following aircraft: Airbus A320-214 (Fenix Simulations, FSLabs Sharklets Variant) Airbus A320-251N (FlyByWire Standalone Package) Boeing 737-800 “Fly UK” and “Fly2” (PMDG Simulations)  Boeing 737 Max 8 (iFly) Festive Charter Flights December sees Lapland Charter flights from Monday 2nd December for Fly UK (Operated by Fly2). These festive charters will operate from a selection of airports from the United Kingdom and will operate to typically festive destinations such as Rovaniemi and Ivalo.   Fly2 Winter/Ski Season Flights Fly2's Canadian holiday ops are live now, Fly2 European Ski season flights commence on 10th December.   December’s Featured Destination Our Featured Destination for December takes full advantage of the charter flights available and the opportunity to visit Santa in the world-famous Rovaniemi (EFRO). December’s Screenshot Competition The UK2000 Sponsored Screenshot competition takes a traditionally festive turn in December, with the theme “Let It Snow.” Xmas 2024 Tour: “Winter Wonderland" For this year's Christmas Tour, we tour Polar skies, white mountains and Christmas Markets throughout Europe. Stating in Rekjyavik fly twelve legs through festive and winter famous destinations across Europe before finishing at the closest airport to the North Pole you can operate too. The “Winter Wonderland” tour is live now and is a Class E tour, as a festive treat allowing all members to fly any aircraft from the Fly UK Group fleet with no rank restrictions. Xmas 2024 Flying Club Tour Fly UK’s Flying Club proudly announces our yearly Christmas Flying Club tour. This year, pilots will enjoy a relaxing set of flights from the Italian Island of Elba to Santa’s Grotto in Rovaniemi, Finland. The Flying Club Christmas tour launches on the 1st of December. Xmas 2024 ‘BizJet’ Tour The Flying Club  ‘BizJet’ Christmas Tour returns for a second year and runs from Paphos (LCPH) to Rovaniemi (EFRO). The Christmas ‘BizJet’ tour also launches on the 1st of December. 2024 Christmas Social – Sunday 15th December 2024 at 1300z Christmas can’t be complete without our annual Lapland Social flight! A highlight of the Fly UK event calendar, our Social festive flight takes us from Manchester Airport to Rovaniemi. The event will take place on our private FSD network and we expect mince pie crumbs to be found on arrival......(and empty gluhwein mugs).  Always a great turnout with fun, banter, the traditional quiz and often a few unsuspecting recipients of the "Pro Peelot Award"    As Always we wish all members a great festive season, come join us on events, share the spirit and have a great time!

Christmas comes early in a big way at Fly UK! As promised the largest commercial passenger jet in the world joins the ranks of Fly UK this year. We are thrilled to announce that Fly UK has acquired six A380’s and they are ready to make their way to their hibernation for a lick of Crystal paint before heading to Fly UK’s home at London Heathrow (EGLL). The airframes have been carefully stored since retirement from their previous carrier at Teruel Airport Storage Facility and are due to be repainted at Airbus’ facility in Hamburg Finkenverder. From there, wearing their new colours, they will be flown to EGLL which will become our A380 home base. Ad-Hoc flights for this go live at midnight on 16th November and will continue until the end of the month. After this a small number of familiarisation flights will be available to allow pilots to get to grips with the ‘Skyways Super’ callsign and the A380 will then enter Mainstream service from mid-December. 4K Livery including a custom interior is available for download now from our Fleet Centre.  We hope you enjoy these ad-hoc delivery and familiarisation flights as we phase in the A380 ready for Christmas!

The Fly UK team enter the final stages of the 2024 edition of Worldflight on VATSIM, with so far we've successfully completed all thew legs bringing the Skyways callsign to the fore during the week long event! From busy airports, tricky approaches, late go-arounds, overloaded controllers and typhoon weather....we've flown 787's, A320's and 737's on the legs. We'll write up post event but the team of members has been superb with some really commitment and long hours. We have raised just under £600 so far which is awesome and thanks to the Fly UK community for supporting in this World flight aims to raise money for charities big and small, with Fly UK fundraising for Cancer Research UK. Read the full press release here. If you are able to donate, you can do so at the link below. Any amount is greatly appreciated! WorldflightCancerResearch Plus! Come and keep the team company and follow the progress on Discord and VATSIM-Radar in the closing stages which concludes Saturday morning back into Sydney.

2024 is a milestone year for Fly UK, as we celebrate 20 years of operation within flight simulation. In order to celebrate this monumental occasion, Fly UK is joining the 2024 edition of Worldflight on VATSIM, a fantastic group flight that aims to navigate the world in 7 days.  Starting on the 2nd of November, the Fly UK Worldflight team aims to relay the callsign Skyways Two Zero Yankee (UKV20Y) around the world, following as many of the 42 Wordflight legs as possible. Whereas most official teams use fixed-based simulators, the Fly UK team will be flying the event from the comfort from their own homes, flying on their own simulators throughout the mammoth event. This year, the Worldflight event is scheduled to depart from Sydney and will take participants westbound around the world, visiting a wide variety of airports, from the Middle Eastern powerhouse at Doha to the picturesque Kangerlussuaq in Greenland.  We will also be hosting a fundraiser throughout the duration of Worldflight for the fantastic charity Cancer Research UK. We’ve chosen Cancer Research specifically because cancer, whether directly or indirectly, has had a huge impact on staff and members over the years and we believe that raising money towards a charity that has done so much good for cancer research is a fantastic way to honour our 20 years of service. Members who wish to donate to the fundraiser can do so at the following link:  https://tinyurl.com/WorldflightCancerResearch.  Can I track the progress of UKV20Y throughout the event? Of course! As the event will be flown on the VATSIM Network, the progress of UKV20Y can be tracked via VATSIM Radar, using the following link: vatsim-radar. The Skytrack map will also show a dedicated Worldflight icon for UKV20Y. Can we join the Group Flight? We fully encourage anyone who wants to fly with the group during the event to do so. Simply fly on the VATSIM network on any of the Worldflight legs using either your UKV ID Number or UKV APC. All required information on each leg, including approved Simbrief routings and briefs, can be found at the Worldflight website at the following link: https://www.worldflight.center.  We hope that the event will be as memorable and fun as possible for both the Worldflight team and the VA as a whole.

Topa Sky launches a new Pacific island hub on 1st November at Nadi International Fiji. Along with a selection of ATRs and C208 Caravans from the existing fleet, we have also reactivated the A319s that were designated for retirement and stored at Alice Springs. (new Fenix livery available). A great selection of routes and rugged airports await, including some stunning Pacific scenery ranging from Bora Bora in the east to the Solomon Islands in the west. Schedules will go live on 1st November but you can fly the repositioning flights for the A319 fleet now. Search for FL9000 - 9002. In another move, both the A319 and B737-700 have now been moved to Class E, allowing new members a further option to enjoy our overseas network as part of their early careers as well as much-needed options for X-Plane users to enjoy the early ranks.

Fly UK Worldflight team now enters its planning and preparation phases, 14 members have expressed interest so far. Full chat and details will be available in our forums but if you wish to take part, now is the time to register interest and availability in the various available legs using the form link at the bottom of this post. Fly UK staff team will begin to schedule the roster closer to the event, we hope to cover as many legs as is possible. We have also applied to register Fly UK as an affiliate for the event. Availability / Leg applications

Final call for our 20th Aniversary meetup on Saturday 14th September Manchester Event details are confirmed for anyone wishing to attend our meetup. Daytime Meet will be at the Runway Visitor Park, members can arrive as early or as late as they wish. Information and directions can be found here https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/at-the-airport/attractions/ Group Concorde Tour Several members (but not all) have booked onto the 14:00 Concorde Platinum tour. This is now sold out however slot remains available for the 10:30 Classic tour and their 20-minute short tours at 11:30, 12:00, 13:30 and 16:00. If you wish to take this opportunity to see G-BOAC close up, book directly via their website https://www.runwayvisitorpark.co.uk/bookings/book-a-tour/ Evening Meal Courtesy of UKV6540, We have private use of the Panoramic Lounge at the Manchester Airport pub for meals and drinks from 5:30 pm. Food must be ordered by 6 pm due to how busy the pub is and the size of the group. If you haven't already expressed interest in joining this, please do so on the forum so we can manage space and numbers Accommodation For those staying over, a variety of options exist, many of the group have booked Premier Inn at Heald Green or Manchester Airport North which is within walking distance from the Runway Visitor Park. I'm sure many staying over will find a local bar in a hotel or otherwise later in the evening. Transport We have people coming from local and afar by various means, where able to reduce vehicle footprint, I'm sure options exist and can be discussed closer to the time. Parking at Runway Park is no issue but the Airport Pub would be better to car share for those staying locally. Communications For those attending, we have a chat group channel on the Fly UK Discord page as well as a WhatsApp group. Details for these are available on the below forum thread Forum thread

It's Time for our annual member's survey and in our 20th year, it's never been more important to gauge our member's feedback. The annual Navigraph survey normally gives some indication as to what the sim community does and seeks, but doesn't cover Fly UK-specific feedback. Whilst we are always listening and looking for trends and requests, it's good to get some views and directions from our members, many of whom have returned since MSFS released. Naturally, we cannot accommodate every request and sometimes they don't fit with Fly UK's aims and ambitions, but we are very keen to ensure the service we provide is strong and caters for as many as possible. So this is your chance to share your thoughts and views as well as help us understand what our members like and dislike. To complete the survey please use the below link. The survey will remain open until September 30th. https://forms.gle/JpHrgsRrw6v5Lc2i9

As Fly UK continues to celebrate our 20th anniversary year, we are looking to participate in the charity Vatsim event Worldflight 2024 with a team made up of staff and members. Whereas most official event teams take part in fixed base simulators, we are looking to relay the callsign "Skyways 20" around the world on as many of the 42 legs as possible with a team joining in from the comfort of their own homes and simulator setups. We are in the early stages of planning this so looking for interested participants, please find a link to the event and the interest form below. We hope to make this a memorable event and occasion for the VA and you our members Worldflight24 website Team Fly UK Expression of interest

Date - Saturday 14th September Event details are confirmed for anyone wishing to attend our meetup. Daytime Meet will be at the Runway Visitor Park, members can arrive as early or as late as they wish. Information and directions can be found here https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/at-the-airport/attractions/ Group Concorde Tour 14 Places are available for a 2-hour tour of G-BOAC for anyone interested at 14:00 on a first come first serve basis. Detail via the forum post linked at the bottom of this message. The cost is £40 and includes your parking at the centre for the day. Evening Meal Courtesy of UKV6540, We have private use of the Panoramic Lounge at the Manchester Airport pub for meals and drinks from 5:30 pm. Food must be ordered by 6 pm due to how busy the pub is and the size of the group. Accommodation For those staying over, a variety of options exist, many of the group I'm aware of are looking at Premier Inn Heald Green which has close rail links. I'm sure many staying over will find a local bar in a hotel or otherwise later in the evening. Transport We have people coming from local and afar by various means, where able to reduce vehicle footprint, I'm sure options exist and can be discussed closer to the time. Parking at Runway Park is no issue but the Airport Pub would be better to car share for those staying locally. Communications Aside from our forums, we have a chat group channel on the Fly UK Discord page. A WhatsApp group will be available closer to the time also for coordination Forum thread

  Our 20th Anniversary UK real-world meetup is planned for a Saturday in September 2024 at Manchester Airport, with food and drinks in the evening. We had a great time at FSWeekend in Lelystadt but appreciate not everyone would have been able to make the overseas trip so we welcome all members to join us in Manchester. To enable the team to progress with planning and confirm dates and arrangements, if you would like to join us, please indicate your preferences on the Google form linked below. Please only submit the form if you have a strong intention of attending. The suggested dates are Saturday 7th, 14th, 21st or 28th of September 2024.   https://forms.gle/DaAShMhMCrQBxZcg9

Day in the life - Short Haul operations The challenge, select and operate any daily schedule for a Fly UK group short-haul aircraft, and operate a minimum of four consecutive sectors mirroring the published timetable. To search for a specific aircraft's daily flight schedule use the flight search tool and filter by registration. A full list of fleet registrations can also be found in the Fleet Center. Be sure to scan through the fleet to find a schedule that you like...there is plenty to choose from. Challenge Guidelines   Flights must be operated on the calendar on the same day as your selected airframe and reflect the set schedule for that airframe registration. You can operate the flights at any real-world time but sim time should be set to reflect scheduled Zulu time. Pausing for real-life/sanity breaks is acceptable. Jet only Fleet in classes C/D & E applicable for this challenge. Fly UK, Fly2, Topa, Nordic, Cetan and Cargo ops are eligible. The minimum number of sectors for the challenge required is four to reflect a normal pilot's day but you may go up to a maximum of six if you really want a test. Record your progress and submit on completion of the challenge via this form, this will be reviewed against PIREP's for achievement award. The challenge is open until 23:59z June 2nd. Good luck and be sure to share your progress with the community.

So, did anyone get the teaser right from the Fleet and operational changes 2024 new post back in Feb?  If you did, well done, if not then time to reveal some changes to the long-haul fleet coming late this year and in 2025. Fleet Yes the A380 will be coming to the fleet in due course, ops team members have been out picking over the many parked A380 around the world and we've agreed to take six airframes. The introduction will naturally coincide with the arrival of the FBW and/or Inibuilds products when they become available. A change to our previous stance, well yes but we know the FBW will be a massively popular freeware aircraft when it arrives and the A380 which was dying out a few years back is gradually being reintroduced by some operators. Fly UK will operate it on high-demand routes such as New York, Dubai etc. Also replacing the Boeing 747-400 (slated to retire in early 2025) has been a conundrum for the ops team, having spent time pondering over the change and development in the sim aircraft development world, this move along with an order of 12 additional A350-900's will update the long haul fleet. On the shorter haul fleet, we have now confirmed orders for 737-8 Max aircraft to replace the remaining Fly2 737 airframes. These are the Fly UK group's oldest airframes and have served their time on both Mainstream and Fly 2 operations.   Line Ops Challenge 2024 Our free fly month comes to a close at 23:59z 30th April but we have one more challenge back by popular request. Those of you with us during COVID lockdown will recall our line ops challenge which will return in May.  To participate, members must fly a minimum of four consecutive sectors from any airframe within our Class D fleet during a single day. Details will follow shortly on how to take part and prizes on offer from participation.   Summer Anniversary Meet-up Date TBC We are planning a summer meet-up for members at Manchester Airport Pub. Expression of interest form will be shared shortly. After a great time with all those who attended FSWeekend, we look forward to another opportunity to meet up :)

Easter is upon us and this year the Easter Bunny will be delivering us new aircraft. As announced earlier in the year we have several changes and delivery flights are now live for these additions with some interesting and challenging ferry routes to tackle. Highland Connect ATR42-600 From Toulouse to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness bases.   Aurora ATR42-600 From Toulouse to Anchorage and Vancouver via Prestwick, Rekjavik, Kangerlussuaq, Churchill, Yellowknife (Anchorage), Edmonton (Vancouver). Cetan E175 to Miami, Denver and San Francisco from Victorville. E195 to Miami, Denver and San Fransisco from Bergen and Helsinki via Narsarsuaq and Montreal. Topa Sky ATR72-600 From Toulouse to Port Moresby and Melbourne via Pescara, Athens, Larnaca, Dammam, Muscat, Karachi, Nagpur, Calcutta, Rangoon and Ho Chi Min. Then splits via Brunei, Makassar Darwin for Melbourne and Sibulan, Rendani for Port Moresby A320Neo, two options with different routes. Wellington from Toulouse via Gander, Los Angeles, Honolulu and Rarotongo or Cairns from Hamburg Finkenwerder via Dubai, Singapore and Darwin. Nordic Sky E190 to Bergen, Helsinki and Stockholm from Tarbes-Lourdes   These flights are available until the end of April. Search for Ad-hoc (FL9000 - 9095). Retirement flights for the aircraft these replace will be announced mid-April.   Downloads for the new aircraft are available now for MSFS platforms for FSS and Asobo products. Virtaulcol and X-Plane E-jets will follow very soon so be sure to check back if that's your platform/product choice.

  In late March 2004, an announcement was made that planning was underway for a new virtual airline. Soon after in early April, Fly UK was born. Fast forward 20 years and Fly UK has become one of the most successful and long-running virtual airlines around with its unique style and identity, not to mention its exceptional community. Over the years Fly UK has evolved as has the flight sim hobby to the point we reach today in what many say is a golden era of flight sim. Steered by an outstanding team of staff past and present, Fly UK enters its twenties having come through its formative years, unruly teens into what we enjoy today. Fly UK has remained at the forefront of the VA space and is arguably the leading non-real world-based virtual airlines with a realistic fleet and operational schedules. We thank all who have supported us on this journey as pilots, supporters and staff, without whom we would not be here today.  To celebrate we have several events and specials for members to enjoy throughout April FSWeekend 2024 Lelystadt Meet-up (March 16/17) Info Pilot rank/aircraft restriction-free period 1st April - 30th April 20th Anniversary challenge and prizes 20th Anniversary group flight events every weekend throughout April Special long-haul social flight Limited edition 20th Anniversary Tour Surprise announcements 20th Anniversary merchandise More details will follow in due course, but we look forward to welcoming all members to join us for a busy Anniversary in April with you all!  

2024 is set to be an exciting year for flight simmers with a raft of quality addons expected to arrive in our simulators. Here at Fly UK, we are making many preparations for our fleet and operations to allow members to plan for the changes we intend to make in our fleet. We'll see some new additions and some types we will be saying goodbye to. Highland Connect Aviation followers will have recently seen the Saab 340 retire from service with Loganiar, Highland Connect will also be retiring its Saab 340’s at the end of March. To replace the venerable Saab, the ATR 42-600 will arrive to replace it.  We will also replace the last ATR 72-500’s with the updated new 600 variant in the Spring. Aurora Aurora will also see ATR 42 replace the Saab 340, We will also retire the MD88 this year although that will take place later in the year, the replacement type is yet to be confirmed.  Nordic Sky Nordic will change its jet fleet to the E190, replacing some of the Dash 8 fleet. Operational changes are planned to make the most of the extra capability offered for Scandanavia-European routes as well as offering Jet capability into some short-field airports such as London City. The E195 fleet will relocate to the US and the Cetan network. Cetan Cetan has been operating for just over a year now with great success, This year may see an additional hub being added, but our main focus will be growing regional routes with the addition of ERJ175 and 195’s. Cetan has several options on A330-900s to convert additionally. Topa Sky As with Hihgland, Topa will be swapping out its last ATR 72-500’s for newer 600’s. We will also be reting the A319 to be replaced with A320 Neo’s. Fly UK  Nothing is imminent for our main Fly UK operations however we are planning with heavy heart to replace the last of the Boeing 747-400’s in late 2024. Sadly the old girls' days on passenger service are numbered and with no representation in MSFS or XP, it is time to move on, but in the hope we do see a product on the horizon, she’ll carry on in Cargo. Fly UK are considering many options to fill the gap the B744 will leave but with many aircraft in the long-haul market coming this year to boost the 787 and 747-8i fleet, we are sure our Long-haul operations will offer some great choices. So that's it for now, lots more is in the works with more surprises to come in our 20th anniversary year so keep watch.

Across the world, trees are decorated, stockings are ready to be put by the fire, men are about to start thinking about present shopping and Hans Gruber is about to fall from the Nakatomi Plaza......  This can only mean one thing, CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!!!!   Here at Fly UK we have our own gifts ready to roll, so what goodies do our members get now and look forward to in the new year......well lots :) First up out of the stocking is our festive rank exemption period where our members can enjoy rank restriction-free flying from midnight on 23rd December until the end on 2nd January. This means any member regardless of rank can fly any Fly UK fleet aircraft, on any route. PIREPs must be submitted by 23:59 on the final day. Next out from under the tree are some new E-Jets set to join the fleet early in the new year. The Nordic Franchise will expand with additional E195s and add the E190 to the fleet. Extra bases will feature plus with a descent almost as steep as Santa coming down the chimney, operations to London City can be expected. Additionally, we will be adding the E190 to the Cetan fleet, expanding the franchise and some of the USA's unique regional airports across the country.   Soo...all that is left is to wish all our members a very Merry Christmas and Happy New year! Thank you all for your support in 2023 and we all look forward to a great 2024 in the world of Flight Sim     Oh wait...there was one more thing. Santa left a present outside because it was too big to fit under the tree. Not sure when you'll be able to have it but if you can find it, you'll know what to look forward too!

Updates to our MSFS and Model Matching packs are now available MSFS Kuro 787-8 V2/3 Much improved textures are now available for the popular Kuro 787-8. Both Fly2 and Topa Sky liveries have been updated to our package v2. This will work with both Kuro v2 and v3. A larger package but adds far more depth and detail to the aesthetics of the aircraft improving visuals.   Model matching packages FSLTL  - Our FSLTL model matching package has been updated to Dec 23, adding the latest FSLTL improvements and the Boeing 788 model. This is a standalone package and does not require FSLTL to run, although it is recommended. Apply the VMR priority higher than FSLTL to enjoy the full range of Fly UK liveries. As before a hybrid VMR is offered for those that use both AIG and FSLTL. AIG - We uncovered some issues with our AIG-based VATSIM model matching. If you've been keeping your AIG - AI Manager install (and airlines) up to date, AIG has started moving more aircraft towards MSFS-native models, which broke our MSFS model-matching package. An updated version (AIG Model Matching update - Dec 2023) is now available.   AI offline schedules Support for an offline AI package which replicates Fly UK's current schedules, has been placed on hold for now. With P3Dv4/5 usage within Fly UK declining and our recent announcement over ongoing P3D support, we will therefore no longer be producing Offline AI updates.  bgl-based offline AI in MSFS has been broken since around SU10, and in a double-whammy, the Flightsim community sadly lost the developer whose application we used to generate blog-based traffic schedules. As such, his freeware software is no longer being developed, and no one else appears to be picking up the mantle, unfortunately. Should Asobo get around to fixing what they broke in MSFS, we'll certainly readdress our standpoint as we realise that this package provided immersion for members who prefer flying offline.