Fly UK Attends FlightSimWeekend 2026

Fly UK members head to Netherlands to attend this years Flight Sim Weekend in Lelystad

Back in March, a larger-than-ever group of Fly UK members travelled (by car, ferry or plane) to the Aviodrome Aviation Museum in Lelystad, Netherlands, to attend FlightSimWeekend 2026.

With many members staying together above a local brewery, the weekend quickly became as much about the social side of the community as the exhibition itself. Plenty of food and drink was enjoyed throughout the trip, alongside countless laughs and great company.

FlightSimWeekend 2026 was the event’s biggest edition to date, bringing together a huge range of developers, exhibitors, and enthusiasts from across the flight sim world. Microsoft were in attendance for their first ever stand at the event, alongside stands from Navigraph, iniBuilds, PMDG, Winctrl, Honeycomb as well as many others. 

Away from flight simming, the Lelystad Aviodrome did not disappoint - with more than 100 aircraft on display including a 747 and an entire hangar of planes and engines being restored, we were able to get our fix for real aviation as well as virtual - although a few of us were left looking at each other confused when an entire video demonstration was in Dutch. 

The second day was less about flight sim and more about socialising, with most of us spending the day in Almere. We had a few rounds of bowling, raced against each other on F1 simulators (congratulations Bob) and had some very competitive rounds of pool. 

Some of the highlights from Fly UK members included:

• Getting hands on with Winctrl’s hardware
• Testing out Tobii eye tracking 
• BlueBird Simulations 757 trailer reveal
• The huge amount of cockpit panels from various developers
• An iniBuilds pen
• An in depth breakdown of how Kitkats are sold on a real life airline
• Beer on tap
• McDonald’s opening times being more of a suggestion than a guarantee.

For Fly UK members, the weekend offered not only a chance to explore the latest developments in flight simulation, but also an opportunity to spend time together in person, building friendships and meeting members attending for the first time. With next year’s FSWeekend set to take place at Expo Houten in Utrecht 3-4 April, plans for Fly UK’s attendance are already being discussed. 

This was my first time attending a Fly UK meetup, and after spending the weekend with such a welcoming group, I’m already looking forward to the next one. If you’re considering coming along next year, I can thoroughly recommend it. I look forward to seeing everyone in Utrecht!