Yesterday, I attended a gathering for flight simulation enthusiasts—FS Party—and decided to document it briefly.

FS Party is an event that has been running for 20 years, where Microsoft Flight Simulator enthusiasts from all over Japan gather annually. They bring their own computers and flight simulation equipment, set up a Local Area Network (LAN), and conduct group flying sessions.

I have never used Microsoft Flight Simulator, so I have always been out of touch with this event. However, invited by Mr. Y from Anabatic Simulation, I decided to go and join in the fun.

This year’s gathering had over 30 participants, and I only attended the activities on the second day. The age distribution of the participants was very wide, ranging from elementary and middle school students to seniors in their 60s and 70s. It’s a pity that I didn’t see any female flight simulation enthusiasts.

The morning was dedicated to an exchange session, where some active members shared their recommended plugins/addons, new software, and new ways to play.

TechnoBrain, a game developer in Kyoto, also known as the creators of the famous “I am an Air Traffic Controller / Dream Airport” games, came to participate. They also promoted their activities for promoting flight simulation.

Mr. Y also updated us on his current situation. It turns out he has closed the Anabatic Simulation simulation shop, sold the simulator to the Chubu-Nippon Aviation College, and he himself transferred there to work as an instructor.

The afternoon was for the group flying activity, which basically involved turning near Haneda, but ATC would simulate situations such as a sudden medical emergency, single-engine failure, or Runway closure, making the flight missions more interesting.

I wasn’t familiar with FSX to begin with, and this was my first time attending this event, so I didn’t fly. I walked around observing how everyone else was playing, which was quite interesting in itself.

Below are several photos of the room where the flying side was set up.

So many checklists. This engine throttle was completely self-made. According to Mr. M, it took him 3 years to complete it. That's amazing.

Air Traffic Control was in another room. Several controllers worked together. Upon receiving a flight plan, they would first print it out using a printer, then load it into a strip, and hand it to Delivery. Delivery notifies the pilots and then hands over to Ground Control, and so on. Watching them play, it looked very professional.

Later, I had a long chat with Mr. N and Mr. Y from TechnoBrain, as well as several plugin/addon developers. The main topic was how to increase the population of flight simulation enthusiasts. Since Microsoft stopped developing FS, it seems that fewer and fewer people are playing flight sims. Everyone feels a sense of crisis regarding this. This was also evident from today’s event participants, as most were familiar faces who have been participating for 10-20 years. New faces like me are reportedly quite rare.

The hobby of flight simulation is indeed quite niche. It demands a lot from players; they must be familiar with using computer hardware and software, understand aviation terminology and the basic principles of flight, aircraft instruments and electronic systems, Add ATC on top of that, and the barrier to entry is truly too high.

Nowadays is the era of smartphones and tablets. In the past, everyone could only use PCs to play games, but now there are so many choices. It is natural that fewer and fewer people can engage in high-difficulty hobbies like flight simulation. Increasing the enthusiast population seems like a nearly impossible mission.

Nevertheless, being able to see Mr. Y again and meet some fellow enthusiasts, made attending this gathering quite worthwhile. The next event seems to be held in Kobe this October. That distance is a bit too far, so I won’t be participating, haha.

End