Simviation (
www.simviation.com) is a specialised website for users of Microsoft's
Flight Simulator and
Combat Flight Simulator franchise. It was founded as "The Strip" in [?] by Pete Daly. The website hosts freeware aircraft, scenery, and other miscellaneous files and utilities for use by flight simulator enthusiasts. These range from
FS98 to the most recent
FSX, and for all three releases in the
Combat Flight Simulator franchise. It is currently considered to be one of the top three sites dedicated to flight simulation
Simviation offers free downloads
to all users, in keeping with the underlying Microsoft
Flight Simulator freeware ethos, and also offers a membership system where users can pay a small annual fee to recieve faster download speeds.
The website has a sizable forum area, which provides several areas for support and a focus for various aspects of the hobby, such as system performance, simulator setup and a dedicated area for various screenshots
(images taken from within the simulator). The screenshot section comprises a major part of the forums and includes several competitions and contests. This is reflected on the homepage of Simviation, with prominent visual links to the screenshot areas of their forums. The forums are also used as an area where Simviation members can converse over topical and personal matters, as well as a location where advice and information on
a wide variety of matters can be exchanged. There is also an area dedicated to aviation photos. The forums were recently upraded to the most recent
Yabb 2.2 forum software.
Simviation is also known as the parent site of a video hosting website;
www.simteevee.com. 'Simteevee' is a website dedicated to videos recorded in flight simulator. This addition to the Simviation community was
launched in summer 2007. Other sites hosted include the "Historic Jetliners Group" (historic jet airliners for
Flight Simulator, and "The Lair", an excellent little site offering tutorials for earlier
Flight Simulator editions, advice for which may now be hard to
come across.
The premise of Simviation.com is information sharing, to the advantage of its users. The forums are widely reputed, and indeed
are marketed by Simviation's administration staff, as being a 'family forum' - the emphasis is on a friendly atmosphere - and this atmosphere is maintained by a team of administration staff led by Pete Daly. This is part of what makes the site so attractive to flight simulator users.