Getting Started

Getting Started with FSFO v6

Getting Started with FSFO v6

A first-flight setup guide for Flight Simulator First Officer v6, including Pilot Portal, FSUIPC7, SimBrief, voice control, aircraft activation, and the minimum steps required before running flows and checklists.

FSFO v6 • Setup • Simulator Link • Flight Planning • Voice Control • Flows & Checklists

This guide walks you through the modern FSFO v6 setup flow and the minimum steps required to start a flight.

Before starting: Make sure Microsoft Flight Simulator is installed and that you have your FSFO license key and purchase email available.

First-Time Setup
Portal, FSUIPC7, SimBrief, settings, licenses

Every Flight
MSFS, FSFO link, flight planning, Start Flight

Flows and Checklists
What FSFO runs and what you verify

Voice Control
Using FSFO with or without speech recognition

AutoFlow Policy
SMART, LIGHTS, USER, NONE

First Flights
Recommended way to learn FSFO v6

First-Time Setup

The easiest way to complete initial setup is to open the Get Started page inside FSFO and work through the checklist there. The current v6 setup flow is built around Pilot Portal access, FSUIPC7, your SimBrief ID, your audio and speech settings, and aircraft activation.

The FSFO Get Started page.

Step	Setup item	What to do
1	Create your Pilot Portal account	Click Create Portal Account, create your account in the Pilot Portal, and verify your email address before returning to FSFO. If you already have a Pilot Portal account, you can skip account creation and go straight to Portal sign-in.
2	Install or update FSUIPC7	Click the FSUIPC7 button and install or update FSUIPC7 if needed. FSFO uses FSUIPC7 to connect to Microsoft Flight Simulator.
3	Run Make Runways	Click Make Runways to update FSFO's airport and runway reference data. This is especially important after simulator updates or scenery changes.
4	Sign in to Pilot Portal from FSFO	Click Portal Sign-In and sign in with your Pilot ID, email, or username and your Portal password. Some aircraft activations and online features depend on a valid Portal sign-in.
5	Enter your SimBrief ID	Enter your numeric SimBrief ID at the top of the Get Started page. Use your numeric SimBrief user ID, not your username.
6	Configure basic settings	Open Settings from the gear icon in the top toolbar. Review pilot audio, cabin audio, region, speech engine, microphone input, Open Mic, and Start Speech On Start. If you plan to use voice control, run TRAIN SPEECH and test pilot and crew outputs.
7	Activate your aircraft profiles	Open the Licenses page, select the product, enter your purchase email, enter the 16-character FSFO key, and click Activate. Activations are tied to the current device after validation succeeds.

Tip: Complete the Get Started page before trying your first flight. It prevents most common setup problems before they happen.

Back to top

Minimum Steps for Every Flight

Once the one-time setup above is finished, use the following sequence each time you fly.

The FSFO Flight Planning page used to prepare the current flight.

Step	Flight step	What to do
1	Start Microsoft Flight Simulator	Launch MSFS and load into your aircraft as usual.
2	Start FSUIPC7	FSUIPC7 must be running before FSFO can link to the simulator. You can configure FSUIPC7 to launch automatically with MSFS if preferred.
3	Start FSFO	Wait until MSFS is fully loaded and ready, then start FSFO.
4	Link FSFO to the simulator	Use the Wi-Fi icon in the top toolbar. Red means not linked. Green means linked to the simulator. Do not continue until the Wi-Fi icon shows a successful connection.
5	Enable voice control if desired	Click the microphone icon in the top toolbar. Red means speech recognition is off. Green means speech recognition is on.
6	Open Flight Planning	Use the Flight Planning page to build or import the current flight. The page is organized into Flight Setup, Routing, Load / Perf, Ops Status, and Actions.
7	Complete Flight Setup	Confirm the aircraft profile, checklist, aircraft type, cargo flight, turnaround state, and flight type. Current flight types are FREE FLIGHT, CAREER, and COMPANY. Set Training Flight to YES only when intentionally capturing copilot handling telemetry.
8	Load or enter the route	Enter or confirm flight number, departure and arrival ICAOs, runways, initial altitude, planned altitude, and transition altitudes. If using SimBrief, click SimBrief in the Actions area and import your route and planning data.
9	Complete load and performance inputs	Review or enter payload, fuel, passengers, and distance. Optional support tools include EFB, Pilot Brief, OPS Center, and Live Wx.
10	Click Start Flight	Click Start Flight before running flows or checklists for the flight.
11	Open Checklist / EFB	Go to the Checklist / EFB page and start the appropriate phase. The page includes a phase selector, START FLOW, checklist view, EFB view, PERF INPUTS, and the current AUTOFLOW POLICY.

Important: You must click Start Flight before running flows or checklists for the flight.

Back to top

Understanding Flows and Checklists

Flows and checklists are still the core of FSFO, but the surrounding workflow is more integrated in v6.

Item	Meaning
Flow	A series of actions the copilot performs automatically.
Checklist	The challenge-and-response verification that follows the flow or phase setup.
Typical use	FSFO runs the flow first and then progresses through the checklist logic for that phase.

Back to top

Voice Enabled vs Voice Disabled

Mode	How it works
Voice Enabled	If speech recognition is enabled, you can respond verbally to checklist prompts and use spoken commands throughout the flight. See: Voice Commands.
Voice Disabled	If speech recognition is disabled, FSFO can still continue when the aircraft is configured correctly or when you manually advance or bypass a hold.

Manual bypass: To bypass a wait or prompt, hold Ctrl+Alt.

Back to top

AutoFlow Policy

FSFO can run phases manually or automatically depending on your AutoFlow configuration.

Policy	What it means
SMART	FSFO uses its more complete automatic logic based on aircraft state and phase of flight.
LIGHTS	FSFO uses lighting and related aircraft state cues as the main automation trigger.
USER	Lets you define your own event logic phase by phase.
NONE	Turns off automatic flow starts so you can trigger phases manually.

If you want full control, use a manual-friendly setup and start phases yourself. If you want more automation, review the Flow Options section in Settings.

See: User Settings Reference

Back to top

Recommended First Flights

For your first few flights with FSFO v6, keep the setup simple and easy to supervise.

Recommendation	Why it helps
Use a familiar aircraft	It is easier to understand what FSFO is doing when you already know the aircraft.
Start with a short route	A shorter flight lets you test setup, takeoff, climb, descent, approach, and landing without committing to a long session.
Import from SimBrief if possible	This reduces manual entry and improves consistency between your plan and FSFO.
Test voice before relying on it	Keep voice enabled only after your microphone and output tests are working.
Supervise the first few flows	This makes it easier to learn FSFO behavior before using deeper automation.

If something does not work as expected: Check your Pilot Portal sign-in, FSUIPC7 status, simulator connection, speech settings, and aircraft activation status first. After that, see Troubleshooting.

Back to top