Earlier this year, I spoke at both FSWeekend and FSExpo about the vision of Tailstrike: aircraft that actually exist, as they do in real life.
I imagined a shared world that mimics reality, where each aircraft I fly in the sim is a unique machine, with a real-life registration and a virtual history written by many pilots over many flights.
I imagined that, just as there is one single tailnumber flying each real world flight today, the same could be true in flight sim. That there could be just one true N619FE for everyone, and that I could fly it from LAX to Memphis just like the one real N619FE is flying today. And that others could see I flew the same flight, at the same time, with the same callsign, and in the same exact one-of-one registration that's operating it in real life.
And I imagined that when I loaded into N619FE, I would enter a unique, lived-in aircraft, where every switch, radio, fuse, and the condition of every system was exactly how the last pilot left it. Where failures and emergencies were not just random or caused solely by me, but were the result of thousands of hours and hundreds of pilots, each leaving a mark on the aircraft.
To me, that vision was the layer of realism that’s been missing in flight sim. And I'm beyond excited to say that the vision has become reality.
Tailstrike is a free network of shared airframes that move around and exist permanently in a shared world. It's open to everyone and includes all types of aircraft, all with real registrations, all around the world. The first flight was logged over a year ago, it launched out of beta a few months ago, and it’s growing quickly.
On Tailstrike, aircraft state persists between pilots. Through our partnership with TFDi Design, the MD-11 became the first high-fidelity persistent aircraft on Tailstrike: the complete configuration, panel state, systems, wear and failures stay with each shared aircraft. You can step into the cockpit exactly as the last pilot left it (but only if you want to). It's free for everyone on every flight, and basic settings like radios and altimeter persist for all aircraft types, not just the MD-11. We have more high-fidelity aircraft integrations on the way, in direct partnership with the developers. How it works.
And we recently launched Real Flights, a feature that allows pilots to match a Tailstrike aircraft with a real world flight: the same airline, type, route, callsign, and even the same exact registration that's operating that flight right now in real life. When the real aircraft's location matches the Tailstrike aircraft's location, you can perform a perfect mirrored flight. It's not just info on a flight plan or a matching livery, it's a unique, one-of-one persistent tailnumber in the shared world, flown in sync with the real aircraft. And every "exact match" flight is marked in the public logbook.
This is the pinnacle of realism. Whether you do long haul or GA, military or charters, Tailstrike is the network where flying has an impact. Lease an aircraft, fly one leg, and leave it for the next pilot. The plugin works with MSFS 2020/2024 and X-Plane, online or offline: https://tailstrike.net
