Login AltoCloudsAirways
VAMx (Virtual Airlines Manager extended) is a fundamentally modernized and extended continuation of the original Virtual Airlines Manager (VAM) by Alejandro Garcia. The original VAM was a pioneering open-source project for virtual airlines, and we use it as our foundation with deep respect, developing it further under the terms of the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
VAMx is not a simple update — it is a complete redevelopment based on the original, consistently bringing the concept into the present and the future.
The original VAM was developed for PHP 5/7 and could no longer run on modern server environments without significant effort. VAMx resolves this completely:
| Area | Original VAM | VAMx |
|---|---|---|
| PHP Version | PHP 5 / 7.0 | PHP 8.4 — fully compliant |
| Database Access | mysqli without Prepared Statements | Prepared Statements throughout, SQL injection protection |
| Database Engine | MyISAM | InnoDB — transactions, rollback, crash safety |
| Password Security | MD5 / SHA1 | bcrypt via password_hash() |
| Mail Delivery | PHP mail() | PHPMailer — modern SMTP authentication |
| Session Handling | uncontrolled | Access control on every page, user_type-dependent |
| Type Safety | none | Strict Types, Type Hints, Return Types everywhere |
| Error Handling | no rollback on errors | Transactions with try/catch and db->rollback() |
VAMx introduces a number of features that do not exist in the original VAM and were developed specifically for AltoCloudsAirways:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Book Directly From the Map | Pick the destination airport with a click on an interactive world map covering all 84,635 airports - instead of schedule lists or pre-built route catalogues. Filters by continent, country, runway length and runway alignment. Distance and matching aircraft are shown immediately. |
| Free Route Choice - No Mandatory Schedules | The pilot decides where to fly from and to. No schedule constraints, no hub binding, no flight number assignment. Real airline schedules are usable as inspiration - never as a requirement. |
| METAR for Every Airport | Original METAR via NOAA for all locations with an official station. For all others — heliports, grass strips, seaplane bases — the METAR is calculated automatically from current weather data. Over 84,635 airports worldwide covered. |
| Automatic Alternate Airports |
During an active flight, VAMx automatically calculates suitable alternate airports for two distinct scenarios: Weather Alternate: Suitable diversion airports near the destination, available when poor weather or a closed runway makes landing there impossible. Selection is based on the current METAR, runway length and aircraft type — every suggested airport is appropriate for the aircraft being flown. Emergency Landing Site: Suitable airports within an elliptical zone around the aircraft's current position — 50 NM ahead on track, 10 NM behind and 25 NM to either side. This zone moves with the aircraft and updates automatically in the background. The pilot can set any alternate directly from the flight map with a single click. The system immediately updates the flightboard, displays METAR and runway information, and calculates the remaining distance to the chosen alternate. At most virtual airlines, alternate airports are fixed in advance and any deviation leads to rejection of the flight report — VAMx resolves this dynamically and entirely automatically. |
| Emergency and Off-Field Landings | Emergency landings by helicopter and off-field landings by glider are explicitly permitted and correctly processed by the system. |
| 14 Personal Aircraft | Every pilot receives exactly 14 personal aircraft from minute 1 — one per class, each with its own registration. The 14 classes cover all aircraft types available in the simulator. |
| Reputation System | Progress through reputation rather than rankings. Flight zones, countries, special airports and new aircraft classes expand the pilot profile. |
| Lobecs Currency | The VA's own currency, earned exclusively through flying — never purchasable. Redeemable for registrations, liveries, badges and event access. |
| Live Flightboard | Real-time display of all active flights on the home page via iFrame — automatically refreshed every 60 seconds. |
| ACA Design System | A complete custom CSS framework with defined block types (aca-panel-table, aca-panel-content, aca-panel-text), colors and sort IDs — consistent across all pages. |
| Font Awesome Overview | Internal reference page reads all icons directly from the CSS file and displays preview, icon name and copyable HTML code. |
| Pilot Profile Editor | Full admin editor for pilot data including status management (new, active, inactive, blocked) with automatic diary entry and color-coded status display. |
Most virtual airlines work to similar patterns: fixed flight schedules, rank systems with mandatory hours, locked aircraft until the next promotion, paid premium features. VAMx deliberately takes a different path.
| Common at many virtual airlines | At VAMx |
|---|---|
| Fixed flight schedules from real airline data - pilot picks from a list | Free route choice via interactive world map - any connection between any of the 84,635 airports is possible |
| Rank system with mandatory flight hours (First Officer → Captain → Senior Captain) | Reputation system - progress through flown zones, countries and special airports, no hour grinding for rank changes |
| Aircraft locked until the next rank - partly behind paywalls | 14 personal aircraft from minute 1 - all classes from glider to widebody, never purchasable |
| METAR only for major airports with an official weather station | METAR for all 84,635 airports - official NOAA data where available, otherwise calculated from current weather data |
| Pre-defined alternate airports - deviation leads to flight rejection | Automatic alternate and emergency landing sites - calculated live during the flight, situation-aware, set with one click on the map |
| Emergency landings, off-field landings and heliport approaches usually rejected | Emergency landings by helicopter and off-field landings by glider explicitly permitted - correctly processed, not rejected |
| In-house currency available for real money (pay-to-win) | Lobecs - earned by flying only, never purchasable. Redeemable for registrations, liveries, badges and event access |
| Tracker usually for one simulator only (often MSFS) | GEORGIOx - in-house tracker for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020/2024 and X-Plane 11/12 in parallel, with real wind data on both |
VAMx is the technical foundation of an open community of pilots where individual flight experience is what matters. Pilots looking for competitive leaderboards and mandatory schedules will be better served elsewhere. VAMx is for pilots who value free flying with everything that comes with it: weather, navigation, alternate planning, logbook discipline - and who collect stories rather than miles.
The original work Virtual Airlines Manager (VAM) was created by Alejandro Garcia and released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
VAMx fully respects this copyright. The original VAM logo remains part of this platform as a visible sign of acknowledgment. All extensions, changes and new developments in VAMx are clearly identified as such and do not affect the rights of the original author in any way.
Original source:
virtualairlinesmanager.net
Historical contributors (2020–2025): Jürgen Wagner, Marc Bauer
VAMx – adaptation, extension and maintenance from 2026: Ben Sinn, Lothar Propson and Claus Sosnowski
GEORGIOx is AltoCloudsAirways' own Windows flight tracker, replacing SIM ACARS entirely. It connects to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020/2024 (via SimConnect) or X-Plane 11/12 (via RREF/UDP), captures all relevant flight data in real time and transmits it to the VAMx server.
Unlike SIM ACARS, GEORGIOx delivers real wind data for both simulators, monitors engine events, detects refueling operations and records landing data including G-force, bank and pitch. All data is secured locally in a SQLite database and can be transmitted by the pilot at any time.
The name Georgio is no coincidence — and no product name. Georgio was a colleague from a former airline, well known to Ben, Claus and Lothar. A charming rogue with a twinkle in his eye, who always found ways to exploit the gaps in the old VAM and SIM ACARS to his own advantage. Today he watches over every flight at AltoCloudsAirways as our honorary Flight Inspector — in his memory and in the spirit he embodied: always present, always keeping an eye on everything.
A dedicated page with technical features, the operating concept and the story behind the name is available (in German): GEORGIOx page →
VAMx Version: 4.0.1
PHP: 8.4
Database: MariaDB / MySQL — InnoDB
Frontend: Bootstrap 3, jQuery, DataTables, Font Awesome 6
License Base: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Version in deutscher Sprache
