SimSoar is a virtual gliding portal for simulator pilots who want to record, analyze, compare, and share their soaring flights.
The project is designed as a dedicated community platform for virtual glider pilots using modern flight simulators such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, Condor, X-Plane, and compatible soaring tools.
SimSoar is not meant to be just another file upload page. Its long-term goal is to become a structured, multi-user flight logbook and ranking platform for virtual soaring — with meaningful flight analysis, pilot profiles, public leaderboards, and a clean foundation for future community features.
SimSoar exists to give virtual glider pilots a place where their flights can be collected, understood, and compared in a more meaningful way.
A glider flight is more than a distance value. It contains route decisions, climb phases, thermal use, altitude management, weather interpretation, risk, patience, and pilot skill. SimSoar aims to make these elements visible.
The platform is intended to support:
- upload and analysis of IGC flight logs
- personal pilot profiles and callsigns
- individual flight histories
- public flight listings and leaderboards
- basic soaring performance analysis
- thermal and climb detection
- altitude and route visualization
- simulator-based virtual gliding communities
The long-term vision of SimSoar is to become a reliable and enjoyable home for virtual soaring.
SimSoar should allow pilots to:
- document their virtual flights over time
- compare flights with other pilots
- review altitude profiles and climb behavior
- identify strong thermals and key route decisions
- build a recognizable pilot profile
- participate in rankings, events, and future competitions
- share flights without relying on temporary screenshots or disconnected tools
The project should stay focused, clean, and practical. It should serve the flying experience, not bury it under unnecessary complexity.
Planned and partially implemented core features include:
- multi-user platform for virtual glider pilots
- login through an external identity provider
- pilot profile with callsign and personal flight history
- IGC file upload
- server-side IGC validation
- flight distance calculation
- altitude profile extraction
- basic vario and climb analysis
- thermal detection
- public flight overview
- public leaderboard
- prepared map-based flight visualization
SimSoar is intended for:
- virtual glider pilots
- flight simulator communities
- soaring clubs using simulators
- pilots who want to compare and analyze IGC files
- users of MSFS, Condor, X-Plane, and similar platforms
- small communities that want their own independent soaring portal
SimSoar follows a few simple principles:
-
Flights first
The uploaded flight and its analysis are the center of the platform. -
Community without clutter
The platform should support pilots and rankings without becoming overloaded. -
Readable flight data
Distance, altitude, climb behavior, and thermal phases should be understandable at a glance. -
Independent operation
SimSoar should be able to run on self-hosted infrastructure. -
Clean separation of code and runtime data
Source code belongs in Git. Secrets, uploads, logs, and operational data belong outside the repository. -
Extensible architecture
Future features such as events, moderation, advanced scoring, or object storage should be possible without redesigning the entire system.
SimSoar is developed as a modern web application based on:
- Next.js
- Node.js
- Prisma
- PostgreSQL
- external authentication through OpenID Connect / Keycloak
- server-side IGC processing
- optional reverse proxy deployment
The project is prepared for classic self-hosted operation on Linux servers. It is intentionally not limited to a specific cloud provider.
Operational configuration, secrets, uploaded flight files, certificates, logs, and environment files are not part of the source repository.
This repository contains the application source code and project files required to develop SimSoar.
It should contain:
- application source code
- UI components
- server-side logic
- database schema and migrations
- public static assets
- deployment templates where useful
- documentation relevant to development
It must not contain:
- production secrets
- environment files with real values
- private keys or certificates
- uploaded user files
- runtime logs
- build artifacts
- dependency directories such as
node_modules
SimSoar is currently in active development.
The foundation is being prepared for a proper multi-user architecture, persistent database storage, authenticated access, and future public flight comparison features.
The project is not yet considered a finished production platform. Interfaces, data models, and deployment details may still change while the core system is being stabilized.
Possible next development stages include:
- stable pilot profile system
- improved IGC parser and validation
- proper track visualization on interactive maps
- detailed altitude and climb charts
- improved thermal detection
- public and private flight visibility options
- moderation workflow for public uploads
- event and competition support
- role-based administration
- audit logging
- optional object storage for uploaded files
- improved scoring and leaderboard logic
The goal of SimSoar is simple:
Build a clean, independent, community-oriented platform where virtual glider flights can be uploaded, analyzed, compared, and remembered.
SimSoar should make virtual soaring more visible, more structured, and more rewarding — without losing the calm, focused nature of gliding itself.