This Reddit thread, posted to r/aviation, centers on a simulator enthusiast's request for tools and techniques to design custom Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs) and Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs) for fictional or virtual airports used in flight simulation environments. The original poster, who identifies as approaching the task from the air traffic control side of simulation rather than the piloting side, is struggling to produce charts that look professional despite investing significant time in the effort. The request specifically asks about software or plugins that allow users to input waypoint coordinates and altitude restrictions to generate procedure charts, and the poster clarifies that these products are not intended for real-world use but rather for custom virtual airports built by simulator communities that don't rely on real-world navigation databases.
While this topic sits outside the operational concerns of professional flight crews, it offers a useful window into the flight simulation ecosystem that increasingly intersects with professional aviation training and public perception of procedural design. The creation of custom SIDs and STARs for virtual airports is a niche but active hobby within communities built around platforms like Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane, and VATSIM-adjacent virtual ATC networks. Enthusiasts building fictional airports or entire virtual regions often want the same visual fidelity and procedural logic found in real Jeppesen or government-issued charts, which requires understanding of waypoint naming conventions, RNAV/RNP path terminators, altitude and speed restrictions, and the graphic conventions charting authorities use to convey holding patterns, transition routes, and obstacle clearance.
For working pilots, this thread is a reminder of how deeply the visual language of SIDs and STARs has permeated aviation culture, and how much of that literacy is now generated and consumed by hobbyists outside professional channels. Chart design is not merely cosmetic; real-world procedure design involves rigorous criteria from bodies like the FAA's TERPS (Terminal Instrument Procedures) or ICAO's PANS-OPS, incorporating obstacle clearance surfaces, minimum segment altitudes, and container airspace protection that a simulator hobbyist would have no exposure to. The gap between "looking professional" and "being operationally valid" is significant, and this distinction matters for any pilot who might casually reference or share simulator-generated charts, since amateur products may formatted similarly to real Jeppesen or NACO/FAA charts without reflecting genuine procedure design standards. This underscores why professional crews must always source procedures exclusively from certified providers such as Jeppesen, ForeFlight/Foreflight's official data feeds, or government AIS publications, never from fan-made or simulator-oriented content.
Broadly, this thread reflects the growing sophistication and community-driven nature of flight simulation, where enthusiasts increasingly replicate not just aircraft systems but entire airspace and procedural ecosystems, including custom-built virtual airports, fictional airlines, and self-designed instrument procedures. Tools like Volanta, Little Navmap, and various third-party charting utilities have lowered the barrier to entry for this kind of amateur procedure design, mirroring a broader trend of simulator technology narrowing the gap with professional-grade training tools. For flight training organizations and Part 141/61 schools that increasingly incorporate advanced desktop simulation into ground instruction, understanding this hobbyist ecosystem can be valuable: it shows both the appetite for procedural realism among aspiring aviators and the potential for confusion if simulator-only content is mistaken for authoritative source material. It also highlights an educational opportunity, as flight schools and CFIs could use these community-made procedures as a teaching moment to explain why real-world SID/STAR design is a rigorously regulated discipline rather than an artistic exercise.