# Getting Started

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Attention Early Access Players!** The links in this document won't work. Please replace `https://fscharter.net` with `https://beta.fscharter.net`.
{% endhint %}

## Creating an Account

**Welcome to FSCharter!** Before we get started, you'll need to [**create a free account**](https://fscharter.net/register). Don't worry, it's quick and easy!

{% hint style="info" %}
Don't forget your credentials, you'll need them in the next step!
{% endhint %}

## Installing the X-Plane Plugin

The X-Plane plugin is the magic that allows you to fly your jobs, track your flights, board passengers and log your achievements on the platform.

Firstly, download the latest version of the plugin by [**logging into**](https://fscharter.net/login) FSCharter, navigating to the menu in the top right hand corner of the page and clicking on `Download X-Plane Plugin`.

![Download the X-Plane plugin from the top-right hand corner ](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuS9AhiNE49rciV7mGh%2Fassets_-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8_-LuJQVSyCPOSqN6Z0IkA_-LuJV0Zj_6MUw98rSPi9_image.jpg?alt=media\&token=d987000e-0402-411f-a857-0f8e58ed39ca)

Once the download has completed, extract the `FSCharter.zip` file into your `<X-Plane11>/Resources/plugins`folder. You should end up with a folder structure that looks like this:

```
<X-Plane11>/
  Resources/
    plugins/
      FSCharter/
        lin_x64/FSCharter.xpl
        mac_x64/FSCharter.xpl
        win_x64/FSCharter.xpl
        Licences.html
        ReadMe.html
```

{% hint style="success" %}
FSCharter is currently available for X-Plane.
{% endhint %}

## Purchasing Your First Aircraft

When you created a new account on FSCharter we gave you enough funds finance your first aircraft. Once you've logged into FSCharter, head over to the [**Aircraft Showroom**](https://fscharter.net/aircraft/showroom) to see what you can afford.

![Aircraft Showroom](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuS9HrLngY0DVFj9E1I%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-09.52.27.jpg?alt=media\&token=7ce54aed-a7e0-4b88-9a59-731e94ea0b2f)

Let's grow from humble beginnings. Purchase or finance a brand new [**Cessna 172 Skyhawk**](https://fscharter.net/aircraft/showroom/cessna-172-skyhawk) by selecting the aircraft and clicking on the `Purchase` or `Finance` button in the `Actions` panel.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Financing an aircraft only requires a 10% deposit but the aircraft costs you more in the long run.
{% endhint %}

![Configure the finance for a Cessna 172 Skyhawk](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuJQVSyCPOSqN6Z0IkA%2F-LuJYjmQTtlDx1OzN1xg%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=569e4ab9-0883-4907-8368-0451c1f80618)

After completing and verifying the form, you are now the proud owner of a brand new Cessna 172! Let's head over to [**My Aircraft**](https://fscharter.net/aircraft) to get a better look at this beauty.

![You can view all of your accessible aircraft in My Aircraft](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuS9UNaMow4msFmRPnB%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-09.51.34.jpg?alt=media\&token=61a7d1f3-860c-4108-a9ff-cc6e65475fab)

The `My Aircraft` page gives you a complete overview of all aircraft that you have access to. It includes aircraft that you've purchased and financed, in addition to company owned aircraft that you have been granted access to. Click on `More Details`  to take us to the `Aircraft Overview` page.

![View aircraft details in Aircraft Overview](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuS9YEV89yoSaraSgUu%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-10.07.10.jpg?alt=media\&token=dd817877-05e9-4f8d-ae43-8abed597edc1)

The `Aircraft Overview` page gives you critical information about your aircraft and allows you to perform basic operations like refuelling and finance management. But wait, what's that big, red, important looking banner I hear you cry? The banner is there to let us know that the aircraft doesn't have a physical location in the world. Yes, we placed it at an airport, but we need to let FSCharter know exactly where the aircraft is before we start our first flight.

{% hint style="info" %}
FSCharter operates on a persistent world concept, whereby your aircraft is always where you left it!
{% endhint %}

So then, before we load up X-Plane, we need to set the location. We can either do this by clicking on the red banner or by selecting `Set Ground Location` in the `Actions` menu.

![The Set Location page allows you to set and relocate your aircraft in the world](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuS9fFnpC4olQUje2kc%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-10.08.35.jpg?alt=media\&token=b90da3e9-5035-4fb6-b81a-67ec3ae162f7)

Once you've navigated your way to the `Set Location` page, click on the map where you'd like to place your aircraft. Be careful, this is where you will spawn in the simulator!

Next up, we need fuel! Use the `Breadcrumb` or `Recent Pages` widgets to jump back to your aircraft's overview page and select the `Refuel` button in the top right hand corner of the screen.

![The Breadcrumb and Recent Pages widgets allow for quick navigation though the platform](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuRnofpL722jILnoNTV%2F-LuRsxRhzs96aYSVW9Ak%2FScreenshot%202019-11-24%20at%2010.09.53.png?alt=media\&token=1fd24b7b-9759-4d8a-8776-7aa25698f209)

{% hint style="info" %}
The visibility of the Breadcrumb and Recent Pages widgets can be toggled in preferences.
{% endhint %}

![Refuelling the aircraft can be achieved from the Aircraft Overview page](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuJ_QNxaglFGOfkIKgn%2F-LuJnrJtkoH5pdMn-zOk%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=d2050afd-a432-4217-9bfd-632c9d079b56)

The `Refuel` dialog allows you to purchase fuel for your aircraft and de-fuel if you've purchased too much. Each type of fuel has a different price, but because our little Cessna uses Avgas, the platform has selected it for us. Go ahead and purchase some fuel!

{% hint style="danger" %}
If you order more fuel than your aircraft can hold, it'll be wasted.
{% endhint %}

Great! We now have a fully fuelled aircraft ready to go. Now we just need some passengers!

## Configuring Your First Job

{% hint style="info" %}
In FSCharter, **Flights** and **Jobs** are not the same thing. A **Flight** ends the moment you touch down, but a **Job** is not completed until you disembark the passengers at their destination airport. You can simply log in to FSCharter in X-Plane and take off and your job-less flight will be tracked by FSCharter. This can be useful when you need to relocate aircraft.
{% endhint %}

Let's head on over to the [**Job Marketplace**](https://fscharter.net/jobs/marketplace) to pick up our first private job. The screen may look daunting at first, but it's laid out logically and we work our way through it from top to bottom.

First up, let's choose the aircraft we want to fly. We don't have much choice at the moment but the search bar can come in useful when we start to build up a fleet.

![](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuS9q2y3hXqjcNXbt5D%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-10.15.50.jpg?alt=media\&token=ffd8b7c7-ee55-436a-b610-44f6f8322eb6)

After we've selected the aircraft that we want to fly, FSCharter will generate or update the departing jobs for the airport where our aircraft is currently stationed and places them on a map for us, sorted by airport size.

{% hint style="info" %}
It's possible to view and accept jobs at other airports by clicking the `Change Airport` button on the `Selected Airport` panel.
{% endhint %}

![The map shows the desired destinations for all departing passengers](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuS9xeeIqo_hADpJBVj%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-10.16.02.jpg?alt=media\&token=bf801cd0-3976-45eb-883d-7ab0fae5eeb0)

After selecting a destination you will be presented with the `Job Configuration` screen. Think of this screen as a way to **offer your service** to all departing passengers waiting at the airport. On this screen you will set the departure and arrival times and the number of passengers that you are willing to take. You may want to limit the number of passengers that will board so that you can pick some more up en-route or for payload reasons.

FSCharter will automatically set your departure time to 30 minutes from now but you're free to change this to any time within the next two hours. For now, let's keep this as the suggested departure time.

Let's go ahead and set the arrival time and the number of passengers we're willing to take. If we set the arrival time too far into the future, passengers won't purchase a ticket and will instead wait for a faster service from another player.

![Configuring a Job](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuSA2q0JBoKW-nDxB5L%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-10.26.40.jpg?alt=media\&token=58defdc1-ca7a-432e-ae34-332a259cc9e6)

{% hint style="danger" %}
When you accept a job you are responsible for delivering the passengers to their destination on time. FSCharter will allow you to accept multiple jobs and over-allocate your aircraft so be careful! Any passengers that can't fit on your aircraft when they board will be abandoned and you will be charged a fee for placing them on another service.
{% endhint %}

Great, we have our first job! Let's check it out in [**My Jobs**](https://fscharter.net/jobs). This screen shows you all `Scheduled`, `Boarded`, `In-Progress`, `Completed`, `Invalid` and `Abandoned` jobs. By using the buttons above the map you can switch between these types. In our case we only have the one job, which will be automatically selected when we load the page.

**That's all we need to do - let's fire up X-Plane!**

![My Jobs shows all upcoming and historical jobs](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuSAJIE08pSfSok-ESX%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-10.48.29.jpg?alt=media\&token=74841066-2705-43f9-af66-281ddf2821a8)

## Flying Your First Job

Load up X-Plane and select the aircraft model that matches your aircraft in FSCharter (in this case, a Cessna 172). You can select *any* location for your aircraft as the FSCharter plugin will move you to the correct location.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you set the location close to where your aircraft is in FSCharter you won't need to wait for X-Plane to load twice!
{% endhint %}

Once your aircraft has loaded, you should be presented with the FSCharter [**Settings**](https://fscharter.gitbook.io/fscharter-documentation/x-plane-plugin/ui/settings). Enter your credentials and log in! If you are not presented with the `Settings` window, open it manually from the `Plugins` menu on the menu bar in X-Plane. (More details [**here**](https://fscharter.gitbook.io/fscharter-documentation/x-plane-plugin/install#configuration).)

![](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuyvUdyWq2XQO-_gnPD%2F-LsmslIt39VcTL9vwS-w%2FFSC_Settings.png?alt=media\&token=8746fdf3-6c64-4835-bf06-435311a23e46)

{% hint style="warning" %}
Early access users may need to select `Early Access` as the environment in the FSCharter plugin settings.
{% endhint %}

After logging in, you will be shown the `Select Aircraft` window.

![The Select Aircraft window inside X-Plane](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuS6M7nwQqlnjLCvDE6%2F-LuSASirSFdg9xbYa1ym%2FFSC_SelectAircraft.jpg?alt=media\&token=31661119-5309-4421-9c4e-430631a96fb0)

Go ahead and select our new Cessna 172 and click `Select Aircraft`. You'll notice that X-Plane will move you to the position that you defined on the FSCharter map. (More details [**here**](https://fscharter.gitbook.io/fscharter-documentation/x-plane-plugin/ui/select-aircraft).)

{% hint style="warning" %}
Some third-party aircraft don't like being moved around and can behave erratically after the FSCharter plugin has placed them in the world. To compensate for this, automatic placement can be disabled from the FSCharter plugin `Settings` window.
{% endhint %}

![The plugin relocates the aircraft to it's persistent location once selected](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuSBLTLuhTB0U0a02zJ%2F-LuSBlNDVu5fBLA3OEbn%2FFSC_SelectAircraft2.jpg?alt=media\&token=6dd4d262-afc3-4869-8a5d-a40d016ae980)

Once we've selected an aircraft, the window changes to a `Status` window that allows to to view the status of the current flight and board passengers. Here we can see the the job that we configured in the FSCharter platform, ready to board. Ensure that the `X` is visible next to our passenger group and go ahead and click `Board/Refuel` to board the passengers and set the aircraft's fuel and payload in the simulator. (More details [**here**](https://fscharter.gitbook.io/fscharter-documentation/x-plane-plugin/ui/status).)

{% hint style="danger" %}
Do not manually change the fuel and payload in the simulator once it has been set by the plugin or you risk invalidating your flight.
{% endhint %}

Excellent! Now we have our aircraft boarded and fuelled. All that's left to do is deliver these passengers safely to their destination.

{% hint style="info" %}
Feel free to close the plugin window during the flight if you need more room.\
It can also be made a separate window with the icon in the top-right corner, or be reopened from the [**menu**](https://fscharter.gitbook.io/fscharter-documentation/x-plane-plugin/ui/menu) via `Plugins > FSCharter > Status Window`.
{% endhint %}

Once we're airborne, give the `My Jobs` page a refresh and you'll see that the Job's status is set to `In-Progress` and that there is an `In-Flight` badge to the right of the Job listing. Let's click on the badge to take us to the `Flight Overview` page so that we can follow it.

![The Job listing's appearance changes depending on the state of the Job](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuSBLTLuhTB0U0a02zJ%2F-LuSFyZonN1qjonC-U_e%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-11.50.59.jpg?alt=media\&token=52636aa7-4cdf-40c8-b3d6-95628b03b9e4)

![The Flight Overview page gives you information about your current flight](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuSBLTLuhTB0U0a02zJ%2F-LuSHYsBlH0c839okCZZ%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-11.59.54.jpg?alt=media\&token=4ceb3b38-c5f1-4933-9dc2-626864ba3f96)

{% hint style="success" %}
The **Flight Overview** page is automatically updated every 10 seconds, so you don't need to refresh the page.
{% endhint %}

**Now go and deliver those passengers!** Come back here once you've departed the runway.

## Completing Your First Job

Congratulations, you've just completed your first job 🥳

Make your way to parking, apply your parking brake and cut your engines. Your passengers will be automatically disembarked.

{% hint style="info" %}
&#x20;Any passengers destined for another airport will remain onboard.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
If you exit X-Plane before you disembark passengers, they will remain onboard and be forcefully disembarked after 1 hour. You will then be required to place your aircraft at the airport via the map on FSCharter before you can begin a new flight.
{% endhint %}

![FSCharter will save the location of your aircraft when you disembark](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuSLJjL_7t4DUNFu2Sk%2F-LuS_M8WNNLphllr3Fz3%2FFSC_Disembark.jpg?alt=media\&token=9b8d2a8e-1083-45cb-a81f-1d3b0531e8c0)

Let's head back to the platform and review our Job! Navigate your way to the `My Jobs` page and select the `View Details` button on the Job listing. Make sure you click on the `Completed Jobs` button on the top of the page first!

![The View Details button is visible once the Job has been completed](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuSa12jjbsiRBFH4Dr_%2F-LuSboWkNjTxbu5sL8sb%2FScreenshot%202019-11-24%20at%2013.33.15.png?alt=media\&token=5ce63b90-dc97-4955-9b67-d50a5df9d60d)

![The Job Overview page gives you a complete overview of your Job](https://78143686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LkTMtwbWmyZMQavwQ_8%2F-LuSa12jjbsiRBFH4Dr_%2F-LuScGENCGhIvXwMbu7Z%2FScreenshot-2019-11-24-at-13.20.43.jpg?alt=media\&token=2b37c866-1e65-47ab-8e13-5b0cb02bcf78)

Great job! That concludes the Getting Started guide, but there's lots more to FSCharter than was covered here. Have a play around with the platform and let us know what you think by getting in touch on [**Discord**](https://discord.gg/kqJCw8r) or by raising a ticket on the [**service desk**](https://fscharter.atlassian.net/servicedesk).