Frequently Asked Questions

X-Plane 12 is fully supported with zero install required. Microsoft Flight Simulator support is currently in beta (see Pre-Release Products below). We can also support P3D-based sims on request — get in touch if you're interested!

FlyShirley works best in Google Chrome on desktop. We also support Firefox and Chromium-based browsers like Edge and Brave.

Organization setup is currently a manual process. Please email us or schedule a call and we'll get you set up right away!

For the best experience, we recommend wired microphones with a physical mute switch:

• USB desktop microphones with a green/red mute indicator — great for classrooms and shared spaces
• Gaming headsets with flip-up mics — the mic mutes when you flip it up, making it clear when Shirley can hear you

Check out our STEM Educator's Guide for specific hardware recommendations.

Shirley offers several ways to learn, whether you're brand new or practicing for a checkride:

1. Shirley School — Start here! A guided orientation that teaches you how to talk to Shirley, use assistant mode, and navigate the platform. No simulator required.
2. Discovery Flight — A relaxed introductory flight where Shirley walks you through the basics of flying in the simulator.
3. ACS Challenges — Teach yourself to fly with scored maneuver analysis! Shirley grades your takeoffs, landings, and steep turns against the standards required to pass a real FAA ACS checkride, with detailed performance feedback.
4. Challenge Creator — Design your own structured training scenarios. Describe what you want to practice and Shirley will generate a complete multi-phase challenge for you.
5. Free flight — Just connect to your sim and fly! Shirley acts as your copilot, answering questions and providing coaching whenever you need it.

Visit the Fly page to see all available options, or check out Shirley's capabilities to learn more about what they can do.

If X-Plane can't connect to Shirley, you may need to allow local network access in Chrome:

1. Go to the FlyShirley website in Chrome
2. Click the Lock icon or View site information (ⓘ) next to the URL
3. Click Site settings
4. Find Local network access and change the dropdown to Allow

You may also see a prompt when first connecting — click "Allow" when it appears.

Windows sometimes has trouble remembering your audio device selection. To choose the correct microphone:

1. Click the dropdown arrow (▼) next to the Microphone button
2. Select your preferred audio input device from the list

You may need to re-select your device each time you start a session if Windows resets your preference.

The Microphone button serves as a mute/unmute toggle. Click it to mute your microphone input — Shirley won't hear anything with your microphone muted.

The dropdown arrow (▼) next to the button opens the audio source selector, where you can choose which microphone input to use.

There are a few ways to quiet Shirley:

• Mute checkbox: Use the mute checkbox in the Shirley interface to mute Shirley's microphone.
• Voice command: Say "Mute" or "Shirley, sterile cockpit mode" to have Shirley mute themselves.
• Assistant Mode toggle: Enable "Assistant Mode" (also called "Shirley Mode") toggle under the microphone button. When enabled, Shirley only responds when you say "Shirley", then automatically re-mutes after responding.

Compared to muting your microphone, Shirley can still hear everything said while muted or on assistant mode, but won't respond until you say "Shirley."

When running your simulator in fullscreen mode, the FlyShirley browser window is often hidden. Here are some options:

• Windowed simulator mode: Run your simulator in windowed mode so you can see both the sim and FlyShirley's interface
• External monitor: Place FlyShirley on a second display alongside your simulator
• Chrome Live Captions: Enable Chrome's built-in Live Caption feature to see captions overlaid on your screen (see Google's guide)

Head to the Challenge Creator and describe the scenario you want to practice — for example, "practice short-field landings at a mountain airport" or "recreate the Miracle on the Hudson river landing." The AI will generate a complete multi-phase challenge for you.

From there you can:

• Edit the result — The generated challenge appears in a live editor where you can modify any part of it directly. The editor validates your changes in real-time against the challenge schema.
• Iterate with AI — Want changes? Type what you'd like to adjust and regenerate — the AI will use your current challenge as a starting point rather than creating from scratch.
• Test immediately — Start a Shirley call right on the same page to fly your challenge without leaving the editor.

For advanced authoring, browse the challenge specification to see the full TypeScript schema, or explore example challenges on GitHub for inspiration. The Challenge & Training page has a detailed overview of what each phase can control.

Our Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 & 2024 support is currently in beta! Here's how to get started:

1. Download the SimConnect Bridge tray app (Windows only, code-signed by Airplane Team).
2. Place the SimConnect DLL — the bridge needs SimConnect_internal.dll (MSFS 2024) or SimConnect.dll (MSFS 2020) in the same folder. See "Troubleshooting MSFS" below if you need help finding it.
3. Run SimConnect Bridge — it will appear in your Windows system tray and automatically connect to MSFS when the sim is running.
4. Navigate to FlyShirley for MSFS 2024 (or MSFS 2020) in Chrome.
5. Fly! Press "Connect to MSFS" and Shirley will connect to your sim through the bridge automatically.

Need help? Ask in our Discord, or email us directly.

The SimConnect Bridge needs a file called SimConnect_internal.dll (MSFS 2024) or SimConnect.dll (MSFS 2020) to run. This file ships with every copy of MSFS — you don't need the SDK or Developer Mode. You just need to find it and place it next to the bridge.

Step 1: Find the DLL

Option A — File Explorer (easiest):

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to This PC
2. Type SimConnect_internal.dll in the search bar (top right)
3. Wait for the search to complete — this may take a few minutes

Option B — PowerShell (faster):

1. Press Win + X and select Terminal or PowerShell
2. Paste this command and press Enter:

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\,D:\,E:\ -Recurse -Filter "SimConnect_internal.dll" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object FullName

Step 2: Copy the DLL next to the bridge

Copy SimConnect_internal.dll into the same folder as simconnect-bridge.exe:

Your Folder
├── simconnect-bridge.exe
└── SimConnect_internal.dll

Important: Don't run the bridge from your Downloads folder — Windows applies extra security restrictions there. Move both files to a folder like Documents or your Desktop first.

Alternative: Instead of copying the DLL to the bridge, you can copy simconnect-bridge.exe into your MSFS 2024 game folder (where the DLL already lives) and run it from there.

Where is the DLL usually located?

• Steam (default install): C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\MicrosoftFlightSimulator2024\
• Microsoft Store / Xbox App: C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Limitless_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\
• SDK installed: Look for SimConnect.dll in your SDK's SimConnect SDK\lib\ folder — either DLL works with the bridge.

Common issues:

• Bridge starts but won't connect: Right-click the bridge in your system tray and click "Reconnect." If that doesn't work, restart the bridge while MSFS is running.
• Can't find the DLL anywhere: Make sure MSFS 2024 is fully installed (not still downloading). Try searching all drives.
• Found multiple copies of the DLL: Any copy will work — pick the one in your main MSFS game folder.
• Using MSFS 2020: Search for SimConnect.dll instead of SimConnect_internal.dll and follow the same steps.

Still stuck? Get in touch and include which MSFS version you're running (2020 or 2024), whether you installed via Steam or Microsoft Store, and the error message you see.

The MSFS integration doesn't yet have full feature parity with X-Plane 12. Here are a few things to be aware of:

• [Limitation] Weather & wind: Shirley can't currently set wind or weather conditions in MSFS. You'll need to configure weather in the sim's settings yourself before or during your flight.
• [Bug] Repositioning tools: The teleport and set-pattern-position tools require your aircraft to be airborne to work correctly. Get in the air first, then ask Shirley to reposition you.
• [Bug] Time resets: MSFS may occasionally snap back to real-world time for your location, overriding your custom time-of-day settings. If the time suddenly changes, check the sim's time settings.

If you run into anything not listed here, let us know in Discord or email us — your feedback helps us decide what to prioritize!

FlyShirley in-flight is currently in alpha testing on iPad and iPhone! The experience replicates what you can see from the Shirley Air Tour — Shirley acts as your copilot during real flights, keeping a transcript, providing helpful information and answering questions.

To get early access, email us or ask in our Discord.