Informed by members who spent entire careers operating U.S. Navy aircraft on and around the carrier, Virtual CVW-8 is committed to providing an authentic representation of life within a U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wing. You can forget about the ground job, manning the Squadron Duty Officer desk, or sifting through endless blue folders of paperwork that are part of the actual Naval Aviator squadron experience…here, we focus only on the FUN aspects of flying and fighting these awesome aircraft!

A structured training plan modeled after the actual U.S. Navy Fleet Readiness Training Plan, training briefs and study materials, carefully thought out Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP), and patient instructor pilots all combine to make Virtual CVW-8 an ideal fit for the Naval Aviation enthusiast who is ready to dive in with both feet!

Although Virtual CVW-8 takes great care to create an environment that closely models the training and combat operations of a U.S. Carrier Air Wing, ultimately, flying DCS is a hobby and everyone has real life responsibilities and time constraints! The requirement to balance adult life with entertainment contributes to a slower pace of operations within Virtual CVW-8. We are not in a hurry to get from one phase of training to another. Each flight is an opportunity to train and improve in different aspects of operations.

For this reason, Virtual CVW-8 utilizes an open-world, sandbox type of simulation construct. Using this model, your squadron is available 24/7 for training and flying. When you finish your brief in the Discord Ready Room and “walk” to the flight line or flight deck, it will begin to feel familiar, almost as if you are really there. Rather than executing a scripted combat mission once a week, the Virtual CVW-8 FRTP server presents a persistent, dynamic training environment populated with many different assets to allow members to customize their training flights in order to focus on what they want to work on. Similarly, our Deployment servers run a campaign scenario with a client run clock. The war will pause when life calls…it will be there when you have time to return.

Ultimately, every member of Virtual CVW-8 is here because they share a love for Naval Aviation, flight simulation, and enjoy flying with others in the multiplayer environment.

Of course, the statement above could apply to just about anyone who enjoys flying the Navy aircraft in DCS. What makes the members of Virtual CVW-8 different? We enjoy learning as much as we can about the tactics and operations of our chosen aircraft. We like to talk about systems and tactics, we like to spend time reading and studying training materials on our own. For us, it is not a chore - we love learning about this stuff! We like spending time in the pre-flight brief going over the important aspects of the flight to ensure everyone understands the objectives and what is expected. And we enjoy taking the time in a post-flight debrief to listen to the tactical communications recording while watching a TACVIEW tape to pull out lessons learned and identify areas of the flight were improvements could be made. We do not view these non-flying portions of the hobby as a waste of time, but rather opportunities to continue learning and enjoy this hobby with one another.

Virtual CVW-8 is a community of people who love Naval Aviation at a study sim level of detail. Because of this shared level of interest, there is a camaraderie among Virtual CVW-8 members that helps create a culture and environment within the Wing that is tangible. There are many ways to enjoy this hobby, and there are groups out there for every level of interest. For those looking for our level of obsession, you may have found your ideal fit!