PilotLeague Help

Installing PilotLeague and signing in

Download the installer from the download page (Windows 10 or 11) and run it, ideally with Microsoft Flight Simulator closed. Besides copying the application, the installer registers PilotLeague in the simulator's automatic startup (exe.xml file) and installs the PilotLeague panel in your Community folder.

If the simulator was running during the installation, restart it completely: MSFS only reads the automatic startup and the Community folder when it launches.

First sign-in: the first time the simulator starts after the installation, a PilotLeague sign-in window opens on the desktop. Sign in with Google or with your e-mail, or create an account. You can also launch PilotLeague from the Start menu to sign in at any time. The account is the same as on pilots.pilotleague.com.

What happens when I start MSFS?

Nothing to do: PilotLeague starts with the simulator and works in the background (a PilotLeague icon appears in the Windows notification area). No window opens during the flight.

As soon as a flight is loaded at the parking, PilotLeague stands by. Recording starts when you release the parking brake and the aircraft starts moving; the phases (taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, approach, landing) are then detected automatically.

At the parking with the engines off, the flight ends on its own and is sent to the server. Without an Internet connection it is kept on your PC and sent as soon as the network is back.

Where can I see my results?

On the pilot website: pilots.pilotleague.com. There you will find your flight list, the page of each flight (route map, phases, landing, events and score breakdown) and the leaderboards.

In MSFS 2024, the PilotLeague panel also shows the summary of the last flight (touchdown, scores, XP, rank) with a "View flight" button.

My flight was not recorded

The most common causes:

• You were not signed in. Sign in (sign-in window at startup, or PilotLeague from the Start menu): the current flight is sent once you are signed in.
• The parking brake was never released. Recording starts when the aircraft begins to move with the parking brake released. Without that signal, the capture never starts.
• The flight started in the air. A flight must start on the ground, at a parking spot or a gate. A flight loaded directly in the air is not taken into account.
• You were in the MSFS main menu. Nothing is recorded until a flight is loaded. Going back to the main menu during a flight closes it as interrupted.
• PilotLeague did not start with the simulator. Check in the panel (gear → Options) that automatic startup is enabled, or run the installer again with the simulator closed. The PilotLeague icon in the Windows notification area confirms that the collector is running.
• Fuel was added during the flight. The flight is recorded but flagged as invalid and does not count in the leaderboards. Returning to the MSFS menu reloads the fuel and has the same effect.

If none of these causes applies, write to us (see "Contacting support").

What does my score mean?

Each completed flight receives an overall score out of 100, built from four groups of criteria:

• Landing: smoothness of the touchdown (descent rate), position relative to the runway centerline and touchdown zone.
• Safety: stalls, overspeeds, excessive bank or pitch, unstabilized approach.
• Procedures (SOP): the expected actions — lights, gear, flaps, speed below 10,000 ft, parking brake…
• Efficiency: fuel burned compared with what is expected for the aircraft and the distance.

Each flight earns XP that raises your rank; the website leaderboards compare pilots on these criteria. A crash is scored 0 (the flight counts); an interrupted flight is not scored. The detailed rules are on the Methodology page.

"En route" or interrupted flights

A flight shows as "en route" on the website while it is being recorded. It becomes "interrupted" if the recording stops before the parking: simulator closed in flight, PC switched off, flight reloaded or return to the main menu, pause from the panel.

An interrupted flight stays in your list, without a score, and does not count in the leaderboards. A crash, on the other hand, closes the flight normally with a score of 0.

After an interruption, simply load a new flight: PilotLeague re-arms automatically.

The PilotLeague panel in MSFS 2024

In the MSFS 2024 toolbar, the trophy icon opens the PilotLeague panel. It shows the recording state, the current flight (departure → arrival, phase, timer, runway, altitude), alerts as they happen, the procedures already passed and, in cruise, arrival aids (descent distance and time, fuel and endurance, wind on the runway, destination METAR).

From the panel: "End flight", "View flight", the departure and arrival maps, and behind the gear the options (language, automatic startup, minimize, sign in/out). "Pause" suspends the recording after a double confirmation.

The icon only appears after a full restart of the simulator following the installation. The panel is specific to MSFS 2024.

How do I end a flight?

Normally there is nothing to do: park, shut down the engines and set the parking brake. About fifteen seconds later, the flight is closed and sent.

To close it earlier, the "End flight" button in the panel (or in the PilotLeague window) becomes active once the aircraft is stopped with the engines off. A flight cannot be ended during the approach or the landing.

If the aircraft stays still for ten minutes after landing, the flight is closed automatically.

Updating PilotLeague

The background collector never interrupts you for an update. To check: launch PilotLeague from the Start menu; if a new version exists, an update window offers it and runs the new installer.

You can also download the latest version from the download page and install it over the current one. In both cases, restart the simulator afterwards. Some updates are mandatory and are offered without a "Later" option.

Stopping the collector or uninstalling

For a session without recording: quit PilotLeague from the notification area icon (right-click → Quit); the collector will be back the next time the simulator starts. To stop it starting with MSFS: panel → gear → disable "automatic startup" (the exe.xml entry is removed). Re-enable it in the same place.

To uninstall: close the simulator, then Windows Settings → Apps → PilotLeague → Uninstall. Uninstalling removes the automatic startup and the panel from the Community folder. Your flights and your account stay on the website.

Contacting support

Write to contact@pilotleague.com with the date and time of the flight, the aircraft, the route and, if possible, the PilotLeague version (shown in the application window). Questions about scores go through the same channel.