How to Fly a Boeing 737: Your First Simulator Session Step by Step

Taking the controls of a real airliner sounds like something that requires years of flight school. In reality, it's much simpler: at Aviasim in Kyiv you can fly a full session in a Boeing 737 simulator today — with zero experience. You'll sit in a full-size, realistic cockpit with genuine controls and instruments, and an instructor will guide you through every single step. Here's exactly how your first session goes, from briefing to touchdown. ✈️

Step 1. Briefing with Your Instructor

The flight begins not in the cockpit but with a relaxed conversation. Your instructor will ask whether you've flown before (if not — perfect, that's exactly who we're here for) and build a plan with you: which airport you'll depart from, where you're heading, and what you'll try with your own hands. In plain language, they'll explain why an aircraft flies at all, how it responds to the yoke, and which instruments actually matter. By the end of the briefing, most of the nerves are gone: you know what's coming, and you know you'll never be left alone with hundreds of buttons.

Step 2. Getting to Know the Cockpit 🧑‍✈️

Now for the best part: you take the captain's seat — yes, the left one, right away. The cockpit looks exactly like a real Boeing 737's, but for your first flight you only need three things:

• The yoke. It controls the aircraft's attitude: turn it and the plane banks into a turn, pull it and the nose rises, push it and the nose drops.
• The thrust levers. Sitting between the pilot seats, they set engine power: forward to accelerate, back to slow down.
• The MCP, or Mode Control Panel. The narrow panel above the instruments where you dial in heading, altitude and speed. This is how you'll later "talk" to the autopilot.

Your instructor will also point out the key instruments: the artificial horizon, the speed tape and the altimeter. That short list is genuinely all you need for a confident first flight.

Step 3. Engine Start

The moment many guests remember most vividly. Following your instructor's calls, you start the engines step by step: fuel on, starter engaged — the needles come alive and the cockpit fills with a working hum. You've just started a Boeing 737 yourself. Not a bad opening, right?

Step 4. Taxiing to the Runway

Next, you need to reach the runway. Here's the first surprise for beginners: on the ground, an airliner is steered not with the yoke but with the pedals and a small separate steering wheel beside the pilot. Add a touch of thrust and the multi-ton machine obediently rolls along the taxiways. Your instructor calls out speed and route, so there's no chance of getting lost at the airport.

Step 5. Takeoff: V1 and VR, Explained Simply

You're lined up and cleared for takeoff. Thrust levers go forward, the aircraft accelerates, and your instructor calls out the two speeds that matter:

• V1 — the decision speed. Once you pass it, the takeoff is no longer aborted: there wouldn't be enough runway left to stop. You're going flying!
• VR, or "rotate" — the nose-up speed. On the call "Rotate!", you smoothly pull the yoke toward you — and the runway falls away below. You're airborne! 🛫

It sounds like an exam, but in practice all you do is keep the aircraft straight and pull the yoke on cue. Everything else is backed up by your instructor.

Step 6. Climb and Autopilot

After liftoff you raise the landing gear and climb. This is where the real feeling of flight kicks in: the aircraft answers every input on the yoke, and it's genuinely you doing the flying. Once the first wave of emotion settles, your instructor shows you how to hand the work over to the autopilot: on the MCP you set altitude, heading and speed, and the automation smoothly flies the jet to your numbers. Time to exhale, enjoy the scenery, and ask every question you've been saving up.

Step 7. The Approach

The most exciting part is still ahead. You turn back toward the airport, descend gradually, extend the flaps and then the landing gear. Your task is to "capture" the glideslope — an imaginary sloping path the aircraft glides down toward the runway threshold. The instructor coaches your speed and rate of descent while the runway lights appear ahead — exactly the way pilots see them.

Step 8. Landing

The main exam of your first flight. Just above the concrete you gently ease the yoke back — the aircraft flares, the main wheels kiss the runway, reverse thrust kicks in, the brakes bite. You've stopped! Be proud of yourself: with an instructor's guidance, most first-timers land the jet on their very first attempt. 🎉

Step 9. Debriefing

Engines shut down — time for a short recap. Your instructor will tell you what went especially well and what to polish next time: holding the glideslope more precisely, or working the thrust more gently. It's the perfect moment for questions, and for planning the next flight — a night flight, a landing at a mountain airport, or challenging weather.

Do You Need Experience? No — and That's the Point

A simulator flight requires no knowledge and no preparation: an instructor is with you from the first minute to the last. Sessions are by appointment — Aviasim is located in Kyiv at 35 Hertsena Street and is open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 22:00. Beyond the Boeing 737 simulator, you can take on the F/A-18 Hornet fighter or fly a Cessna in virtual reality. And if you're looking for a gift for someone who dreams of the sky, gift certificates are available. Book your first flight — and turn the dream into a flight plan.