How it all began...
Air Child Virtual Airline was established in May 2007 by two people who met randomly on a flight simulation forum and were both driven by the same motivation: combining their hobby with a purpose reaching beyond the virtual world of simulation. After a couple of e-mails and phone calls to the German UNICEF section, the goal was clear: a virtual airline based on a sponsorship system for the benefit of UNICEF. The desire to help children in need should be the heart and the passion behind all activities of the airline, and so there was no doubt about the name: Air Child.
With this concept in mind, some basic principles of the new airline formed instantly:
Air Child should ...
- offer a friendly, open-minded atmosphere with a professional background
- be a non-restrictive virtual airline for everybody, with a flat organizational structure
- create an attractive and user-friendly environment with features not to be found in many other VA's
- be constantly defined and developed by its members
- strive to become a major VA in the flight simulation community
Around six months later we counted more than a dozen pilots who regularly tested the airline's infrastructure, did countless test flights, commented and invented new features. In September 2008 public beta tests were launched with a registration site. As a result, almost 80 people registered for the tests, with about 50 doing regular flights and giving feedback. In June 2009 Air Child finally opened its doors to the public, after more than two years in development. The site still isn't finished, and we hope it never will be. What you see today is only the base of what Air Child may become in the future. A future that is up to you. As long as you keep giving us feedback, submit your wishes and communicate with fellow pilots and staff members, Air Child will continue to grow and become your airline.
Whatever Air Child will be like in the future - in addition to the above guidelines, which are still valid, there's a certain philosophy behind this VA that will always remain:
- Air Child will always be as open as possible. The majority of content on the website is visible to the public. We are no elitist flying club that closes the window blinds for the public and leaves nothing but a registration form. People who wish to join Air Child shall be allowed to have more than just a peek at what's happening inside.
- Air Child will always be formed by its members, not by its management. If you want to contribute to the development and structure of the company, just go ahead. We don't have a jobs page and no official positions to assign. If you regularly contribute to the VA with new ideas or repaints or coding help or any kind of feedback, you may eventually find yourself being a part of the staff. Just like that.
- Air Child will always have as few regulations as possible and just as much as necessary. In every community, rules are the base for getting along with each other. But as long as the members of a community find their own rules by use of common sense, there's no need for a flood of regulations issued by the management.
Just follow one golden rule:
Respect each other!
