Quality Simulation in the World of Transportation

World Flight Fundraiser

WorldFlight was first conceived in 2001 primarily as a means of raising awareness of and funding for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). The WorldFlight event itself is staged on the first Sunday in November each year, commencing at approximately 11:00 am (AEDT) and finishing seven days later at approximately 8:00 pm (AEDT), attracting a multitude of online pilots and air traffic controllers from around the world.

WorldFlight Australia, one of the founding groups of the event, has since taken on the lead role for the event, establishing the route and other conventions used during the event. WorldFlight consists of a core management team, with input sought from the participating teams from different simulators. It is, in every sense, a collaborative effort.

Our WF Team, SoCal Crew, will be operating as “DAL 8317” during the WorldFlight events.

The event will be live-streamed 24 hours a day for seven consecutive days. If you’re interested in joining the team, you can contact one of our WorldFlight representatives on our Discord for more information.

Meet the SoCal Crew

Mark

Owner / Founder

JEFF FAVIGNANO

World Flight Team Member

MIKE AKA MIDNIGHT MAVERICK737

World Flight Team Member

KYLE AKA CPTCANADA

World Flight Team Member

GIOVANNI AKA CPT GIO

World Flight Team Member

JOHN AKA VREF SIMMER

World Flight Team Member

PAUL

World Flight Team Member

RYAN AKA CIVRYAN

World Flight Team Member

NATE

World Flight Team Member

YARO

World Flight Team Member

DOUG LEATHEM

World Flight Team Member

Mike

World Flight Team Member

PAT AKA SIM AVIATOR

World Flight Team Member

CALEB AKA BLU GAMES

World Flight Team Member

Chris aka Flyboy726

World Flight Team Member

Dan

World Flight Team Member

Marc

World Flight Team Member

Liam

World Flight Team Member

COLIN STEPNEY

World Flight Team Member

Alfred

World Flight Team Member

Mike

World Flight Team Member

Anthony

World Flight Team Member

HADLEY AKA SHEER INSANE

World Flight Team Member

EVAN REITER

World Flight Team Member

ROBERT AKA YELLOWBUS

World Flight Team Member

Countdown to WorldFlight 2023

AROUND THE WORLD

View THE 2023 ROUTE

Participants from around the globe raise money for their own charities by conducting their own events.

WorldFlight Team USA
WorldFlight Team Virginia
WorldFlight Team Cali Crew
WorldFlight Team SoCal (That’s Us)

WorldFlight Australia
WorldFlight Team Mangrove
WorldFlight Team Perth
WorldFlight Team Airbus
WorldFlight Team Illawarra
WorldFlight Team Covey

WorldFlight Hamilton NZ

WorldFlight Team Simfest
WorldFlight Team Velocity

WorldFlight Team Germany
WorldFlight Team JeeHell A320

WorldFlight Team Turkey

Days
Hours
Minutes

A big thank you to our sponsors Flightdeck solutions Vertical Sim Drzewiecki Designs LatinVFR Heavy Weight Podcast SimMarket Orbx Buttkicker HoneyComb Aeronautical iniBuilds Pilotedge Next Level Racing FlyWithRookie

We surpassed our $8k goal. Thanks to all our sponsors and pilots who participated in this event to make this happen. Together, we managed to raise $12,045 in our inaugural year.

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© 2024 FlyWithRookie Simulations

Mark

Owner / Founder

I’m Mark owner and founder of the Team SoCal crew. I chose to start a World Flight team because it was a way to combine two things I love, flying and giving back. It also allows for others who share this same love to come and experience a full sized cockpit, while raising money for charity.

I got into flight sim back in 2009 on the famous platform FSX. As the years passed my passion for aviation increased, as well as the demand to experience more which led me to where I am today. In July of 2020 I pulled the trigger on a Flight Deck Solution 737DSTD, which allowed me to have a fully immersed experience flying.

Jeff Favignano

World Flight Team Member

Jeff Favignano is a content creator across various platforms. He is also a real-world PPL holder, flight sim enthusiast, and just an all-around gamer.

His passion for flight sim spans far beyond what most could imagine. He enjoys providing content for those who may be interested in aviation or just for entertainment. It’s because of this he feels it’s a great pleasure to be apart of something as special as World Flight, and being able to give to charity.

MIKE AKA MIDNIGHT MAVERICK737

World Flight Team Member

I was born and raised in sunny California with passions for aviation and baseball.

I got into flight simulation with Microsoft 2000 and have been hooked ever since. In 2021, I was able to experience my first Flight Sim Expo, as well as become involved with the online community. The experience of getting to meet everyone was truely amazing and the support of the online community has been incredible. It’s also part of the reason I started my own online community, with the goal giving back like so many have before me.

I joined the world flight team because it let’s me enjoy one of my passions and give back to charity.

KYLE AKA CPTCANADA

World Flight Team Member

Hey guys! My name is Kyle. Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a passion for flight simulation. I’ve been fortunate enough to turn my passion into a full-time job, where my goal is to spread as much awareness and to promote what a truly unique and amazing hobby flight simulation is.

I wanted to join World Flight to promote and give back to wonderful charities all around the world.

Happy Landings!

GIOVANNI AKA CPT GIO

World Flight Team Member

Hi, I am Giovanni, from Miami, FL. I decided to join the SoCal crew because it provides me with the opportunity to help out with World Flight by giving back to the community that I love so much and raising money for a great cause.

My simming journey started back in 2018 when I was introduced to FSX. At the time I didn’t really know how to fly a plane in the sim, but I made it my mission to learn and be great at it. Using resources like YouTube, I started my research about FSX and then discovered XPLANE 11. From there I went on to discover an entire flight sim community and was fortunate enough to connect with great content creators both virtually and during Flight Sim Expo 2019 in Orlando, FL. This great group of gentlemen, inspired and encouraged me to start my YouTube channel. I love planes and to be around them, so much so that before my current occupation I used to be a fueler at Miami International Airport, not to mention flight simulation has allowed me to jump in my virtual cockpit and fly anytime I want.

JOHN AKA VREF SIMMER

World Flight Team Member

I have loved aviation for as long as I can remember and started flight sim as a kid on MSFS 5.0 when my parents gave it to me as a gift. This passion turned into flight lessons, pilot certificates, and over ten years of flying as an airline pilot in the United States.

Today, I’m still flight simming and love to use this excellent generation of sims to help with proficiency and having fun. I look forward to using my lifelong passion, hobby, and professional skills for a good cause as a part of the World Flight Team.

PAUL

World Flight Team Member

I am a CFI, CFII, and AGI, and I currently fly the A320 for JetBlue out of JFK.

I’ve been a pilot for a little over seven years now.

Since I was young, I have dreamt of flying. Now that I know more about aviation, I use social media to mentor young pilots and aspiring aviators to achieve their dreams.

Following Jeff to World Flight and seeing all the fun he had, I am super proud and honored to be part of such a fantastic team.

I look forward to flying with you guys!

RYAN AKA CIVRYAN

World Flight Team Member

Hey folks my name is Ryan and I’m a full time content creator on YouTube.

I’ve recently been getting my feet wet into the sim flying community and have loved learning a new hobby. It’s been a fun rabbit hole to go down.

Even more than flying/gaming, I love raising money for a good cause and I’m beyond excited to have been invited to help out the World Flight Team.

Stoked to raise some money, make some new friends, and learn as much as I can from the more seasoned pilots here.

NATE

World Flight Team Member

Heyo. I’m Nate, I’m a real world pilot and have been a sim pilot for about as long as I can remember.

I’m all about flying it right and helping others in the community to do the same.

I am excited to be a part of World Flight and helping to raise money for an amazing cause.

YARO

World Flight Team Member

Hello everybody, my name is Yaro. My only dream since childhood is to fly. For the first time I saw an airplane at the aviation museum in Kiev when I was 4 years old. Since then I began to study aviation.

When I was in school I attended the flying club “Aviator”. I liked the classes at this flying club so much that I was assigned as an instructor to simulotr of a Boeing 737. When my family and I moved to Los Angeles, the first thing I did was to go to LAX for spotting.
I also take pictures of planes sometimes on my inst: @dude_from_VNY

Looking foward to become an airline pilot in United States.

DOUG LEATHEM

World Flight Team Member

Doug Leathem flew on the Original World Flight Team in London in 2001 and 2002.  He served in the USAF for 24 years as an Aircrew Resource Manager and retired in the Florida Panhandle in 2008. 

After a 15 year break, Doug got back into VATSIM –both flying and controlling, in 2018.  When he saw that FlyWithRookie had a full-cockpit simulator, he suggested forming a World Flight team. 

Doug led the SoCal Crew in 2022.

Mike

Mike

World Flight Team Member

Mike is a full-time consultant in the cyber security industry and an avid gamer. He started his flight sim career many years ago primarily in Falcon 4.0 & BMS flying the F-16 Fighting Falcon before recently returning to MSFS 2020 after a hiatus from flying. He hopes to one day earn his PPL.

You can occasionally find him streaming various games on Twitch including MSFS. He is honored to join such a distinguished group for a great cause, helping to raise money for charity though flight sim aviation.

PAT AKA SIM AVIATOR

World Flight Team Member

“How do planes fly? How does it stay in the air for hours at a time?”, I wondered while quietly sitting at the window seat on a flight that seemed to last forever.

These questions were enough to intrigue me and my journey in aviation began! From watching videos on YouTube to try and get my questions answered, I came across flight sim videos and discovered a whole new world. I quickly got myself P3D and started flying. The rest is history!

Deep into flight simming, I decided to share my passion, and being inspired by XP72, I began streaming! Someday, I hope to become a real-world pilot and continue my passion! With World flight, I intend to inspire more people and be a part of this huge charitable cause.

CALEB AKA BLU GAMES

World Flight Team Member

My goal from the start is to share my passions with a creative edge and motivate people around the world to push themselves to not only chase their dreams but create the life they have always wanted by setting a goal and executing a plan of action. Dream Big or Live Small! Give It All You Got!

Chris aka Flyboy726

World Flight Team Member

Chris has been an aviation enthusiast ever since he was a little boy and played TopGun on Nintendo! He would later join and United States Navy and has served for 23 yrs now. 

He wasn’t able to become a pilot in the Navy but at least works on and around aircraft to feed his passion! 

Chris has been an avid Flight simmer ever since FS 2004 and FSX and jumps at the opportunity to do anything flight sim or aviation related. 

He was honored and humbled to be asked to be a part of the WorldFlight SoCal Team not only because it is doing what he loves for a great cause but also because of the great group of people he gets to be surrounded by when doing it! 

What an amazing way to bring awareness to such an awesome community and give back at the same time! 

Light the fires, and kick the tires…lets go!

.

Dan

World Flight Team Member

I’m thrilled to share that I’ve been honored by the WorldFlight SoCal group to join them this year. Since discovering Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane 4 in 1998, my fascination with flight simulation has only grown. I’ve stayed up to date with the latest advancements in both simulators, drawn in by the complexity of emulating aviation systems.

To contribute to the flight simulation community, I’ve developed innovative tools for X-Plane. My most notable achievement is the Landing Rate plugin, a popular tool among users and streamers for improving simulated landings.

Even without a private pilot’s license, flying, even virtually, has been a blast. I’ve been actively sharing my knowledge and serving as a moderator for Kyle/CptCanada, both in live streams and Discord. Collaborating with others and enhancing the flight simulation landscape has been a rewarding experience.

By contributing and engaging with fellow pilots and enthusiasts, I aim to enrich their flight simulation experiences. I’m excited about the future advancements in flight simulation and the opportunities they hold.

Being asked to join the WorldFlight SoCal group is an incredible honor, and I’m eager to continue pursuing my passion for flight simulation while inspiring others in the community with my contributions.

Marc

World Flight Team Member

Marc’s love for aviation began over 15 years ago when he began plane spotting in his hometown of Memphis, TN, with his uncle. His passion grew when he received Microsoft Flight Sim 2004 for his birthday, and Marc has been flying virtual skies with various flight simulator platforms ever since.

Marc’s love for aviation stretches into his career in the Army as he often works around military aircraft assisting in moving personnel and supplies worldwide for various missions. Marc plans to start pilot training soon and begin an aviation career.

Marc is honored and humbled to become a member of the SoCal WorldFlight Team and join a prodigious group of individuals that share the same passion for aviation while giving back and raising awareness for a great cause.

Liam

World Flight Team Member

Liam, a part-time content creator and developer, was born and raised in Germany. In recent years, he has developed a profound passion for aviation. He is on the brink of enrolling in a flight school where he aspires to earn his Frozen Air Transport Pilot License (ATPL) and an A320 Type Rating.

In the future, Liam dreams of working for a major European airline and sharing his experiences as a pilot through online content creation. His goal is to give aspiring pilots a glimpse into the life of an aviator and to educate them about some of the challenging decisions they might have to make, drawing on his own journey from being an aviation enthusiast.

Additionally, Liam serves as a Tower Controller in the Frankfurt region of Germany (VATSIM), with a focus on controlling Frankfurt Airport (EDDF). He was eager to join Worldflight, as it presented the opportunity to be part of a team of aviation enthusiasts. Moreover, it enables him to contribute to a noble cause by raising funds, while simultaneously indulging in his passion for aviation.

COLIN STEPNEY

World Flight Team Member

I’m, Colin Stepney, from Las Vegas, NV. I am a real world 737 pilot for American Airlines and a Flight Engineer on the KC-10 in the Air Force Reserves.

I have been flying on flight simulators since 1996 and a real world pilot since 2004. It is such pleasure to be part of the team, and share my passion for aviation with people around the world.

I have always looked forward to flying World Flight every year and to now say I do it with a team, makes it that much better.

Blue Skies and Fly Good, Don’t Suck!

Alfred

World Flight Team Member

Alfred is an aerospace research engineer focused on next generation composite aerostructures and is based in Southern California. Alfred’s passion in aviation started from his frequent travel between the US and Hong Kong during his childhood. He started his hobby of flight simulation in 2005 and has been flying and controlling online ever since. It was from the joy of this hobby that he began his private pilot training and completed his first solo flight in 2019. He is looking to further his training in the real world after a break to expand his experience in aeronautics. 

Alfred’s previous involvement in WorldFlight was providing ATC service as part of the VATSIM WF ATC team in the past 10 years, and he is very excited to join his local SoCal team to further support the charitable cause through volunteering and networking.

Mike

World Flight Team Member

Mike (Moosestaffa) is the Tech and Facility Administrator at Campus Bible Church in Fresno, CA in addition to being a part time streamer on Twitch as Moosestaffa, a play on his IRL nickname – Moose. He has been into aviation and flight simulation ever since Jr High… around 26 years ago. In college he pursued his PPL in a Cessna 172 but ran out of money due to car trouble before finishing it and would like to go back and finish the PPL in the near future. 

While flying professionally no longer seems to be in the cards, he is happy to scratch the itch of aviation through flight simulation and bringing that passion to his online community through streaming on Twitch. He is a member of the FSA (Flight Simulation Association) and has been a Media Partner for FSExpo for the last four shows. He has slowly become more invloved with the FSExpo shows, including co-hosting the Product announcments with Evan Reiter at the opening of the Houston Expo in 2023.

Anthony

World Flight Team Member

Hello my name is Anthony currently living in Vancouver, Canada. I come from a family that worked in the aviation industry. Ranging from station attendant to pilot.

At an early age I was given the opportunity to fly an A300 simulator. Later, I got into FSX for a short time. It was not until MSFS 2020 that I took flight simulators more seriously. Then in 2022, I started training to get my PPL. I discovered the flywithrookie community when they did the 2022 World Flight. It seemed like a great way to bring the aviation community together while giving back to charity.

I look forward to bring part of the team.

HADLEY AKA SHEER INSANE

World Flight Team Member

A family man who has a love for aviation. When he’s not hanging out with the family or working, he is doing something aviation-related. Whether that is flying in MSFS, X-Plane, or helping out with the Fly With Rookie Simulator. Hadley is excited to use his love for aviation for a good cause with the SoCal World Flight Team.

EVAN REITER

World Flight Team Member

I began using Flight Simulator X with a passion for aviation and almost no knowledge of flying or air traffic control. The people, professionalism, and experiences of Boston Virtual ARTCC and VATSIM inspired me to begin flight training. After working as a Management Consultant and flying recreationally for two years, I succumbed to my love of aviation and decided to pursue a commercial license. I now fly the Embraer 175 for a regional airline in North America.

Within the simulation community, I’m a controller on VATSIM (Boston ARTCC) and the co-founder of Flight Simulation Association.

ROBERT AKA YELLOWBUS

World Flight Team Member

Flight Simulation has been a part of my entire career with the airlines. MFS 95′ ride or die is how I wanted to live. Never could I ever imagine Flight Simulation would be the way it is currently. I owe so much of my aviation knowledge and dexterity to how advanced simulation has become. In my almost physical and literal 2 years of sitting in a chair of a cockpit I’ve often got done with a flight and said ” Man I wonder what that would look like if I would have?”

To be a part of the World Flight Team is a blessing and an honor and to be amongst some of Flight Sim communities top content creators is mind blowing. My hope is to add to the already impressive job the team has done to get to this point, and inspire future aviators to keep their passion to become an aviator alive.

Click here to see the Simbrief ATC Route for WorldFlight 2023