How Did We Get Here?
It’s been a wonderful journey, but all things must change with the times. While we loved the past, we embrace the future, thanks for being here!
Our Beginning...
Where the name comes from, what we do and where we're headed...
Com-Central’s roots go back to the release of Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator — one of the first sims to put WWII warbirds into true multiplayer skies. Suddenly, flying wasn’t a solo experience anymore. Pilots could meet up, fly together, and go head to head, and a wave of CFS-dedicated communities sprang up around that shared excitement. Com-Central.net was one of them.
It didn’t take long for the community to organize. Virtual squadrons formed, rivalries between squadrons turned into real challenges, and simple dogfights grew into full multiplayer bombing runs and scenario missions. That competitive, squadron-based spirit is what Com-Central was built on back in 1999 — and more than 25 years later, we’re still here, still flying, and still one of the longest-running flight sim communities around.
Over the years we’ve flown IL-2 Sturmovik’s WWII skies, taken off in Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane, and welcomed thousands of members along the way. Some of you have been here since the beginning. Others just found us. Either way — welcome aboard.
Where It Started
Com-Central was built with communications in mind — a central place for sim pilots to connect, share, and fly together. That idea is baked right into our logo: a radio tower broadcasting outward, flanked by wings. Different eras of aircraft, one signal connecting everyone tuned in.
What We Fly
We’ve never been a one-sim community. Whether you’re lining up a strafing run in a Bf 109 over the Channel, or planning a cross-country VFR route in MSFS or X-Plane, there’s a place for you here. WWII warbirds and modern civilian aviation aren’t opposites at Com-Central — they’re just different ways of loving the same thing.
A Fresh Start...
For most of our history, Com-Central ran on Dragonfly CMS — solid, dependable software that carried us for years. But Dragonfly hasn't been actively maintained in a long time, and by 2026 it was showing its age in the one place that matters most: security. Rather than keep patching over old cracks, we made the call to rebuild from the ground up on modern, actively maintained software.
It's meant new forums, a new site, and a bit of a learning curve — but it also means Com-Central is built to keep flying for another 25 years, not just limping along on borrowed time.
Pics from the past...
From the thousands of pics uploaded by our members, here are but a few...
