We interviewed the CEO of Pagani Air Cargo

I am 37 years old. I don’t have any real flying background in general but I can say funny enough I am terrified of flying! Can’t get past the fear that someone else is in control being so high up. I’ve always wanted to create my own VA, I just didn’t know how to go about doing so. I ended up doing lots of research on it and created my own website that is dedicated to cargo.

I want to say the idea and concept started summer of 2024 but because I had no idea where to start, it sat on the backburner for a long time just until recently. We officially started as a VA on October 4th, 2026.

For how young we are, yes. We’re only a few weeks old, so I measure success by whether pilots enjoy flying with us and come back for more, not by numbers. We have a small, active group of pilots on both MSFS and X-Plane, a fleet with our own custom liveries, and our own tracking software and website, all built from scratch. Every week something gets better because a pilot gives feedback. I’d call that a successful start.

How quickly people jumped in to help. One of our pilots designed our new Pagani Aviation Group logo, and the same pilot tested our liveries in MSFS 2020, a sim I don’t even fly. Other pilots helped track down bugs in our ACARS by sending screenshots mid-flight. When you start a VA you expect to do everything yourself. Seeing pilots treat it like their airline too was the best surprise.

Nothing bad with people, just growing pains. Because I built our ACARS myself, the first pilots found the bugs. Flights got stuck “taxiing in” on certain X-Plane 11 aircraft, and a SimBrief plan didn’t match the booked aircraft. It was frustrating for those pilots, and I felt bad about it. But we worked through those problems with the pilots, and their reports helped make the software better. I’d rather hear about a problem than have someone quietly leave.

It’s early, so it’s mostly new pilots coming in. To attract pilots, we focus on what makes us different. We’re a cargo-only VA with real-world-style operations: dispatch paperwork, SimBrief integration, load planning, cargo missions and type checkrides. We’re active on Discord, welcome every new member, and post news and NOTAMs so people know what’s happening. When pilots leave a VA, I think it’s usually time or real life, or the VA simply wasn’t the right fit. Cargo is a niche, and not everyone wants to fly freight. I completely understand that. We want pilots who love it.

We’re an all-freighter fleet: the 727F & Super 27, 737-200C, 737-300SF, 737-800BCF, 757-200F, 767-300F, 777F, 747-200F, 747-8F, A300-600F and MD-11F. Our fleet covers both MSFS and X-Plane, with aircraft availability depending on the simulator and add-on. We have custom PAC liveries across the fleet and are continuing to standardize them with our PAC red, updated branding and individual registrations.

Our pilots are welcome to fly on VATSIM, IVAO or offline. Our airline’s spoken callsign is ‘Pagani,’ with pilots using the appropriate flight identifier for their chosen network. Many of our pilots fly offline or with AI ATC like BeyondATC or SayIntentions. Networks add a lot of realism and are great for group events, but we don’t want to shut out pilots who prefer flying offline or can’t commit to a full network flight.

Yes, our own PAC ACARS, developed specifically for PAC. It supports MSFS and X-Plane, tracks flights from departure stand to arrival stand, records flight performance and supports PIREP filing. Recent improvements include cargo-parking guidance and better handling of aircraft with unusual parking-brake behavior.

Not yet, since we’re still very new. I’d be open to it if an offer fits a freight VA and benefits our pilots, like discounts on cargo aircraft or partnerships for events. Pilots can use supported add-ons they already own for the aircraft types we operate. Any developer offer would be a bonus, not a requirement.

It’s fully custom-built rather than based on phpVMS or another VA platform. I’ve developed it with AI-assisted coding, and it handles pilot applications, fleet and routes, cargo missions, dispatch with SimBrief flight-plan importing, load planning, checkrides, PIREPs, and Discord integration. I’m happy with how it’s developing because I can tailor it to cargo operations and improve it directly from pilot feedback. It’s still evolving, and the pilots help shape what comes next.

To grow steadily while keeping the friendly-community feel. Specific goals:

• regular group flights;
• getting PAC recognized in tools like BeyondATC;
• Attract more pilots to join;
• continuing to improve PAC ACARS.