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Stephen Cotterill

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    World Flight 2013

    in News

    Posted

    Hello All

     

    As most will be aware World Flight is due to commence on Sunday 3rd November departing Sydney at 2200 UTC. [Monday 4th November 0900 AEDT]

     

    VATPAC fully supports this major event and subsequently encourages all members to participate either by flying, controlling or attending World Flight HQ and donating their time and hard earned money to their worthy cause.

     

    Air Traffic Control (World Flight HQ)

    As per previous years VATPAC controllers will have the opportunity to supply ATC services from World Flight HQ. WorldFlight actively welcomes VATPAC controllers to come and join the ATC team, at WFHQ in Sydney, for one or more sectors. Controllers interested in providing ATC during the Australian arrival and departure legs are particularly encouraged to join. WorldFlight provides a highly realistic control environment, featuring custom-built, replica TAAATS consoles, and tower cab with external visuals. As capacity at WFHQ is limited, participation is by email application to the WorldFlight Operations [email protected] to register their interest.

     

     

    Air Traffic Control (From Home)

    Expressions of interest are now open from those members wishing to control from Home. These are very limited after the positions are allocated at World Flight HQ. All controllers not allocated a position at the departure/arrival airport or enroute sectors will be allocated surrounding sectors and airports. This will reduce the workload on the Controllers concentrating on the world flight aircraft and your help is not only appreciated but necessary. Please do not apply for a position if you are not willing to accept any position allocated. As one could imagine the pressure of delivering a quality service to the pilots that participate in this event is without a doubt extremely difficult due to the high volume of traffic and only those members serious in delivering a quality service should apply here. Applications will open shortly and will close as of 20th October 2012.

     

    Please Note: VATPAC Members that attend World Flight HQ will be given preference on some VATPAC positions due to their commitment and donations to the charities. Remember this event is to raise money for the charities so please understand why this procedure is in place. Without the support and donations from the Controllers at World Flight the event would not be as successful as it is.

     

    Pilots

    It is critical for pilots to have all the required charts and files available for their flights. As you will understand ATC will be under extreme pressure to facilitate a smooth departure and arrival for all the participating members so the more you know about what is expected then the easier it will be for them and you. This will intern reduce the amount of time that pilots are required to hold or be delayed. That being said everyone should expect a delay of up to one hour during the busier times and if this is too extensive for you then I suggest that you plan your departure earlier or later depending on your circumstances. A NOTAM will be provided before the event explaining what is required and is a must read for all.

     

    Observers

    Members are welcome to observe World Flight activities at World Flight HQ although prior permission must be obtained from World Flight Operations at [email protected]

     

    On line observers using either an ATC or Pilot client are reminded that they should not contact any Controller or Pilot. (They will more than likely be too busy to answer you anyway). Please keep your communications restricted to other observers and only by use of the Private Message facility.

     

    Flypast

    When the World Flight crews returns home they normally conduct a flypast at Sydney Airport. This is for invited World Flight Crews only that have contributed to the event and not for the general membership. Please do not ask the controllers if you can participate as they will be too busy to deal with this type of request.

     

    Disputes

    Any issues or disputes that arise MUST be referred to VATPAC Staff. At no time should a VATPAC Member contact any other member or the World Flight organisers in this regard. You will appreciate there has to be one central area for this activity to ensure that decisions are made correctly. This however does not preclude a member from contacting a VATSIM Supervisor for urgent help. VATPAC will endeavour to have Directors and/or Operations Staff available for these issues while World Flight is in our Airspace.

     

     

    For more information regarding World Flight including flight plans and schedules please go to their web site located at the following link. http://www.worldflight.com.au

     

    For any questions regarding VATPAC’s involvement in World Flight please e-mail [email protected]

     

     

    Thank you and enjoy

     

    Steve

    VATPAC4

    Director, Operations

    ATC Quiz #2

    in ATC Training

    Posted

    The 'Request from Tower' button in FSInn does do what it was designed to do, that is to allow the pilot to get any amendments that the controllers make to their notification held by the server. It was originally designed by the developer to save the controller’s time at busy airports where and when text was mostly in use. (A relic from the past although still very useful especially in busy events like world flight)

     

    As already highlighted controllers are not bound by what they type so always check via voice or text as normal although 99% of the time she should be correct.

     

     

    Steve

    Adding two more Vatpac voice room freq.

    in Feedback, Suggestions and Ideas

    Posted

    Matt

     

    In reference to 123.45 this cannot be used on VATSIM as per Real World as another Division uses this as their Unicom frequency.

     

    As a side note there is a specific worldwide Unicom ‘voice’ channel in the add-on if you wish to communicate over long distances. (122.820) SB users can access this by using the voice room {rw1.vatpac.org/UNICOM}

     

     

    Steve

    VATPAC4

    P3D as a training tool

    in Flight Simulators

    Posted

    The basic version software available is really no better than using the SDK software (my opinion only) although like all things beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

     

    Another option of course would be to use the FSX freeware available and just import over with the necessary changes.

     

     

    Steve

    P3D as a training tool

    in Flight Simulators

    Posted

    It’s the same as FSX / ESP Greg. (Funny about that there the same program). ;) Some small differences although nothing out of the ordinary. They all use xml code to achieve the desired result.

     

    P3D does have far better documentation to follow although using an add-on program to create missions is far easier although expensive. (About $200 ish)

     

     

    Steve

    VATPAC alight revisited.

    in Airspace

    Posted

    Just a note on Censorship/Moderation of the forums.

     

    Just so there is absolutely no confusion the forum rules are non-negotiable. Occasionally things get past the ‘Censors’/ ‘Moderators’ although this does not make the post acceptable nor does it make it right.

     

    Would we like things to be completely uncensored or moderated? Well some might although anarchy would soon take over.

     

    Where should we draw the line? Well most of the time our members are very well behaved although occasionally we do get one or two of us that make judgments or comments using our own standards as a guide. Unfortunately our own standards sometimes are just not good enough especially these days where the official touchy feely Law’s apply. Note: These new Law’s (or more correctly case law’s) scare the willies out of most forum managers in Australia that follow them. This is why we must follow forum rules.

     

    What makes the Directors so ‘smart’ when it comes to forum management? What makes them better than us? Well in a nut shell the answers are: They are not and they are most certainly not. What the Directors are though is responsible for what happens and when you get ‘STUCK’ with a job like this you tend to sometimes err on the side of caution. Also please remember that the forum takes up a lot of a Directors time so if they are busy and a post or thread is getting ‘out of control’ we usually just take the easy option and close it. Again could it be done better, well yes although we are all volunteers and can only do the best that we can. Do we make mistakes? Of course we do although shoving them down our throats does not usually help us move forward. :think:

     

    What can I do if my thread or post gets locked or deleted? Simple, just send a Director (any Director) a message asking why? Normally the Directors will send this to you or post as to why although sometimes they just forget. They are human after all.

     

    Aired in the discussion above we sometimes can do things better. That is so true but remember this, you will get far further in life (and in these forums) if you discuss an issue privately with those concerned. If you just jump in and air your dirty washing in public then only two things will happen.

    1.. You will get a lot of people off side that are just observing the carry on. (Remember life is perception) or

    2.. You will, at least most of the time, end up washing someone else’s clothes. (Forum discussions get off topic more times than not).

     

    As you can see good hearted humour is fine in fact we welcome it although we should leave all the personal baggage and unhelpful comments at the door.

     

    In closing I would like to thank Rob for his post that prompted the rubbish I just typed and hope that everyone realises that there is only one person’s opinion that matters. The problem is we just can’t agree on whom that might be. :evil:

     

     

    Cheers

     

     

    Steve

    VATPAC4

    Director, Operations

    Qantas, how many?

    in Virtual Airlines

    Posted

    Tylor

     

    Your VA was not rejected because of your callsign. VATPAC does not allow VA’s that just duplicate existing Affiliate Airlines (Generally speaking). VATPAC and those Airlines already Affiliated have worked hard together to promote our community and it would be wrong of us to allow a new entry that doesn’t offer anything different or new things not already available by the existing Affiliated VA’s.

    Yes competition is a good thing. Duplication is not.

     

    The three main points to consider are:

    VATPAC encourages and supports any VA provided it is aligned to the general aims of increasing on-line participation or enhance the on-line experience and does NOT undermine existing affiliated Airlines, on-line programs or participation. This basically means we will not allow copies or VA’s that try to take participation away from the division. It would be counterproductive to allow affiliation of a VA that holds most of its event’s outside of VATPAC’s Airspace.

     

    VATPAC recognises and understands the route limitations, equipment and fleet management issues of simulating real world airline operations in the region, therefore a new VA simulating the operations of a real world airline seeking affiliation, (past or present) will be assisted to ensure that it offers unique and fresh choice to the members of VATPAC without compromising the operations of an already established affiliated Virtual Airline. VATPAC is willing to assist you in creating something different so that your airline can become affiliated. This is usually given in the form of ideas and suggestions.

     

    VATPAC strongly recommends that you chose a unique name and Airline ICAO code that is not already affiliated with VATPAC or VATSIM. This will assist you in avoiding potential issues regarding intellectual property or copyright laws and misidentification or confusion by other VATPAC / VATSIM members. By maintaining a unique name and Airline ICAO code you will enhance and promote a clear identity of your own Virtual Airline that your members can identify with. This point is probably where you have got confused as to the callsign. As it states we strongly recommend the use of a different name & ICAO. It does not state you MUST use a different one. This is totally up to the VA for their identification. You should however understand that it would be wrong to use the ‘exact’ same name.

     

    The above is just a very brief overview of some things required and I encourage you to send in your application if you believe you have got more to offer than the existing VA’.

     

    If you wish to discuss this or have any questions please e-mail me [email protected]

     

    This thread is now locked in accordance with

    http://vatpac.org/forums/showthread.php?9459-Guidelines-for-use-of-this-forum-by-affiliated-and-non-affiliated-VAs

     

     

     

    Steve

    Director Operations

    Unattended connections

    in General

    Posted

    All

     

    If you have to leave your connection unattended while in an ATC coverage area please ensure you have asked the controllers permission first. The reasons why you should do this are numerous although the two main ones that would directly affect you as the pilot are;

     

    [*]If the controller is not aware of your departure he may call a supervisor who would then disconnect you (see VATSIM Code of Conduct B.3.). Just sending a message is not advisable as if they are busy it could be missed.

    [*]

    [*]If you have had previous breaches of the CoC you could be suspended.

    The controller will never say no although they may need to vector you away from any potential traffic issues before you leave.

     

    If for whatever reason you are unable to ask the controller first then please disconnect from VATSIM before you leave. This will save you no matter what happens. :)

     

     

    Steve

    Director, Operations.

    Concorde flight dynamics

    in Flight Simulators

    Posted

    Thanks Russell and your explanation is good although not required by me as a family member was one of the design engineers on the Real World project and most of my family have been brought up on the specs. (Shameless name dropping there)

     

    My question/s only relate to the actual model and it’s flight dynamics although I fully understand the goal of realism but as already stated if it was real and the real aircraft was used on short/mid flights (which it wouldn’t anyway) then the weight reduction would be insignificant v the curve of the flight to require a block and eco cruise at F570/580 etc would be achieved easily at the required rate.

     

    The question is more a curiosity thing from members that fly them on line and as to ‘why’ they fly them outside of the curve (using real world dynamics on these short flights) so Russell your answer is most enlightening and absolutely valid anyway. :)

     

     

    Steve

    Concorde flight dynamics

    in Flight Simulators

    Posted

    In real life the Concorde required a block cruising level to accommodate for fuel burn off v speed on long range flights, F500/600. (Climb rate was below minimum required for clearance to final level)

     

    I have noticed over the past couple of years in VATSIM members using the Concorde on mid to short range flights still request a block level for cruise even though the RW aircraft could climb to cruise meeting all the statutory requirements.

     

    My question: Is this due to a flight dynamic issue with the model/program or is it just a habit or incorrect fuel loading thing?

     

     

    Thanks

     

    Steve

    Broome Tower

    in General

    Posted

    ....Oh well' date=' the public already think we all work in a Tower...[/quote']

     

    No Jake. The public knows the only ones that 'Work' are in a Tower. hehe

     

     

    Steve

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