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Zach B - 1217663

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Everything posted by Zach B - 1217663

  1. 2210b is now effective. Removes unused boundaries and volumes. Renames TMA_CAP volumes to be consistent across all sectors. Fixes issues with missing volumes in AlertParameters. Modifies the Inhibition Areas at YSSY and adds YBBN.
  2. See the below points for clarification on recent airspace changes. A Class D Tower that does NOT provide a procedural approach service, does NOT require a procedural tower endorsement. A Class D Tower (Procedural Tower) that DOES provide a procedural approach service, requires a procedural tower endorsement. Extending approach/departure (TCU) services: A controller may provide control services as HB_APP from LT_APP, and vice versa, by assuming the sectors and activating the applicable frequency in the VSCS. A controller may provide control services as MK_APP from RK_APP, and vice versa, by assuming the sectors and activating the applicable frequency in the VSCS. If in either of the above scenarios, the other TCU position is filled by another controller, the controller providing an extended services shall relinquish the applicable airspace to the new controller, in the same way as Enroute controllers would do. For further clarification, CG_APP is included in the default jurisdiction of Brisbane Approach (is a sub-sector of BN_APP) and therefore not considered as providing extended coverage. Refer to the NOTAM regarding opening of non-standard/child positions.
  3. I am pleased to inform the community that we have successfully registered and established VATSIM Australia Pacific as an unincorporated association in Australia. Operating not-for-profit, this allows us to tap into financial benefits for community organisation such as ours. The process for this started many years ago when David Z and his Board introduced the Constitution. This has evolved over the last few years and gave us the bones/structure required to officially establish the organisation. Given that we don’t “own” the rights to the name VATSIM, we couldn’t register the association using those words. The organisation was registered as the Online Aviation Organisation Australia, trading as VATSIM Australia Pacific (VATPAC as we know it). VATPAC has always been funded by either the Board of Directors and also through minor business sponsorships (NetSpace and Delion in the past). Unfortunately, the finances have not always been shared equally amongst Board members with the highest financial burden often falling to the Director of Technology. VATPAC now has as a registered not-for-profit community bank account with Bendigo Bank, which is connected to Open Collective, allowing us to transparently show the community the money coming in, and going out. This also allows us contribute equally and reimburse any board members with costs that they incur. It also allows us to transparently collect donations from the community to contribute to operating costs. Thanks to our newly registered organisation, we have also been able to tap into a number of significantly discounted or free products, which allow us to continue to run our organisation efficiently. This includes services like website hosting and email/document storage. This will overall reduce the total cost to the Board of Directors by about 70%. This doesn’t change how the organisation operates fundamentally, however it enables us to run more economically and hopefully provide a better service to our local community. The VATPAC constitution cover pages have been amended to reflect the correct organisation names moving forward and you may see the new organisation name referenced in other documentation such as board meeting minutes. If you have any questions or suggestion around these changes, feel free to reach out.
  4. Hi all, There have been a few minor changes made to the VATPAC structure (again) to coincide with changes to the Airspace and ATC Standards department, and upcoming policy changes. Firstly, thanks to Steven C who unfortunately had to take a step back late last year due to some personal circumstances. Another thanks to Clem W who stepped up and managed the Airspace portfolio in the interim. A decision was made by the board to merge the Airspace and ATC Standards department to one department called "Air Traffic Services". This means that Sam K now take's on this role of managing both ATC Training, Standards, AIS and Documentation. Since all subjects are closely related, we felt this decision makes sense. Sam is well supported by a team of passionate volunteer leaders in Matt K (ATC Training), James H (ATC Standards) and Peter S (Aeronautical Information Services). No doubt, Sam will seek further assistance from the community for a Publications lead moving forward. I'd also like to reach out to anyone that would be interested in becoming involved in distribution of AIRAC Cycles and other AIS, under the guidance of Peter. Clem W remains on the VATPAC board as the Deputy Division Director and will assist with the division leadership. This is an interim appointment for 6 months. For those interested, the VATPAC structure currently looks like this... If you have any concerns or questions, of course, don't hesitate to reach out.
  5. Hi everyone. A number of changes have occured at the Board level that will be in place for 2022. Last week I accepted Greg's resignation from his Director of ATC Training & Standards role. Greg has made an outstanding contribution over the last 12-18 months and I hope that he will be able to enjoy the hobby once again. I'm pleased to confirm that Sam Keast will take over responsibility for the Director role. He will continue working with Matt Kelly and others in the training department throughout the next 6 months (at least). Sam was the alternative applicant last year for the role and has demonstrated his commitment to the community throughout the last 12 months. The appointment committee for the Director of Technology agreed that Will Smart was the outstanding applicant for the role, and I am happy to report he has accepted the offer. Will brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership experience to the team after extensive time volunteering within the ATC Training Department (including the development and rollout of the TMS). Steve Cullen has asked to take a LoA from the board temporarily due to some personal matters. In the interm, Clem Wu (a long standing member of the Airspace/Documentation team will be acting as Director of Airspace & Publications). Blair has officially been permanently appointed by a committee, to his current role of Director of Membership. I am pleased to announce that Sam Wilson will join Ryan McDonald as non-executive directors for 2022. I would like to thank Shannon for his involvement of the last 12 months. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, however you choose to celebrate. Zach
  6. Hi everyone, I'm sad to announce that Tom Grozev, who has looked after the Technology portfolio for many years, will be stepping down from his role in the new year. Tom has advised me that his new employment will mean he no longer has the time to commit to VATPAC moving forward. I'd like to thank Tom for putting his time into VATPAC over the last few years. He will stick around in a development capacity and support our new Director, when they are brought on board. I am now accepting applications for the Director of Technology role. The role requirements can be viewed on the attached document and an application (in a format of your choice) should be submitted to myself via email ([email protected]). It is also that time of the year again where, as per our constitution, VATPAC opens expressions of interest to senior, long-standing members of our community to join the Board in an advisory capacity as a non-executive Director. The role requirements can also be viewed on the attached document and an application (in a format of your choice) should be submitted to myself via email ([email protected]). The closing date for all of the above positions is Friday 17th of December, unless a succesful applicant is appointed earlier. If you are considering throwing your hat into the ring, I'd advise you to do so sooner rather than later. Position Description Non Executive Position Description Director Technology
  7. This feedback was provided to me via one of our local supervisors.
  8. Hi all, The Q3 meeting minutes are available for download on the VATPAC website: https://vatpac.org/about/minutes-and-reports/ I have managed to recover and archive a number of minutes and reports from late 2011 onwards. It's great to see these reports available for you all again and shows the depth and history within our organisation.
  9. Congratulations to Alex who received his S3 rating yesterday
  10. 1 INTRODUCTION The following positions are reserved under section 4.1 of the VATPAC Controller Positions and Ratings Policy. This NOTAM is the reservation of the positions noted in 2 RESERVED POSITIONS for the purpose of FNO Downunder. 2 RESERVED POSITIONS The following positions are reserved from 2300z to 0300z on the 15th of October 2021. SY_DEL SY_GND SY_TWR SY_APP SY_DEP SY-D_APP ML_DEL ML_GND ML_TWR ML_APP ML_DEP AD_DEL AD_GND AD_TWR AD_APP AD_DEP ML-BIK_CTR ML-ELW_CTR ML-TBD_CTR ML-WOL_CTR ML-SNO_CTR ML-BLA_CTR ML-MUN_CTR 3 AUTHORITY This NOTAM Is under the authority of the following: Joshua Micallef - Events Director (events[at]vatpac.org) 4 CONTACT The nominated Event Coordinator(s) for this event are: Tyler Hindle Paris Ioannidis Event Coordinators will be available for contact on the VATPAC Discord, using the @eventcoordinator role. They can also be contacted via PM over the VATSIM network. They may also be logged onto the network as VATPAC35. 5 ROSTER The roster for FNO Downunder can be viewed here. If you have any questions about the roster, or with to have it amended, please contact roster[at]vatpac.org. If you find yourself free during the event, and wish to offer your ATC services, please contact one of the dedicated event coordinators 6 CANCELLATION This NOTAM will self-cancel at 0300z on the 16th of October 2021.
  11. Well done Stace, who yesterday, achieved a VATSIM S3 rating
  12. Congratulations to Robbie who passed his Tower Rating this morning.
  13. Hi All, I'm pleased to advise that VATUSA, VATNZ and VATPAC have come together to form a new Pacific Oceanic Agreement. More information about this can be found here: Pacific Oceanic LoA - VATSIM Australia Pacific - VATPAC There are a few alterations from the existing partnership, but essentially the privileges and limitations are the same. Of note, a new requirement to control 1 hour in the previous 3 months to remain active will apply. However, until such time that VATPAC has a system in place to track this, we will waive this requirement. A local instructions document is currently being prepared by all parties. For now, some information can be found here: VATNZ, Oakland ARTCC. I'd like to extend thanks to Andrew from VATNZ as well as Manuel, Ryan and Daniel from VATUSA and Oakland ARTCC for coming together to forge this agreement. This is a great step forward for all of us, together.
  14. Announcement Published 22 SEP 2021 Hi everyone, I would like to announce a few major changes for that will be implemented for AIRAC 2110. The VATPAC Board voted in favour of removing support for VRC, inline with community/membership demand (polling indicated approximately, only 10% of users are using this client). Resources will be focused on Euroscope (TAAATSMod Euroscope 3.1d) and vatSys. This means VRC will no longer receive AIRAC cycle updates and any existing files will not be compatible with the new changes outlined below. The VATPAC board also voted in favour of removing the Melbourne and Brisbane upper (FSS) positions. The board agreed that the position no longer met the requirement that they were initially created for and that controllers should be encouraged to provide a quality top-down service as per our existing extended coverage policy, rather than a larger quantity (and lower quality) service over a significant geographical area. Finally, a number of changes to primary (parent) and secondary (child) sectors/frequencies have occurred to re-align most of our sectors with the IRL positions and to also better support the auto-activation of non-standard sectors. The major sector boundary changes occur in the central and west of Australia. Further minor changes between ML-SY-BN. Detailed changes: ORE becomes OLW, freq 134.0 Layout changes to main sector and sub-sectors as per AIP Sup S21-H91. ESP primary becomes PIY, freq 133.9. Layout changes as per IRL and draft map above. GVE/DAL merged as GVE only. ASP primary, freq 128.85. Layout and sub sectors as per IRL and draft map above. Include WRA sector from old BKE primary. BKE primary. Removed. TBD primary. Layout and sub sectors as per IRL and draft map above. Include BKE sector from old BKE primary. SNO primary becomes ELW, freq 123.75. HUM renamed BLA as per IRL upper sector, freq 132.20 Minor boundary changes to BLA, ELW and SNO. BLA (and by association, the parent sector ELW) continues to be responsible for the CB TCU when the dedicated CB controllers are offline. MDE primary becomes ARL, freq 130.9. OCN sub-sector freq becomes 128.6 as per IRL. DOS primary becomes INL, freq 134.2 GRN renamed INL as per IRL upper sector. Minor boundary changes to INL and DOS. SDY freq change to 134.3 TBP primary becomes KEN, freq 120.15 WOL primary becomes BIK, freq 129.8. Minor boundary changes to BIK and WOL. BN-TSN_FSS primary VHF alias becomes 124.65 HWE VHF alias becomes 124.95 FLD VHF alias becomes 132.85 COL VHF alias becomes 133.15 Inclusion of AGGG and ANAU under COL as per existing oceanic documentation and IRL services provided by AsA. Note that the above positions cannot be individually logged in to and are assumed by the COL subsector only.
  15. In addition to the above AIRAC changes, a number of changes have been made to the VATPAC Audio For VATSIM databses. Fixed transceiver and position heirachy on a number of positions. Improved CTR -> TCU hierachy. Fix BN-HWE_FSS defininition. Improved Tasman Oceania HF transceivers. Improved India Oceanic HF transceivers (including new Casey Station HF station). Correct a number of transceivers that were assigned to incorrect positions.
  16. 1. INTRODUCTION To assist in providing quality Air Traffic Services (ATS) throughout VATPAC airspace, the board is introducing several changes to our VATPAC ATS Policy. Changes will reflect ongoing improvement and alignment with the new VATSIM Global ATC Administration Policy. Until our updated VATPAC ATS Policy is released, in the interim to help further online experience of realism on the network, positions listed in the "List of approved non-standard positions" may be opened subject to specific requirements outlined below. 2. OPENING OF APPROVED NON-STANDARD POSITIONS Activation of a Non-Standard Position by a Controller A non-standard (child) position may be activated at any time, by an appropriately rated controller and the following additional requirements: a) An agreement must be obtained between the controller wishing to open the non-standard (child) position and the controller currently operating the standard (parent) position, under which the non-standard position is to be opened; and b) All controllers affected by the activation of the non-standard (child) position must review: 1) the local instructions applicable to the non-standard position being activated, noting the designated responsible airspace; and 2) the frequency and login identifier of the non-standard position; and 3) any additional coordination requirements that arise from the use of the non-standard position; and 4) any other questions or concerns from either controller. Affected controllers are encouraged (but not required) to keep a record of their agreement. Any breaches of this NOTAM or any issues that arise in relation to the opening of a non-standard position should be reported to VATPAC staff at the earliest convenience. Activation of Non-Standard Positions by Staff and Senior Controllers Non-standard positions may also be activated in certain circumstances outlined below, by an authorised person. An authorised person is either a VATPAC staff member or a local VATPAC controller holding a Senior Controller (C3) rating. An authorised person may waive requirement a) (obtaining agreement of the parent controller), should a situation arise where activation of a non-standard position is deemed crucial to the delivery of a quality ATC service, and the existing parent controller does not agree to the opening of this position in the first instance. An authorised person must not approve themselves to open a non-standard position under the circumstances outlined above, unless exceptional circumstances apply. 3. LIST OF APPROVED NON-STANDARD POSITIONS The follow is a list of Login Identifiers of approved non-standard (child) positions. Melbourne Centre Positions: ML-SNO_CTR ML-BLA_CTR ML-WOL_CTR ML-MUN_CTR ML-AUG_CTR ML-FOR_CTR ML-ESP_CTR ML-GVE_CTR ML-MEK_CTR Brisbane Centre Positions: BN-MLD_CTR BN-OCN_CTR BN-DOS_CTR BN-KPL_CTR BN-SWY_CTR BN-KIY_CTR Sydney TCU Positions: SY_DEP SY-S_DEP SY-D_APP SY-DE_APP SY-S_APP Sydney ADC/SMC Positions: SY-E_GND (121.70) SY-E_TWR (124.70) Melbourne TCU Positions: ML_DEP ML-S_DEP Brisbane TCU Positions: BN_DEP BN-S_APP BN-S_DEP Brisbane ADC/SMC Positions: BN-W_TWR BN-S_GND BN-N_GND Adelaide TCU Position: AD_DEP Cairns TCU Position: CS_DEP Canberra TCU Position: CB-W_APP Perth TCU Position: PH_DEP Perth SMC Position: PH-E_GND 4. AUTHORITY Division Director, [email protected] 5. CANCELLATION This NOTAM will self-cancel when incorporated into official ATS policy, unless otherwise noted.
  17. Hi all, The Q2 board meeting minutes are now available to download. The reason for the delay in publishing, was due to updating the document to match the new styling and getting caught up in other changes going on. The next meeting is scheduled for on (or around) Saturday 2 October 2021. Thanks. Z
  18. Follow up. The VATSIM BoG is currently investigating this proposal. Our understanding is that the pacific oceanic partnership agreement remains in force, until such time that we hear information contrary from the BoG. More information about the partnership can be found here: https://pacificoceanic.vatsim.net
  19. Hi everyone. Whilst I can't share the specifics of our discussions, I'd like to share a few facts with the community about the recent VATUSA announcement to leave the Pacific Oceanic Partnership. VATPAC and VATNZ received a proposal via our Regional Vice Prseident from VATUSA in early August 2021, almost 2 months after the original document was dated (June 2021). VATPAC and VATNZ had a senior volunteer management meeting and discussed options and alternatives to the VATUSA proposal. These suggestions were shared via email with VATUSA and other parties such a regional Vice Presidents and other senior VATSIM staff. VATPAC and VATNZ agreed that Oakland ARTCC should resume responsibility for the ZAK airspace. VATPAC and VATNZ took the view that the Pacific Oceanic Partnership was indeed due for review and could be expanded to include other pacific oceanic airspace, but we did not feel that the current partnership needed to be suspended. We received little communication from VATUSA, other than advising they would be progressing with their initial proposal to leave the partnership. There did not appear to be any reasonable consideration of our views or suggestions, nor was there an offer of any further discussion on the matter. VATPAC and VATNZ both take the stance that this is VATUSA's and the general membership's loss, not our own. We will continue to open discussions about a future LoA between Pacific Oceanic Airspace Divisions and ARTCCs. We belive such an LoA would benefit the members of the network, and that is after all, why we divsions/ARTCC's exist. To serve/benefit the membership. VATPAC and VATNZ are currently reviewing the Partnership Agreement with respect to existing agreement still being in force and the effect on our controllers. If you have any concerns about this change, please feel free to reach out to me or Andrew (VATNZ Director) directly. Thanks.
  20. Hi all, I'm looking for a small number of general VATPAC members to provide insight and contributions towards our new Air Traffic Services policy. This policy will replace and combined the following existing policies into 1 document: ATC Training Policy Controller Information and ATIS Policy Controller Positions and Ratings Policy Procedural Tower Policy Senior Controller Policy The policy will incorporate a number of changes to align with the new VATSIM GCAP and we anticipate that the policy will be effective on release/in conjunction with the VATSIM GCAP. We aim to ensure the policy is clear, consice, descriptive, modern and will shape the way that VATPAC air traffic services will be provided into the future. If you are interested in being involved, please send me an email at [email protected] and provide me with a short paragraph about your VATSIM/VATPAC experience and history. You will preferably be ATC rated (but no specific rating or endorsement is required). You will join myself and members of the ATC Training & Standards team to form a small working group. This will also form part of the consultation with general membership as per our constitution 50 (2). We expect you to be able to volunteer 1-3 hours per week to contribute to discussions and writing documentation. I look forward to hearing from those of you that are interested! EOI's close 11:59 AEST Sunday 29th August. - Zach
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