Well you outdid yourself this year, that is for sure, going to be hard to top next year.

I am not sure if I get it. Can I summarize the two top options VATUSA was left with in an attempt to understand what is happening and VATUSA’s rationale in choosing its option? Then set me straight if I am way off base in my assessment.

* Non-chosen option: Comply with the new GRP by not changing anything on the divisional level as far as new member assignment.

* Chosen option: Turn the entire system upside down, Guam initial section, training at one of the two most rigorous fields in the division (by a yet to be created training academy), flags for available ARTCC’s, choose three, be assigned one (where more than likely zero training has been previously conducted), etc.

There is a reason why some students choose Memphis instead of LA right off the bat, a more gentle introduction to the system. Some excel and migrate to more challenging centers, some stay where they are, some fade away.

Sorry guys,  our response does not pass the smell test. Unless I am totally missing the mark, in which case, show me the errors of my ways.

That is excellent advice from Ryan. When I was looking for a new ARTCC home, I did just that, sent some emails out to get a better feel for what is going on at the ARTCCs. I got a nice reply back from the ATM of Memphis at the time and have been here going on five years… and it will take a SWAT team to remove me!

Some ARTCC’s, like ZME, have training programs that contain self-study materials and activities. That is a great way to sharpen your skills in between instructional sessions (which can be tricky to schedule at any ARTCC). I would check with the ATM, DATM or TA about the different elements of their training program. Also find out how many mentors they have in addition to their instructors.

Another word of advice (which is not necessarily something you need to work on, but speaking generally) is to do as much self-study that you can and use the instructors to help you move forward. Too often I have seen students show up like a wet bag of sand and expect to be taught every single detail, then have to be re-taught from square one for the following 5 sessions, then they give up. That is neither productive for the student nor the instructor. Remember, instructors and mentors are volunteering their time and it is all worth it when they see students move up the ranks smoothly.

Between the VATUSA training information, self-guided ARTCC training info, the 71.10, a little Googleing, monitoring ATC (both VATSIM and RW); you could do almost all of the training yourself and only need an instructor to sign you off and make sure you are solid on local procedures.

Not to say that is that is what you should aim for, but it is the other end of the spectrum from the ‘wet bag of sand’. There is somewhere in the middle that works well for students that want to get the most out of this hobby.

Good luck and happy controlling!!

Hey... a new candidate entered the race after some of the voters already cast their ballots. I smell voter fraud!! I see this ending in lengthy litigation.

Very well stated Don. I was thinking earlier that if I had to deal with the recent attacks and headaches that the VATSIM folks have had to deal with, I would've thrown my hands up long ago and said to heck with it. I am very thankful that they have put forth so much time and effort into this hobby so that we can all enjoy it... at no charge!

Brad,

This looks like a lot of fun. I will try to keep track of your process on this forum and even see if join in on a leg as well. Shoot me an email when your route brings you into the Memphis ARTCC. I will inform our controllers so that we can provide ATC services.

datm [at] vzmeartcc . org  (no spaces)

With this clarification from Don, my faith in our mission has been restored. "Soft bounds" is exactly what keeps this hobby interesting to a wide variety of users. My original take on how these changes would be implemented on the network were more black and white and that appears to be incorrect. My original statement also seems black and white and that was poorly written.

On the two plane issue, I joked about how rare that is. But joking aside, the way I would handle that situation if a nostalgic pilot called up expecting Class D services and the other guy is realistically operating under Class E rules, I would notify the "Class D guy" that there is other traffic on the ground and to monitor Unicom, not the other way around. I do not think it is appropriate to screw up the experience of a guy who is actually following the rules, just because we feel like it.
My fear was that if I am online at 3 in the morning and there is one guy online in the entire airspace, some old codger like me calls up and says... 'remember the good ole days?', that there would be some sort of violation for going back in time to the good ole days of early 2013 and providing a service that no longer exists. One poster suggested offering tower services at every farm strip in the country, then talked about extremes. That I would consider extreme and inconsistent with our mission of simulating real world ops whenever we can and to the best of our ability.

I know that there are some controllers that will not allow pilots to fly out of date arrivals and departures. I understand that not every pilot on the network has the means to have the most up to date waypoints in their FMS available. So the way I look at it, I use my discretion to answer two questions... 1. Can I accomplish this with the resources I have including time and understanding of what the pilot is going to do, and 2. Will this deviation not interfere with other pilots enjoyment of this hobby. If I answer no to either or both, then I go to plan B, I just take positive control. Again, it's about discretion. No need to rewrite rules and policies and lose track of more pressing issues on the network... nor becoming so robotic that pilots would rather get a root canal, or worse... sign off and fly offline without us!

This is the way I operate and it appears to work. The way this network feels and operates is up to us.

What are you going to do when you have 2 aircraft parked at one of these fields for departure

Marcus, I will fall over dead from the shock that there are actually 2 aircraft at one of the fields on the list!