I do hope that VATUSA takes a bigger stake at this issue of FNO's. You will hear a lot of "Let the ARTCC's decide what is best for us..." Well unfortunately its been that way for years and one ARTCC might do a good job, while another one does not resulting in many fluctuations of users experience from pilots to ATC. We are in a unique time period right now for us and we need to adapt, even if its temporary. I think sometimes we forget we are here to provide a service to the pilots (ATC) and we should all try and work together to make sure of a good pilot experience.

Looking forward to what you all come up with.

Matt, I appreciate and value your comments.  There are some difficult decisions to consider, what works for one ARTCC may not for another.  There are things that I would love to see in the Division that I think could potentially help but finding the manpower to accomplish these things is the challenge.  I am hopeful to begin doing additional research and look more in dept to the challenges that we face.  I just hope moving forward that people will approach this with as much of a positive attitude as possible.  Negative attitudes makes the challenge even greater and we are blessed in that we have a lot of people who are very intelligent and have real world backgrounds.

Lonnie,
While the network is about having fun.  It is about having fun simulating as realistic as possible a scenario as possible.  ATC on the network are not allowed to deny you any service at all, however you are required to follow their instructions.

B8 - A pilot must comply with all agreed (read-back) air traffic control clearances and all issued instructions, or notify air traffic control without delay if unable to do so. Additionally, compliance with the following ATC instructions is mandatory, unless operational safety (e.g. TCAS conflict resolution) is compromised:

This is from the Code of Conduct.  So technically if a controller informs you that he cannot accommodate practice approaches due to traffic volume then the pilot is expected to comply.  This is not about airline traffic over GA traffic but just like in the real world a Cessna 172 who has an approach speed of approx 70 knots is going to create a safety issue if he is cycled in between airliners who will probably hit the outer marker at twice that speed if not more. 

In conclusion, I hope that this situation is not discouraging to you and I am hopeful that you understand why the controller did what he did.  I hope you will enjoy the first class service that the VATUSA controllers provide in the future.

Please Join me in welcoming and congratulating Jackson Gilliam as VATUSA's new VATUSA5.

Congratulations

VATSIM is delighted to announce that Audio for VATSIM, our brand new voice technology, will launch on Monday 14th October 2019. This is the dawn of the next generation of online flight simulation. Check out our video here.

What is Audio for VATSIM?

Audio for VATSIM is an innovative new technology for our voice communication which features:

    State of the art voice quality - a brand new Opus-based voice codec with optional realistic distortion, white noise, VHF and HF simulation
    Reduced delay - up to 80% reduction in latency, making busy frequencies more realistic and manageable
    Range simulation - transceivers set up as per real ATC positions, with signal strength dependent on distance and altitude
    Customisable technology - this upgrade paves the way for future amazing development by the community.

This is the biggest technological change for the VATSIM community in many years, and is being rolled out across all pilot and ATC clients. In order to implement this change, we must do two things that have never been done before on the network. First, we must take the entire network offline for maintenance for a short period. Secondly, after the downtime, all VATSIM members will need to have updated their ATC and pilot clients to be compatible with the new infrastructure.

How will the launch work?

At 2000z on Sunday 13th October 2019, all VATSIM servers will be taken offline to begin the migration to our new infrastructure. VATSIM users should ensure that their flights and ATC sessions have concluded by this time. During this period, all other VATSIM services may also be subject to some downtime.

The network will remain offline for a period of 24 hours, although a limited number of connections are likely to be allowed before this time whilst we embed the new servers. To be safe, our members should not plan any flights or ATC sessions prior to 2000z on Monday 14th October. If the downtime needs to be extended beyond this time for any reason, we will announce this as quickly as possible.

How do I prepare for the launch?

Every VATSIM member will need to update their pilot and ATC clients and, in some cases, will need to download a small standalone app to run alongside the client whilst our developers work to integrate Audio for VATSIM natively into their software. We have created a website to guide you through the steps you need to take, whichever client you are currently using.

I need help preparing my client for this upgrade

We’ve launched a support forum and Discord server as the official places to get support. You can also post on our Facebook group or local facility forums to ask for help from fellow members of the community.

If I’m using FSInn or Squawkbox, do I need to upgrade to a new client to use Audio for VATSIM?

Following feedback from the community, the team have made arrangements for Audio for VATSIM to be compatible with these clients, although you’ll still need to follow the instructions posted shortly to install a standalone client before the switchover. That said, FSInn and Squawkbox will cease to be supported in the coming months as we make other enhancements (increasing the refresh rate) to VATSIM, so you are strongly recommended to use this opportunity to upgrade to a more modern client.

How do I find out more about the technical details?

The Audio for VATSIM website contains a knowledge base which includes a full manual of the principles of operation for Audio for VATSIM, as well as other documentation which you may find useful.

 

On behalf of the whole VATSIM community, thank you for being a part of this network and we can’t wait to see you on the scopes and in the skies enjoying this whole new level of immersion.

Tony Jeppesen (VATUSA 2) has tendered his resignation as Deputy Director of VATUSA.  Tony has served in the position for almost 2 years.  Prior to becoming the Deputy Director, Tony served as the Western Region Air Traffic Director and also served as the Air Traffic Manager - Seattle. 

Tony has served with a tremendous amount of passion, dedication and integrity and I am very thankful for the time that he was able to volunteer for this role.   

Although Tony will no longer serve in the capacity of Deputy Director, Tony will remain with the VATUSA Staff and take the lead of a new role and position as Director of Professional Development.   

Please join me in thanking Tony for his service and congratulating Tony in his new role.

Announcing World Flight 2019