When flashing a datablock to the next sector, we should be looking for the specific sector, not a particular callsign, to hand off to. Check out the two Boston Center controllers in this example:



In this scenario, BOS_CTR is working 134.70, and a student BOS_S_CTR is listening (unprimed). In a few moments, they'll swap positions. If you're an adjacent controller getting ready to switch an airplane to Boston Center, the pending controller swap should be irrelevant to you. All you need to know is that your handoff is to 134.70.

Use the keyboard commands (not the mouse) to initiate the handoff and it won't matter whether BOS_S_CTR, BOS_CTR, BOS_NW_CTR, or any other callsign is working 134.70; it will end up in the right place.

We recently ran an event that involved rotating positions (so controllers worked about 1.5 hours of each sector over the course of the 7-hour event). That meant we signed in using BOS_1_CTR, BOS_2_CTR, etc., and the callsign to hand off to was constantly changing. For the first hour, your handoff might have been to BOS_1_CTR on 127.97. Then, the first rotation hit and BOS_2_CTR started working 127.97. However, the frequency to hand off to was always the same and if you were handing to 127.97 instead of "BOS_1_CTR", you wouldn't even have noticed.

If you use vERAM or vSTARS, switching aircraft by reference to a sector is already second-nature to you. In VRC, resist the temptation to use the mouse. Instead use the key command "F4 -> sectorID -> asel" (where the sectorID is, in the picture above, "37") and you won't have to ever worry about adjacent controller callsigns again!

Great event. Thanks for allowing us Brits to join the party.

Thanks for joining!

When it is legal to fly VFR? How do you decode a METAR? How can you improve the weather depiction in your simulator? Join CFIs Alec and Krikor in Ground School as we discuss Weather. The session begins in about 15 minutes and all VATSIM members are welcome to join using the link below. When joining, please ensure your mic and video (camera) are muted (off).

Please note that the session will be recorded for a future upload to YouTube.

Friendly reminder: the first session (Radio Communications) is scheduled for 8:30pm ET tomorrow (July 15). The Google Meet link for any VATSIM member to join/participate will be shared on this thread about 10 minutes prior to the session.

I've been having a lot of issues where the client will "half crash". I'll be able to transmit, and the "TX" will light up, but I won't be able to hear incoming transmissions. This will continue until I click the "X" button to try to restart the client, at which point I get a JIT error notification. It seems to happen more often when I'm listening to a second frequency in addition to working my own.

I guess next time I should try to grab the error and report it...

For those who are flying the event, please take note of the updated reminders in the original event post, specifically the points that:

• This is NOT a crossfire
• Please consider Bradley/Hartford (BDL) as an option
• For the love of airborne holding, please do not everyone fly between KBOS and CYYZ; the idea is, fly INTO CYYZ/KBOS/KBDL from OTHER places

For our neighbor facilities, we're going to ask for your support in mileage in trail as well as some slot restrictions. You'll get an email from our EC with that information shortly. Based on the forecast weather, Boston is going to be single runway (which is why we added CYYZ/KBDL to the event, even before the recent discussions on FNO changes). Really appreciate whatever you can do to help make this event as smooth as possible.

In Canada, there is no requirement to issue an altitude to maintain the way we do in the United States. Quite frequently, an ILS clearance will be "turn left heading 270, cleared ILS Runway 24R Approach".

In Toronto, there are local noise abatement procedures that are conveniently buried in the CFS (or the Jeppesen Reference pages) that state you must maintain 3,000' ASL until established on the localizer, and fly all approaches, including visual, on the localizer and glideslope.

You're correct in saying that you should not start descending on the glideslope until establishment on the localizer, as the glideslope isn't relevant to you until you're tracking the localizer as well. In your case, the options are either to wait until you join the localizer, then start a rapid descent (say, using VS or Flight Level Change) to re-capture the glideslope, or just ask to be vectored further from the airport, depending on the situation.

The OP's question being, what do you "prefer", most of us have indicated that. I don't think anyone is suggesting that we don't or shouldn't use the contact function and be good citizen of VATSIM to help out pilots. It's just, the OP asked for our preferences and most of us seem aligned on the notion that pilots should make the first call.