VATSIM Meet up in Iceland June 2016

[Don Desfosse]

All,

I am very happy to pass on a very nice personal invitation from Wygene Chong, Director of VATSIM Reykjavik FIR, for all VATUSA members who are able to join in a real world VATSIM meet up in Iceland, June 2016.

I would like to invite members of VATUSA and VATCAN to a real world Iceland Meet-Up in June 2016.

Brochure: http://vatsim-scandinavia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Iceland-Meet-Up-2016.pdf

VATSIM Scandinavia forum: http://forum.vatsim-scandinavia.org/topic/42-iceland-real-world-meet-up-12-14th-june-2016/

The VATSIM Scandinavia forums use SSO login so any VATSIM member can log into our forums and post in that planning thread. We encourage all VATSIM members who have the time, money and interest to come along to Iceland for what will surely be an enjoyable few days. I appreciate of course that Iceland is further away from North America than it is from Europe, but believe it is still within range for some members, especially those already planning a holiday in Europe.

The official list of persons attending is being organised in that VATSIM Scandinavia forum thread, and I am happy to answer any questions you might have by email or in that forum.

Best regards,

Wygene Chong
Director of Reykjavik FIR
Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
VATSIM Scandinavia

[Wygene Chong]

Evening folks,

Just re-posting this here in case any of you don't read the vatsim.net forums:

To answer a couple of queries that keep popping up:

• Yes this is a guaranteed departure
• There is no 'conference' fee. All you need to do is book your own flights and accommodation. You are not bound to book the recommended accommodation in the brochure.
• As stated on the brochure, the day 3 safari is optional.
• If for any reason you would like to skip the helicopter flight to the top of a mountain, then you can also opt out of that. Please let us know when you sign up.
• Family & friends are welcome, again, let us know how many people you are bringing.

We're still accepting sign-ups until about January 2016, so have a think about it and let us know in the main planning thread (log-in with VATSIM SSO). However, do note that prices only ever go up.

Happy to answer more questions by email... keep 'em coming! (iceland {at} vatsim-scandinavia.org)

[Wygene Chong]

Be Inspired.


Click on image for Reykjavik Solstice, video by Ozzo Photography of Keflavík

Timetable for the next six months
- Start of January 2016 > 13th June helicopter flight will be confirmed. At the moment, VATSIM Scandinavia is booked on a 5-seater AS 350 B2 Ecureuil (former Air Greenland helicopter). If we get more than 5 people, the helicopter will make two flights. The flight is optional for those who cannot afford it or do not wish to do it
- End of April 2016 > Final list of people coming to the safari on 14th June (optional).
- End of May 2016 > Final list of people attending will be published, with final itinerary.

As before, brochure and sign-ups in Don's first post.

[Wygene Chong]

Happy New Year all!

January Update
The ATC Tour
At the moment, because of low numbers, everyone who has said they can come will be allowed to enter the control tower and radar control areas, with Bjarki (Icelandic ATCO) as our tour guide. If numbers exceed 10-15, that's when we will start picking only VATSIM members for entry.

The Helicopter Tour
The 5-seater helicopter is now chartered for VATSIM Scandinavia. It will make one flight at 19:30z on 13th June (after dinner on Day 2). It is not compulsory to join in but it is not every day that we charter an old Air Greenland helicopter to do a dusk city tour and to land on a mountain exclusively for VATSIM members!

The discounted price for the 45 minute tour is 28.710 ISK.

I will be using your VATSIM email address to send you the payment link. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are unable to make it. You can also pay for multiple people (i.e. family/friends) via the same link.

The Safari
... is cancelled due to low numbers. So Day 3 will be departure day for everyone unless you wish to stay for your own travels

Overall, it would be nice to see a few more sign-ups in the next few months, as people finalise their summer holiday plans! Remember, friends are welcome too! It would be great to see a few VATUSA members attending, after all, Iceland is the closest bit of Europe to the USA You can help us advertise by posting in your local VA or ARTCC forum.

[Wygene Chong]

March Update
We're now three and a half months away from the VATSIM Meet-Up in Iceland, to be held 12th - 14th June 2016 in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The planning team has been busy behind-the-scenes putting together the trip's final details. We will need a definitive list of attendees by the end of May, so there's still plenty of time to put your name on the list. The list will be passed on to authorities to allow the VATSIM group exclusive access to control areas.

As a reminder, because Iceland is a little off the map, this trip also doubles as a 'holiday' and friends and family members are welcome to attend. Please indicate how many people you are bringing when you first sign up. Friends and family will also be welcome to enter the control areas.

People have started booking flights and accommodation already in Iceland, and some have paid for the chartered helicopter tour. There are still 2 spots left on the helicopter tour, first come first served.

In sum, we look forward to seeing some more names get involved! If you can't get into our forums to sign up, just send us an email at iceland {AT} vatsim-scandinavia.org

[Evan Reiter]

Wygene,

We obviously weren't thinking about being coordinated...but if we are both doing events in the future, I'll note FlightSimCon has historically (for the past 3 years) been held around the same time. This year, it's June 11-12, 2016 so unfortunately there's some overlap.

Just thought I'd mention it in case a meet-up in Iceland is happening again in the future.

All the best with your event! These meet-ups are a ton of fun. Hopefully a few of you will be able to fly and participate remotely (but together) in the FlightSimCon ATC on the 12th.

[Wygene Chong]

Wygene,

We obviously weren't thinking about being coordinated...but if we are both doing events in the future, I'll note FlightSimCon has historically (for the past 3 years) been held around the same time. This year, it's June 11-12, 2016 so unfortunately there's some overlap.

Just thought I'd mention it in case a meet-up in Iceland is happening again in the future.

All the best with your event! These meet-ups are a ton of fun. Hopefully a few of you will be able to fly and participate remotely (but together) in the FlightSimCon ATC on the 12th.

Thank you Evan, indeed we hadn't thought of any conflict with another real world meet-up when we started planning in July last year. I do hope we'll be able to encourage those who can't make it in real life to participate remotely on the 12th June in support of FlightSimCon!

There is no planned meet-up for next year, this is pretty much a one-off for 2016 as control zone entry and chartering helicopters to land on mountains is a tricky business Although we may have plans to host a VATSIM conference before the end of the decade

[Wygene Chong]

Note that sign-ups close on Sunday 22nd May at 12:00z. I need the full names of all people attending by then, so that we can organise clearances to enter control areas. Please email me at iceland[at]vatsim-scandinavia.org or post in the VATSIM Scandinavia forum thread (SSO Login).

[Wygene Chong]

This Sunday and Monday, VATSIM Scandinavia will be in Iceland! The public itinerary is available below if you happen to be in Iceland and want to join in the fun However, entry to control areas cannot be guaranteed for people who join on the day.

Public Itinerary

Best wishes from VATSIM Scandinavia and we hope you enjoy yourselves!