Hello again --

A couple things have changed since originally proposing VATSTAR's Anniversary flight for tonight.  First, the weather doesn't seem to be cooperating with what I had hoped would be mostly a VFR event.  Ceilings at KCMX are supposed to be between 600-1000ft around the time we're trying to depart.  Not that we can't just simulate clear blue skies, but, I know that a lot of us like to stick to realism as closely as we can, and in the real world you can't fly VFR when the weather doesn't cooperate.

Secondly, the response from people wanting to participate with us has been overwhelming and what I originally optimistically hoped would be about a dozen pilots might be as many as thirty of us!  While I'm elated for the support, I don't think that 20-30 pilots departing in succession IFR from a non-towered field is going to make for a very fun event as most of the event will be spent waiting for our IFR releases.  Procedurally, it might be interesting and challenging -- but for what's to be at least partially a social flying event, it might not be much fun.

So, I'm calling an audible.  Our new plan is KDLH DLH V430 IWD V148 CMX KCMX.  The CMX VOR feeds nicely into the ILS 31 at KCMX with a wonderful procedure turn, so this will be a great chance to practice some of those P4 rating skills.  A full briefing for the flight appears at www.vatstar.com under our Forum, and can also be found on our Facebook page.  Preflight starts at 2330 and first pilots should be going wheels-up at 0000.  We hope to see you there!

{...} and have a cool logo. {...}

LOL.  Just what I look for in an ARTCC.  ;-)

Mocking of your sales pitch aside, though, it is actually pretty cool.  :-)

When?

EDIT: oh, wait, I see the "linked event" now, duh.  :-)

Corrected.  Thanks, guys.

Please welcome new VATSTAR Instructors, James Adamini and Daniel Martin!

James hails from South Africa and has several hundred hours each of piloting and controlling on VATSIM.  He is also studying to achieve his real-world Private Pilot's Certificate.  Daniel is from Australia, also has several hundred hours flying and controlling, and is also rated as a VATSIM Oceanic controller.  Both will be teaching in the P1 and P2 programs and are both looking to progress toward achieving and teaching within higher Pilot Ratings programs.

VATSTAR's Instructor staff is becoming truly global, with ten total Instructors on staff now: five from the US, one from Canada, one from Denmark, one from Singapore, one from South Africa, and one from Australia.  We recently reduced the minimum time commitment to four hours per month, to help us broaden our reach and diversify our staff's background.  We are still accepting applications so please visit us at www.vatstar.com, "About Us," and "Careers" if you are interested.  Minimum qualifications are 1 year on the network, 150+ pilot hours, and P1 and P2 pilot ratings.

I'm not sitting at my computer at the moment, but I'm pretty sure if you go under Settings and then Sound, you can turn the slider all the way down for Voices and that should take care of the problem.  It will not affect the volume of voices coming through your pilot client as that is completely separate.

Bookings will open shortly. The date will be announced on the VATSIM forums.

FYI, for anyone who's not following it, as of this morning the thread in the VATSIM forum now says bookings will open this Saturday the 18th at 1400z.

VATSTAR is proud to announce the unveiling of its Oceanic Training Certificate!  This course covers everything you need to know to get started flying international, trans-oceanic flights on VATSIM, including basics of latitude/longitude and Great Circle routes, route creation including use of the North Atlantic OTS, tips on international procedure and terminology, filing your flightplan and obtaining your clearance, using SELCAL, announcing your position reports, and even some tips and tricks for participating in VATSIM's semi-annual Cross The Pond event!
 
Pilots holding the VATSIM P4 rating are eligible to enroll now by visiting us at VATSTAR.com!  If you don't have the P4, you can acquire it from us through our simple process of attending a Written Exam Review, taking and passing the exam, performing a practice flight, and performing two fairly brief (~1.5hr) checkride flights, each of these steps with one of our staff Instructors.  (If you prefer a self-study method of obtaining the P4, Boston Virtual ARTCC offers it through their Pilot Rating Program; their P4 consists of five short flights you can do pretty much anytime ZBW ATC is staffed.  Visit http://www.bvartcc.com/ for more details.)
 
The VATSTAR Oceanic certification is obtained by written exam only; there is no practical checkride to fly.  Because of that, the exam IS NOT A JOKE and should only be attempted once having THOROUGHLY reviewed the study materials.  A Written Exam Review session with a staff Instructor is mandatory prior to attempting the exam.  The exam itself is 40 multiple-choice questions with a 60-minute time limit.  There are NO "joke responses" among the choices.  You have to know your stuff to achieve this certificate!
 
Please note that this Certificate is NOT a VATSIM Pilot Rating.  The VATSIM Pilot Training Division does not currently officially recognize a rating for International and Oceanic flying, although a designation for one has been set aside for future expansion.  If that changes, graduates of the VATSTAR Oceanic Certificate program will be contacted and advised what steps, if any, they must take at that point to convert their Certificate into an official VATSIM Pilot Rating.
 
Anyone who wishes to enroll can visit us at VATSTAR.com.  Questions about enrollment and access can be directed to hr@vatstar.com.  Questions about the training material itself can be directed to cfi@vatstar.com.  We look forward to serving your VATSIM Pilot Training needs.  See you in the skies!