FlightSimCon 2016

[Don Desfosse]

FlightSimCon is the biggest annual flight simulation and aviation conference in North America for pilots and aviation enthusiasts. The conference will be filled with exciting flight simulator demos, vendors and exhibitors, seminars, and social events. In 2015, over 320 people participated along with our ZNY and ZBW crew in Northeast US. This is a great opportunity to connect with simmers, real world pilots and controllers, developers, and of course fellow VATSIMers.

Mark June 11th and 12th in your calendar for a visit to New England Air Museum by Bradley international airport just north of Hartford, Connecticut.

Of course, to properly demonstrate VATSIM's capabilities, we have to be online controlling! With that said, both ZBW and ZNY will be staffed a good amount throughout the weekend while several members are at FlightSimCon 2016. This acts as a major hint to all pilots that are looking for some quality, professional ATC over the weekend. Disclaimer: As there are a multitude of conference-related activities during the weekend, ATC is not guaranteed throughout the entire weekend, so we aren't posting event start and stop times; please don't be upset if you get on and they aren't online. However, ZBW and ZNY should be online a good amount of the weekend.

Visit FlightSimCon 2016 for registration and more information about this 2 days long event.

I look forward to meeting with VATSIMers this June!

Visit this forum thread for discussion.

[Don Desfosse]

FlightSimCon 2016 is just one month away! The flight simulation world is gathering at the New England Air Museum on June 11 and 12. Register now for the best rates; prices go up on May 16.
 
Many of us across VATSIM have heard about FlightSimCon, and pilots and controllers from many of our U.S. ARTCCs are planning to attend the event. Some information about the two-day aviation and flight simulation conference -- "the biggest in North America" -- may be found below.
 
We hope pilots or controllers planning to attend the event in person will stop in at the Boston Virtual ARTCC and VATSIM demonstration tables. Pilots and controllers from Boston Virtual ARTCC and ZNY will be flying and controlling live from the New England Air Museum throughout the weekend, so expect good staffing in both ARTCCs during the day on Saturday and Sunday.
 
If you do plan to attend, the conference would like to remind VATSIM pilots and controllers that there will not be space or facilities available for your own setup (unless you are part of BVA or ZNY and have already arranged to be part of the VATSIM demonstration). While you will be able to fly many of our members' simulators, there will not be space available for controllers from other ARTCCs to work positions live from this event.
 
That being said, we strongly encourage pilots and controllers from across VATSIM to support this local flight simulation conference. There will be lots to do: visit with our exhibitors, attend the many seminars and panel discussions throughout the weekend, and meet fellow VATSIMers in person. FlightSimCon is the only flight simulation conference in the United States, and we need the support of VATSIM members to continue to attract great exhibitors and sponsors for the future.
 
Registration is available at www.flightsimcon.com. For just $60, attendees can get full, 2-day access to the conference, all events, and to the New England Air Museum's impressive collection of display aircraft. Discounts are available for students, student pilots, and groups. Register this week; rates go up on May 16.
 
The conference has confirmed 46 sponsors and exhibitors. Some of the highlights include Orbx, PILOT’S, Aerosoft, A2A Simulations, Jetline Systems, Boston Virtual ARTCC, VATSIM, IVAO, REX Game Studios, Dovetail Games, FS Flight Control, FltPlan.com, MidContinent Airlines, Captain Mike Ray, FSFX Packages, QualityWings, Javiator, EasternHops, GoFlight, Appropel, FlightSim.com, AirDailyX.net, PC Pilot, and LiveATC.net. 
 
The speaker list features some of the biggest names in the flight simulation world, including Peter “Frooglesim” Wright, Austin Meyer, Stephen Hood, Reed Stough, John Venema, and many more. There are 10 presentations and 2 panel discussions scheduled throughout the weekend.
 
Great prizes are available to be won at the conference, including games from Big Fat Simulations, a round-trip flight with Cape Air, DVDs from JustPlanes.com, headsets from David Clark, and TrackIR 5 PRO bundles donated by Natural Point.
 
For more information, travel details, and to register, visit www.flightsimcon.com. Please also like FlightSimCon on Facebook or follow the conference on Twitter for the latest updates.

[Don Desfosse]

Just wanted to say what a wonderful event FlightSimCon 2016 was.  A phenomenal turnout -- the line to get in the museum Saturday stretched all the way around the rather large building!   A great agenda of speakers and panels, a magnificent display area with many of the industry's leading players (one of my favorite quotes yesterday was, "Oh my God!  I just actually talked with Frooglesim!"), new product announcements made at the FlightSimCon, first-time-ever sneak peeks into new and upcoming products, and the list of awesomeness goes on.  The VATSIM online simulation put on by the Boston Virtual ARTCC was incredible -- lots of controllers and pilots online from the conference, showing conference attendees what it was like in the virtual cockpit and on the virtual scopes (one of my favorites was controlling the guy sitting next to me, and having many conference attendees get to see what the turns, climbs, descents, etc. looked like both from his cockpit and my scope at the same time!).  I think the Boston folks signed up a fair number of new members, VATSIM will be getting some new members, and we also helped a bunch of folks find and reactivate old accounts. 

Fantastic representation by Boston Virtual ARTCC -- there had to have been close to 50 of their members there, some traveling from as far away as California to attend!  VATUSA was well represented, with VATUSA1, 3 and 5 there, as well as representation from Miami (ZMA), Minneapolis (ZMP) and New York (ZNY) (and sorry if I missed anyone else!), whose members flew in for the event.  Justin Friedland was wonderful during the Online Flight Sim panel discussion.  Unfortunately no one else from VATSIM HQ was able to attend and man the VATSIM table that was reserved for VATSIM at the conference -- hopefully next year!  Elmo was even on hand, making the day of many conference attendees and also providing some free goodwill by welcoming passengers (kids and grownups alike) to Bradley Airport and to Connecticut!

FlightSimCon proved that it is good for the community and good for the hobby.  Fantastic job to everyone who participated, especially the Boston crew that was a very key element in the conference's success and represented VATSIM professionally and solidly, and was a significant, significant contributor to the conference's success and excellent representation of VATSIM.