ATC OFFLINE

[Marc Eichler]

I don't know if it is just me, and I am not an ATC person so I don't know how annoying this question might be. But I get super excited to fly, get all set up, but then the ATC goes offline. For me it kind of ruins the experience. I think it would be super helpful (even if it is a little annoying for ATC) if there was somewhere on a website or a platform, that ATC members could post what time they are going to get off. Its just an idea, let me know what you guys think!

[Camden Bruno]

Hi Marc,

You can check the ARTCCs website to see if they have an ATC schedule. Boston, for example, has a timetable that controllers use to advertise planned ATC.

http://www.bvartcc.com/Pilots/ATCTimetable.aspx

[Josh Glottmann]

Try to fly during events, as you will be guaranteed ATC then. There are usually 1-3 big VATUSA events every week (checkout the calendar linked at the top).
I also suggest flying to places with controllers that just logged on, as there is a higher chance they will remain on than the 4+ hour wiped out Center controller.

[Matthew Kosmoski]

Bear in mind that controllers are volunteer hobbyists.  If I were committed to a particular schedule for ad-hoc (non-event) controlling, I'd be disinclined to sign up or sign on.  When you've been working a position (especially an en-route with no lower controllers at busy fields), sometimes you just have to cut folks loose even if you see aircraft coming in or signing on.

That being said, most controllers seem to use the .break command to indicate that they're signing off in the near future.  I can't recall if any of the clients can relay that, but perhaps in the future such integration of that (at least) could be considered.  I'm not familiar enough with the architecture of the data flows to do much speculation on the possibility of that, however.

May be time to do some traffic analysis! :-)

[Robert Shearman Jr]

It's a topic that comes up on the forum frequently.  Some ARTCCs publish schedules and some don't.  But even those that do, you can't hold them to it like it's etched in gold, any more than anyone would try to hold you to a commitment as to when you will be flying.  You might give them an idea, or try to fly around the same time every week, but unfortunately few of us can afford to make flight simulation our #1 priority and other things are going to come up last-minute.

That being said, +1 to looking for events to fly during, and +1 to looking for controllers who just recently logged on.  Those are my two usual strategies as well.  They aren't foolproof, but, they're pretty effective most of the time.

[William Anderson]

Everything stated above is some pretty good advice. Personally, I can't tell you when I am going to get on nor how long I will be on for. Sometimes I am in the mood to control and sometimes I am not. Even when I am in the mood to control, I can't tell you how long I will be on. I may be on 1 hours or I may be on 4, it all depends on what I have going on in my life, traffic levels, quality of pilots,  time of day etc. It is because of this reason where I can't publish my expected log off time and I can't answer that when I get asked.

Hope this helps.

[Paul Dobear]

The best way to ensure ATC is online, is to be part of the solution.  Try and give just as many hours as a controller, as you do as a pilot.

But that's just one guys opinion.

[Ian Fisher]

The best way to ensure ATC is online, is to be part of the solution.  Try and give just as many hours as a controller, as you do as a pilot.

But that's just one guys opinion.

If they are controlling how are they going to be able to talk to ATC while they fly?