Oh, crap. AJ, I hope I'm not seen as trying to compete with you or ride anyone's coattails or cut in on anyone's dance. I was actually approached by, and have been corresponding with, several of the organizers of this event about things I can offer to help new pilots get comfortable taking the leap and trying out a flight this Saturday. So, we came up with the following two things:
(1) this Wednesday night, April 24th at 8pm Eastern Daylight Time (Thursday morning 0000z), I'll be demonstrating a flight from Rockford (KRFD) to Duluth (KDLH) in the PMDG 737 NGX -- not only just startup to shutdown, but also covering flight planning topics such as: where to find a viable route, how to determine how much fuel to carry, how to connect, what to put in the flightplan, how to determine which controller to talk to, etcetera. Once airborne, the VATSIM ATC have agreed to treat our flight as though it was in a high-traffic area, with the potential for holds, vectors, speed restrictions, runway assignment changes, and whatever else might happen when you fly online with live, human ATC. We'll talk through the various ways you can use the different autopilot modes on the plane to comply with all of their instructions. That demo will happen live on Twitch.tv, and live Q&A via Twitch or Discord will be encouraged. (I tend to draw a much smaller audience than the "big" flight sim streamers, so, there's a very good chance that ALL of your questions will be heard and answered.) The video will be uploaded to YouTube immediately after, as well, for anyone who isn't available to participate as scheduled, with additional Q&A opportunities via YouTube comments or Discord.
(2) Saturday night during the event, starting at 7pm EDT (2300z), I will be set up as an observer at Duluth (KDLH), and my core viewers and I will be monitoring as many of the various ATC channels as we can. Again, we'll encourage live Q&A via the Twitch chat or the Discord server, so any new pilots flying in the event that need help understanding an instruction or how to get the plane to fly a hold or a vector or a late descent can pop in and ask and get immediate help.
the Twitch channel:
https://twitch.tv/slantalphaadventuresthe Discord server:
https://discord.gg/23rqrPGthe YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGVQitLSUHt6huOirNEYI4Q (*)
I hope we can get some new pilots flying regularly on VATSIM! The more we populate our virtual skies with pilots who know how to fly cooperatively on the network, the more fun it is for all of us!
(*) yeah, I know. I need a few more subscribers before I can get a custom link. I told ya, my audience is "cozy." LOL.
