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  • VATSIM First Wings: April 27, 2019

[April 27th 2019 2300-0200Z] VATSIM First Wings

Lance Harry

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[April 27th 2019 2300-0200Z] VATSIM First Wings
« on: February 21, 2019, 03:35:14 PM »

VATSIM First Wings - The event where you lose your fears and join in on the fun that is flying online with real people providing you Air Traffic Control services.

Between 2300z on April 27th and 0200z on the 28th, VATSIM will be holding the second edition of this event, this time around in North America.

Minneapolis and Chicago Air Traffic Controllers will be our hosts for the evening, staffing Rochester, Rockford, Eastern Iowa and Duluth International.

We are all aware of the many fears one has the first time he or she flies online (we all flew our first flight at one point!), and that is why this event exists, to help you face those fears and join in on the fun!
Do not be put off flying for the fear of making a mistake, all Air Traffic Controllers are aware that the majority of pilots flying are newcomers, likely inexperienced in flying in controlled airspace, and will adapt accordingly.
The only thing we ask of you is to know how to fly your airplane. For everything else, we are here to help.

Closer to the day of, routes and a short briefing pack will be provided. On top of that, experienced pilots/air traffic controllers will be online during the event available to answer any question and help with any issue you may have.

(We would like to ask already experienced and active VATSIM-pilots to not participate in the event, as to avoid unnecessarily overloading the airfields and frequencies.)
« Last Edit: April 16, 2019, 07:50:40 PM by Lance Harry »
Lance Harry - LH
ZMP - Deputy Air Traffic Manager
[email protected]

Robert Shearman Jr

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Re: [April 27th 2019 2300-0200Z] VATSIM First Wings
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2019, 06:20:13 PM »
Nice!  Glad to see this event coming.  I heard the first one (in the UK) was tremendously well-received and appreciated.  I've blocked the date off & will be sure to be there.  Anything I can do ahead of time by way of flight-planning or communication tutorials or anything else that might help, please loop me in.
Cheers,
-R.

Andrew Doubleday

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Re: [April 27th 2019 2300-0200Z] VATSIM First Wings
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2019, 10:58:50 PM »
To encourage participation in this event (From both new and experienced VATSIM users), I intend to reward Ground Point Niner Twitch viewers and participants with nautical miles (nm) to apply towards a small giveaway that will occur throughout the course of the event (For those present on-stream only). I will run a drawing at the conclusion of each hour of the three scheduled hours of the event. Inquisitive questions and helpful answers from viewership will also be rewarded with extra nm! The giveaway will consist of three 5€ EURO (~$5.60 USD) gift vouchers to SimMarket.com to apply towards a vast selection of add-ons or hardware of the winner's choice!

I look forward to seeing everyone next weekend for this previously-proven, positive and encouraging learning opportunity!
Andrew James Doubleday (AJ)
Embry-Riddle | University of North Dakota CTI
Twitch Stream: Ground_Point_Niner

Robert Shearman Jr

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Re: [April 27th 2019 2300-0200Z] VATSIM First Wings
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2019, 04:38:54 PM »
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/slantalphaadventures
the Discord server: https://discord.gg/23rqrPG
the 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.
Cheers,
-R.

Robert Shearman Jr

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Re: [April 27th 2019 2300-0200Z] VATSIM First Wings
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2019, 06:08:45 PM »
In case anyone here is interested in the event and not monitoring the equivalent topic on the main VATSIM Forum:

Quote from: Andre Almeida 1333905
The briefing pack will indeed be published soon, in the meantime I can leave you the recommended routes if you'd like to start planning your flight:
Quote
KRST - KDLH: GEP J21 DLH
KDLH - KRST: DLH J21 GEP
KRST - KCID: RST V503 FARVI
KRST - KRFD: EMORE V24 GLARS V171 DAVIS
KRFD - KRST: DAVIS V171 LNR V24 EMORE
KRFD - KCID: RFD V63 MIHAL V172 LISBO
KRFD - KDLH: RFD V9 MSN V228 DLL V345 EAU V129 DLH
KDLH - KRFD: DLH V129 EAU V345 DLL V228 MSN V9 RFD
KDLH - KCID: DLH V13 FGT V82 RST V503 CID
KCID - KRST: FARVI V503 RST
KCID - KDLH: CID V503 RST V161 FGT V13 DLH
KCID - KRFD: LISBO V172 MIHAL V63 RFD

https://forums.vatsim.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=78446
Cheers,
-R.