That's great to hear, and I'm happy you enjoyed it. Part of why I intended to push for us to do more VFR events is they really feel lacking on the network, are the type of flying people should know even before IFR (but don't), and it really mixes it up for a lot of pilots. It can be really helpful for those working on Pilot Ratings on the network. VATSTAR has already been coming to us for support which is fantastic.
Clearly, the event did show that some of our controllers could use some brush up on VFR handling, and for sure the same could be said for many pilots.
One of the biggest issues during the event was aircraft who filed a VFR flight plan expecting to be given a clearance like an IFR aircraft, and many who also were not familiar with the requirements of radio contact before entering a Class Delta airspace, or what Class Delta even was. This was especially the case for those who did not take flight following and thus get the help of the approach controllers telling them to contact the tower.
The other issue was a lot of VFR pilots not maintaining safe visual separation, and this is not counting those who were in Flights of 2+ aircraft. The other is knowing that the Lead aircraft initiates all ATC contact, and wingmen should set transponders on standby. To many constant conflict alerts for ATC, which was annoying even for those not receiving flight following.
As we do this more though we hope everyone will use it as an opportunity to learn.
Stay tuned for some more upcoming events!
