[12 Dec 2020 0000-2359z] 60 Hours of BVARTCC [cont.]

Austin Cirulli

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[12 Dec 2020 0000-2359z] 60 Hours of BVARTCC [cont.]
« on: November 12, 2020, 08:22:44 PM »

Begins: Friday, December 11, 11am ET (1600z)
Ends: Sunday, December 13, 11pm ET (0400z)
60 Hours Kickoff FNO: Friday, December 11, 7-11pm ET (2400-0400z)

Join us for this one of a kind ATC marathon event! Boston Center will be staffed continuously for 60 hours throughout the first weekend in December.  As part of this unique tradition, we will also be hosting Friday Night Operations (FNO) to kick off the first night of this amazing weekend. This is one of our favorite events and we look forward to talking to you all throughout the weekend of continuous ATC coverage.

There are no sign-ups or special actions required for pilots to participate: just connect and fly, any time you want, between 11:00am ET on Friday, December 11 through until 11:00pm ET on Sunday, December 13. How many flights can you get in before the end of the night on Sunday?

Robert Shearman Jr

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Re: [12 Dec 2020 0000-2359z] 60 Hours of BVARTCC [cont.]
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2020, 03:43:08 AM »
I just wanted to rant a little.  Pilots, when we have metering in place, it's for a reason.  It's not because we like making you wait.  And when you decide you're too self-important to sit on the ground for a few minutes, so you disconnect, take off, and reconnect 5 miles west of the airport expecting to be worked into the very same flow we were trying to have you join later on -- well, that's just a selfish thumb-to-the-nose to everyone else who was waiting their turn.  300 planes can't all arrive at Boston at the same time, but I guess this one departing from Baltimore decided he was better than everyone else.  I heard he later got 7 laps of a hold over New York, so, maybe that clued him in as to what we were trying to do, and maybe it didn't.  I soooo want to call him out by name or callsign right now but I know I can't do that.  But, any other pilots reading this -- if your controllers are trying to moderate the flow to the destination airport, there's a reason.  Don't pull a d--ch---g move like that and jump the line.  Thanks.

Nolan Danziger

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Re: [12 Dec 2020 0000-2359z] 60 Hours of BVARTCC [cont.]
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2020, 12:17:05 PM »
Rob brings up a great point, and I'm sorry to continue hijacking the event post, but I wanted to add something too. In the real world, customers (ie, the airlines) and the Command Center (the people in charge of watching and scheduling everything) work very closely together to ensure that airplanes are slotted in at the right times and delays are metered. This line isn't as clearly defined on VATSIM, but it does still exist.

Trust me, as a controller I don't want to be the bad guy delaying you for an hour, but remember that we're all on the same team here. We're all working towards the goal of a smooth event but it requires that both pilots and controllers do their part.

Gerald Thulbourn

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Re: [12 Dec 2020 0000-2359z] 60 Hours of BVARTCC [cont.]
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2020, 03:41:11 PM »
Can the pilot be kicked off Vatsim? I thought vatsim was meant to be all working together for mutual enjoyment of all? I've seen cases myself just recently of selfish behaviour which have put me off flying on the network to be honest, certainly in big events. The worse was a 'flash mobbing' of an event by one Virtual Airline that made a complete mockery of it.

Try to remember that most pilots really appreciate the efforts controllers go to in order to make these events happen, even if there are some bad apples.

And 'us' pilots, yes it might be frustrating to get stuck waiting for airspace to clear, but surely that's a chance for us to absorb the atmosphere and appreciate just being part of a great community? If you can't handle that then maybe you should go fly somewhere else?