Evan Reiter

Please send me an email ([email protected]) with how exactly you wanted to help, any past experience or new ideas you have, etc. and I'll forward it to the team.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Short answer: probably not. Longer answer: We're looking at compatibility. The challenge right now is that nobody (we know of) has figured out how to add AI aircraft models to flight simulator. Our team has tried a number of things and hasn't been able to figure out how this would be done. As a result, we can't even tell whether or not the models we have will display in the sim. If they can be displayed, then it should be easy to create compatibility. But if there is no way to inject the models, or if the models we have won't display (as we suspect), then there won't be a way for FLAi to work with the new simulator.

Read more about WINGS and other community news in the September Logan Informer.

The winners of Tea Party Poker 2020 are: Honeycomb Yoke & Throttle: Timothy L. (Full House) TFDi Design 717 & PACX: Cameron P. Thrustmaster A320 Officers Pack: Kevin M. Orbx Product: Jeffory B. (Flush) Just Flight Product: Matthew G. (Flush) LatinVFR Scenery: Nicolas L. (Straight) FlightBeam Gift Card: Philip M. (Straight) 12-month smartCARS Subscription from TFDi Design: Kyle Webber (Two Pair) 12-month smartCARS Subscription from TFDi Design: Seth Katz (Two Pair) I've been in touch with each of the winners via email. Timothy also reached out to let me know he's already received his Honeycomb yoke and is really happy with it, which is always nice to hear. I wanted to express my thanks to the many pilots who participated in poker this year! We saw a tremendous increase in the number of people flying to our satellite airports, which is what Tea Party Poker is all about. For context, last year (2019) we had 28 participants who collectively drew 192 cards. This year, we had 59 participants draw 449 cards. I know there were some delays at the beginning of the event for obtaining poker cards and we've worked on several ways to improve that next year.

We are excited to announce that Wings Over New England (WINGS), Boston Virtual ARTCC's self-paced pilot training program, is now live! WINGS is designed to help teach pilots fundamental skills about operating their aircraft within the air traffic system. From VFR closed traffic at Nantucket to a back course instrument approach at New Bedford to RNAV approaches in the Adirondack Mountains, WINGS will take pilots across the New England airspace while offering engaging, self-paced learning. WINGS is the next chapter for our Pilot Ratings Program, which has seen more than 500 pilots complete at least one flight in its 6-year history. WINGS is not affiliated with the VATSIM Pilot Training Department and will not qualify pilots for VATSIM's P-ratings. As part of the release, BVA has: Reviewed and significantly re-written every existing PRP flight, adding new images, links to resources, and videos. Re-branded and re-designed the pages, making the training material significantly easier to read. Designed the flights to take advantage of add-on scenery products to provide users of add-on scenery with a great visual experience. Added specific "tracks" for pilots who may not want to complete the entire program; now, you can fly specific series of targeted flights for VFR Flying, Airline Flying, Complex IFR Procedures, and RNAV. Moved three of the existing flights to new airports, removing DME arcs and NDB-based navigation from the program in favor of current/real-world procedures and more true-to-life complex IFR scenarios. Significantly improved the descriptions for complex IFR procedures like holds, procedure turns, and ODPs. In the four new IFR flights, introduced concepts including along-track waypoint creation, weather deviations, simulated failures, special use airspace, FBO locations, EFBs, PIREPs, and contact approaches to the training materials. An entirely free program, WINGS helps teach members skills that can be used for online flying in VFR and IFR environments, making the most of what an at-home flight simulator can teach you. It includes structured, self-guided training lessons that do not rely directly on an instructor or mentor, allowing pilots to learn at their own pace and in a comfortable environment. The program is comprised of 30 flights, each of which contain a series of tasks. Each flight is flown under the watchful eyes of BVA's air traffic controllers, who monitor your progress to ensure each of the tasks for that flight is completed correctly. If the controller determines you successfully meet the criteria for a flight, you achieve that rating. Any BVA member can take part in the program and achieve the corresponding ratings while ATC is online. If you have previously flown our Pilot Ratings Program, find out what's changed. If you are new to WINGS and want to learn more about the program, visit www.bvartcc.com/wings! Over the past several hours, we have been busy updating our many website pages that referenced the Pilot Ratings Program. If you find any outdated references to PRP on website pages, broken links, or identify any content errors in the new program, please use this thread to report them. BVA is extremely grateful to the members who volunteered their time to help make this release possible. This included: Creation of the "WINGS" logo and branding: Jeff Vlahos Content reviewers: Joel Kraft Jonathan Halverson Mark Rehnborg Sharath Mahadevan Screenshot contributors: Bradley Clinton John Canavan Mark Emery Mateo Rodriguez Matthew Medeiros Riley Shannon Wil Tucker Members who provided feedback as the program was being developed (The danger with making a list like this is someone can get missed. Please, please, if I've forgotten your name, reach out to me so I can edit this post!) Members are welcome to begin operating WINGS flights immediately. We hope you find the program to be a great addition to your online flying and welcome any feedback you have as you begin a journey throughout the beautiful New England region.

Way to represent Canada!

I was debating a Robb Stark / Game of Thrones reference in the title but I decided now that the series is over—with a terrible ending, I might add—we needed something else. Community, join me in welcoming Rob Stark (SR) as BVA's newest Center controller! After managing everything the network could throw at him on Tuesday night (including a Cape Air Virtual group flight and a congaline of three jets into KORH...no, you can't make this stuff up), I decided it was time for him to sweat a little more. Today, we worked through a simulator scenario cleaning up some OOSHN arrival stacks to make sure he'll be ready the next time Cross the Pond rolls around (or he has to take over Center from me). Achieving a Boston Center certification is the culmination of a controller's journey here at BVA and the start of a new phase of self-monitored training (read: he only has to deal with me again if he really screws something up!). It almost always reflects years of hard work, self-study, commitment to the community, and passionate dedication to this hobby we all love. Rob joined the community on April 11, 2011...so long ago that we don't even have copies of his original training records anymore! In addition to serving as a controller for most of the last 9 years, Rob has also held various staff roles in our organization including as the head of a training airline (who remembers United Regional?) and currently as an Air Traffic Control Mentor. He completed his Class B Approach training with TA Jay on April 4, 2019 and has been pestering me for training sessions on Center since we began this journey a couple of months ago. When I certify students for Center, given the extent of the occasion, I usually try to find something in a past training report or share a little history about their experience. Since Rob has been with us for so long, a lot of the original Class C Ground and Tower training reports aren't available now. However, I did manage to find a few lovely pictures from an April 2013 event featuring the one and only Rob Stark: (I [email protected] Rankin is super happy I wasn't the one to certify him for CTR right about now!) Well prepared, eager, positive, and offering a nice touch of humor on frequency (not always intentionally), Rob was a pleasure to train. I hope he enjoyed the journey as much as I did. And, member pilots, when you next hear Rob's voice on 134.70...just remember to "report the Portland weather in sight". That way, he doesn't have to worry about reading out the METAR for you!

Members, Be advised that the BVA forums and portions of the website will be unavailable on Sunday, August 16 between 8-10am ET (1200-1400z) for scheduled maintenance. During and after this time, we'll also be updating website content frequently for the release of Wings Over New England. The ATC Hub, Discord, and TeamSpeak will not be affected, and of course you'll still be able to connect to VATSIM without issue. However, please plan accordingly if you need to use any of our resources located on the forums and/or website on Sunday morning.

Welcome Thomas! Actually, your account was accepted on August 12. You should have already received our welcome email; I just sent it again through the website. Double-check your spam folder if you don't see it. It provides instructions on how to sign in (click BVA Member Sign In > VATSIM Sign In, and then enter your VATSIM CID and network password) and points you to our Orientation page as the place to get started. You'll be able to get started on WINGS as of August 16. If you really want to, you can also start flying the PRP immediately. However, given the extent of the changes, I'd recommend waiting the two days to take advantage of the new program fully.

At this time, the VATSIM Pilot Training Department has revoked our status as an Authorized Training Organization (ATO). As a result, although members may continue to fly Pilot Ratings Program (PRP) flights on the network, those flights will only count toward internal BVA ratings and will not be eligible for VATSIM P-ratings. On August 16, Szymon, Nathan, Jay, and I will spend several hours launching Wings Over New England, which will include releasing the new website pages, changing references to PRP across our website, and updating our controller resources. There will be no gap in service; pilots may continue to fly PRP flights as the changes are being made. When the cutover happens, ratings will be counted for the WINGS program instead of the PRP. By the end of the day on August 16, WINGS will be fully active and all references to the PRP will be updated to show WINGS instead. If you've participated in the Pilot Ratings Program in the past: All existing ratings will become WINGS ratings. For example, if you have passed PRP VFR 1, you'll now be credited with WINGS VFR 1. Pilots who had previously completed the entire program will need to fly WINGS IFR 20-23 in order to be considered WINGS graduates. The new ratings table will only show pilots wil flights/ratings issued within the last 30 days. A lookup tool will allow you to retrieve older ratings. If you've flown PRP flights in the past, you may be wondering what's changed. In fact, almost every PRP flight has been edited and reviewed for content. We've added more videos, resources, and images across the program. The most significant changes were made to the following flights: IFR 6: improved description of course reversals with new images. IFR 9: new airports, circling is now completed at an untowered airport, enhanced description of ODPs. IFR 10: new airports, different style of LOC BC approach, introduces VCOA for ODPs. IFR 11: redesign of flight, covering similar but new skills (removes DME arc approach in favor of straight-in ILS at KPYM, arrival at KPWM from a different direction). IFR 12: the ILS RWY 7 Approach at KSFM has been re-designed; the new flight reflects the change and provides an enhanced description of CDFA with more information about how to calculate profile descents on non-precision approaches. IFR 15: adds requirement for pilots to create "along-track waypoints" in an FMS (and/or to do manual calculations to meet a prescribed crossing restriction). IFR 20-23: new flights, covering flight planning, weather deviations, simulated failures, special use airspace, contact approaches, NOTAMs, FBO locations, use of EFB applications, and PIREPs. If you've already flown one of the flights listed above, you may wish to re-fly the flight (or at least read the material again) as you'll get a lot out of the new material. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have another set of eyes on the material (the changed/new flights were all reviewed by at least 3 WINGS pilots). Of course, the only flights an existing WINGS graduate would be required to fly are the new IFR 20-23.

Nice job!

Thought I'd share this piece of positive feedback from one of the pilots (and Tea Party Poker prize winners):

I've begun reaching out to Tea Party winners. I'm notifying each winner in order: once the first-place winner replies to my email and claims their prize, I'll reach out to the second-place participant. Once everyone has been notified and claimed their prizes, I'll update this thread.