Evan Reiter

Welcome!

Welcome!

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 bet@Nathan 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.

Join me in congratulating Cameron Peterson (PS) on his Class C Approach! The collective skill and knowledge of our approach controllers drops another notch PS demonstrated great knowledge and decision-making in a challenging PVD OTS, coming up with an effective vectoring plan and executing it nicely. Smart use of a "direct to" clearance at KGON and some fixed-wing aircraft that managed to just hover outside his airspace didn't hurt either. PS, nice working with you! Bring that level of knowledge and self-study to your Boston sessions (when the time comes) and you'll knock them out of the park. Until then...try not to scrape any metal. I hear aviation paint transfer is hard to buff out.

Glad you enjoyed it!

We have just been informed by the VATSIM Pilot Training Department that the last day for BVA members to obtain VATSIM P-ratings will be August 11 at 0000z. For those in North America, that time is 8pm ET on August 10. Accordingly, any members who are currently completing PRP flights with the intention to obtain a VATSIM P-rating will need to complete the requisite flights by that time. (To allow us some processing time, we would suggest that Saturday, August 8 is the last day to reliably complete a qualifying PRP flight and still receive the corresponding P-rating.) As in previous announcements, including when the go live date was pushed up from September 1 to August 18, BVA was not provided with an opportunity to comment or have input on this change. A segment of the message from the VATSIM Pilot Training Department, which was received today, is below: We are excited about the launch of Wings Over New England, which remains scheduled for August 16. Until the release of Wings Over New England, BVA members will be able to continue flying Pilot Ratings Program flights, though they will no longer qualify for VATSIM Pilot Ratings.

Nice job LV!

Read more about Boston Tea Party 2020 and other community news in the August Logan Informer.

The VATSIM Pilot Training Department has announced they are advancing the timeline for the removal of our status as an Authorized Training Organization (ATO). As of 0000z on August 18, the Pilot Ratings Program will no longer be considered an active ATO and VATSIM pilot certifications will no longer be issued. It is likely the change in timeline is designed to align the PTD changes with the upcoming launch of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Reminder, as part of the re-alignment, existing P-ratings will be grandfathered as follows: Existing P1 ratings will be revoked Existing P2 and P3 ratings will become P1 ratings Existing P4 and P5 ratings will become P2 ratings Pilots have the option of completing additional training to receive the new P3, P4, and P5 ratings So, if you're looking to get your P2 in the new system, you have just under a month to complete the requisite PRP flights (VFR 1-6, IFR 1-5). Make sure you complete them at least a few days before the deadline so we have time to process your rating before the changes come into effect. Meanwhile, we are continuing to build Wings Over New England, which is on track to replace the PRP on August 18. For more information on WINGS:

Nice!

In the July Logan Informer, we announced that the Pilot Ratings Program will become Wings Over New England on September 1. As part of the new WINGS program, pilots will get a great tour of the New England region while getting an incredible series of training-oriented challenges designed to help teach flying within the ATC system on VATSIM. We're asking members to share their feedback on the existing program and identify anything they would like to see changed when Wings Over New England launches in September. More than just a name change, the release on September 1 will also include a full review of existing content, an improved depiction of pilot certificates, four new IFR flights, and changes to the current flight to align with recent real-world navigation aid changes. For more information on the changes and to share your feedback and input:

What is Tea Party Poker? Tea Party Poker is a fun game that gives pilots a chance to win some some terrific prizes from our event sponsors! While there is absolutely no requirement to participate in Poker, it's become an annual tradition that many of the pilots take part in. If you choose to participate in Tea Party Poker: Each time you land at a Class B, C, or D airport inside ZBW, send BOS_PK_CTR a private message and you'll get a reply with one virtual 1 poker card (if the airport you land at is staffed, you'll get 2 poker cards). You have to fly to airports that are at least 50nm apart (straight-line distance). Once you obtain 5 cards, you can keep flying, discarding and picking up new cards to help better your hand. The pilot with the best hand at the end of the event wins, and has their pick of available prizes. The full set of rules is listed below. Tea Party Sponsors We're excited to work with a number of great developers from the community to offer prizes to participants of Tea Party Poker. The first-place participant will have the choice of available prizes while each subsequent winner will be able to choose from remaining items. Prizes Tea Party prizes include: FlightBeam: $30 Gift Card Honeycomb: Yoke and Throttle (ships in September) Just Flight: Product of User's Choice LatinVFR: Product of User's Choice Orbx: Product of User's Choice TFDi Design: Boeing 717, PACX, 12-month smartCARS Premium subscription Thrustmaster: Officer Pack Airbus Edition (A320 Throttle + Stick) The prizes will be available to Tea Party Poker pilots and the air traffic controllers who participate in the event. We are grateful to the sponsors above who have donated these prizes to the community! Rules All pilots who choose to participate in this competition are agreeing to abide by the rules below. The competition rules may be modified for clarity or other reasons without prior notification to participants. Please refer to this page for any updates. These rules are current as of August 11, 2020. The Events Coordinator shall have final say in all questions or disputes regarding this competition, and will be responsible for determining the winners. Rule changes for the 2020 event: Pilots will receive two virtual poker cards if their landing is at an airport other than KBOS that is staffed by a Tower controller (or just one card if it's KBOS or staffed "top-down" by an overlying Approach or Center controller). To be eligible, flights must be at least 50nm in length. (Last year, there was a "no intra-TRACON flight" rule that we thought could be simplified with this change.) Winning pilots must respond to their notification/prize selection email within 48 hours, or forfeit their priority for prize selection. Minor formatting changes to improve readability. The full rules governing the contest are: Event Duration: The poker game starts at 4:00pm ET on Saturday, August 8 and ends at 11:00pm ET (2000z to 0300z). How To Play: A pilot is eligible to draw virtual poker cards by completing any Eligible Flight during the event. At the conclusion of a flight, a pilot may contact the designated event official (BOS_PK_CTR) via private message (PM) to obtain the poker card(s). The event official will respond via private message advising the pilot of the cards they have received. When contacting BOS_PK_CTR to obtain a card, your PM should include: Flight origin and destination. VATSIM CID and email address (first message only). Pilots will receive: First drawing: two poker cards. Subsequent drawings: Two poker cards, if the landing is at an airport other than KBOS that is staffed by a Tower controller. One poker card, if the landing is at an airport staffed "top down" by an Approach or Center controller only, or if the landing is at KBOS. Notification of Winners, Prize Priority: By entering the contest and providing your email address to BOS_PK_CTR, you consent to Boston Virtual ARTCC emailing you should you be a winner. (If you are not a winner, we won't contact you, nor will we retain your contact information beyond the conclusion of the event.) Winners will be notified at the email address provided within 14 days of the end of the competition and will be able to choose from the list of prizes available in order of their poker hand. Winners must respond to their prize notification email within 48 hours to confirm their priority and select a prize. Winners who do not respond within 48 hours will lose their priority to select a prize, but may still be eligible for any remaining prizes at the time they reply to the email. How To Win: The pilots with the strongest poker hands at the conclusion of the event will be the winners. The number of possible winners will be equal to the number of pilot prizes available. Pilots must hold a full hand (5 cards) in order to win; therefore, pilots must complete, at a minimum, 4 eligible flights to qualify. Winning pilots will be allowed to select from a variety of prizes in order based on the strength of their respective poker hands: Eligible Flights: An Eligible Flight is any flight that terminates in a full-stop landing at a towered airport (controlled by Tower, Approach, or Center) within Boston ARTCC (ZBW) during the scheduled event times and complies with the restrictions below. Flights that originate outside ZBW airspace, and flights that originate before the start of the event, may be considered eligible provided they comply with the restrictions below. If a pilot is not certain whether or not a flight will be eligible, they should contact the designated event official (BOS_PK_CTR) via private message prior to departure. The flight must be between airports that are at least 50nm apart (by straight-line distance). The destination must be a towered airport (surrounded by Class B, C, or D airspace). The pilot must remain connected to the VATSIM network for the duration of the flight. VFR pilots must file a Flight Plan prior to departure that includes, at a minimum, their aircraft type, origin, and destination. The event ends promptly at 11:00pm ET (0300z) and any flights that conclude after this time will not receive a card. Discarding: Pilots who hold a full hand (5 cards) may try to better their hands throughout the stated event times by discarding an undesired card and then flying another flight. Pilots wishing to do this should advise the designated event official (BOS_PK_CTR) of the card they would like to discard before departing on an additional flight. Designated Event Official (BOS_PK_CTR): Issuing and tracking of pilot cards will be conducted by a designated event official. Cards that each pilot has in their "possession" will remain unknown to all other pilots until the event is complete. A pilot may verify their card holdings with the designated event official via private message. All replies to card verification requests will be returned via private message. Number of Decks: The competition will use a minimum of one deck of cards (52 cards) to start with, and the cards will be issued at random. Once this deck has been exhausted, a new deck will be added. Cards that are discarded will be placed back into the pool of available cards. Duplicate Cards: It is possible that a pilot may mistakenly receive a duplicate card during the event. If this happens, it is the pilot's responsibility to notify the designated event official (BOS_PK_CTR) as soon as possible. Hands containing duplicate cards are considered "illegal" poker hands and will not be eligible to win. Tracking of Poker Hands: Poker hands will be tied to a pilot's VATSIM CID, not their name or callsign. Exchanging of Cards: Trading, exchanging or transferring of cards between or among pilots will not be allowed at any time during the event. Withdrawal: A pilot wishing to withdraw from the game must notify the designated event official (BOS_PK_CTR) by private message, or if unavailable, one of the BVA controllers staffing a position. The pilot's cards will be returned to the deck(s) and made available to other competitors to collect. Once a pilot has withdrawn, they may not attempt to re-enter the competition. Shared Cockpit Flights: Cards are issued to flights, not pilots. Participants who choose to fly together in the same aircraft (i.e., shared cockpit flying) will be considered as a single flight and receive one set of cards. For the purposes of the competition, the name and CID of the pilot who messaged BOS_PK_CTR will be considered the pilot who is participating in the competition. Disqualification: Pilots who are disqualified will not be allowed to re-enter the competition. The Events Coordinator will have the final say in any disputes regarding pilot disqualification. A pilot may be disqualified from the competition for: Failure to comply with VATSIM COC. Refusal to comply with ATC instructions. Attempting to cheat or circumvent the competition rules. Providing false/misleading information to the event official. Disclaimer In no way should this competition be seen as a promotion or simulation of gambling. There is no purchase necessary to play or win. Gambling is not endorsed by Boston Virtual ARTCC or any of its affiliates, including VATUSA, VATSIM, and the event sponsors.

Taylor - nice! Congrats. Jay - *facepalm*

Congratulations to Bradley Clinton (CT), who completed his Class B Tower OTS today. Now he'll be able to work more than just the Connecticut airport that's named after him. Typically one of the most difficult exams to pass, this new certification allows him to wreak havoc on pilots work Boston Tower and eventually to start training to crunch metal in the air, not just on the ground for radar/Approach work. I threw everything at him, from GDPs at KJFK to TCAS RA go arounds so we at least know he'll be ready to handle the next ZNY event, even if @Austin Cirulli is working A90.

CongratsTM.