Evan Reiter

Our ISP has diagnosed tonight's issue as a connectivity problem on their end that affected multiple customers, including us. During the brief outage -- which lasted approximately 5 minutes -- members were unable to connect to FlightDesk and FSX. Service was restored quickly and the server has been stable throughout the night. Over the past several months we've been fortunate to experience few, if any, service outages on our FSX server. It's a great percentage given that we run a 24/7 operation and run an extremely demanding program (FSX). We also appreciate the many comments and messages from members asking about the status of the server. It's not always possible to diagnose a server issue until we have sufficient evidence from multiple users. The information provided by many members during the outage was helpful to the ISP in determining and quickly correcting the issue. Thank you again for your support. We apologize for the inconvenience that the temporary outage caused.

The connectivity issue we were experiencing on our FSX server has been resolved. Members should now be able to access the server normally. We apologize for the inconvenience. More information will be posted here later this evening.

FSX server appears to be back online. We are waiting for confirmation from our ISP. Most members are now able to re-connect to FSX and FlightDesk.

Our FSX server is currently experiencing connectivity issues. FSX, FlightDesk, and Live ATIS are all impacted. We have engaged our ISP to troubleshoot the issue and will post as soon as more information is available.

Boston Virtual ATC apologizes for the circumstances surrounding last night's planned Regional Circuit at KABQ and KROW. Due to an unexpected combination of availability and technical issues, the event was not staffed by air traffic control for the majority of the scheduled time. The controllers that were scheduled to take part in the event (already short of what we would normally provide) both experienced technical issues and were unable to continue to provide ATC services after the beginning of the event. We apologize for this inconvenience. Steps are being taken to ensure that this does not happen again. Our busiest events occur when there are a large number of pilots taking part. Regardless of ATC staffing, a 30+ pilot event tends to be enjoyable all around. We encourage pilots to continue participating in events moving forward, and will make sure that we take steps earlier to cancel or move events if we expect ATC staffing to present a problem. Thank you for your support and understanding. Please let me know if there are any questions.

To better identify the Member Support Team in FlightDesk, an "M" icon has been added beside the BVA Username of members who are part of our official support team. While most of our members are happy to help, the Member Support Team is comprised of members who have specifically volunteered to help with support and flying-related questions. The new icon is a yellow "M" and will be depicted beside anyone who is part of the Member Support Team: As always, we encourage members with questions to post them in FlightDesk's "Chat and Log" tab, or to send a private message to any controller, administrator, or Member Support Team contact.

The audio recording of our session on IFR Departures and Clearances can be accessed on our website. The materials presented during the session are also attached. Our next session will discuss IFR and Visual Holding Patterns two weeks from today.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback! The survey is now closed. Results will be posted on the forums when they become available. We love to hear feedback from members at any time! Please do not hesitate to Contact Us with your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Please click here to access the recording from tonight's VFR Departure and Arrival Procedures Ground School session. The recording includes some good dialogue between the members present regarding different procedures for arriving at untowered airports. The materials are also attached. Our next session takes place two weeks from tonight at 7pm ET.

Please click here to access the recording from our Flight Planning Ground School seminar. The materials from the session are attached. Our next session takes place on September 14 at 7pm ET, and will feature VFR arrival and departure procedures at controlled and uncontrolled airports.

Quick sidebar... In response to some of the messaging earlier on this thread about it being a 'community-driven' event without administrative involvement, I've kept out of this discussion. Please don't let the absence of the A-Team on this thread indicate our preference for our against the event; we're simply doing as asked. Whenever any administrative assistance would be of value, please let us know.

Please click here to listen to tonight's Ground School seminar on Weather. The materials from the session are attached. Our next Ground School session, which discusses end-to-end flight planning, takes place on August 31 at 7pm ET.

Please take a few moments to complete Boston Virtual ATC's 2014 Member Satisfaction Survey. BVA regularly asks members for feedback in an effort to continuously improve our services. Our last general survey took place in 2012, and the Administration Team looks forward to hearing from the community again. The survey is available for new members, active or occasional users, and former participants. Completing it will take approximately 10-15 minutes. All feedback will remain anonymous. http://www.bostonvirtualatc.com/MemberSurvey.aspx The Administration Team looks forward to receiving your feedback and suggestions.

The TFR will be live in just under an hour! Additionally, there have been a few changes to my post above reflecting the new TFR which has a much shorter duration (ending on the 17th instead of the 25th) and also excludes a 2nm ring around KPYM and KUUU. We'll keep updating this post as any additional changes to the TFR are enforced.

As was the case last year, any of the "approved" military operators listed in this forum post would be permitted to act as intercept aircraft. Intercepts will be conducted on an as-needed basis, ONLY while ATC is online, and in the same manner you would expect in real life. There will absolutely not be any unnecessary intercepts nor will any sort of "missiles" be simulated (that statement being a joke). Anyone who attempts to fly a military aircraft who is NOT on that list will be treated as they would in any other regular server setting. Just like one of our Washington SFRA events, flying in to this TFR in an attempt to "see what happens" is absolutely unacceptable. That being said, we are obviously a learning community, and anyone who accidentally violates any of the TFR areas will be treated as they would in the real world. We'll do our best to educate and help so the same thing doesn't happen when flying. The intention of simulating the TFR is to provide the level of realism that our members expect during our regular operations. It will be simulated in the same, professional manner that the rest of our operations are.

Thank you to those attending last night's Ground School on Radio Communications. If you wish to access an audio recording of the session, please click the following URL: http://bostonvirtualatc.com/portals/0/Pilot%20Meetings/Recordings/GroundSchoolAugust3RadioCommunications.mp3. Additionally, please find the presentation we walked through during the session attached. Thank you to Riley ('RShannon') who facilitated tonight's session and put together the attached materials. For more information about Radio Communications, including transcripts and audio recordings, please view our Radio Communications page. The next session takes place at 7pm ET on Sunday, August 17.

There are two Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) located over Cape Cod between August 9 and August 25 for VIP movement. The first TFR, which is only effective for 75 minutes on August 9, covers KFMH. The second, which will be more relevant to our operations, impacts operations around Cape Cod starting at 11:45am ET on August 9 and ending at 11:59pm ET on August 17. Centered on KMVY, the TFR also affects KEWB, KACK, and KHYA. However, operations at KPYM and KUUU are excluded. You can view the TFR on http://www.skyvector.com (find KACK, then turn on “Temporary Flight Restrictions” under “Layers”). You can also see a graphical depiction of the TFR as well as the full set of restrictions on the FAA’s TFRs site. Both TFRs will be enforced while ATC is online. The objective of doing so is to increase awareness of TFRs and other types of Special Use Airspace on our server. While you can try to decode the FAA’s language using the link above, we've provided an explanation of the TFR in what we hope are friendlier terms below. There are two different parts of this TFR. The “outer core” consists of the airspace within a 30nm radius of the Martha's Vineyard VOR (MVY), excluding 2nm "cutouts" around KUUU and KPYM. The “inner core” consists of the airspace within a 10nm radius of MVY. Both of the cores extend from the surface up to but not including 18,000' MSL. In the “outer core”, VFR and IFR aircraft are permitted to operate provided: The aircraft has filed and is on an active VFR or IFR flight plan. The aircraft has been assigned and is squawking a discrete squawk code. The aircraft maintains two-way radio communication with ATC. The “inner core” will affect flight operations to/from KACK and at KMVY. Please note that IFR or VFR flights to/from KACK are not permitted to transit the “inner core”. Ensure to file flight plans to remain clear of the 10nm radius of MVY. Aircraft departing KMVY must have an active VFR or IFR flight plan and be in contact with ATC. Commercial aircraft wishing to fly to KMVY can do so normally, provided they are in contact with ATC at all times while in the TFR (and on an active flight plan). General aviation aircraft are required to depart one of three “gateway” airports (in real-world, you would have to be screened by the TSA at one of these three locations): Westchester County Airport (KHPN) Barnstable Municipal Airport (KHYA) Providence/Green State Airport (KPVD) For BVA’s purposes, General Aviation aircraft will be permitted to land at KMVY only under the following circumstances: The aircraft has departed from one of the gateway airports listed above The aircraft files a direct VFR or IFR flight plan from a gateway airport to KMVY The aircraft is squawking a discrete, ATC-assigned code The aircraft remains in contact with ATC throughout the flight, and does not stop from the gateway airport to KMVY As mentioned, the purpose of simulating this TFR is to improve awareness of Special Use Airspace and to help all of us learn more about how TFRs work. Pilots that are unfamiliar with, or violate, the TFR won’t be punished, and no TFR restrictions apply when ATC is offline. Post your questions here and let us know of any issues that may arise (as well as anything about this forum post that may be unclear). For more information on Temporary Flight Restrictions and other types of Special Use Airspace, please click here.

Reminder: our next "Ground School" session takes place from 7-7:30pm ET tomorrow, on radio communications. The session will feature some information about radio work and several interactive examples that we will walk through together. After the session, ATC will be available on NY_A and ZBW.

Please check the email you have registered with BVA; I've sent you a note there and will do my best to answer the question via email.

Couldn't agree more about the fun of some of those Alaska airports. While fun to control, the really neat thing about these airports is the flight procedures that (as Jon's video demonstrates) bring you along valleys and through passes to a short final. By the way, what were you doing landing on Runway 26 with an 18 knot tailwind? I'm sure it had nothing to do with wanting to fly that cool approach...

Thank you to those attending tonight's Ground School (covering Flight Planning). If you wish to access an audio recording of the session, please click the following URL: http://bostonvirtualatc.com/portals/0/Pilot%20Meetings/Recordings/GroundSchoolJuly6FlightPlanning.mp3. A big thanks to BVA member Jonathan (of the same BVA Username) who helped facilitate tonight's session. In addition, please find links below to some of the resources that were discussed during the session: Flight Planning page: http://www.bostonvirtualatc.com/AllMemb ... nning.aspx SkyVector: http://skyvector.com/ SimRoutes: http://www.simroutes.com/fb2/ParseRoute.aspx NFDC Preferred Routes Database: http://www.fly.faa.gov/rmt/nfdc_preferr ... tabase.jsp FlightAware Routes Search: http://flightaware.com/live/findflight We look forward to seeing you on August 3 for a discussion on Radio Communications! Please reach out to me if you are interested in helping to lead that session.

Due to weather conditions impacting the event, the SFRA Challenge has been re-scheduled to Tuesday, July 8 from 8-11pm ET. The event's page now reflects the new date.

We are temporarily unable to send Event Reminder emails to our members. The information about tonight's NY SFRA Challenge event is provided below. From 8-11pm ET tonight, we'll be staffing KHPN, KEWR, KLGA, and New York Approach for pilots to experience the New York SFRA! During the flight, pilots are encouraged to fly one or more of the following: [*]Act as jetliner or other overlying traffic within the New York Class Bravo airspace flying out of KEWR or KLGA (easy) [*]Fly the New York Skyline Route (medium) [*]Fly the Hudson River Exclusion (hard) Pilots flying along either the New York Skyline Route or the Hudson River Exclusion are encouraged to download our NY SFRA Landmarks scenery files and install them by placing them into the 'Addon Scenery/scenery' directory of FSX. This will help ensure you have the Intrepid and Alpine Tower landmarks. A wealth of information about flying in the SFRA and the Hudson River Exclusion is available from the Challenge page. We look forward to seeing you in and around the SFRA tonight!

Ground School is a 10-week long program that will run every second Sunday from 7pm ET beginning on July 6 and will run for 10 sessions (there is no session scheduled on July 20 as we have a Pilot Meeting that night). The program is designed to help pilots of all skill levels share their knowledge and experience. Sessions will be held in the Member TeamSpeak. Connection information is posted on the Server Information page. Each session will focus on a specific component of flying within the ATC system; the course outline is listed below (subject to change). At the end of each session, ATC will be staffed beginning at 8pm ET in order to allow pilots the opportunity to practice the items discussed. The ground school is entirely optional and drop-in. Join for as many or as few sessions as you wish. Voice recordings from each session will be available online. Ground School – Curriculum (subject to change): [*]July 6: Flight Planning: Overview [*]August 3: Radio Communications [*]August 17: Weather [*]August 31: End-to-End Flight Planning [*]September 14: VFR Departure and Arrival Procedures [*]September 28: IFR Clearances [*]October 19: IFR and Visual Holding Patterns [*]October 26: Approach Plates – Part 1 [*]November 23: Approach Plates – Part 2 [*]December 7: RNAV (Area Navigation): Departures, Arrivals, and Approaches

Scheduled website maintenance is planned to take place beginning in the evening of Friday, June 26 and continuing through to Sunday, June 29. The FSX server, which also hosts FlightDesk and Live ATIS, will continue to function normally. During the maintenance period, the website will be highly unstable, with intermittent periods of partial functionality. During periods of intermittent functionality, dynamic aspects of the website like the Pilot Timetable, events pages, and our ATC exams will likely not function as intended. Due to potential instability, we recommend BVA members refrain from using the website during the maintenance period, if possible. A message will be posted here when the maintenance has been completed and the website is stable. The maintenance is planned in order to upgrade the ‘back end’ of our website. We do not expect end users to see any immediate changes to the website’s functionality once maintenance has been completed. We appreciate the inconvenience this maintenance will cause and are scheduling it during an off-peak period (weekend) to limit the impact of the outage. Please let us know if you have any questions.