Evan Reiter

Sounds Amazing!

You people are stealing so MAny of my puns...MA GAWD!

Boston Tea Party 2021 August 7, 12-7pm ET Timelapses: Boston Center, submitted by Arvid H. Boston Approach, submitted by Cameron P. The Cape, submitted by Benjamin M. A Pilot's Screenshots, submitted by Mateo R. Boston Tower, posted on Reddit Statistics: From StatSim. KBOS Departures: 167. Arrivals: 180 (average AAR: 26, max AAR 39). KPVD Departures: 44. Arrivals: 45. KBDL Departures: 53. Arrivals: 58. KACK Departures: 48. Arrivals: 34. KMVY Departures: 11. Arrivals: 10. KMHT Departures: 22. Arrivals: 35. KPWM Departures: 25. Arrivals: 27. KBGR Departures: 22. Arrivals: 9. KSYR Departures: 27. Arrivals: 22. KALB Departures: 32. Arrivals: 31. KBTV Departures: 24. Arrivals: 20. Poker Participants: 39 Pilots 299 cards drawn SimAware:

Thanks to the 40 pilots who competed in Tea Party Poker during yesterday's event! I haven't had the chance to collect feedback with the controllers yet; hopefully everything went smoothly. Over the next few days, I'll touch base with the volunteers who were on-site to get results and then start emailing the winners. Normally, the first-place winner has to pick their choice of prize before I can move on to the next-place winner, so it may take me a few days to get through to everyone. Once the winners have been established, I'll post an update to the thread and let everyone know the full results!

Sorry @Bobby Watkins and @Andrew Hobgood, meant to answer these but somehow I didn't. Hopefully everything went smoothly yesterday! We didn't and typically don't provide a list because it can be difficult to know exactly who is attending and where the staffing will be. In times of crisis, we sometimes move someone from a Class C position to a place where coverage is more critical. This year, we were fortunate enough to have staffed ALL Class C airports, along with KACK. However, that's not always the case, and we generally debrief with the controllers to see what their feedback was. Although we all love coverage, sometimes it can be better to consolidate the staffing in a smaller region, giving everyone a little more to do. I haven't had the chance yet to collect feedback on this point from yesterday. Good point! This is a holdover from a previous version of these rules. Will get that corrected! I would say the best practice is to advice the BOS_PK_CTR position of the one card you wish to discard, at which point you'd get the two new ones. Hopefully that's what actually happened yesterday.

Glad we can finally make it official! Congratulations.

BeT!

Read more about next week's Boston Tea Party in the August Logan Informer.

Regional Circuit (KBOS and KPWM) July 28, 8-11pm ET Timelapses: Boston Approach, submitted by Nathan R. Statistics: From StatSim. KBOS Departures: 49. Arrivals: 23. KPWM Departures: 22. Arrivals: 33.

Never Too Late to say congrats!

So Cool!

ER...nice work. And nice initials.

As is tradition, we welcome all pilots to participate in Tea Party Poker during event hours! This year, anyone participating will have the chance to win prizes from A2A Simulations, Gaya Simulations, Orbx, TheFlyingFabio, and TorqueSim Aircraft Development. 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. Great Prizes Available! 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: A2A Simulations: Winner's Choice of Product Gaya Simulations: KBID for MSFS Orbx: Winner's Choice of Product (anything available on OrbxDirect) Parallel 42: 1 copy of Trent Palmer's #FreedomFox (upon release), 1 copy of The Skypark TheFlyingFabio: Tier 1 Twitch Subscription TorqueSim Aircraft Development: Winner's Choice of Product (SR20, SR22, Islander, Turbine Islander, Pocket Rocket) 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 8, 2021. The Events Coordinator shall have final say in all questions or disputes regarding this competition, and will be responsible for determining the winners. The full rules governing the contest are: Event Duration: The poker game starts at 12:00pm ET on Saturday, August 7 and ends at 7:00pm ET (1600z to 2300z). 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. Pilots may contact BOS_PK_CTR to obtain a card after landing at the intended destination and once at a safe/appropriate location. Once the 'card request' message has been sent, pilots do not need to wait for a reply or card assignment; the next flight may begin immediately. 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, 3 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 7:00pm ET (2300z) 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 completing additional flights. Pilots wishing to do this should advise the designated event official (BOS_PK_CTR) of the card(s) they would like to discard at any point before receiving new cards. At no point shall a pilot hold more than 5 cards in their hand. 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.

You know what they say about poor workmen blaming their tools...

Are you Completely Plastered or have you not figured out that Is not the way to mention @Evan Cooper?

Sounds good! Also... @Cameron Peterson is this some kind of a meme or do you literally not know how to tag people?

CRazy good! Nice work.

Read the July Logan Informer for information on Tea Party, FlightSimExpo, and more!

There is a 25% chance I might be able to drop by. Curious if anyone else from our community is attending.

KinkE.

For some months, it's felt like we've all been "going through the motions" for FlightSimExpo. 2020 is canceled. 2021 is postponed to September. Will vaccines be effective? Will they open California? Will exhibitors come... Well, finally, it's starting to feel like the run-up to a show again. Tomorrow, we're going to announce the first 25+ confirmed sponsors and exhibitors, all of whom plan to attend in person. And while we know a September FlightSimExpo is a little unusual, I know our first pilot and controller community get-together in more than two years is going to be memorable. I finally booked by own flights a few days ago. BVA members are encouraged to fly in on Thursday (September 23) to help with setup on Friday morning and take part in Captains' Corner during the afternoon. For those who haven't been part of this show in the past, Boston Virtual ARTCC members have always played a huge part in helping Phil and me pull off the event. From helping with setup to managing registration to holding doors and guarding the drink tickets, we've relied on members from the community to make FlightSimExpo a reality. We look forward to doing the same again this year! As we look for volunteers to assist with the event, BVA is always our first point of call. As a BVA member, use the code "BVA" to save 10% on your FlightSimExpo registration (or, if you're an FSA Captain, redeem a code through FSA to save 20%), and don't forget to list "BVA" as your Organization. By doing so, you can help BVA secure free exhibitor space at the show. Last year, we were able to donate two full booths to VATSIM. Our pilots and controllers took part in VATUSA's display of flying and controlling. Let's do it again this year! Want to know more? Ask me, send me a message, or you can join our YouTube Live Q&A on Monday night (9:30pm ET / 6:30pm PT) where we'll be answering community questions. It's been two years, and that's far too long. I look forward to seeing you in San Diego.

Congratulations to Jeff Marcotte (MC) for a successful Class B Tower OTS! Helicopters, VFR arrivals, a pesky Delta aircraft who refused to fly the SID, and other challenges kept things interesting, but we got it all done. Well done Jeff!

Keep an eye on those Initial Altitudes! Nice job, IA.

Move Over Bradley

Very SIgnificant. Well done SI!