M. B. Ingersoll

A renewed "THANK YOU" for this thread. I'm just "re-engaging" with FSX and BVA after a lengthy post-new-computer delay. Followed all the "new guy" tutorials to get my FSX installed and running, vPilot, reloaded my ASNext and so on. But as I discovered about 40 NM west of KACK, I had neglected to upgrade my nav data from the 2006 FSX database. No OBUBE and no YIVUP for the ILS 24. Yikes! I knew we had nav update data somewhere on the site - I remember having to use a site in France. Took a while but I found this thread and I'm updating now. SUGGESTION: Maybe we should have a link to this thread in the new pilot tutorials OR turn the info here into its own page(s) as part of the set-up guide. Back to my updating....

Understood. But... what's VRC?

Yes, I love the ability to get the ATIS in text through vPilot. But what I used LiveATIS for was to quickly and easily get both the departure and arrival weather for flight planning. Guess I'll go back to http://aviationweather.gov/adds/metars/ . When I'm doing longer flights, I'll also use http://aviationweather.gov/adds/winds . I'm curious what others might use, but that's probably fodder for another topic. Thanks!

Cannot seem to connect. Since the merge, I've continued using Live ATIS as its very handy. But, did we lose this when we transitioned to VATSIM? Was I on borrowed time? Thanks (and if there's been a discussion of this, I didn't find it when I looked before posting this),

Well, I had great plans to fly a new airplane to the event from "outside" with an arrival about 15 to 20 mins into the event (KWRI to KSYR). I was gonna follow that with a run to KMHT. But I had some real problems adjusting the weight and balance and, when I had it about right, FSX crashed - something that rarely (knock on wood) happens to me. Well, that was annoying. Got set again, took off (no ATC) and probably within a mile of departure, I'd augured in almost immediately after engaging the ALT hold. It was set for FL240 but the aircraft started descending almost immediately. Lesson learned. Start number three - got some altitude under me before engaging the ALT hold. The newness of the airplane did keep it interesting for me, but the controllers were great, granted my request and I had an uneventful landing. I'd like to have done the second leg but I couldn't hang. Thanks to all our ATCs - I think that was one of (if not THE) most complete coverage I'd seen in an event.

Looks like I finally got it using the iCal thing. I thought that was just a "three month" import sort of thing. Will see if it persists. Would be VERY handy to see BVA stuff in my Google Calendars again. Thanks for the help!

Back in the old days (what - a couple months ago?) I had the Google Calendar that was associated with my email set to automatically display events from the BVA calendar. I'm not much of a technoweenie but I think it was a iCal thing. At any rate, it's no longer working. I found this feature to be very convenient as I could see BVA events right on my "N3535E" calendar which was, in turn, visible on my other calendars. I've looked around this forum trying to find something about a change but found nothing. Is the feature no longer enabled? Is there another "calendar address" I should be using? Appreciate any help offered.

Absolutely! And reroutes are sure a lot easier to take on VATSIM than IRL. IRL you may have whiney pax or an impatient customer awaiting a shipment you're carrying; and, of course, "time is money." But I've found that the only thing that stresses me much about a VATSIM reroute is when my COO (wife) in the other room keeps asking, "Are you done YET?" Yes, I really do enjoy BVATC and now, BVARTCC!

Slightly off-topic since it's not about the time correction, but I just finished my second leg in the subject event. Niiiice. Flew IFR from BID to CON and then back (in a Baron, of course). Great service all the way. I did discover that I could not file OTP for an altitude on my return (evidently a vPilot limitation - digits only, no text - or it may be a VATSIM thing - can't remember when I ever filed OTP with BVA or VATSIM so I'm not sure where the catch is). However, I put "REQ VFR OTP" in the remarks section and filed for 8K. As soon as I was identified, I adv'd the controller of my request and got it. Worked great (no surprise). I think BVA and VATSIM is a good pairing. Thank you to all our Controllers!

Very late reply (I don't get on the forums often enough) but I gotta say "The Hump" was, as the others said, a great experience! I thoroughly enjoyed it, too. I can see that a LOT of research was put into this event and I can't imagine how much time was spent in the planning. Thanks to all who took their time to set this up for us - and thank you to their families, too!

Well, I just shut down after my third flight in this event - my first VATSIM event in probably a couple years. Very satisfactory with one small exception - a shortcut granted, followed by a freq change, followed by a route change that was worse that my shortcut OR my original flight plan, followed by another request and.... well, I suspect the Controller was getting tired of me, but I finally got a good route. Thing is, this is very realistic so, actually, I really didn't mind it that much! But great service and quite a bit of traffic on the freqs. Anyone else fly the Tea Party? What are your thoughts?

Question from a non-techie - will the TeamSpeak server be affected?

The Controllers all sounded like they had enough aircraft to keep them awake. After two legs in a Baron (KHMU to KHKO, then from there to KHTO), at the tail end of the session, I got in an Army C12 (yeah, I'm old) for an IFR hop up the mountain to PHSF (Bradshaw AAF on the eastern edge of the prohibited area 3103). To say the weather was not cooperating would be an understatement. But I got excellent help from ZHU. He vectored me between the volcanoes at his MVA and, as soon as I was far enough west, he let me down another 300 feet but even that was not enough. He offered to get me lower west of the airport for an approach to RWY 09 (I'd been attempting 27), but about a half mile or so past the airport, I got ground contact and was able to land on RWY 09. The photo shows my view at the completion of my landing rollout on this 3695 foot long runway. I went totally IMC with about 1500 remaining, then out, back in and out again until I could stop pretty much right on the numbers for 27. The Old Guy's Wild Ride. Thanks for staying late, Evanet!

A quick public thank you to our Controllers who worked this event. I flew outta PDK and had FP'd myself all around the perimeter of Approach's airspace in a counter-clockwise run to set up for the ILS RWY 10 - I was in a Baron and figured that's where you'd put me to keep me outta the way of the big stuff. But right off the bat, the North Arrivals Controller offered me a shortcut AND the use of RWY 8L. Sweet. Got in about three options before taking vectors back to the ILS final for 21L at PDK. Good turn-ons and excellent phraseology and good spacing with divergent types, too! Made for a great experience (especially when I realized my ASN was sent for manual and, once corrected, was plunged into total IMC). Yes! Anyway, thanks again. I hardly ever fly with anyone but BVA.

New response to an old topic. Yes, I don't get on here much, as you can tell. Anyway, I wanted to elaborate slightly on what yos233 said. He was absolutely correct that when a Controller asks you to fly a specific heading, that IS the heading he wants you to fly. As yos said, he will adjust for the wind based on what he's been seeing. Example... I want my string of traffic to fly over point A then point B before I turn them for final vectors. The "no wind" heading (i.e. the bearing) from point A to point B is 090 degrees. Now, if I have N123 over A and I tell him to "fly heading zero niner zero, vectors to the final approach course" blah blah, but I see him tracking over the ground on about a one two zero degree track, I'm thinking that the wind at his altitude is pushing him south about thirty degrees off course so I'll adjust his heading to the left to compensate and get him back towards point B. Now when N456 is over point A, hopefully I've wised up and I'll assign him a heading of 060 for vectors to, blah blah. Now with that wind pushing him south, he should TRACK about 090. Cool. Now here comes N789. I tell him, over A, to fly heading 060 but he TRACKS 060 using his nav equipment. Now he's gonna be WAY north of where I need him to be. He's probably HEADING about 030. In other words, flying a track to match an assigned heading, while it might SEEM to be helping is really going to make it hard for the Controller. I'd think there must've been a frontal passage or something so when the next guy hits point A, I might just assign him the 090 heading thinking my crossing wind was gone - and, of course, he'll track 120 and now I'm beating my head against the console and whining for a break! Hope that helped.

I concur w/Cameron. You will often find STARs for GA aircraft at feeder airports in congested airspace. But, even absent a published STAR (and SIDs, for that matter), ATC facilities often have "standardized" or "preferential" departure and arrival procedures. Such procedures (being unpublished) would, of course, have to be spelled out as part of the route (assuming the pilot was unfamiliar with the area and did not file the preferred departure/arrival procedure). Using standardized procedures (including SIDs/STARs) cuts down on the coordination between Controllers within a given facility as well as between ATC facilities. And when you cut down on verbal coordination, you increase safety by decreasing the chance of miscommunication.

Possibly off-topic, but I have a wonderful utility called "Leroy" by Daniel A. Hawton - I think the website is AirCharts.org. This is a great little ap that makes getting FLIPs SO easy - I thought I probably found it here or through another BVA member. Well, I noticed it was gone during the outage. Is AirCharts.org a BVA site or is there some connection? Just curious...

Departed Anagada (BVI) VFR for GUYRO and A638 inbound to TNCM. Called to pick up my IFR from Juliana Approach but he was pretty busy so I bored a couple holes. Called Approach again and got my IFR. Inbound on the airway, listening to Approach, I realized the east runway at TNCM was now 10 - all my charts showed 9 (IOW all my printed stuff was outdated). Scrambled to print a new AD and the first VOR SIAP I could get and corrected my approach request with Approach. Then realized the VOR Z RWY 10 would be much better so I asked for that and got it. Very accommodating was Approach! Turning inbound at ULUBA, I was switched to Tower where I was number three for the airport. And then it started... My computer lagged SO badly, I was getting 1 to 2 FPS and the audio was "stuttering." I was essentially deaf and blind by the time I was short final. I had to go around. I could barely copy Tower as he tried to give me a heading and altitude but I finally got it while I continued shutting down any/all non-essential programs. After a few minutes of droning along over the ocean with approach, I got vectors back to the FAC for the VOR Z and had an uneventful landing (with 27% fuel remaining). Excellent service although I know I was a royal pain there on final and on the go around. Appreciate the good work, BVA ATCs!

Once again, I got a late start for this event so I just spawned at N87 which, it appears, is just inside ZDC's airspace. Got my IFR and headed to LGA. ZDC switched me to N90 passing RBV and he allowed me to keep my requested LOC 31 approach instead of the Expressway Visual for which I'm very grateful. Got the long roll-out on 31 to use AA to taxi to parking (I was in a Baron) which was also appreciated. But mostly, I'm appreciative of those three Controllers who stayed past 2300 EDT to allow me to complete this flight. Thanks!

Well, dummy me, I had about an hour or so, so I figured I'd just log into BVA for a quick hop somewhere. Checked the Session List and found ground and approach at KBHM. Printed out some charts from AirNav, filed my FP with FlightDesk and jumped on in. Of course, I did not realize a Getaway Event was in progress. The Ground/CD guy realized I did not have the scenery installed for BHM. Huh? Had to ask him where it was. The patient controller told me to check the EventsGetaway directory and it was then that I discovered my goof. Will remember to check for an active event FIRST, next time. But ground allowed me to continue as there were no other aircraft at the airport at the time. Thanks! Approach was gone by the time I taxied out so I flew to KGAD IFR on UNICOM then came back VFR. Later in the evening, I jumped back in at KBHM and filed IFR for KATL where Approach was open for the waning hours of the event. As I got close to LGC, I sent a chat to ATL-A asking if he could "see" LGC. He replied it was at the edge of his airspace. He'd just announced moments before that he'd be signing off in ten. Well, knowing I was inbound, he offered to stay open. I warned him I was in a Baron so it might take a while. In true-BVA style, he stayed online until about 2220 EDT which gave him time to vector me for the ILS 26R. And the intercept was perfect; the right heading at an appropriate altitude! Excellent phraseology, too, BTW. I failed to get the name of the Ground/CD guy who was BHM earlier but you know who you were. I believe the ATL Approach guy was Chris Olmstead (I didn't write it down so forgive any misspelling). I appreciate the extra effort - and the skill.

Just flew my second BVA event. Excellent service again. In particular, I'd like to thank the controllers who stayed on past the posted end time to enable us stragglers to get down at RIC.

Yes, I discovered that gem last night, too! With VATSIM, I never knew where I'd find ATC. And many's the time I saw controlled airspace on VATSPY, logged in, planned a complete route, got my departure and arrival charts, tuned the NAV and COM radios, then looked up to find the controller was gone. With the ATC Timetable, I can now plan ahead. Yeah... another nice feature of BVA.

Yes, I was on the Tower's freq by the time the NORDO checked back in. In a similar situation, some online controllers I've flown with would have lectured the guy. Well, on the freq with other traffic to be worked is NOT the time to lecture anyone - and the SFO_T controller rightfully advised him he's been trying to contact him and then proceeded to send him wherever he needed to be. Professionally handled - as it should be.

Well, you'll have to excuse me for starting a topic - especially since this is my first time on the forum. But I didn't see this topic and I just HAD to make a comment or two about it. If newbies starting topics about events is a violation of protocol, ground me! But, as I said, I felt like I had to say something here. Tonight was my first BVA event AND it was my first flight with BVA. A few years back when I saw a demo of FSX and bought a copy, I was ambivalent about the online ATC. Frankly, it wasn't that impressive to me. Then some time later, I found VATSIM and was very pleased with that. Meanwhile, I saw BVA sessions on GameSpy - ooo, supersecret... you gotta join. Well, I just never took the time to investigate it. VATSIM was cool and I did some time on FS-MP, as well. But seeing BVA mentioned on FSXBeyoneGameSpy, I got curious and started reading. I was impressed with the high standards outlined in the material and joined. And, as I said, tonight was my maiden voyage. I had a great time. IFR from STS down to SFO, couple of ILS 28Rs and flight following back to STS. Great phraseology all around. Even had a NORDO Cessna heading out of SFO opposite direction when I was on final. NORCAL called him - I got him in sight - they gave me maneuvering room if I needed it. Kept me until we passed then switched me to tower. Exactly the right thing to do. Yeah... I'm impressed.