I usually dont want to be the one to complain

[Jon Bailey 940666]

But it seemed like every third airplane, comming off a 10-15 min hold, was fuel critical comming into MTPP. MTPP area has been getting slammed with traffic the last 4 days, everyone knows it, and everyone should be aware that, reroutes,atc delays, hold, etc, are going to happen. So is it really to hard, with all the available information for the jet jocks fly with enough fuel to make the flight? I have been flying on vatsim, on and off for a couple of years now, and tonight, was the worst for pilot behavior. Come on Captains, we have had all weekned to figure out that MTPP is going to be crazy, just excercise a bit of patience, and alot of common sense.

Alright I'm done ranting, I wont go into the Military pilots, that call 20 times for immediate clearence to Miami, becuase they have casualities on board, or the helo pilots, that cant seem to figure out north from south. All and all though, it was a fun, but very aggrivating weekend down there. Thank you to the ATC staff for doing a great Job all weekend, you guys sure like the punishemt I guess, and for that I thank you, for keeping the asylum organized as best as you could.

 

Jon Bailey

 

Sorry for the whining but I really had to get it off my chest.

[Kyle Ramsey 810181]

Just say no, Jon. They can ask for the priority and you can say no.

[Ernesto Alvarez 818262]

i take it those are non VSOA guys asking these types of things draws all types of pilots

 

pilots should also look at the real world NOTAMS. right now you are required to have not only enough fuel to get there, but also enough fuel to hold for 1 hour, enough fuel to divert, and on top of that due to the fuel situation on the ground, you also need to have enough fuel to get back out.

 

i was flying in and out of turks today, monitoring the transmissions. did seem to have a lot of guys out there with not enough fuel

[Aharon Dayan]

I have been flying on Vatsim to MTPP past days bringing relief cargo supplies and I always carry extra extra extra extra fuel.

 

In real world, MTPP controllers warn any plane to expect circling and holding patterns UP TO THREE HOURS!!!

 

For information on MTPP traffic in real world, here is link:

 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/14/us.haiti.airport/index.html

 

If you or any pilot are in danger of running out of fuel, just ask for emergency diversion to MDBH which is only 80 miles away and your cargo can be trucked from MDBH to MTPP which is about 3 hours of driving that is sure better than three hours of circiling and hold pattern as aid will get to Haiti!!!

 

I also flew from KMIA to MDBH for a virtual airline bringing relief supplies for Haiti.

 

Aharon

[Steve Good 878593]

Guys, my favorite phrase the last 3 days has been " UNABLE, Are you able to divert to an airfield 140nm away, if not please disconnect. No priority for low fuel. You will disrupt the pattern (controlled chaos) I have setup for 16 other pilots in front of you." Being one of the many controllers who has had our rear ends handed to us time and time again the last 3 days, patience runs low. In fact I will be honest, it is not even fun anymore to handle this traffic for me personally. It exceeds what any major airspace sees with multiple runways. But the deep hearts of our VATSIM Community keeps me coming back to support all who are supporting the crisis in Haiti in their own way.

 

Our supervisors of this network have done a great job keeping an eye on this airspace and [Mod - Happy Thoughts]isting with any tower flyby's, non-responders and the countless other challenging situations a small percentage provides. All and all things have flowed smoothly despite the load.

[Mahmoud Fadli 819693]

I just want to say thank you to all the MTPP Staff for their wonderful work. They've displayed the utmost professionalism and patience, and I just wanted to acknowledge that.

 

I also just wanted to note a couple of observations. I noticed that there are a LOT of pilots who are courteous, and work together. I also noticed, however, a select few who like to do random flybys, use the incorrect runway, "cut in line" while waiting to backtrack, if not obstructing the sole taxiway to the main ramp which can make operations a nightmare (especially since it's an already tight situation as it is). But despite these obstacles, ATC is doing a tremendous job - keep up the brilliant work.

[Gray Taylor 1041931]

Thanks for all your kind words. Steve's post pretty much hit the nail on the head. I wish I could pick out some isolated incidents but I've handled so many green dots over the past 3 weeks that its difficult for me to even separate them in my head!

[James Mason 972287]

Hi guys,

 

I also control at PAP and ive seen what the others had to put up with and to be honest ive never seen so much disrepect towards controllers in my life here at VATSIM!

 

Rant over.. Well Done Team!!! Drinks on me!