[VATME] Town Hall: How Can VATME Become More Active?

[Mahmoud Fadli 819693]

Salamat Members of VATME,

 

As you know, we have been working diligently over the past couple of years to help increase air traffic control and flight activity in our division. As you can probably tell, it's been a long and uphill struggle. One of our goals is to connect with you, our membership and the Global VATSIM Community to see what it is that you feel VATME can do better. Where are we lacking? Where are we strong? We need to hear all perspectives and suggestions to help us figure out which direction to take the division.

 

I firmly believe that discussing these issues with our membership is the most efficient way of ensuring that we get the opinions and perspectives that we need to make our division more active and realistic.

 

I ask for your opinions, your observations, your suggestions, and anything and everything in between. Please be honest, but keep it respectful.

 

________________________

Mahmoud A. Fadli

Division Director

VATSIM Middle East Division

http://www.vatme.net

[email protected]

[Mattia Torti]

Salamat everyone,

 

This is a really good oppurtunity for you to share your ideas with us, from my side:

- I think VATME is a great division but needs more activity, I do see people online controlling sometimes when i log on but we need more, if people see we're active they will fly I'm sure. Lets get online and show members what VATME is made of

 

Regarding events, I would like to know also from that point of view how it's going. Do you want more events? If you want more events I need to see you flying or controlling within them. I'm currently finishing the preparations for a Real Flight Ops. which will take place this month (April) so stay tuned.

This is all from my side, now lets see what you all have to say

 

Kindest Regards,

[Yosef AlBatal 1078160]

This indeed is a great topic, I'll also be keeping an eye on the thoughts of the VATSIM members.

 

And you know how to directly reach us in VATEG for any issues. We are always glad to help out and we ourselves are doing the best we can.

[Karan Khanna]

Hi guys,

 

I hope this message finds you in good health. Middle East traffic has been quite low in numbers, especially when compared to IVAO traffic for the same region. I have been a honest member of VATME for quite some time now and have definitely been controlled most of the time, if not always.

Maybe a few of the points mentioned below will make us better understand as to how we can step up traffic :

 

1. Staffed airports definitely pull in the numbers. I'm sure you already know that and I believe there already is a session allotted for Dubai to be controlled on specific days (Saturdays from 1800Z, correct ?) but that by itself will not convince flyers to be consistent in this region. More sessions will go a long way in attracting potential traffic.

 

2. An agreement with Virtual Airlines on minimum flights per week/per month from specific airports in the middle east. For example, Emirates/FlyDubai that use Dubai as the hub in the Middle East can send out a mail to all their existing members to make sure they clock minimum hours every week or every month from the airlines hub to other destinations. This will increase traffic of the Virtual Airline around the globe and get more traffic to local airports. It's a win-win situation. If VA's mandate their pilots to clock a certain number of hours, VATME controllers can guarantee them controlled airspaces in return.

 

3. As Matt Torti strategically mentioned, events are key. Not only do they increase the potential traffic but also make it fun for regular flyers. Lets face it, due to the limited controlling and added to that the confined airspaces it's only a matter of few minutes before you're asked to get yourself onto UNICOM as you're no longer in controlled airspace.

 

4. Broadcast messages. Many airports do this in order to attract pilots to come fly from their airports as they will be controlled from a particular time.

 

Please don't take any of these negatively, I'm very happy and proud to be a member of VATME and love flying in the Middle East despite being controlled or not. I apologize for any stupid ideas as these are, at the time, from the top of my head.

I will definitely give more thought to this and come back with more suggestions, if possible.

 

I guess this goes without saying but I will still mention it - no matter what we all do, nothing in aviation changes overnight. If we apply the same here, be [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ured that none of these methods will instantly bring in more traffic. Given enough time and implementation of clever ideas will definitely bump up the traffic. Lets make sure airports are staffed more often as a start.

 

Please feel free to add to it or correct me if I have stated something that tickles your brain.

 

Desperately waiting to see more traffic.

 

Yours aeronautically,

Karan Khanna

[Ahmed Al Awadhy 1175784]

Hi guys,

 

I hope this message finds you in good health. Middle East traffic has been quite low in numbers, especially when compared to IVAO traffic for the same region. I have been a honest member of VATME for quite some time now and have definitely been controlled most of the time, if not always.

Maybe a few of the points mentioned below will make us better understand as to how we can step up traffic :

 

1. Staffed airports definitely pull in the numbers. I'm sure you already know that and I believe there already is a session allotted for Dubai to be controlled on specific days (Saturdays from 1800Z, correct ?) but that by itself will not convince flyers to be consistent in this region. More sessions will go a long way in attracting potential traffic.

 

2. An agreement with Virtual Airlines on minimum flights per week/per month from specific airports in the middle east. For example, Emirates/FlyDubai that use Dubai as the hub in the Middle East can send out a mail to all their existing members to make sure they clock minimum hours every week or every month from the airlines hub to other destinations. This will increase traffic of the Virtual Airline around the globe and get more traffic to local airports. It's a win-win situation. If VA's mandate their pilots to clock a certain number of hours, VATME controllers can guarantee them controlled airspaces in return.

 

3. As Matt Torti strategically mentioned, events are key. Not only do they increase the potential traffic but also make it fun for regular flyers. Lets face it, due to the limited controlling and added to that the confined airspaces it's only a matter of few minutes before you're asked to get yourself onto UNICOM as you're no longer in controlled airspace.

 

4. Broadcast messages. Many airports do this in order to attract pilots to come fly from their airports as they will be controlled from a particular time.

 

Please don't take any of these negatively, I'm very happy and proud to be a member of VATME and love flying in the Middle East despite being controlled or not. I apologize for any stupid ideas as these are, at the time, from the top of my head.

I will definitely give more thought to this and come back with more suggestions, if possible.

 

I guess this goes without saying but I will still mention it - no matter what we all do, nothing in aviation changes overnight. If we apply the same here, be [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ured that none of these methods will instantly bring in more traffic. Given enough time and implementation of clever ideas will definitely bump up the traffic. Lets make sure airports are staffed more often as a start.

 

Please feel free to add to it or correct me if I have stated something that tickles your brain.

 

Desperately waiting to see more traffic.

 

Yours aeronautically,

Karan Khanna

 

 

 

i really do thank you guys for adding such sensitive topic to be discussed. \

 

what made me really interested is Mr. Karan's detailed and precise suggestions in making the area flow with traffic even more and hope it will be taken seriously.

 

 

allow me to add on.......

 

 

as you may guys know, traffic is mostly concentrated in the Europe/American regions.

 

we may ask ourselves; why there is a considerable amount of traffic in the mentioned regions while our region is semi dead?

 

there must be some techniques that the europe and american regions members applied so they can have the maximum amount of traffic thus maintaining the same rate through several years.

 

So, as mentioned by the respective members, i strongly recommend that we exchange the same ideas which Europe and American FIRs Did; like creating MORE events, inviting new pilots to visit our airspace more often, avail ATCs to be more active in the region, broadcasting, etc...

 

these have a great chance in reaching our goal for this topic and hope we all stand together, hand by hand to make it happen

 

regards

[Mehdi Azadmehr 1164028]

Hi guys

I design some tour and a new pirep system by my self that is ready to use join .

at firs i start by 2 tour in my [Mod - lovely stuff]ry but we are preaper international tour

http://www.vatir.ir/report/index.html

[Shahin Najafi 1025014]

Hi guys

I design some tour and a new pirep system by my self that is ready to use join .

at firs i start by 2 tour in my [Mod - lovely stuff]ry but we are preaper international tour

http://www.vatir.ir/report/index.html

 

 

 

very very thanks to design tours.

 

goodluck

[Ira Robinson]

Well, if it's candor you really want then here's two ideas that may help. First, the charts for the areas in question need to be easily available. More often then not I just can't find the charts for the airports I want to fly to or from.

 

Secondly, and fasten your seat belt here guys because many may not like this but you need to have your web sites and information available in English. [duck]

 

Yea I know, it sounds awful but you know what, me and my buddy's are just not as sophisticated as you all are and we don't speak several languages, so when I sign on to your web site looking for information and I can't figure out where anything is, well, that doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy and welcome. This holds for all of the web sites in VATSIM. It's unfortunate perhaps, but it is reality. I don't know anyone who is going to fly into the Middle East, or Aisa or Europe or anywhere if they can't communicate with anyone.

 

So go ahead, shoot me now.

 

Ira R..

[Mahmoud Fadli 819693]

Well, if it's candor you really want then here's two ideas that may help. First, the charts for the areas in question need to be easily available. More often then not I just can't find the charts for the airports I want to fly to or from.

 

Secondly, and fasten your seat belt here guys because many may not like this but you need to have your web sites and information available in English. [duck]

 

Yea I know, it sounds awful but you know what, me and my buddy's are just not as sophisticated as you all are and we don't speak several languages, so when I sign on to your web site looking for information and I can't figure out where anything is, well, that doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy and welcome. This holds for all of the web sites in VATSIM. It's unfortunate perhaps, but it is reality. I don't know anyone who is going to fly into the Middle East, or Aisa or Europe or anywhere if they can't communicate with anyone.

 

So go ahead, shoot me now.

 

Ira R..

 

Mr. Robinson,

 

Thank you very much for your input. Please take a look at www.vatme.net and let me know what, if anything, wen can improve. It is not about sophistication insomuch as designing our websites for ease of use. The vast majority of our members speak English very fluently, though this is a key perspective to keep handy. This is the first time that I have heard of any language complications, and I'd be very interested to hear more.

 

Please take a look at our website and feel free to contact me at director at vatme.net with any and all suggestions you may have.

[Mehdi Azadmehr 1164028]

Hi Mr.Robinson

I think Ira talk about www.vatir.ir

yes sir this is an persian language site and we have vatir.vatme.net in english . as this is not too long that I get the VATIR Director post my first goal was to design a Tour system and I did it ( in english) now I want to work on our web .

and tanks for your idea, I will give all of our legs charts for download in tours information.

and thank for join us in our Tours.

 

M.Azadmehr

http://www.vatir.ir/report

[email protected]

[John Jones 972609]

Mr. Robinson,

 

I am at a loss to understand how you can make a statement like that. All of the sites authorised by VATME and VATSIM are in english or have an English verision. I do not know where you have been looking but obviously not at the official sites.

 

As far as your comments about charts, well, there are sites where you can have a look at charts, but if I may be so bold...... You could always buy them from Jeppesen, SimCharts or others. I do know that many sites do offer chart downloads, but at VATME it is against our terms of use to upload any materials where the member does not have the rights of publication. We at VATME do NOT condone the publication of copyright materials and they will be removed by the webmaster/admins as soon as seen.

 

Now we have the criticisms out of they way, lets get some POSITIVE comments about increasing the traffic in our area.

John Jones. (webmaster and Director of ATC Training for VATME)

[Ira Robinson]

Mr. Robinson,

 

I am at a loss to understand how you can make a statement like that. All of the sites authorised by VATME and VATSIM are in english or have an English verision. I do not know where you have been looking but obviously not at the official sites.

 

As far as your comments about charts, well, there are sites where you can have a look at charts, but if I may be so bold...... You could always buy them from Jeppesen, SimCharts or others. I do know that many sites do offer chart downloads, but at VATME it is against our terms of use to upload any materials where the member does not have the rights of publication. We at VATME do NOT condone the publication of copyright materials and they will be removed by the webmaster/admins as soon as seen.

 

Now we have the criticisms out of they way, lets get some POSITIVE comments about increasing the traffic in our area.

John Jones. (webmaster and Director of ATC Training for VATME)

 

Now I knew I was going to tick off someone. I guess I should have figured the The Boss would be upset. Serves me right. On the other hand I was speaking about vatir and also vatil. I have seen some sights with the dual language option but I must tell you that they never seem to work right when I was there. Maybe I just could not find the option to make the switch. Mea culpa.

 

As far as the charts are concerned I happen to be one who thinks that we shouldn’t have to pay for them. Call me silly I guess but I just can’t see spending money on something that is generally available in the public domain and the fact that you have a policy restricting certain material is something I would have no way of knowing. So I guess I should apologize for wasting your time with my suggestions.

 

Just one last comment though. Your obvious disdain and outright dismissal of me is uncalled for. Now don’t you worry I don’t take it personally, but you asked for suggestions. You should have expected to receive some that may be a little out of the usual. One would suspect that you have already tried “the usual” and that you are here hoping to brainstorm in public where someone may just hit on a light bulb of an idea. Apparently mine isn’t to your liking. What they hey, that’s your call.

 

Do one thing though. At least put up a link so that if someone is looking for charts they will know why you don’t have any and will be pointed to a place where maybe they can be found. That way if anyone asks it would probably sound a little friendlier than waving your hand in dismissal as you quote your copyright policy as you did to me.

 

Sorry I don’t have any brilliant ideas to throw out there. Good luck and be well. Perhaps we shall meet on the scope one day.

 

Ira R..

[Thomas Carter]

VATIL does not belong to the Middle East region, got its own division in itself

[Abdelrahman M. Elfeky 1044]

Three things to suggest so far:

 

1- the structure for VATME doesn't seem right , If we compare oursleves to VATEUD as a 'Divison' below it there is vaCC's and below the vACC's there is FIR's. In VATME ,we seem that we skipped vACC's level and jumped into naming all of the local regions as FIR and not as VACC's.

 

2- Pilot training seems to be running very slow , other divisons in Europe and North America had already established training teams with comphensive syllables.

 

3- ATC activity need to be boosted , most of the flyers dont want to spend at least six hours flying from Europe to Middle East , majorty are students or employees who need to wake up early so spending two hours per day is their maximum limit . Having local ATC within the Divison is vital to host them. Weekly event is what am talking about , I spoke to Matt and he said it will be up and running (this was two months ago!!).

 

Regards,,,

[Joshua Rice 1080656]

As far as I am concerned. The actions at the top over the past 8-12 months have put this division in a worse off position.

 

Mahmoud, you and other mid-term old school members, should be aware of my stance on the matter. I would be more than happy to step back in and help out where possible, if only I was listened to by the people at the top. It is a true shame, this division does have plenty of potential, but poor judgement on the part of some staff has lead to a one step forward two steps back scenario.

 

One such case, which would resolve Mr Robinson's feedback. The "new" VATME website is hopeless. Despite saying on a couple of occasions that going social is worthless, I was not listened to. Now I do not know how much it is working out now, but frankly I couldn't careless. In the past, VATME used to pride itself on its presentation, and I know in VATBAH and VATUAE, we used to ensure that all materials needed for pilots were easily accessible. This new website is shocking. It looks tacky. As far as I am aware, you need a log in to access any information. And registering for a site to access information is just more h[Mod - Happy Thoughts]le than I can be bothered with. This in effect, turning away pilots due to more h[Mod - Happy Thoughts]le than its worth. One step forwards, two steps back.

 

Ira, perfectly entitled to your view. Like i say above, know-a-days it is shocking. In the past you could easily get the charts, scenery and anything else you desired for an airport in seconds by simply going to the respective FIR website.

 

John, I think your reaction to Ira's post is totally uncalled for. Mahmoud opened this thread for people to offer feedback and opinions on VATME. Not everything is positive. Take it on the chin. No need to come off so aggressive in your post.

 

Some food for thought.

[John Jones 972609]

Joshua,

 

Had you joined the vatme site (which incidently I designed) you would have seen that the FIR's you refer to are still intact and accessible. From the feedback I get about the internal workings of the site, the majority of members actually like it becuase they have complete interaction with their friends. It also has an integrated ATC Academy, booking system, online exams and so on. The rest of which I am not going into. Look for yourself.

 

If you cant be bothered then thats your choice. If you feel you can improve on it go ahead and be my guest.

 

As far as your comment about telling whoever that social networking isnt the way to go and a waste of time, I cant comment becuae I was not in VATME when you were.

 

As you seem to have most of the answers to how things should be done, I cant wait to hear how you intend to do it. So, lets hear how you would go about getting taffic into the area rather than your judgement on the site. You have criticised the "people at the top", the website design, and accessiblilty, but you havent actually offered a solution other than you coming back to put it right. Now is the time to put up or shut up.

[Joshua Rice 1080656]

You really are a hostile individual John. And by the way. I said to you when you showed me a screenshot of the new site, that I thought social was not the way. You where not open to views then, so I didn't bother adding to it.

 

As far as I am concerned, you are correct, I cannot be bothered. The division is hopeless now. I have sat in the many endless meetings of "We need to do this/We need to do that" but nothing ever happens. In the meetings it was even established that the division was all talk and no action, and so instead we spoke about that instead.

 

Mahmoud and the people who really care about VATME know my stance on what should be done. Here is where you say, that you care about VATME. Clearly you do. You had to be brought in remember. Mahmoud told us that he had tried to get you to the division for a long while and that you didn't want to come.

 

Mahmoud, if you would like to talk to me and here my views openly, you know where to find me. Frankly I cannot be bothered to waste my time posting on this forum of what must be done. Because it wont be taken note of anyway.

[John Jones 972609]

Joshua,

 

You have me totally wrong. I am not hostile. I just say facts not fiction. I do not use hearsay, I check it out first and then make my point somewhat forcefully at times.

 

You say you cant be bothered, well you are not the first, and thats where the problem lies. Sadly you left that attitude behind you when you left.

 

And to correct you on one point. Yes Mahmoud did indeed ask me to come back to the Middle East on many oc[Mod - Happy Thoughts]ions because he had seen what I had achieved there before. I didn't come back then , not because I didnt want to, but because I had to complete a commitment I made to others. Once I had done that I came back to find the area almost totally destroyed. Part of your success I [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ume ???

 

And now like you I am totally done with this post.

[Kanwardeep Singh 1184101]

just put some iron mics for 24 hours and it will be popular.

and have thursday night events

[Semir Gebran]

Ok this may not be on time as this thread is quite old, but although late I will throw in my 2 Eurocents and share some observations from vatsim-scandinavia which I am a member of.

 

EVENTS

 

As mentioned before in this thread, events are a magnet.

 

EKDK had very low traffic volumes when I joined in. That is untill we started having the unofficial "EKCH get together" every week.

 

Along with other ATC we wanted to see if this would help us increase traffcic and so, a bit unoffcially but with the knowledge of the FIR director advertised this at VA's, FS forums and vroute. The first get together was 2hrs long and proved a success. Later on this turned into an official event. Further in time this was reshaped and joined other FIR's in a cross european event and still draws in good traffic weekly.

 

I would suggest VATME to examine the possibility of using VATEUD traffic in regions bordering or with relative proximity to VATME by organizing for example a "bridge" reoccuring event between a VATME airfield and a suitable busy VATEUD airfield.

 

VA's

 

Another issue that could be a factor are strong local VA's. In Scandinavia we have 3 major players which are VKG, NAX and SAS. These along with some Germany traffic ( increased on normal days after the cross european event started )provide the bulk of traffic you get at the vatsim-scandinavia region but mainly in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

 

At Finland and Iceland, where there are no VA's for Finnair or Icelandair we have virtually no traffic. So I imagine if we would have lost those mentioned VA's all our region would be dead in terms of traffic, this in turn would be demotivating for any ATC that would eventually stop controlling.

 

CHARTS

 

Although I understand the policy of not hosting copyrighted content, the lack of charts whatsoever is an issue for some not using Navigraph, this must be seen as a contributing factor. I am not certain what is the status of the charts in terms of copyright in each VATME country, but maybe creating charts based on the real ones would be an option? ( being native to the Middle East I know copyright is not observed in most cases so I wouldn't think local AIPs would mind alot?)

 

Maybe provideing some basic info as text such as SID/STAR names altitude/speed restrictions on the sites would help?

 

 

ATC

 

If lack of staff is an issue, maybe a leaner approach to visiting ATC should be adopted. As far as I have seen you need to be C1 to be visiting ATC, maybe lowering it to S3 would draw some people to participate atleast during events.

 

Lack of staff is a closed circle, we have that in EKDK where all the traffic flow is to/from EKCH which is well staffed while other local airports are mostly ignored. They are ignored because they are not staffed and they are not staffed because they are ignored by pilots ( makes sense? ) One has to break this circle to get it going.

 

I hope this helps, as I would love to see VATME alive and well.

 

All the best!

Semir

[Mahmoud Fadli 819693]

Thank you so much for your insight. It is extremely helpful. I will take this to my staff for review and discussion. If you have any more advice, please feel free to post it or email me at director at vatme.net.

[Rahul Bolakani 1282877]

Can we have more active ATC in Middle East Region... whenever i have a flight in UAE region there is no atc.. if there is no ATC, traffic is less simple, as we all want to do multiplayer communications other wise we would rather stick to FSX default ATC in free flight right!!

and how do i check my ratings and how do they grow

[Mahmoud Fadli 819693]

Thank you, Rahul. We are working to make that happen.

 

What do you mean by your ratings?

[Bahaeddine El-Zarif]

Salamat everyone,

 

This is a really good oppurtunity for you to share your ideas with us, from my side:

- I think VATME is a great division but needs more activity, I do see people online controlling sometimes when i log on but we need more, if people see we're active they will fly I'm sure. Lets get online and show members what VATME is made of

 

Regarding events, I would like to know also from that point of view how it's going. Do you want more events? If you want more events I need to see you flying or controlling within them. I'm currently finishing the preparations for a Real Flight Ops. which will take place this month (April) so stay tuned.

This is all from my side, now lets see what you all have to say

 

Kindest Regards,

 

Hello All,

 

I hope that this message gets to you in best of health.

 

There are few points that I agree with Mattia Torti, hence the reason of quoting his message. Activity in the region is more about events, events, events. Also, another good reasoning why I agree with Mattia, is the more events we do and its fun for all pilots the more the traffic that would come to our events. Another good way of bringing an increase of traffic, which may seem obvious is that never be shy to attend other events hosted by nearby vACCs or heck, even all of them. That way you can introduce yourself and what vACC your coming from and perhaps offer your help if they need anything.

 

I hope that this makes sense.

[William Sequeira 1192651]

Ok. Here it goes.

I am an American, and fly pretty much only in America because of a couple reasons. These reason also you should note, are the reasons I keep flying there.

 

1.) Information and tutorials that are easy to get to.

What do I mean? If you look on YouTube, it is easy to find tutorials for challenging airports/approaches/and areas. The websites, through no fault of your own aimed at American and North America as a whole are very easy to use, and to get charts for. Think AirNav. I type in the Airport Ident....and BAM...everything I need. I think that if your main site had at least links to charts we could use, and information about these airports, we could use the site like we do the major ones that are aimed at what the majority of VatSim is used to. Again, I know this is no fault of your own, but just the way information has fallen in our laps compared to other areas. South America suffers from this as well....a lack of info that is easy to get to. If I was the webmaster of your site, I would want it to become the beacon, the place to be and to get information to make your pilots life a little easier. Lets face it, there are not a lot of people that know the ins and outs of your airspace like other places. This can change! Information is power and you would be surprised what you would be able to do if you organized a Pilots Section something like Australia has. Check out their site....it is AWESOME for people like me.....not used to their area. Makes me less stressed about getting online and not trying to piss off ATC.

 

2.) Events.

Man. There are tons and tons in the US, and EU. All you have to do is look at the fly-in notices here on VatSim and just get an idea. People flock to events. I for one don't fly unless I see ATC. As a pilot....and I might speak for others, but the biggest mistake I see ATC do, is to wait for traffic, because we are waiting to see ATC. It turns into just a big wait fest. I can't tell you how many times I see no ATC....start a flight someplace else, and then look and see ATC pop up here and there just looking for planes. The idea is this. "IF YOU STAFF IT, THEY WILL COME". Again, I only fly where I see ATC. I stalk them, hunt them down through fly-ins, wait for the SUP to come on and say that they are checking out a new controller at so and so airport....I live for that, otherwise I wouldn't be online. Online presence alone will give you traffic. It won't be overnight, people don't like to get just ATC for GND or TWR. We look for CTR....because as a pilot, I know if I am at an airport that has a TWR, but only CTR is online, I know CTR will take care of me Top to Bottom. Pilots will pay attention to see how active your area is and then feel more welcome to take the time to set up a full flight knowing you won't vanish in 30 minutes. This is one of the reasons I love the Jacksonville area. They are ALWAYS online and I know I can count on them. When Howard Snider used to be online all the time, He would wait for me and others sometimes even if there was only 3 of us to let us finish out flights....He knew people liked to finish their flight out with ATC. The approach is the best part. CTR is the key.....m[Mod - Happy Thoughts] coverage will get you the most numbers.

 

3.)Friendliness and Helpfulness

It is no secret that not all of us are "Pros". Some are just stepping up to the big leagues with some nice new expensive addon we saved for. Some are a little over their heads but determined nonetheless. Some are simply just there to learn. Yes, not everyone learns by hours and hours of reading. I am that way, I learn by doing, and making mistakes. I won't ever forget the first time I flew into KLAX during an event. It was the first time I ever flew into there, and it was a HUGE EVENT. Sink or swim. These are times and all the above examples are reasons why being helpful, maintaining your cool, and being the "friendly" guy will earn you traffic. Take me for example. I would LOVE to fly over in the ME....BUT....I have never done so. You know I will make mistakes. I don't want anyone to hold my hand, but I also don't want to frustrate you, and frustrate myself at the same time to make it a bad experience. Help me if I get behind, nudge me in the right direction, and read my comments. I may have "Vectors only" in my remarks not because I didn't study the approach, but because it is the first time in the area, first time with the plane, or I simply don't want to follow a line....Again, I urge you to look at other places to see how they do it. I am not saying you are not, because I don't know, but I know that places like, again, Jacksonville do it the way I like. They have fun, will be personable and not take the fun out of new things. I can't tell you how many times I have heard them over comms work with a CLEARLY new person and at the end of the flight you could hear the pilot so happy, thanking everyone Top to Bottom on frequency for making His first experience a good one. That is the stuff that matters.

 

4.) Visibility

This is a big one. Be on the forums. Answer questions here, get into discussions, have a signature telling people who/where you represent. This is good exposure even if you don't have the flights in your area. Come to the forums, and just make a post if you are going to be online. Let pilots on VatSim know when and where you will be staffed even if it isn't a event. I come on here daily and read, and If i saw that, I would come check you out for sure. Have a SUP on frequency make a blast for your open areas so people will come check you out.

 

 

Wow, just looked at my post and sorry it is so long. It is just that I love VatSim, and I am one of those guys that dream of the whole globe being lit up with ATC! I think you guys have one of the best areas on the planet for flying. I see no reason why with a little work you couldn't compete with Europe. Heck, a LOT of flights to and from involve you two. Work together. Get with some FIRs around you and make a big event....make it huge....look at how Cross the Pond works....popular areas get together and almost break the servers!

 

Hope this helps....will be keeping an eye on your area.

Callsign will be N991VK