Johan Kotze 1284015 Posted February 23, 2017 at 03:29 PM Posted February 23, 2017 at 03:29 PM Hi everyone, from South Africa, just signed up to join VATSIM. Interested in online flying and controlling. Long time simmer. My 1st impressions so far looking for info on local division: Opened VATSIM.net, Home/About/VATSIM Regions, click on Africa & Middle East, click on South Africa Division (VATSAF) - Oops, website does not exist, ok, so try next one on the list, click on Africa Division (VATAFR) - Oops, taken to a website about Value Added Tax, so google shows me another site, VATAME.org, open and click on the green bar in the middle "Visit Southern Africa vACC" - Oops, website does not exist, look further on the LINK REDACTED site and find <LINK REDACTED click on the green bar in the middle "Visit VATAF" - Oops, HTTP404 error, website not found, What is going on here!! If this is a indication of things to come I might just give up before I even start down this road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wilks Posted February 23, 2017 at 03:50 PM Posted February 23, 2017 at 03:50 PM viewtopic.php?f=27&t=71214 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernesto Alvarez 818262 Posted February 23, 2017 at 04:03 PM Posted February 23, 2017 at 04:03 PM happens, but all the information is already available from the VATAME site. if you need further info you can contact the VATAF director whos email is also list on the site. their home page might be temporarily down, it happens. and it seems to be an issue simply with their index page cause if you notice the files theyve made available from the VATAME page are linked from their vatsaf.org site, those links still work. so its more then likely an issue they are having with their index Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deon Mathews Posted February 23, 2017 at 04:57 PM Posted February 23, 2017 at 04:57 PM Hello Johan, Please contact me directly at [email protected] or join us on our TS3 server ts.vatafrica.com:9991 and we will endeavor to [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ist you. Sincerely, Deon Mathews VATSIM Marketing & Communications Team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Kotze 1284015 Posted February 23, 2017 at 06:52 PM Author Posted February 23, 2017 at 06:52 PM Ok, thanks Brian and Ernesto. The VATAME site does not have any working links to any Southern African Division so there is no point referring me to VATAME. Whatever the cause, be it broken indexes or whatever, there are 4 different links to different South African sites not working and VATSIM HQ do not seem to be aware of it. Their own main home page is still referring newcomers to VATSAF and a Tax website for crying out loud. Further google searches by chance led to ACCSAF.net Nowhere on VATSIM or VATAME is there any reference to ACCSAF.net How do they expect newbies to sniff out the correct info. Do yourself a favor and do a google search: "VATSIM South Africa" and see if you can find ACCSAF,net in the results. I have registered on their site (does not accept VATSIM credentials) and now patiently waiting for confirmation email to confirm email so that I can login. Thanks Deon, will be in touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Board of Governors Tim Barber Posted February 23, 2017 at 09:02 PM Board of Governors Posted February 23, 2017 at 09:02 PM Johan, Welcome to VATSIM....as you can see, there are always people around ready and willing to help you out. You are in great hands with Deon Matthews. Enjoy! TB Tim Barber VATSIM President Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Sweeney Posted February 23, 2017 at 09:45 PM Posted February 23, 2017 at 09:45 PM Launched in May 2016, appears the new Regional website has not yet been updated on VATSIM.net, which should be: *VATSIM’s Africa & Middle East (VATAME) Region - LINK REDACTED *South Africa Division (VATSAF) - Division has been discontinued/replaced *Africa Division (VATAFR) - LINK REDACTEDdivision/AF Hope this helps. Mike / 811317 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Tyndall 1087023 Posted February 24, 2017 at 02:03 AM Posted February 24, 2017 at 02:03 AM Welcome to VATSIM Johan. I hope you have not really been searching for three years... Joined: 03 Mar 2014 If you have, I applaud your perseverance. Randy Randy Tyndall - KBOI ZLA I-11/vACC Portugal P4 “A ship is always safe in the harbor. But that’s not why they build ships” --Michael Bevington ID 814931, Former VATSIM Board of Governors Vice President of Pilot Training Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Kotze 1284015 Posted February 24, 2017 at 05:28 AM Author Posted February 24, 2017 at 05:28 AM Thanks again everyone, registered on the ACCSAF.net site yesterday, still waiting for the email supposedly sent so that I can confirm registration. Now I notice in the NOTAM Section " Hello Everybody !! The website is still under construction , so now you can't login or register !! '' dated 3 months ago. Anyway, probably don't need to register there after all. Got all the software installed, done one quick test flight online as pilot, followed on vatspy, logged on as observer on Euroscope, got the sector files installed, all seems to be working. Not sure sbout the ratings: Pilot rating P0, ATC Rating: Pilot/Observer (OBS) I noticed that other newbies seem to be P1, S1 See you around the skies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernesto Alvarez 818262 Posted February 24, 2017 at 05:35 AM Posted February 24, 2017 at 05:35 AM Johan, you have to give them time. everyone is a volunteer here, we dont get paid, therefor are not constantly monitoring emails etc 24/7. give it time. also i will add you do not need the ATC client nor the sector files if you only intend to fly. the pilot ratings are also not required, but if you would like to go through the training, they are not the only ones that offer it, there are several providers that you can do the training with. visit ptd.vatsim.net for more info and youll also find the training providers there. some are virtual airlines, others are not. you can choose which one you want to do it with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Fong Posted February 25, 2017 at 12:03 PM Posted February 25, 2017 at 12:03 PM Thanks again everyone,registered on the ACCSAF.net site yesterday, still waiting for the email supposedly sent so that I can confirm registration. Now I notice in the NOTAM Section " Hello Everybody !! The website is still under construction , so now you can't login or register !! '' dated 3 months ago. Anyway, probably don't need to register there after all. Got all the software installed, done one quick test flight online as pilot, followed on vatspy, logged on as observer on Euroscope, got the sector files installed, all seems to be working. Not sure sbout the ratings: Pilot rating P0, ATC Rating: Pilot/Observer (OBS) I noticed that other newbies seem to be P1, S1 See you around the skies. All members start off as P0s and OBSs. To explain the rating system - the ratings prefixed 'P' (P1-P9) are pilot ratings that cover things related to flying/being a virtual pilot, while the ratings prefixed 'S' or 'C' (S1-S3, C1/C3) are ATC ratings that cover controlling ability. The pilot ratings do not affect what you can do as a pilot on VATSIM (i.e. a P0 can do anything a P9 can as long as they do it correctly and don't break any VATSIM regulations). However, you must have an S1 or above rating as well as solo qualification from a vACC to be able to control as ATC. Getting ratings are completely optional (except, of course, for the ATC ratings, which are required if you wish to become ATC online). I personally suggest that you at least take the P1 rating, just to get an idea of what to do on VATSIM (the P1 basically teaches you what you need to know to fly on VATSIM). To find more info about the pilot rating program, go here. To get a pilot rating, you must go to a VATSIM ATO (Authorized Training Organization) that offers said rating - you'll find a list of them in the previous link. For details on what the ATC ratings mean, go here. Contact your vACC for more details on getting trained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts