Newby wanting to observe.

[Patrick Dunster 1386350]

Hi Everyone.

I've been flying offline for a while, and have just joined Vatsim. Can't wait to fly online, but, being a bit of an anorak, I'd like to do things properly and observe for a bit. So is it possible to log on without filing a flight plan, and just sit at a gate and listen to ATC and watch? I'm using Xplane 10.51 and Xsquawkbox. Will it be obvious how to get the com frequency to hear ATC? Having gone through the Pilot Resource Centre on the site, I couldn't find exactly how to do this.

 

Many thanks!

[Ernesto Alvarez 818262]

yes you can, but you may want to limit the amount of time you spend doing it (IE not recommended you log on for several hours and just sit there.

 

the other choice is to simply do a VFR flight nearby (while staying clear of controlled airspace) and just monitor the frequency. at least youll be doing something

 

as far as the frequencies, yes the client will list any controllers online within range and their frequencies. keep in mind this doesnt mean you are in their airspace, just means they are close enough for your client to pick them up, and this is also affected by your altitude. the higher you are, the longer the range itll get.

[Camden Bruno]

Stemming off of what Ernesto said, on XPlane specifically, click 'Plugins' on the top toolbar and select XSquawkBox. Under that drop-down, there should be something titled "Show Who's Online" (I forget the exact wording). Click that and a pane will appear with all nearby Controllers, Observers, and Supervisors.

[Kieran Hardern]

Feel free to observe on the ground in a plane.

 

Typically we suggest you login at a gate and file a local flightplan, with comments indicating that you're new and you're listening in. Before you do, have a look with a tool like VATSPY, vattastic or on Stats so that you can log in where there is ATC and preferably a few aircraft. As long as you're at a gate, not on top of anyone else and not moving around, it won't be an issue.

 

Try to figure out how to check your private messages early. If you stay there for a while you may well get a few people asking you what you're doing. A simple explanation will keep you out of any trouble

[Robert Shearman Jr]

I actually do quite a lot of observing in my capacity as a checkride examiner for the Pilot Ratings we offer -- we use TeamViewer to watch the student's cockpit, but we like to hear their ATC communications as well. Some of our Instructors use ATC clients but I generally just park my Mooney Bravo in the GA ramp area. Here's what I do and no one has ever questioned me:

 

Flightplan type: VFR

Origin: (ICAO of wherever I am parked)

Dest: (ICAO of wherever I am parked)

Alternate: (leave blank)

Depart Time: (aprx current time in Zulu)

Time Enroute: (aprx amount of time I expect to be observing)

Fuel Available: 3h 0m (whatever, LOL)

Cruise Speed: 110 (aprx pattern airspeed if I were to be doing closed traffic)

Cruise Altitude: (field elevation + 1000; i.e. aprx pattern altitude if I were to be doing closed traffic)

Route: PARKED OBSERVER

Remarks: Instructor for vatstar.com P3 part 1 checkride, student = {student's callsign}

 

Not a single controller has ever questioned my right or reason for being there. (In fact some have even struck up conversations about the student I am observing, letting me know if they're straying from their route or altitude or whatever, so I can grade the flight even more effectively.)

 

But even if you're not there to observe someone in particular, I think you can use the same model with remarks of something like "new to VATSIM, observing to get the feel for ATC communication" and I bet no one would bother you about it. If you do get any PMs it would be more likely words of encouragement such as "come on, just request taxi to the active for closed traffic, I promise I don't bite"... LOL!

[Ernesto Alvarez 818262]

i thought you guys would take advantage of the instructor monitoring abilities in P3D? dont believe FSX has that but shared cockpit might work the same

[Robert Shearman Jr]

i thought you guys would take advantage of the instructor monitoring abilities in P3D? dont believe FSX has that but shared cockpit might work the same

I wasn't aware of that feature, actually, but I'll definitely look into that!

 

But in order to leave the student with complete freedom as to which simulator platform and which aircraft they want to use, TeamViewer gets the job done. The main drawback is that some students have computers that struggle to run simulators at a decent frame rate, which get easily bogged down by the additional processing & bandwidth of TeamViewer. But usually we manage to get through it.

 

However, tangent aside, it's definitely perfectly acceptable to park a plane & observe that was the point I was getting at!

[Jonathan Fong]

First off, welcome to VATSIM!

 

You can observe simply by, well, logging on. Obviously, don't do so on a taxiway/runway - I'd recommend parking over at the cargo or GA ramp of an airport to observe, as those areas don't get much traffic so you can observe without disrupting traffic flow. I'd recommend using a tool such as VATTASTIC to look for places with active ATC and a decent amount of traffic so you actually get something to see. Once you're online, just tune into an active frequency (just pick one - I presume you've already looked up the definitions of each position name) and listen away! Finally, you may want to send a PM to ATC (do so by entering the command .msg followed by your message) explaining that you're just observing traffic, just so both sides are clear.

 

If you want, you could also connect as an 'observer' - I know vPilot can do this as an option when you log in, not sure about other pilot clients - in which case you would not be visible to any pilots but would still be able to see other traffic, meaning you could park anywhere and do anything and no one would mind, just so long as you stay silent on frequency and listen in only.