VATSTAR 3rd Anniversary Summer Fun Getaway! June 24th 1800z

[Robert Shearman Jr]

VATSTAR is about to enter its fourth year of operation, and to celebrate, we're taking off for a warm summer getaway!

 

Join us at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, GA at 1800z on Sunday, June 24th, 2018, and we'll fly to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Meyers, FL! Bring your jets, as the flight is 450-500nm and approximately an hour and a half long in a standard airliner.

 

Upon arrival at KRSW you'll hopefully be checking out the beautifully enhanced airport by our new friends LatinVFR; take a sneak peek at http://www.latinvfr.org/sceneries/south-west-florida-fort-myers-krsw-for-fsx-and-p3d/ . One lucky winner will receive a free copy; enter simply by registering for the event (vatstar.com --> About Us --> 3rd Anniversary Flight), and by liking our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/vatstar/). The winner will be chosen on Saturday June 23rd so you'll have time to install the package before the event!

 

We'll have tons of fabulous other prizes too from other sponsors such as Aerosoft, Flightbeam Studios, FS2Crew, Just Flight, Orbx Simulation Systems, REX Simulations, and TFDi Design!

 

We'll see you in the sunny southeastern skies on June 24th!

 

https://www.facebook.com/events/227759907814599/

[Robert Shearman Jr]

We are a GO for today's Third Anniversary Summer Getaway flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Fort Myers, Florida! Event time is 1800z which is just under six hours away!

 

First, I want to say a word of thanks for the incredible support for this event by our VATSTAR Training Partners; Atlanta ARTCC (ZTL), Jacksonville ARTCC (ZJX), and Miami ARTCC (ZMA). And just behind them I have to thank some of our incredible sponsors for their generosity with the wonderful promotions and giveaways they are furnishing for us: Aerosoft, Flightbeam Studios, FS2Crew, Just Flight, LatinVFR, Orbx Simulations, REX Simulation Systems, and TFDi Designs. IF YOU FLY FROM KATL TO KRSW DURING THE EVENT TIME WINDOW AND INCLUDE THE WORDS "VATSTAR ANNIVERSARY EVENT" IN YOUR FLIGHT PLAN REMARKS, YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE FOR A DRAWING TO WIN SOME OUTSTANDING PRIZES FROM ANY ONE OF OUR AWESOME SPONSORS!

 

Our flight briefing for today is as follows:

 

ROUTE: KATL BANNG2 LUCKK SZW TYNEE1 KRSW

DISTANCE: 484.1nm

DURATION: approximately 1h21m, dependent upon aircraft type

CRUISE: odd-numbered thousands (eastbound)

 

ORIGIN: Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta, GA, USA (KATL)

ARTCC: https://www.ztlartcc.org/

DIAGRAM: http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1807/00026ad.pdf#nameddest=(ATL)

GATE MAP: https://travelwidget.com/terminal-maps/ATL/ATL_overview_map.png

BANNG2 SID p1: http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1807/00026banng.pdf#nameddest=(ATL)

BANNG2 SID p2: http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1807/00026banng_c.pdf#nameddest=(ATL)

FORECAST: 28008KT P6SM SCT035 (as of 1215z)

SCENERY: https://www.ztlartcc.org/scenery

ADDITIONAL INFO:

 

Generally at KATL the Ramp areas (the areas between the midfield terminals) are NOT controlled by Ground. In the real world they are controlled by airport and airline staff; not by FAA controllers. On VATSIM there can occasionally be a "KATL_R_GND" position logged on acting as Ramp control -- but, this is uncommon and most of the time pilots should expect to push and start at their own discretion, taxi to the north or south end of the ramp area (depending upon their [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned departure runway), and call Ground holding short of either F (north) or L (south). The usual call to Ground would be "Atlanta Ground, {callsign} at ramp {number}{north/south}, information {atis}, taxi to runway {rwy#}." For example, if you were [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned 27R for departure and were pushing from Gate A5 onto Ramp Area 2, you'd taxi to the south end of it and call with "Atlanta Ground, Delta 1579, Ramp Two South, Information Alpha, Taxi to Runway Two-Seven-Right."

 

Takeoff clearances at KATL include a verification of the pilot-nav RNAV point that is first on their [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned SID. On the BANNG2 Departure the first point could be SNUFY, SLAWW, SKNNR, GRITZ, or WLSON depending on the [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned departure runway. Clearance from Tower will come in this format: "{callsign,} Atlanta Tower, RNAV to {location}, wind {wind direction} at {wind speed}, runway {runway#}, cleared for takeoff." A proper readback would include the RNAV point, the words "cleared for takeoff," the runway, and your callsign.

 

ATL_TWR: "Delta 1579, RNAV to SLAWW, wind 280 at eight, runway two-seven-right, cleared for takeoff."

DAL1579: "RNAV to SLAWW, cleared for takeoff two-seven-right, Delta 1579."

 

DESTINATION: Southwest Florida International Airport, Fort Myers, Florida, USA (KRSW)

ARTCC: http://www.zmaartcc.net/wp/

DIAGRAM: http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1807/06757ad.pdf#nameddest=(RSW)

GATE MAP: https://www.flylcpa.com/uploads/pagesfiles/2563.gif

TYNEE1 STAR: http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1807/00154tynee.pdf#nameddest=(RSW)

CONFIGURATION: generally arrivals use RWY6 in calm winds

APPROACHES: RWY6 (Bay Visual, ILS or LOC/DME, RNAV(GPS)); RWY24 (VOR/DME or TACAN, RNAV(GPS))

APPROACH CHARTS: (https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/digital_products/dtpp/search/results/?cycle=1807&ident=krsw)

FORECAST: 08007KT P6SM VCTS BKN035CB BKN100 (as of 1215z) (CAUTION: there may be thunderstorms in the vicinity upon arrival!)

SCENERY: http://www.latinvfr.org/sceneries/south-west-florida-fort-myers-krsw-for-fsx-and-p3d/

ADDITIONAL INFO:

 

It's important to note that the airport layout has changed significantly since the default scenery in FSX was created, so, it's a good idea to update before the event. The default FSX scenery has the old terminal building on the north side of the airport; the new terminal building with its three prominent piers is on the south side of the field (i.e. a right turn-off if you land on RWY6). Our sponsors LatinVFR have a very beautilly rendered version of the airport for a reaonably affordable price which does include the new, updated terminal building and many local landmarks along the Florida Gulf Coast.

 

Please join us in our Discord server (NOTE: we will be using Discord *INSTEAD OF* TeamSpeak for this event!) in the Public Discussion channel. An invite link to our Discord can be found on our website under Resources --> Discord. 1800z is the meet-up time; we expect departures to commence around 1815z and hope that most everyone is airborne by around 1845z, with the last arrivals hopefully occurring by approximately 2030z. We're looking forward to seeing you there!

[Robert Shearman Jr]

CCCRRRAAAZZZYYY

 

Well now we know what happens when we get help from VATUSA and VATSIM to publicize our event, LOL -- at least 60 showed up if not more! We'll have some fun this week sorting out who was "officially" part of the event (by virtue of "VATSTAR THIRD ANNIVERSARY FLIGHT" in the remarks) and is thus eligible for one of our drawings. We'll contact the winners via email.

 

THANK YOU to the AMAZING controller staff from ZTL, ZJX, and ZMA who helped reign in the chaos (as best as they could) and to all of the wonderful pilots who flew along!