How hard is it to get into Vatsim?

[kregfer stein]

I fly mostly the FBW A320. I have used sim brief and PACX and I think I have a pretty good handle on my plane and procedures. I am just wondering how big is the step to Vatsim? Also I applinked haven’t used navigraph yet so I am wondering do I need to know navigraph first or can I skip that part? Thanks for the help everyone.

Edited November 4, 2021 at 03:46 PM by kregfer stein
Spelling mistake

[Matthew Bartels]

Navigraph is not required but HIGHLY recommend. We use current procedures and navigraph is how you update the navdata to fly those procedures. You can be accommodated using old navdata only to a point. If a procedure is completely changed, odds are you’re going to have to be vectored as opposed to flying a procedure.

[Luca Melis]

Compared to other options, I found very simple to use Vatsim

[James Brookman]

As a newbie myself I would highly recommend Navigraph simply because it is another layer of preparation that can help you in coping with the jitters of real ATC.   The more prepared you are as a pilot the smoother it will go.  I personally have not built the required courage to do an IFR flight on VATSIM but just listening to comms has made me realize that its important to be fully briefed on the most up-to-date departure and arrival procedures.  ATC could change your approach to fit traffic, and if they are doing that, time is of the essence and updated charts and navdata will contribute to the smoothness of executing the route.  

As far as making the jump in general to live ATC, it is definitely a mental game.  What i'm working on is just listening to some of the channels to understand phraseology and patterns of communication to get a feel for how things flow.  Pick a nice busy airport depending on the time you are able to play and just listed to comms for a bit, I'm sure it will help out a ton.  For the east coast of the US I like to tune in to KJFK or KLGA when they are on fire.  Its awesome to hear those guys run their airspace.

 

But like I said, I'm barely a month into VATSIM so all I can offer is a limited and inexperienced opinion.

 

[Don Desfosse]

Inexperienced, perhaps, but very astute.  I think your observations are spot on.

[Tobias Dammers]

Having a good handle on the aircraft and its procedures is a huge plus. The biggest hurdle by far is going to be talking to ATC - that part you won't learn from flying offline or even on most other online platforms. But if you start with a simple flight, straightforward procedures out of and into airports you know like the back of your hand, read up on the relevant phraseology beforehand, and maybe just sit on an apron and listen to the radio a couple times before taking the plunge, it's not so bad.

Navigraph: not strictly required, but having up-to-date FMS data is going to make your life a million times easier, so definitely recommended.

[Kirk Christie]

Aerosoft also have a navdata application.

[Robert Shearman Jr]

I think the two biggest learning curves coming from a solo environment to VATSIM are (a) understanding that you need to actually look at the charts for the procedures that you're flying and know what "expect vectors" means, and, (b) understanding that you you may not get cleared to do exactly what your flight plan and FMC states but you may have to adapt and modify that plan.  Being flexible in your choice of departure and arrival runway is probably the biggest piece of that latter one.

[Magnus Meese]

To be fair, FBW is an MSFS addon, so the navdata will be updated on a regular basis anyway. Navigraph might be more frequently updated and maybe do a few things better, but overall I never had large issues with MSFS stock navdata.

Really though, there's only two things I wish was drilled into every new member:
1; If IFR, know how to control your heading, altitude, speed, and how to fly at least one type of the approahces available at your destination. We can get you there, but can't fly the thing for you.
2; If you can't or won't do a thing, just say so. If you tell us unable, we'll happily figure out a way to get you what you need. If you say nothing, something is probably going to go wrong in a way neither of us will enjoy.

Down the line once you've got the hang of the very basics, I recommend to learn to read and use charts as this will help immensely with situational awareness. Chartfox.org is the go-to resource for free charts. Before you leave the gate, use charts to brief yourself on likely taxi routes and how to fly the assigned SID (and check that the FMS agrees). Before top of descend, brief yourself on the STAR, assigned or likely approaches, and likely taxi routes. Once you've gotten good at it, it shouldn't take you much more than a minute or two to do a departure or arrival brief. Dealing with ATC is much easier if you can guess ahead of time what you're gonna get, and the more you fly the more often you'll be right. "Staying ahead of the plane" is what you should aim to do in all aspects of flying.