New to VATSIM and I always start a flight, get close to an airspace that has a controller and disconnect due to confidence issues

[Steve Pupkar]

So I am NOT new to sims and flying. I do 2-3 flights daily but the past 2 days I have been sitting at BOS and listening. Trying to soak it in. It got to me even more and my confidence level and being "that guy" when entering airspace and landing.

 

I have read almost all the guides ect and have maps up but I am afraid to screw up to be honest and then I may never return. Looking for training courses on my own or with others as well to try and help this fear

[Robert Shearman Jr]

My advice: get over the notion that you have to be perfect and sound perfect the first time out.  Or the second, or fifth, or fiftieth even.  It's something you won't get better at by listening -- only by doing.  That means that you WILL sound new and silly the first handful of times.  Once you embrace that you're going to sound new and lost, it's easy, because you've set yourself a low bar.  Every time you do it, the bar will be a millimeter higher.  Eventually you'll find yourself comfortable with the basics and ready to start learning something slightly more complex -- and the cycle repeats.

[Tobias Dammers]

Don't be afraid, we all screw up, even after hundreds or thousands of flying hours on the network. You just start screwing up on a slightly higher level as you get better at it.

Find a nice calm airfield that you are very familiar with (BOS is one of the busiest and quirkiest airports on the network, definitely not an easy start), and go for it. You will probably make mistakes, but that's OK, you will not get flak for it unless you make gross mistakes on purpose, like repeatedly spawning on an active runway after being told not to. And remember that each and every pilot and controller you encounter on the network was in your shoes at some point.

[Steve Pupkar]

45 minutes ago, Tobias Dammers said:

Don't be afraid, we all screw up, even after hundreds or thousands of flying hours on the network. You just start screwing up on a slightly higher level as you get better at it.

Find a nice calm airfield that you are very familiar with (BOS is one of the busiest and quirkiest airports on the network, definitely not an easy start), and go for it. You will probably make mistakes, but that's OK, you will not get flak for it unless you make gross mistakes on purpose, like repeatedly spawning on an active runway after being told not to. And remember that each and every pilot and controller you encounter on the network was in your shoes at some point.

Yeah you're right. I just love BOS so I fly out and there a lot. Any good airports or areas that are quiet to start with? 

[Christer Hiort]

Im one of those that has been nibbling but have not taken the plunge.

Can someone explain how I would just be able to listen to the traffic? My airport is KDFW. Not sure how active that one is for VATSIM.

[Steve Pupkar]

56 minutes ago, Christer Hiort said:

Im one of those that has been nibbling but have not taken the plunge.

Can someone explain how I would just be able to listen to the traffic? My airport is KDFW. Not sure how active that one is for VATSIM.

This shows what is online. https://map.vatsim.net/

 

What I did was just sit at the gate in Boston and listened without moving

[Matthew Bartels]

Look for an online TWR in the BOS area, or approach if none is one. Go to one of the smaller airports such as MHT, PVD, PWM, ASH, etc and do some pattern work in a single engine prop. Once you gain confidence from that simple task, you can work further up to departing out of BOS itself.

BVA also has a great training curriculum you can follow.

 

https://forum.bvartcc.com/bvaportal/wings/intro

[Alistair Thomson]

22 hours ago, Christer Hiort said:

Can someone explain how I would just be able to listen to the traffic?

Sure. Just connect as OBS and you'll hear the radio chat but you won't appear on the network as an aircraft.

[nebojsa milosavljevic]

We were all beginner's at one time.

nebojsa 

[Ryan Bentley]

On 3/31/2022 at 5:29 PM, Steve Pupkar said:

So I am NOT new to sims and flying. I do 2-3 flights daily but the past 2 days I have been sitting at BOS and listening. Trying to soak it in. It got to me even more and my confidence level and being "that guy" when entering airspace and landing.

 

I have read almost all the guides ect and have maps up but I am afraid to screw up to be honest and then I may never return. Looking for training courses on my own or with others as well to try and help this fear

I found my first few flights on VATSIM intimidating as well and felt like a bit of an intruder when listening to how veterans communicated on frequency. I can promise you though that this community is very helpful and understanding, and all of us were new at one point and experienced the same thing you are now. 

VATSIM is after all about education, and personally I'm still always learning something new every time I hop on. 

If you are on MSFS, shoot me a PM if you like and we can fly shared cockpit. You can ask questions or I can demonstrate some things you are unsure about.

[Magnus Meese]

On 3/31/2022 at 5:29 PM, Steve Pupkar said:

I am afraid to screw up to be honest and then I may never return.

I don't think I've ever done a full flight or ATC session without screwing something up. VATSIM or IRL. 15 years in. Just go make a fool out of yourself, then do it again and again. That's how we all started.

[Rafael Vlad]

Hi, at my first flight, I was so scared to talk with the atc that I almost stayed there 5 minutes. I reccomend you to press the PTT button and speak without connecting to vatsim requesting your clearance.

 

[Andrew Crowley]

This is a funny phenomenon (just in general; I'm not being critical of you as you'll see.)

It seems, for some people, to specifically be related to talking to others online.  For perspective, I'm an airline pilot (in reality) who has always enjoyed simming as well. I remember first hearing about vatsim and thinking, "that might be cool."  So I loaded up, filed, reached for the PTT... and sat there for a minute, feeling ridiculous that I was experiencing some kind of mic shyness.  I mean I don't even think about it when I key up to talk to real ATC in places like JFK or LAX... but I'm feeling self-conscious about talking to someone online?  😁  (I've also felt this when talking to folks I didn't know on Discord at first, flying DCS missions.)

Well I got over it after about 30 seconds, and sure, my experience made that a lot easier. But my point is, don't feel bad or get discouraged about feeling this mic shyness, as you most certainly are not alone.  You will take the plunge eventually, and after that first call, you'll be fine! 

[1341101]

On 4/18/2022 at 12:59 AM, Andrew Crowley said:

This is a funny phenomenon (just in general; I'm not being critical of you as you'll see.)

It seems, for some people, to specifically be related to talking to others online.  For perspective, I'm an airline pilot (in reality) who has always enjoyed simming as well. I remember first hearing about vatsim and thinking, "that might be cool."  So I loaded up, filed, reached for the PTT... and sat there for a minute, feeling ridiculous that I was experiencing some kind of mic shyness.  I mean I don't even think about it when I key up to talk to real ATC in places like JFK or LAX... but I'm feeling self-conscious about talking to someone online?  😁  (I've also felt this when talking to folks I didn't know on Discord at first, flying DCS missions.)

Well I got over it after about 30 seconds, and sure, my experience made that a lot easier. But my point is, don't feel bad or get discouraged about feeling this mic shyness, as you most certainly are not alone.  You will take the plunge eventually, and after that first call, you'll be fine! 

You're not the first real-world pilot to feel like that :D. I know a real-world 737 Captain, who used to fly a lot on the network, disappeared and came back 2-3 years later and as mic-shy on VATSIM