New Pilot Intro / CJ4 Questions

[LeafOnTheWind]

Hello World!

     I am a former SEL bugsmasher new to the world of VATSIM and wanted to introduce myself.  After putting about 40 hours into teaching myself IFR on MSFS, I decided to dive into the VATSIM scene and try my hand today.  The AI ATC was beginning to hold back my learning curve.

     Mistakes were made (lol) but I managed to land all attempted flights so far without getting scared and pulling the plug when I embarrassed myself.  I credit it all to my real world experiences as a student pilot in Tennessee, where ATC was kind...to say the least...and to a brief period where my home airport was out of commission for repairs and my flight school had to operate out of BNA in Nashville.  I know that's not exactly the big leagues but it pressed me to move out of my comfort zone and get used to sounding like a sorry wet dog with a scratch cone collar on the radio.

     There is no substitute for learning the hard way I guess!  And VATSIM IFR is a big beautiful challenge I really look forward to.

     It was a steep jump to go from real world VFR and AI ATC IFR, up to VATSIM IFR.  I am slow on the draw with changing frequencies on the radio, and I let myself jump the gun a few times initiating ATC instructions immediately, before making sure I got things plugged in and lined up right in the cockpit.  Fortunately the adage "aviate, navigate, communicate," pulled me back from my overexuberance.  

     I have been flying the Working Title Citation CJ4, and I think the ability to use the type pad is a major advantage in VATSIM, at least compared to the other steam gauge and glass aircraft I fly (Flying Iron Spitfire, both 172s, 208, Citation Longitude).  My only issue is that I ran into some problems with setting up departures and approaches in Europe.

     I quickly found out that not only is the vibe different across the pond, but the (free) online chart resources seem thin and there were discontinuities when plugging in an assigned approach on the fly.  By discontinuities, I mean not in the transition from my set waypoints, but well into the approach itself.  Does anyone know if this is an MSFS thing or a CJ4 thing?

     In my day job I have had to work with a lot of Europeans and when I was young it was a major culture shock.  As I got older I came to appreciate their style, however, even to prefer it in certain situations.  A lot of the American communication style is informal, familiar and smooths the edges out.  I find the Europeans take the more direct route.  My sample is limited but that seemed to be in full play on VATSIM.  And since I am looking to learn in a real-world style, I enjoyed it.  I think I will be flying over there a lot; those guys play it taut.  

     My problem is, I have been using SkyVector and it won't cut the mustard in Europe.  I scanned for some free sites and THOUGHT I had the charts and info I needed, but I quickly found that I did not.  I was accommodated, for which I am grateful, but I wouldn't want to make a habit of it.

     I was hoping to ask for several different options on the free front.  Where do you guys like to get your charts and info?  What do you think about the CJ4 compared to other options in its segment?

     Since I plan on splitting my time, I am also game to hear what the different radio cultures are in different sections of the US.  Is New York as brutal as real life?  That could be great practice too.  Are there areas more laid back and suitable to having fun?  Are there designated times and places for a bit of silliness like I see on AirForce Proud?

 

[Matthew Bartels]

5 hours ago, LeafOnTheWind said:

Are there areas more laid back and suitable to having fun?  Are there designated times and places for a bit of silliness like I see on AirForce Proud?

The fun of operations on VATSIM is simulating the realism found in the real world. Operations like Air Force Proud conducts would not be welcome on VATSIM at any time. When you want to conduct such operations, the MSFS multiplayer server is a better option. When you want to come back to the more realistic experience, sign back onto VATSIM.

[LeafOnTheWind]

I see the reputation is well deserved; hysterical!

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction though.  I didn't even know there was a multiplayer server on MSFS.  Air Force Proud is absolutely hysterical and I look forward to having fun with those goofballs.

I also look forward to being perfectly serious and getting realistic training on your not actually real platform.  I said that already, in my first post though, didn't I?  I did.

But thanks all the same.  I'm sure you enjoyed your catharsis.

Buh bye now!

[Torben Andersen]

21 hours ago, LeafOnTheWind said:

I was hoping to ask for several different options on the free front.  Where do you guys like to get your charts and info?  What do you think about the CJ4 compared to other options in its segment?

Free charts can be found on chartfox.org. But most European charts can also be found for free at the local AIP. For those not free (like Italian ones), you can get them via Eurocontrol (free, but need registration). For simplicity I have a Navigraph Chart Subscription. But this is absolutely NOT free.

[Alex Ying]

On 4/30/2022 at 9:35 AM, LeafOnTheWind said:

Since I plan on splitting my time, I am also game to hear what the different radio cultures are in different sections of the US. Is New York as brutal as real life? That could be great practice too. Are there areas more laid back and suitable to having fun?

In the US at least, I think you'll find that most places, the radio culture is pretty standard across the country, and there's probably more variation from workload than anything else. If I'm working the entire ARTCC top-down with 15+ planes on my frequency into 5 different airports, everything is going to be by-the-book and there's little room for error from both the controller and the pilot side (that means hearing your callsign and reading back instructions the first time. Nothing kills the controller's flow more than having to call an aircraft 2 or more times to get a response).

On the other hand, if it's a quiet morning and you're one of 3 planes anywhere in the airspace, there's a lot more leeway and the atmosphere is a lot more relaxed. Things like flight following, practice approaches, non-standard routes, less-common approach requests all become more possible because the workload is much less.

The best advice I can give is to know your own and your airplane's limits. If you get an IFR clearance that includes the "Canarsie Climb" for example, don't just blindly accept it. Ask yourself if you understand what you're being cleared to do, and if you don't, ask for clarification. Controllers would much rather you ask and tell us if you aren't able to do something when you're sitting at the gate than discover you're about to crash into someone else in another controller's airspace because you didn't verify you or your airplane were capable of the procedure you were cleared to fly. There are alternative procedures, but we can't give them to you if we don't know you need them.

On the topic of charts, Europe has already been covered above, and it sounds like you know how to get US charts. If you ever fly into Canada, fltplan.com has them available with a free account.

[Alistair Thomson]

I think LeafOnTheWind has blown away from the forest...

[Robert Shearman Jr]

If that person really thinks that "fun" and "semi-realistic procedures" are mutually exclusive, then it sounds like that's what needed to happen anyway.  No problem here.