Michael Ruane 861948 Posted March 29, 2005 at 09:27 AM Posted March 29, 2005 at 09:27 AM Hi Had my very first online ATC [Mod - Happy Thoughts]isted flight on Saturday - what a buzz... This led to a question that I have not found an answer to in the Resource Centre and wondered if someone could help me with (ps I also posted this question on Avsim so this is a duplicate). My question is: What standards are in place to control the use of callsigns in Vatsim. I have just adopted a strategy of using the Livery and a number that I like. When flying GA aircraft I use a call of ZK-MAR. I am concerned that when operating the p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]enger jets I could be selecting a callsign that is in use by someone else. So what are the rules for selecting a callsign. PS Thanks to the NZ_CTR controller last Saturday who shepherded QF900 to NZCH ILS02. A whole new world opened Cheers Mike NZWN Cheers Mike NZWN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiel McGowan 813486 Posted March 29, 2005 at 08:05 PM Posted March 29, 2005 at 08:05 PM No one can have a registered callsign. So you are free to use whatever you would like. VA's are the only ones that really [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign callsigns but most have procedures if its in use. Such as if you are UPS903 and the UPS903 in the VA wants to fly, they will simply make it UPS1903. So dont worry, be creative and have fun with whatever callsign you want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Richards Posted March 30, 2005 at 01:04 PM Posted March 30, 2005 at 01:04 PM And Michael, if you try to logon with a callsign that someone is using you will get a message saying: "Error: Callisgn in use" so you can't logon with another callsign the same anywhere in the world. As an aside, in the REAL WORLD, New Zealand is actually displayed on the ATC radar as ZKMAR not ZK-MAR and in the Oceania region we're trying to encourage use of the this method, without the hyphen. Welcome online! Mark Mark Richards (811451) Auckland, New Zealand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ruane 861948 Posted April 1, 2005 at 05:29 AM Author Posted April 1, 2005 at 05:29 AM Thanks Keil and Mark I have finally figured it out now (thanks to the forums). Today I searched the local airline website and found the real world departures and just pinched the real world flight number. I timed the flight to match the real world version and off I went (as NZ452 NZCH-NZWN). The funny thing was, as I was approaching NZWN, I had the real world ATC tuned in on the scanner and at darned near the same time as I p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]ed through 11,000 I heard the real world version calling ATC for approach clearance. Quite disconcerting really but a good laugh. I made an ILS approach however the real world version made a visual approach so beat me in. This just gets better every day! Mark, thanks for your welcome and the update on the use of the ZKMAR callsign. I did wonder about that and have used that call both with and without the dash. I will now omit the dash (unless I am operating the Dash 8... sorry) from now. Cheers Mike NZWN Cheers Mike NZWN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ruane 861948 Posted April 1, 2005 at 05:42 AM Author Posted April 1, 2005 at 05:42 AM Mark, another quick unrelated question. Listening to Real World ATC today I noticed that the Tower appears to be getting GPWS system alerts from approaching aircraft and is able to warn pilots to check their altitude. It has happened a number of times this afternoon at NZWN. Is that (equipment) something you have experienced in the RW. I think it has only been implemented here recently because I do not recall hearing those kind of alerts to pilots before today. I do not think it has come from the tags because the Tower is providing the alert rather than the Terminal controller. Cheers Mike NZWN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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