Mark Richards Posted November 8, 2008 at 11:27 PM Posted November 8, 2008 at 11:27 PM It is with much regret that I announce that one of our VATNZ members, Brett Collings, was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident near Taumaranui yesterday. Brett, from Wellington, was one of the original founders of SATPAC, the precursor to the current VATPAC and was a staunch supporter of VATNZ when the division was formed coming up two years ago. Brett and I have been great friends for a number of years before the SATCO days and used to connect to Flight Sim multiplayer over a 14.4k dialup connection. We joined SATCO in early 1996 in the early days of its inception and later that year decided that we needed a division in New Zealand to represent our part of the world. At the same time, Terry Scanlan, David Kings and John Golin were in Australia looking at setting up an Australian division. We all got together and the rest, as they say, is history. Every Sunday, week in, week out, Brett and I would log onto ProController, the first of the Controller clients, and provide ATC for the three or four aircraft that would fly the New Zealand skies. Brett, a real world Commercial Pilot, taught me how to vector, taught me all about 30° intercept angles and so many more things about flying and he was my inspiration. This was really the birth of our current Sunday Night Operations. Frustrated by the lack of ability to see other traffic on the SATCO network, Brett and another kiwi, Sean Galbraith, created the Common Shape Library (CSL) for Squawkbox 2.0 and worked with the then developer, Joe Jurecka, to release this to the world. CSL brought online flying on the SATCO network to a new dimension as it allowed users with the models installed to start seeing other aircraft while flying online. This was the first step in what today sees us able to see hundreds or aircraft online and makes events such as Worldflight that much more authentic. Brett and Sean's idea, in my opinion, was probably one of the single biggest advances in online flying of its time. Although not online for some time, Brett has always been a supporter of VATSIM and its goals and of VATPAC and VATNZ. Brett spent many years as a Supervisor on SATCO but stepped down to a Senior Controller due to real world commitments. Brett has quietly monitored the progress of VATSIM over the years and we regularly speak on the phone about the where things are at and the advances from the early days. Brett leaves behind his partner Kari, and two sons. A sad day indeed for VATSIM. Mark Mark Richards (811451) Auckland, New Zealand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Heaney 879309 Posted November 9, 2008 at 12:41 AM Posted November 9, 2008 at 12:41 AM My Condolences to his family. Very Sad indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pare 925029 Posted November 9, 2008 at 12:52 AM Posted November 9, 2008 at 12:52 AM Wow I might have talked to him the lat time I flew to New Zeland, what a terrible loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabio Oliveira 965424 Posted November 9, 2008 at 02:04 AM Posted November 9, 2008 at 02:04 AM Very sad day.. Brett controlle me the last time I flew on the VATNZ airpsace. My sincerely condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace Brett Regional Conflict Resolution Panel, VATAME Help a Newbie - http://www.vatsim.net/prc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Gaber 1024819 Posted November 9, 2008 at 03:48 AM Posted November 9, 2008 at 03:48 AM Wow, very sad. My condolences go out to his family & friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Fuchs Posted November 12, 2008 at 10:36 PM Posted November 12, 2008 at 10:36 PM Terrible news that I only see now! And we all used the CSL that he created. Brett, have a good ride "home"! Cheers, Andreas Member of VATSIM GermanyMy real flying on InstagramMy Twitch streams of VATSIM flights and ATC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Riedel 837945 Posted November 13, 2008 at 07:25 AM Posted November 13, 2008 at 07:25 AM My Condolences to his family and his friends. My thoughts are with you. Marc Riedel vACC-SAG Director, Mentor & ATC Frankfurt FIR Manager VATEUD ATC-Academy, VATEUD/SAG Examiner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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