- Tue Sep 10, 2019 3:10 pm #535613 How tolerant are european controllers with U.S. based pilots that aren't experienced with the differences in europe ATC? I've looked at some guides online, but don't relish being denigrated for making a small mistake like calling a "stand" a "gate."

What would be a good country/route to get started with, and ease the transition?

[Norman Blackburn 870575]

- Tue Sep 10, 2019 3:35 pm #535615 I would suggest either Scandinavia, Netherlands or Germany. All great places with very tolerant ATC. That said, you should still enjoy your time no matter where in Europe you travelled.

Norman
VATSIM VP, Conflict Resolution

- Tue Sep 10, 2019 4:08 pm #535616 Honestly, any. Just like real life it's awesome on Vatsim when you get an authentic sounding pilot, i.e. Aer Lingus has an Irish accent, BA with British, Lufthansa with German, etc. And like real life the pilots will say things differently. Just listen to JFK for instance on LiveAtc.net . Don't stress it.

And the minor rules... ATC will just nudge you.

For example this is real life I'm from Vancouver Canada and fly to Seattle very regularly in the US. Well in Canada control zones/floors, etc have a shelf for instance Class B Seattle above 3000'. Well in Canada I can fly at 3000' and no issues, however in the US I was politely told to be BELOW 3000'. "Roger that"

- Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:33 pm #535621 I'm looking at doing a flight from ENGM to ESSA. Seems reasonably straight forward, and not too long.

Sound like a good jumping off point?

[Norman Blackburn 870575]

- Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:36 pm #535622 Two great places.

Norman
VATSIM VP, Conflict Resolution

- Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:24 pm #535626 Thanks. Will fly it offline first to try it out, then give it a run on the network.

- Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:27 am #535634 Hi Tim,

You are always welcome in the Amsterdam FIR. We usually book and display our control 'slots' on http://www.dutchvacc.nl.

In the end, the differences between the US and proper way of doing things ( ) are quite small. No need to worry about stands or gates. Over here you don't need to file a SID or STAR, but if you do: no problem. Contact GND prior to any movement on the ramp. Some small RT differences.

Next Friday, we will be (almost) fully staffed. On Saturday, I will be on ACC .

Enjoy Europe!

Martijn

Last edited by Martijn Rammeloo 1302622 on Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:45 am, edited 2 times in total.

- Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:26 am #535635 Just don't be away for 30 minutes until the end of the sector.

Cheers, Andreas
Member of VATSIM Germany
Follow me at my real world flying job

[Norman Blackburn 870575]

- Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:41 am #535637

Just don't be away for 30 minutes until the end of the sector.

Norman
VATSIM VP, Conflict Resolution

- Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:44 am #535638

Just don't be away for 30 minutes until the end of the sector.

- Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:19 am #535753

How tolerant are european controllers with U.S. based pilots that aren't experienced with the differences in europe ATC? I've looked at some guides online, but don't relish being denigrated for making a small mistake like calling a "stand" a "gate."

I've personally never had any issues with doing so, and I've flown a lot of places from London to Amsterdam to Prague and even Vienna.

Captain Kevin

- Mon Sep 16, 2019 5:43 am #535759

How tolerant are european controllers with U.S. based pilots that aren't experienced with the differences in europe ATC? I've looked at some guides online, but don't relish being denigrated for making a small mistake like calling a "stand" a "gate."

You'll be more than welcome in European airspace. Naturally there are differencies, but we are all here to help each other learning new procedures, when we meet them.
Some of the challenges you might find is, that SIDs/STARs are ussually (but not always!) given by the controller, not filed by the pilot and there is a much stricter route structure to comply with than in the US (in my experience). Finding a correct routing can for some destinations be really challenging (even in Free Route Airspace), if you want to check it with Eurocontrol. The many individual states in Europe have their own little differencies, but in our enviroment it is usually easy to overcome.
If you have questions feel free to ask.

Torben Andersen,

Torben Andersen, VACC-SCA Controller (C1)

- Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:27 am #535781 Don't be afraid of being wrong, as long as you are humble enough to learn you'll not look stupid.
Controllers aren't there to wrap your knuckles should you get something wrong, more to help you conduct a safe ( and fun, virtual) flight

- Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:37 pm #535783 If planning to fly in an unfamiliar area in the near future you can connect at a gate (or stand ) taking care to stay out of the way, and tune the comms and spend some time listening to how the locals do it. It won't answer all questions regarding procedures but will definitely help.