I have been having thought's!!

soggy · Post by **soggy** » 15 Jan 2007, 12:12

Next week i will be taking a week off work.What's this got to do with us you may ask?.Well i plan to alot of flying,Hopefully i should of completed my real time round the world flight in the VC10(after the disasterous african leg),During which i have got to grips with the Delco INS system for navigating the mighty 10.

Basically i want a new challenge,2 thoughts have crossed my mind during my lonely journey at FL350 across the oceans of the world.One is to get involved with online flying (VATSIM etc),meaning no more lonely flights.The other is to become a member of hovercontrol and learn how to fly a helicopter properly.

Which brings me to you,fellow members of CBFS,Do any of you have any experiance with the above organisations?,any reccomendations or help you could offer me?

Also a question for the management,If i decide to go down the chopper route,Have any of you given any thought to introducing Helicopters to the fleet?.I am thinking along the lines of the north sea rig flights/scilly isle/LHR-LGW shuttle,Although i belive these flights were operated by S61,Not excatly british equipment i admit.Are Helicopter operations possible within the flynet structure?.

Sorry for all the questions,But i have recaptured my love of flightsim after a brief affair with battlefield2,and quite fancy making it more realistic/challenging.

Cheers,
Pete

Paul K · Post by **Paul K** » 15 Jan 2007, 12:19

Soggy I'm a VATSIM member, but with working away from home ( and computer) a lot, I've never had the time to learn the ropes. It looks fascinating though, and it remains high on my 'to do' list. I'll be very interested in hearing how you get on, if you have a crack at it.

Post by **DaveB** » 15 Jan 2007, 12:29

Yo there Pete!!

The beauty of FlyNET is that you can fly it exactly how you see fit and this includes the use of VATSIM. I prefer the 'lonely' type of flight as it enables me to watch the box too but I know that Chris Trott flies most if not all of his routes with VATSIM so hopefully he'll be able to give you some tips. I know he's left our VA as GreenMountain as fired up again but he's still around

Re helicopters and the use of..
It has certainly been discussed though no conclusions were ever reached. Routes would be limited due to the nature of the beast but I am keen to see as many 'authentic' types of aircraft in use as is possible so there may well be room for rig supply runs should the right 'Classic British' helicopter be found

It would be nice to expand the list of routes but in reality, there weren't that many.

It's not 'in the bin' Pete by any means

ATB

DaveB :tab:

soggy · Post by **soggy** » 15 Jan 2007, 12:57

Thats the thing,no british heli's come to mind when i think of the routes i mentioned above,i belive most of them were operated using american equipment ie Caledonian BEA and Bristows all used the S61,I know British Airways operated the civilian version of the Chinhook for a short period in the red tail paint job.

So if the VA were to introduce heli ops it would mean a sacrifice of realism,ie operating smaller British choppers on the realistic routes.

OR

Using the actual American chopper which kind of goe's against the whole ethos of what CBFS is all about,not to mention opening a whole new can of worms

.

Catch 22 me thinks. :think:

Cheers,
Pete

soggy · Post by **soggy** » 15 Jan 2007, 13:06

Paul,

The main thing that has kept me away from vatsim is a lack of printer for all the charts etc needed for the sids and stars.If i do go down this road i will let you know how i get on.

I have always fancied having a go at the controlling side of vatsim,Having spent the best part of 4 years working in military air traffic.But they seem a bit like a closed shop over there,Besides i think it would be easier if it were just me being a problem as a pilot,rather than as a controller.

Best start searching for a cheap b/w printer.

Paul K · Post by **Paul K** » 15 Jan 2007, 13:40

soggy wrote:Paul,

The main thing that has kept me away from vatsim is a lack of printer for all the charts etc needed for the sids and stars.If i do go down this road i will let you know how i get on.

I have always fancied having a go at the controlling side of vatsim,Having spent the best part of 4 years working in military air traffic.But they seem a bit like a closed shop over there,Besides i think it would be easier if it were just me being a problem as a pilot,rather than as a controller.

Best start searching for a cheap b/w printer.

Printers are cheap as chips these days, Sog. I've got one which is also a flat-bed scanner and copier too, all for under a ton. Anyway, yes please do let us know how you get on with VATSIM if you pursue it.

DaveB wrote: I prefer the 'lonely' type of flight as it enables me to watch the box too

Chris Trott · Post by **Chris Trott** » 15 Jan 2007, 16:09

VATSIM is fun. Charts are a must, but usually one can get away without printing them as long as they have the relevant charts open on their screen and are able to look at them when needed.

VATSIM-UK has an *EXCELLENT* "new pilot" section. In my view, it's in the top 5 on all of VATSIM in the way of teaching people new to the network how to do both IFR flight planning and the actual flying with ATC.

One thing I definitely do not reccomend is starting your flights from a major airport like Heathrow or Gatwick. Things get hot-and-heavy there during peak and a pilot not comfortable with VATSIM can get in over his head very fast. Start from a smaller airport like East Mids, Brum, or Bristol, all of which usually have ATC in the evenings and on the weekends. These guys will be able to help you more and their SIDs and STARs are much simpler and will help you get used to using them.

Also, even with ATC online, as long as you can multitask, you can watch the box while flying. I do at least....

Let us know how it goes if you decide to join up with the online community. You'll never go back to the old way once you get used to it.

Post by **DaveB** » 15 Jan 2007, 16:14

CT.. I certainly hopy you've managed to recover your previous GM hours and have NOT flown that many hours or miles in the last couple of days!!

ATB

DaveB :tab:

Chris Trott · Post by **Chris Trott** » 15 Jan 2007, 18:00

Actually, your hours and miles are cumulative for you as a pilot, regardless of how they were gained, so that's my original GMC hours and miles (12 flights worth) and my CBFS hours and miles (50 or so flights worth) added together.

Post by **DaveB** » 15 Jan 2007, 18:02

Good stuff Chris. Glad you didn't have to start again from scratch

ATB

DaveB :tab: