Last Saturday March 17, our Flight Sim group from the Province of New Brunswick, Canada arranged for a presentation by a senior (Real world) Traffic Controller, at Moncton ACC, but also a past President of VATCAN. He is Ken Greenwood. We had 27 attendee's for the presentation and the follow up tour of the ACC.
Our website is under construction at present, but we are @ nbfs.ca, you may also find us through can/uk scenery.
Ken started his overview (3 hours just flew by) with a review of VATSIM, ATC interaction and responsibilities, Flight Planning capabilities and utilities, sample VFR and iFR flights (most emphasis on IFR), a full review of "Flight information Publications",generally known as "Flips", to ensure a full understanding of SIDS & STARS.
Ken emphasized the need for all Simmers to go to the VATSIM Learning Centre and review the necessary items there. He then
reviewed the various levels of ATC i.e. Delivery, Ground, Tower,Approach/Departure and Centre Control, with a full explanation of each.
The main point stressed for IFR Flights in particular was the "Remarks" column in our Flight Plans that we submit to the Server. Such as: If you only have Standard Nav, place a /S in the remarks, if you have Active Sky6, place a further /AS6,
if you have Area nav use an /R, if you have a GPS, use /G for Voice, use /V if you use an FMS, use a /F (ATC will assume the "F" will have all routings along with all STARS). For RVSM, use /W--ATC will assume the "W" is an indication of full Nav performance and advanced capability, including FMS. Generally, make sure ATC understand your and your aircraft capabilities.
We were taken from a IFR start-up to shut-down in the overall presentation which I now have a copy of (Winrar about 12Mb)
There is so much more we gleaned from the information provided, but like most presentations, you had to be there. There were numerous questions and responses throughout
our time with Ken and at the ACC and everyone learned a considerable amount of information. Of note, was when we toured the ACC and listened in at the various ATC work stations., the controllers were advised our group were Flight Simmers and it was great, in that we talked freely with each controller (between their duties) and it was a very positive experience.
Should you ever have the opportunity to get a presentation by an active Air Traffic Controller and especially tour a Traffic ACC, by all means take the time to enjoy the experience.
Sorry for this condensed version, my Hub Manager LSZH Dom, suggested that I should put a "piece" on our forum, so here it is!
I guess the salient point here as a further reminder, is TELL the ATC in your FP, what capability you yourself have as a Pilot and then give them the Aircraft capabilities. Thank You.
Dan
EHM-1597
