October 2008
Editorial Vybhava Srinivasan IVAO Public Relations Director editor@ivao.aero
IVAO Virtual Sky October 2008 Dear Friends, Thank you very much for downloading the October 2008 edition of IVAO Virtual Sky. At the outset, I apologise to all our readers for not being able to release the third edition in July 2008 as promised. We had a major setback with our Assistant Editor not being available due to real life commitments. Therefore we had to redesign the entire magazine from scratch in terms of layout etc. But thanks to Marco Meerkerk, Public Relations Advisor who took up the challenge to re-create the magazine and make this edition a reality. And now the success story of IVAO Virtual Sky.... Our previous edition did very well with over 19,800 downloads. We received encouraging feedback from our readers. Honestly, this is what inspires the Public Relations team to continue work on the magazine. This edition includes a heart to heart interview with none other than the Managing Director of Aerosoft, snippets from Mike Singer (www.fsinsider.com) on Oshkosh Airshow and other useful and appealing articles. We are sure this edition will incite interest amongst the new flight simulation fans and kindle the curiosity of the old-timers. In our constant endeavour to improve the quality of this magazine, we will be publishing articles on the review of Latest Releases of Flight Simulation Add-ons, the original story of IVAO and many more... We have pleasure in announcing that the next issue of this very REAL magazine will be on it first birthday. So look forward to the next edition of IVAO Virtual Sky. As always we look forward to articles that our readers would like to contribute to future issues of this magazine. We hope your journey through this issue will be as fun-filled as ever. Regards,
Publisher: International Virtual Aviation Organisation Chief Editor: Vybhava Srinivasan Layout and Design: Marco Meerkerk Yigit Yildirim Website: www.ivao.aero/publrelat/ General Mail: editor@ivao.aero Cover Screenshot: Ricardo Andres Sarasty Vasquez (Winner October screenshot contest) Logo Design: Robert Gottwald Disclaimer: Any information, suggestions or illustrations published in this magazine are exclusively for use with computer flight simulation. All views expressed in this magazine are the views of the respective authors. The publisher does not accept any responsibility for those views. Copyright None of the informat ion in this magazine may be reproduced in any form without prior permission from the publisher.
Vybhava Srinivasan Chief Editor
October 2008
After transforming a spot of concrete in a hangar into our glitzy Flight Simulator X trade show booth, Hal Bryan, Mike Lambert, Steve Wilson, and I drove out to Fisk (the town the “Fisk VFR Arrival Procedure” is named for) and spent an hour or so watching the air traffic controllers there at work. (You can read more about this, and listen to an audio clip, on my blog at http:// informationmike.spaces.live.com.) There were a few other people watching the operations at Fisk, and we all started talking. When one guy heard how interested I was in the arrival procedure, he did what any pilot looking for an excuse to go flying would do: he offered to take me for a ride! Todd had flown the procedure once to get his plane on the ground at KOSH after a flight from the Chicago Back in late July, a bunch of us from the Flight Simulator area, so I figured he was at least mildly familiar with the team headed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the Experimen- arrival. I was very familiar with it on paper and in the tal Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture event. Billed sim. With his 800 hours in a variety of aircraft (including as “The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration,” AirVen- his fairly-recently purchased 1979 Piper Warrior), I deciture is really a whole bunch of events in one, sort of like ded I’d be in good hands. courses in a meal. This year, AirVenture was quite a feast for me. I flew to the show via commercial airline, but the About an hour later we were in the Warrior at Oshkosh, ready to go flying. Todd sat in the left seat, me in the day after I got there I was offered an unexpected thrill: right, and Steve Wilson in the back. Todd started the the opportunity to fly the famed “Fisk VFR Arrival.” engine, and soon a flight line volunteer arrived to direct us toward the runway. Flight operations at AirVenture For one week each year, Wittman Regional Airport are largely without radio communication from the (KOSH) has the highest concentration of aircraft in the world. About 10,000 aircraft make an aerial pilgrimage pilots, so I held a paper “VFR” sign in the window to let to Oshkosh. Most of them do so flying under Visual Flight everyone know we wanted to depart visually.
Flying the VFR Arrival to AirVenture 2008
Rules (VFR). Getting all these small aircraft safely on the ground is a challenge that boggles the mind, and the task is made simpler by requiring all VFR aircraft to follow the same arrival procedure, as published in a special AirVenture Notice to Airmen (NOTAM).
To make a REALLY long story short, let’s just say that taxing from the camping area on the southwest side of runway 9/27 to the departure area on the northeast side of runway 27 is a looooong journey. It involves being passed off from one Civil Air Patrol volunteer to another through a twisting course across the bumpy grass and through an obstacle course of cones. In retrospect, it seems like we spent as much time taxiing as we did flying. All of it is, of course, part of the Oshkosh experience, and there are plenty of airplanes to look at along the way, so no complaints. Eventually we got to the departure end of runway 27, monitored the tower on 121.75 as per the NOTAM, and Todd performed an engine run-up. After a few planes landed, a controller standing on the Mobile Operations/ Communication Workstation (MOOCOW) near the end of the runway cleared us to taxi into position and hold. When the planes ahead cleared the runway, she cleared us for takeoff. The VFR departure procedure from runway 27 requires you to fly a heading between 270 and 360 degrees at or below 1,300 feet MSL (above sea level) until clear of the tower’s Class D airspace (5 miles out).
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October 2008
The VFR arrival starts at Ripon, so we needed to be level at 1,800 feet and slowed to 90 knots by the time we got there. We had hoped to follow someone in, but with nobody in sight, over Ripon we found the railroad tracks and followed them northeast toward Fisk on our own. Then, just as I relaxed a bit with the sense that now we were “safe,” I glanced up and saw an airplane directly overhead. He was flying the higher, faster arrival (2,300 feet and 135 knots), but it was still a little disconcerting to miss him completely until he was right above us. It reminded me of learning to scuba dive, and losing sight of my dive buddy only to realize she was directly above me. The air, like the water, is three dimensional.
Todd climbed out, and I watched for traffic and kept an eye on our altitude and our distance from the airport. Once clear of the Class D, Todd handed the controls over to me. Flying from the right seat is always a little strange if you’re not used to it. Not only does it feel backwards in your hands (left hand on the throttle, right hand on the yoke), the “sight picture” is all wrong too. So I awkwardly turned us toward the north end of Rush Lake, climbed a bit, then leveled out. Straight and level ... that felt pretty easy. Our plan was to fly around the north end of Rush lake to the town of Ripon where the VFR arrival begins. It was a hazy afternoon, so all three of us had our heads on swivels, scanning for airplanes. There weren’t many out there, but when you’re headed for a point in the sky (over Ripon at 1,800 feet) that you know everyone flying VFR to Oshkosh is heading for, you need to be vigilant. Throughout the course of the flight all three of us spotted airplanes the others hadn’t seen. I really can’t imagine flying the arrival as a single pilot during peak flow without a whole lot of luck on my side, and that’s never a good thing for a pilot to wish for.
Approaching Fisk it became clear that even though we couldn’t see them, there were airplanes ahead of us. When the, “Low-wing half a mile south of Fisk” was asked to “rock your wings,” we wondered, “Is that us? I think that’s us....” An hour earlier I had seen and heard the whole operation from the ground, and I wondered at the time why the pilots all seemed so confused. Once I experienced the arrival from the air all became clear: it’s confusing! The most difficult part is knowing if the controller is talking to you or to another airplane that looks similar. If you can’t see the other plane it’s hard to know. It’s an easier task I suspect if you know exactly where you are (a GPS helps), if you listen carefully to everything the controller says, and if you paint a mental image of all the aircraft on the approach in front and behind you. Pilots need to do this when flying in any busy traffic pattern, but with 100 or more airplanes passing over Fisk every hour, the VFR arrival to Oshkosh is no ordinary pattern entry experience. Finally identified and over Fisk, Todd mentioned that we were the Microsoft guys, and the controllers seemed to enjoy knowing that. They told us to continue up the tracks, enter a right downwind for runway 27, and to monitor the tower. We changed frequencies and continued northeast. Soon the airport appeared, and we made our way onto the downwind leg just like it says to in the NOTAM.
We listened to the arrival ATIS on 118.75, and tuned in Fisk Approach on 120.7. I gave control of the airplane back to Todd, and after a clearing turn to get a good look at the sky all around us (which made me feel even more comfortable flying with him) we turned south toward Ripon, easily identifiable by a bulbous water tower that says (conveniently) “Ripon.” Pilots in the Midwest might not have easy landmarks like the mountains and coastlines we have out west, but these marked water towers in every town help to make up for it.
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October 2008
From there it was pretty simple. The controller told us to begin our descent and to follow the aircraft ahead turning base. Todd did a great job turning inside the shoreline, and we touched down just after the green dot halfway down the runway, just as the controller instructed us to. Once on the ground we exited to the left onto the grass. Todd cleaned up the airplane (flaps up, carburetor heat off), and I held up a sign that said “GAC” for “General Aviation Camping,” and Todd’s row number. A series of hard-working Civil Air Patrol volunteers guided us along the grass toward our row ... and then past it! It became clear that they thought we were just arriving at the show, and they were bringing us all the way around to the open spots on the north side of 9/27. We tried to argue with hand signals, but to no avail. Finally, somewhere around taxiway B1 I think, a guy got it. He laughed and gestured for us to hold while he figured out what to do with us. Meanwhile, the three of us had a little talk, and when the volunteer turned back to us, I held up the “VFR” sign: we were going flying again. He laughed and threw his hands up, and we continued toward the departure end of the runway. We rationalized it might be faster to just go through the arrival again than to taxi all the way back on the grass. Pilots will find any excuse to go flying….
As we tied down the plane I smiled. I wasn’t camping under the wing of my own plane at Oshkosh, I hadn’t flown all the way from Seattle, I hadn’t been pilot-in- command or sat in the left seat, but I did get to experience the arrival from the air. Twice. Given our taxiing adventures I had to wonder, does EAA encourage pilots to go flying once they’ve parked in a camping area? Todd said he had asked someone just that, and the answer was something to the effect of, “Definitely. Flying is what AirVenture is all about!” Flying, yes. And becoming fast friends with total strangers. When we climbed into his Warrior, Todd barely knew Steve and me. When we climbed out, we didn’t objectively know each other any better, yet something had changed. I saw it in his eyes. I saw it in Steve’s. I don’t expect that we’ll necessarily keep in touch, or ever go flying together again. But for those few hours on Sunday afternoon we shared an experience in the air, and it’s the memories of those experiences that lie behind each logbook entry a pilot makes, behind each tall tale told in the hangar for years to come.
Shared experiences are what AirVenture is all about, and many years from now I’ll recount the story of my first flight to Oshkosh ... from Oshkosh. So off we went, and did the thing all over again. Or maybe by that time I’ll have a plane of my own, This time it was even quieter, and though we hoped and I’ll bring it all full circle by giving some other to land on runway 36, for some reason they were plane-less pilot I cross paths with his or her own first only using 27. We flew around Rush Lake, down to experience of arriving by air. Ripon, and up the tracks to the airport. Climbing out of the airplane a while later I felt like “Want to go flying?” It’s hard to imagine sweeter I really had a good grasp of the arrival. The proce- words than those, especially at Oshkosh. dure itself is not complicated. What makes it difficult is all the traffic. It was weird to walk around the airport later that night and think about the fact that almost every GA plane there, and almost every pilot, flew that same arrival procedure over the past few days.
Mike Singer
Mike Singer is an Enthusiast Evangelist in the Aces Studio at Microsoft. To read more about his experiences at AirVenture 2008 (including his ride in a P-51 Mustang!), check out his blog at http://informationmike.spaces.live.com
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Try it Yourself! Getting there is half the fun! To experience the thrill of flying the Fisk VFR Arrival to Oshkosh yourself in Flight Simulator X, see: www.fsinsider.com/freeflight/Pages/ VirtualAirVenture.aspx
October 2008
A
Air Traffic Control
“Taxi holding point C runway 28” “Runway 06, cleared for take-off” Just two lines of ATC phraseology, as it is called. But two very different lines, each with a very different feeling and meaning. The first sounds like an “instruction”, a “command” and the second is like a “clearance”, a “permission”. What is the difference and how to understand that difference? Let’s shortly look at the IVAO ACADEMY (http://academy.ivao.aero/node/37) and we will see that an instruction is an action to be executed without delay… In other words, do it and do it now. A clearance is an authorisation that allows a pilot to do something… You are allowed to do it as it should be done, but take your time. Of course, that time is relative in the sense that you should not wait too long. Why otherwise would you ask to do something if thereafter you would not do it? Two more examples: “Descent to FL180” and “cleared FL180”. In the first example, you have to descent now. Don’t wait and do it. In the second one, you do it as convenient. Command against permission, order against approval. That’s the difference. Now interesting to shortly review another example: “start-up and push back approved”. In fact as such this is not an ATC issue. Therefore it is neither an instruction, nor a clearance. The pilot asks something and ATC approves it. Actually one may say that “push-back” is an approval to enter the area controlled by ATC. On an airport there is the part that is controlled by ATC, the taxi ways and the runways, and there is the part where the aircraft are parked at the gate. Those parkings are not controlled by ATC but by the airport authorities. Have you ever noticed at airports that the surface could be differently coloured or that there are these red lines? That’s to differentiate what is ATC and what is airport authority. Another point to mention in these examples. You don’t read or hear “you can”, you don’t read or hear “please”. Those words are not used by an air traffic controller. Why not? Is he not a friendly and polite person? Yes he is, but he is guiding you and he is telling you what you have to do, when you should do it and how to do it. That is in a fast, strict and impersonal way. There is no time for polite words like “please”. But there is more ...
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October 2008
T
The air traffic CONTROLLER is CONTROLLING. He has the situation in his hands and he is like a movie director turning the moment to the right picture. The controller keeps an eye on all the movements and all the actions. He is as to do and when. The controller gives the clearance, the permission and the controller gives the orders, like a general. He CONTROLS the whole scene. Therefore he cannot and will not be using those polite words and he will not be excessive in his speech. His speech is short, precise and commanding. Still he is and he will always help the pilot, if so needed. He provides a service. He is there to serve the pilots. Still he speaks in a strict and commanding way. But if you meet him afterwards in the virtual bar at the airport flying club, you will see that it is a nice man, like you and me. Now while we are on the subject of the air traffic CONTROL, let’s have a look at some more facts. Good communication. All the communication between the pilots and the controller is based on strict standard phraseology. All the conversation is in fact coded. For almost every situation there is a standard phrase. Only that standard phrase is correct and shall be used. There is a good reason for this. To allow the controller to have full control of the traffic situation, communication between the pilots and ATC has to be absolutely clear and precise. There are many combinations of figures or ciphers used, each of them grouped and with a different meaning and understanding. An understanding that has to be clear. An example: You maintain an altitude and you continue a heading. “Maintain two thousand five hundred feet” or “continue heading two five zero”. By doing this, you will know when you hear “maintain” it has to be altitude, if you hear “continue” than it should be a heading. Always use the right word with the group of ciphers or figures to identify them. Speed is 250 knots, altitude is 2000 feet or flightlevel 200, heading 230. And please, speak at a normal not too fast speed, please. I quite often hear controllers trying to speak that fast, that they almost break there own tongue and… the ears of the pilot. Why? It does not say anything on the quality of the controller, if he can speak fast. In fact it is bad. Because in many cases the pilot does not immediately understand everything at the same time and he will ask: “Say again”. Thus you have to repeat it, which means you loose more time because you have to say it twice. Talking about groups or fixed combinations of information, with clearance delivery comes the squawk, with start-up comes the QNH, with take-off clearance comes the wind, the first time you clear to an altitude (=in feet) you give the QNH, etc. Always standard combinations. OK, did I mention QNH? Where does this Q-code comes from? It is very old and it comes from the time communication was not by voice, but by radio-telegraphy with the help of morse codes. To keep the messages short and clear (already then!), the so-called Q-codes were invented. Still nowadays we use many of them, quite often without realising where they did come from. QNH and QFE for the altimeter settings, QDM and QDR for a bearing and QAM for the Metar. That’s it for this time. If you have questions or suggestions, drop me a mail. For now, enjoy the virtual IVAO skies.
ier der Fl n a v ) ATCO Bob (P vao.aero @i acam
http://academy.ivao.aero
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October 2008
IVAO EXCLUSIVE
Interview with Winfried Diekmann Managing director, Aerosoft GmbH by Vybhava Srinivasan The Aerosoft GmbH(Ltd) was founded in 1991 at Paderborn/ Lippstadt Airport, Germany. In the early years the main area above all was the development of training software and software for the examination preparation for pilots as well as professional procedure training. As early as 1992 the first additional software (Add-on ) for the then Microsoft Simulator 4.0 was introduced. In the 1990`s the focus turned to the development and publishing of high-end addons for the Microsoft Flight Simulator. Today, we had the privilege to meet the man in-charge of this reputed organization. He is none other than Winfried Diekmann, the managing director of Aerosoft. In 1991 he founded Aerosoft with his classmates Bernward Suermann and Ralf Hartmann. From 1995 to 1999 he was the finance director of Aerosoft. From 2000 till date he is the managing director. He is an ‘MBA’ diploma and has also worked in a bank.
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He is not a real world pilot, the into a separate company. At this technical aspect in Aerosoft is mo- time Aerosoft started to become nitored by Günter Zehnel, a real a ‘Simulation-Company’. world helicopter and PPL-A pilot. Because of a good reputation as Outside Aerosoft he likes hiking, a publisher we attracted more skiing, motorcycles, inline skates and more developers to join our and music. He also plays piano for team, like sim-wings, Burkhard Renk (MyTraffic), Digital Aviation more than 30 years. (Eurowings, Cheyenne..), Dave PFE), Fly-Tampa, Aerosoft is now a well known March(FDC, brand in the flight simulation PMDG. community. Can you please share with us, how this dream story In 2002 we were asked by Microsoft to develop add-ons for the began? new Train Simulator. So we starThat’s a very long story. In 1991 ted a new product range with Aerosoft started with professional products like “High Speed trains”, training software and a few local “London-Brighton-Express”,” Bersceneries for FS4. In 1993 a first lin Subway” and with the first TS hardware ‘ACP - Aircraft Control hardware “Raildriver-Cab ControlPanel’ was developed and produ- ler”. Since 2002 Aerosoft became ced. During the1990’s we always more and more an international had a professional department company, selling products all over and a ‘hobby’ department, mainly Europe and in USA. In 2004 we working with freelance developers. founded a new department for Many of our present developers concept and development, maare now working for more than naged by Mathijs Kok. Within the 10 years with us, like “German Air- last years, Aerosoft is known as a ports-Team”, Jan Bleiß (Berlin Sce- developer and publisher of high nery, TS1), Sascha Felix & Volker quality add-ons. Since 2007 AeHeine (FS Commander) In 2000 rosoft is also working for Airlines, Bernward Suermann moved with aircraft manufacturers and professional simulation companies with the professional department
October 2008
IVAO EXCLUSIVE Winfried Diekmann
its ‘AVIATECH’ department, managed by Gunter Zehnel. At present 25 people are working in the Aerosoft headquarter and more than 30 developers and teams all over the world. Aerosoft is also publishing Flight1, WILCO, Pilot’s and Mailsoft in many countries. Most of us purchase the add-ons and enjoy them; we may really not know what efforts go into the add-on. Can you throw some light on the efforts that actually go into making a quality product? Mega Airport Frankfurt X. One of an arsenal of wonderful sceneries, Very large question! made by Aerosoft. With FSX the development of a high end add-on is really long and difI expect that many users will move to FSX within the ficult work. A scenery like LondonHeathrow or Frankfurt needs more than one year in next months to enjoy the new features and the new full-time work. High end aircraft development are just graphic. Sales data support that and products that are as difficult but also include a lot of programming, in- FSX really sell as well as FS2004 products did before. sight in software system, access to sound recordings How has FSX changed the rules of the game? etc. All in all, development of FSX addons is nearly completely a professional affair while it was for previous The problems at the beginning (SP1, Vista, SP2) have made the whole market uncertain, and all the FS comversions also accessible for hobby developers. panies had to decide between FS9 and FSX, which was Piracy! this is a big villain for most of the software not running at that time. But there are no new rules. A industry. What are your thoughts on how Compa- new flight sim will always bring more or less problems nies like yours need to protect the product and pro- at the beginning.
fitability from this villain?
How active are you in developing add-ons for XThe main thing about Piracy is that most of the peo- Plane, etc. ple don’t see it as an offense and the legal options for us are limited. Yet as many pirates can testify, we At present we don’t have add-ons for X-Plane on our DO hunt them (some of the staff see that as a hobby) schedule. It’s difficult to develop a high-end add-on and we make them pay. They get the option to either for a simulator which gets an updated version every buy a bunch of products or let us publish the details two weeks. But at present we are talking with some we found. Though pirates often shout really loud, no- companies and developers seriously about doing some things for X-Plane. But truth to be said, we need body has chosen the latter option. a very large stable market. We are not active for any But I think it’s not fair to punish customers who are other commercial flight simulator.
paying for the products with highly complicate copy protections. We try to protect our products with nice From your perspective, where do you see the next printed manuals and charts and a good online service big change coming in the flight simulation? and update-service only for registered customers. With FSX the flight sim has got a new state of the art Is it time to say goodbye to FS9 add-ons or is there ‘game’ engine. I don’t expect major changes before FS12. But FS11 will be a very strong simulator with more life left in them? the FSX graphics, some improvements and a few new FS9 is running very well on today’s computers and FSX features. The major challenge will without doubt be was really difficult in the last two year. But at present creating products that make use of the new FSX feawe have computers available that can run FSX well. tures so customers move with us. FS2004 products More and more new add-ons will be only compatible that work in FSX just is not doing that, we need prowith FSX, because a FS9-version would double the de- gress. So we are grateful that FSX removes so much of the limits we faced in FS2004. velopment work.
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October 2008
IVAO EXCLUSIVE Winfried Diekmann
Are you also a flight simulation enthusiast?
Which is your favorite scenery and airplane add-on?
To be honest, not really. I like to fly on trade shows in the Alps with nice GA aircraft, like the Beaver or the Katana for sight-seeing, but I am not very interested in flying an airliner.
Austria professional or Helgoland with the DHC-2 Beaver.
Aerosoft has always been giving the community some amazing add-ons, what next do we expect? The next outstanding aircraft addons will be the F-16 and the Catalina. Certainly the F-16 is special as it shows what FSX can do in modeling, it is at least 6 times as complex as a FS2004 aircraft could ever be. In scenery we are mostly working on moving products from FS2004 to FSX at this moment and also covering France, Spain and Portugal better. These are important new markets for us.
What is your view on online flight simulation community? I tell everybody that the online community inside the virtual air traffic organizations are the best pilot and flight-controller training you can get. I believe it will be one of the most important aspects to keep flight simulator alive for simmers who are looking for a more interactive experience and for simmers who want to progress to next level of skills. What is your view on the partnership between IVAO and Aerosoft? How has the experience been so far?
I am very happy with our partnership. It is a pleasure to work with the whole team of IVAO and to see the big interest in onlineflying all over the world. We are happy to help to cover the costs behind this big amount of work (free of charge) for the community. As said, this is important for us as it strengthens the market. In a way we do not sponsor IVAO but the hobby this way. Hope you have had a chance to glance through the IVAO virtual sky. What are your thoughts on this magazine? It is a really good looking and very informative online-magazine which helps flight sim enthusiasts with information of all parts of pcflight simulation and views behind the curtain.
aeroSOFT
TM
Mega Airport Heathrow X
Mega Airport Budapest X
Mega Airport Brussels X
For more information about FS2004 and FSX add-ons, surf to http://www.aerosoft.com. For more information about the partnership between IVAO and Aerosoft, click to our forums, http://forum.ivao.aero/index.php/topic,68571.0.html.
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October 2008
This time on 'Tribune': - Long Haul addicts propose themselfs; - FS LAN-Party France report by Alexandre Balaguer.
Long Haul Addicts Dear Ivao members, as you might already have noticed, the Longhaul Addicts are back alive. If you don’t know us, here is a little presentation about ourselves.
So, now there were around 10-15 people, who joined the flights, the group organized before. They travelled from Brussels to New York and then around the world. In the end of the first chapter of the Long Haul Addicts, the interests were so low, that Mo and Matt decided to close down the LHA for an unknown time. That’s over now !
How it began Everything started with a little group of crazy Long Haulers, they wanted to become more structured, so Ugo Cabrol and Mohammed Toumi opened a Forum, where they could meet, and talk about the next flights. Their small community grew slowly, but steadily. When I decided to join the LHA ( Longhaul Addicts, that’s how they called themselves – previously Long Haul Freaks (LHF), they already had around 25-30 active members. So, than Matt Stansfield took over the command from Ugo, who decided to take a little time off, from jetting around the world.
With new wakes interests of a Longhaul Community, Sam Bogaerts decided to bring this wonderful group back to life. Of course, Mo and Matt were informed directly, and support the resurrection of the Long Haul Addicts, now know as Long Haulers. Sam, Mo and Matt started building a Website, and opened a Forum where we should be able to talk with each other again. You can find us at www. forum.longhaulers.org . Feel free to register!
What we (Longhaulers) provide: - A friendly environment for Long Haul Pilots on the IVAO network. - A Website with important information about Aircrafts, Airports, Weather and flights. - A Forum to communicate with other Long Haulers. - A Support Team, which will answer your questions kindly asap. - A special members section, where you can find customized downloads for your favourite Aircraft. - Share and enjoy pictures and movies of your flight with others.
So, there we are! Are you ready for takeoff? If yes, feel free to register with us at: www.longhaulers.org or www. forum.longhaulers.org
Mathias Dratsdrummer
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October 2008
FS LAN-Party France
by Alexandre Balaguer
The French Lan Party is an annual event actively participated by flight simulation enthusiast from all over Europe. This year was the 4th edition of the French Lan party, held in Bondoufle (near Orly Airport). From the inception, the event is being spearheaded by a team consisting of Romain Pras, Sébastien Milliot and Sébastien Boutry and of course the IVAO French staff . In the Lan party, the pilots and air traffic controller are all connected to a LAN and fly or control traffic in a particular region of the world. In 2008, the French Lan Party was held on May 17. The party witnessed around 100 enthusiastic participants who came in from France, Belgium, Netherlands and other surrounding areas of Europe. This event also witnessed the participation of some senior staff members of IVAO, such as Alain (President IVAO, BOG member) , Sébastien (DIR of IVAO, BOG Member), Kenny (BOG Member) , Filip (BOG member), Bob (NPO and Training Department member), Julien (Logistic Department member, Alex (NPO and former Public Relations Department member), Jean Luc Courtois, (NPO and Training Department member ), Pierre Chemarin (Training Assistant Director) etc. The region selected for this year’s party was South Eastern Europe consisting of Italy, Serbia, Croatia and Greece. Party was declared open around 8am local time. It was a party time from the word ‘Go’. During the entire day pilots enjoyed full ATC coverage. There were various kinds of flights undertaken, VFR, IFR, special operation, etc. It was an amazing experience for all the participants. The organisers kept the Pizza’s, Sandwiches, beer, etc flowing, which kept the participants glued to their computer screens throughout the day. During the afternoon the Special Edition of IVAO’s Virtual Sky - French Version was launched and made available to the participants. During the afternoon, number of visitors walked in to understand the exciting world of flight simulation. A few inquisitive questions about aviation, air traffic control, etc., was posted to the participants, which our they were excited to share In the evening, a raffle was organised, where tons of gifts was given away to the participants, such as 3 - 22” Monitors, 15 - Aerosoft Titles, 20 - Micro-Sim Magazine subscriptions, etc., After an already exciting day it was time for the grand dinner where all the participants had an opportunity to interact with each other. After all the community is not only about flying but also making good friends. Now it was time for the grand final fly-inn. All the pilots flew to Roma Fuimicino. It was an amazing experience, which can be best described in short as “Crowded sky!” Pilots had their TCAS buzzing and had the air traffic controllers on edge of their seats. It was a perfect finish to the long exciting day. It was now time for all participants to pack up, awaiting for the next year’s LAN party.
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October 2008
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October 2008
Every issue in this section we will hunt down the hottest downloads available in the flight simulation community. We also take this opportunityto salute these freeware developers, who devote their time and efforts in creating some awesome add-ons, available to us for FREE.
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vasa
i Srin a v a Vybh
Tegucigalpa Intl. v2 FS2004 Scenery Filenames: fly-tegucigalpa_v2.zip Authors: Henry Carcamo Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Sam Bogaerts This is the scenery of Tegucigalpa International airport at Honduras. It has quality textures combined with detailed buildings and a correct AFCAD. This 32mb pack will give you a reason to fly to Central-America.
Algiers Real Scenery FS2004 Scenery Filenames: DAAGRealScenery.rar and DAAGAlgiersCity.rar Authors: Riad Ghenim Source: http://riadg.free.fr/ Contributed by: Kenz The most accurate free scenery of the biggest airport in Algeria with realistic ground surface, photoreal textures, including the new terminal, moving jetways and docking system, also available Algiers City phototerrain scenery with autogen.
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UK2000 Scenery FS2004 Scenery/FSX Scenery Filenames: Various Authors: Gary Summons & UK2000 Team Source: http://uk2000scenery.com/free Contributed by: Aidan Disney UK2000 Scenery for Stansted, Gatwick and Edinburgh, including: AFCAD taxiways and aprons, Dozens of Objects, Detailed airport buildings, Some Moving FSX Jetways and FSX version is 100% Pure FSX Coding, and fast frame rates.
Rome Fiumicino Airport (LIRF) FS2004 Scenery Filenames: isdproject-lirf2005.zip and lirf_stands2007.zip Authors: ISD (ITALIAN SCENERY DESIGN GROUP) Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Steffen Klein Scenery of Rome Fiumicino Airport by ITALIAN SCENERY DESIGN GROUP.
Cessna 150 FS2004 Scenery Filenames: Cessna_150_L_100P_FRA.zip Authors: François-Denis Guidée and Yves Franckart Source: http://www.fs-tutorials.com/en/down_plane_C150_01.php Contributed by: Steffen Klein An incredible freeware-paerl. It has everything you normally have to pay for: fantastic model, liveries, incredible virtual cockpit, a lot of gimicks, sounds, etc.
Birmingham International Airport, UK (EGBB) FS2004 Scenery/FSX Scenery Filenames: Filenames: various (see website) Authors: Phil Reynolds Source: http://www.egbbscenery.co.uk Contributed by: Phil Reynolds An accurate scenery for EGBB including an accurate ground layout of runways and taxiways, bespoke taxiway and apron markings/lighting, custom buildings made with GMax, custom built taxiway signs, night lighting, plus more. Designed to be frame rate friendly, striking a balance between detail and performance.
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October 2008
Super Flight Planner 4 FS2004/FSX Utilities Filenames: sfp404.zip Authors: Alessandro Antonini Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan This is a very advanced Flight Planner featuring Moving Map (drawn using either vector layers or a bitmapped texture, zoom-in, zoom-out, zoom-window, pan, rotation and globe projections), DP-STAR and Airways support plus a lot of import/ export options (can import and export from a lot of 3rd party tools such as Radar Contact, MS-GPS and supports data formats such as XML and CSV). May create simple Flight Plans using a Wizard or more advanced manual Plans.
Suvarnabhumi International Airport FS2004 Scenery Filenames: vtbs2006.zip Authors: siamavsim Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan A wonderful scenery of Thailand’s largest airport. Also stay tuned as the authors are now in the process of designing the 2008 version of scenery and more news is expected shortly.
Bristol Beaufighter FSX Aircrafts Filenames: beaufsx.zip Authors: Dave Garwood, CBFSim Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan Bristol Beaufighter Mk.VIc, Mk.VIf and Mk.X. Native FSX SP2 aircraft. 9 paint schemes included VC only. Smooth modeled gauges. Droppable torpedo and rocket projectiles included for mission or edited save flight use
Socata TB10 Tobago GT FSX Aircrafts Filenames: tb10tobx.zip Authors: Premier Aircraft Design Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan 4/5 seat touring and training airplane. Full package for FSX includes Custom panel and VC. Full moving parts including gull wing doors and luggage compartment.
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October 2008
Eurocopter EC155 Full Pack FSX Aircrafts Filenames: eurocopter_ec155_full_pack.zip Authors: Sergio Kauffman Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan In this full pack, you’ll find 14 New repaints and 2 enhanced textures from original work by Brian Whitelegg. Includes a fully workable photorealistic 2D panel and VC, gauges and a New sound system from real sounds. This model, now shows the glasses with a smoked effect.
Handley-Page Halifax FS2004 Aircrafts Filenames: halifax.zip Authors: Alphasim Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan To celebrate AlphaSim’s 9th birthday Alphasim released their classic titles for free. Panel and gauges included. Uses default sounds. Six texture sets; military and civilian.
C-130 Hercules Set 2 FS2004 Aircrafts Filenames: c-130_pack_2.zip Authors: Alphasim Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan To celebrate AlphaSim’s 9th birthday Alphasim released their classic titles for free. Panel and gauges included.
Beijing Capital Airport FS2004 Scenery Filenames: zbaa2008.zip Authors: Aaron Seymour Source: http://www.flightsim.com Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan Beijing Capital Airport (ZBAA/PEK) v1.0. In preparation for this year’s Summer Olympics, Beijing Capital Int’l Airport has built both a huge new terminal and additional runway in anticipation of much needed extra capacity. These scenery includes many of the latest features to this growing airport.
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Manila FS2004 Scenery/FSX Scenery Filenames: manila08.zip Authors: Nestor D’Angelo Source: http://www.flightsim.com Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan City Of Manila, Philippines. Includes lots of city landmarks. By Nestor D’Angelo
Zurich Airport FS2004 Scenery Filenames: freezv06.zip Authors: Remo Eugster and Marc Laderach Source: http://www.flightsim.com Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan FreeZ - Zurich Airport (LSZH), Switzerland, v0.6. Features complete new lighting, many new buildings, adjustments to the real airport, AES support.
Airbus A380 FSX Aircrafts Filenames: i380.zip Authors: Antonio Fernandes Source: http://www.flightsim.com Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan An A380 with textures of average quality, aids (PFD, AP, etc.) and a useful LandPanel.
Cessna T-50 FS2004 Aircrafts Filenames: t-50_bobcat.zip Authors: Alphasim Source: http://www.avsim.com/ Contributed by: Vybhava Srinivasan To celebrate AlphaSim’s 9th birthday Alphasim released their classic titles for free. Panel and gauges included. Uses default sounds. Wheeled and float plane versions included.
If you have download tips for the ‘Freeware zone’, feel free to contact the Public Relations staff anytime or report your find on the IVAO forum. Page 19
October 2008
With a total of over 8000 registered members and more than 2400 of them being active, IVAO-ES is IVAO’s Nbr. 2 division in active members and IVAO’s Nbr.1 division in Online Time per division. The ES division was the first to archive 1.000.000 Online Hours in our network (2006), now we are moving to the 2.000.000 hours mark. (1.638.000hrs 01/07/08).
About our Tours
About our Events
We offer a variety of nice tours around Spain:
The division offers nearly every week an event, which attract a large number of members from all over the world and these events are fully staffed with ATC’s normally.
- 2 IFR tours (1 for jet A/C & 1 for Turboprop A/C) - 1 VFR Tour - 1 SO Tour - 1 Helicopter Tour - 1 ULM Tour - 1 Pilot skills Tour - 1 Historic Tour - 1 Pilots Events Tour - 1 ATC Events Tour
The ES division hosts several Real Life Meetings every year like: Granadilla (Tenerife), El Berriel (Gran Canaria), Campus Party (Valencia), Aire06 (Murcia) etc.. (more info to be found at: http://www.ivao.es/rrpp/indexen.htm)
All these Tours are revised annually. Some statistics about the Tours in 2007 & 2008: In 2007 we have validated a total of 42,303 legs . The IFR 2007 Tour with 16,411 legs was the most flow Tour. In 2008 (until 06/10/08) we have validated a total of 32.141 legs with 13.873 legs of the IFR 2008 being the most flow Tour. (ES holds position 1, 2 & 5 in the MODA TOP 10 Tours).
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Training For our division members, we offer variety of training possibilities:
- Individual practical training’s for pilots and controllers - Group training sessions for either IFR procedures, VFR procedures - Individual or Group training’s for our ATC’s (GND/TWR/APP/CTR) - Monthly ‘newbie day’, which is an opportunity for new members to ask our division staff anything they want to know on a dedicated Teamspeak channel. (In progress of implementation again) - Additionally, a lot of information is available for self-study on our training websites.
Our Staff In our Staff we have a variety of persons, some are Real ATC or Pilots and others are dedicated well trained members of our Virtual Aviation Community. We have a very stable Staff Chart, f.e. the leader of the team Joan Freixas ES-DIR has been in his position since 2002. (For a full list of Spain staffmembers: http://www.ivao.aero/staff/division.asp?Id=ES) The ES Members have always been very encouraged with IVAO some of them are founders of our network like Gustavo Hernandez who became IVAO-PRE after passing a lot of Staff positions.
We would like to take the opportunity to thank all our division members and all the IVAO members that support us in our Tours, Events, ATC Exams, etc... and hope to see you all flying in the SUNNY and FRIENDLY skies of our division.
All necessary information can be found on our division websites (http://es.ivao.aero/)
Any doubts or questions just ask any of our Staffmembers when you see them online.
Regards from the sunny ES Division. Joan Freixas ES-DIR & Ralph Henschen, ES-ADIR
The IVAO Desktop Calendar is back! Every month IVAO members can submit a screenshot to the Desktop Calendar system. One submission that fits the months theme is picked as the ‘screenshot of the month’ and will be eligible for the title of ‘the best screenshot of the year. More Information: http://ivao.aero/publrelat/
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October 2008
Senegalese division has 3 years ! With 115 members, the young senegalese division has nothing to envy greater divisions. All months, several events imagined by the event staff or created in the frame of current real events of Senegal (for example, African Cup on Nations of football), are organised in order to make known the sumptuous african landscapes to all the IVAO community. The Senegalese division is also a VFR tour with fantastic views, like postcard, and an IFR tour. The division has initiated also the first african tour of french speaking areas. Recently, a Special Operation Tour with the topic of STOL operations (landing and take-off from short and difficult runways) is available. You understood it, take your handles! The Senegalese division members could now, for a few months, follow basic flight trainings and ATC. The training staff, motivated and dynamic is fully available to help and give a lift at the “difficults� first hours in IVAO network, They also participated to the various pilot and ATC exams and to their evaluations with with values and an exemplary rigour.
As you understand, a desire of sun, splendid landscapes, flights abroad, the whole in an accessible and real friendship environment with qualified ATC, you could find all these in Senegalese division. Do not hesitate to come and discover this western part of Africa on Friday, at online day, all the staff and the division members will welcome you.
Do you have any question? * For general questions mail Samer Bahsoon (SN-DIR) or Eddy Carpreau (SN-ADIR), SN-HQ@ivao.aero. * For event questions contact Julien Jeuniaux, sn-ec@ivao.aero. * For Training and members assistance contact Lamine Badji, sn-tc@ivao.aero or Julien Jeuniaux, sn-tac@ivao.aero.
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Every Friday from 19:00z, Senegal has his on-line day! Come and join the beautiful scenery!
For Senegalese Division Julien Jeuniaux (SN-MC)
October 2008
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October 2008