UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 1 -

Document Objectives / Requirements

Thank you for choosing to get started on VATSIM with Fly UK Virtual Airways. This Training Academy

document outlines the syllabus taught for the VATSIM – Getting Started (P1 Rating) Course and is highly

recommended reading for pilots who wish to become good VATSIM pilots or those who want the P1 Rating on

VATSIM.

Practical Training Session Available

Please note the Fly UK Training Academy also offer a practical one2one online training session on this subject.

UKV-TRS – VATSIM – Software Setup

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/index.php?page=new_training_acad&act=book&id=17

UKV-TRS – VATSIM – Getting Started – P1 Rating

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/index.php?page=new_training_acad&act=book&id=59

Contents

This document contains:

Downloading and Installing Software

Flight Plans

Weather

Facility Websites

Connecting to the Network

Maps and Charts

Phraseology

Navigation

VATSIM Basics and Citizenship

Communications

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 2 -

Downloading and Installing Software

The first thing you need to fly on VATSIM is a flight simulator. The approved flight simulators used at Fly UK are

FSX and FS2004 (or FS9). Please make sure you have purchased and installed the simulator and are reasonably

proficient in flying before attempting this course.

In addition to the flight simulator, you will require a pilot client to connect to the VATSIM network. The official

VATSIM clients are “Squawkbox” and “FSInn”. Both are equally approved on the network and have their

advantages and disadvantages:

Squawkbox

Advantages Easy to install Easy to use Takes up less room on screen Is the more established pilot client (in terms of usage numbers)

Disadvantages May have installation problems on FSX, Windows Vista and Windows 7 (not fully compatible but it does

work) Not many advanced features Can crash easily

FSInn

Advantages Loads more features – automatic pushback, weather information etc... Greater training support at Fly UK Less likely to crash if installed properly

Disadvantages Harder to install (note the Fly UK Training Academy will assist you in installation) More complicated to use

As noted above, the Training Academy will assist you in installation of FSInn and it is highly recommended that

you take advantage of this to avoid problems in the future. There is a course available called “FSInn Specifics”

where the instructor will take you step-by-step through the process of installation.

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 3 -

Finding Air Traffic Control (ATC)

There are many ways of finding out who’s online, both ATC and pilots, but the preferred choice at Fly UK is the

program “Vroute”. You can get it from the link below:

http://www.vroute.net/

The free version is perfectly fine for use but if you want the extra features then go for the premium. Updates

are done by the Vroute server so there should be no need to ever update the program itself. Upon startup you

should receive an invitation to join the Fly UK Community. Approve it and you will be added to the community

of pilots that fly with our VA. When other pilots are flying, you will see them in the friends list. Clicking on the

large “Online” button takes you to a comprehensive list of online pilots and air traffic controllers. This is where

Vroute becomes mighty useful, so use it often to help you find out where online activity is at the time. In the

large “Route” button, you can search for routes. It is recommended you use official Fly UK company routes,

however, by typing in your departure and destination, a route should show up that is very similar or exactly the

same as the Fly UK route. The advantage is that you can check if ATC is scheduled, what the weather will be like

and other important information.

If you don’t want to use Vroute, then there are other places to get online information, such as:

VATSIM Statistics Centre - http://stats.vatsim.net/who.html ServInfo - http://www.avsim.com/hangar/utils/servinfo/

INTENTIONALLY BLANK

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 4 -

Flight Plans

In this course you will also need to be able to understand how to fill in a flight plan. This process is different in

Squawkbox and FSInn but the general idea is the same. There should be the following fields in every flight plan:

Flight Type – IFR/VFR (you should be flying IFR with Fly UK at all times unless it is a Flying Club flight) Departure Airport – enter the 4-letter airport code of your departure Arrival Airport – enter the 4-letter airport code of your arrival Alternate Airport – enter the 4-letter airport code of your alternate airport. This is provided in your

flight dispatch at Fly UK. Departure Time – the estimated time of departure Enroute flight time – the estimated flight time (in the air) Fuel available – an estimate of how long your fuel will last Cruising Airspeed – your estimated cruising airspeed (true airspeed) in knots Cruising Altitude – your assigned flight level that you will be cruising in (e.g. FL330) Voice Capabilities – can you send and receive voice? Or only receive voice? Or are you using text only?

This just helps the controller know how to speak to you Aircraft Capabilities – These are aircraft equipment codes which will be discussed later on in this

document. They tell the controller what equipment you have on board and therefore how well you will be able to respond to an instruction (e.g. “UKVXXXX, enter the GROVE hold FL080” – in this situation, you would not be able to comply with the instruction if you lacked a GPS or FMC or sufficient radio instruments).

Route – the route you will be taking Comments – any other information for the controller. If you are new to the network, make sure you

put in there “New to VATSIM” or “New to Online Flying”. Other useful comments include “Unfamiliar with Australian (or any other country) airspace” and “Speak slowly”.

Once you’re finished, click “Send to Tower” or something along those lines. The controller can now see your

flight plan!

Of course we at Fly UK have made things much simpler for you. As a Fly UK pilot, you have access to our special

downloadable flight plans. These have all fields filled in. You can find them at the bottom of every Flight

Dispatch (available on your bookings page). If you are having trouble using these flight plans, check out the

following document:

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/downloads/resources/documents/general/UKV_TRD_6.6_DOWNLOADABLE_FLIGHT

PLANS.pdf

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 5 -

Weather

Weather information should always be obtained from air traffic control. Usually, there will be a position

XXXX_ATIS, where XXXX stands for the airport code. Tuning into this will bring up the voice ATIS for the airport,

detailing runway in use, temperature, surface winds, QNH and cloud cover. This information supersedes all

other weather information available for the airport. However, there will be times when ATC is not online. How

does one get weather? Well...

Vroute is an excellent source of weather information. Simply type your flight into Vroute, pick the route that is closest to (or exactly the same as) the Fly UK route, then check out the weather information. Simple as that!

Fly UK METAR and TAF information is also provided on your flight dispatch. This too is a very useful way to getting the weather.

FSInn has an inbuilt weather function that will fetch the weather for your departure and arrival airport.

Other terms you may come across are IMC and VMC. They stand for Instrument Meteorological Conditions and

Visual Meteorological Conditions. They determine whether or not you can fly VFR and IFR within an area of

airspace. If VMC are not satisfied, then you must fly IFR. As you will be flying IFR most of the time with Fly UK,

this is not of particular importance. Just for some light reading, here are some simple VMC minima for the UK:

At and above FL100 - 8 km flight visibility, 1500m horizontally from cloud, 1000ft vertically from cloud.

Below FL 100 - 5 km flight visibility, 1500m horizontally from cloud, 1000ft vertically from cloud.

Runway Selection

One thing of enormous importance to pilots is how to select the runway in use. This is done by ATC when they

are online, but if they aren’t, then you’ve got to do it yourself. It’s actually quite simple, you pick the runway

that makes you fly into the wind, both on departure and arrival. So...

I. Check surface winds (e.g. 310 degrees at 7 knots) II. Check available runways (e.g. runway 33 and runway 15)

III. Pick the runway that faces into the wind/that is closest to the degrees (e.g. runway 33 is facing 330 degrees, which is closest to 310 degrees of wind).

At many airports there is a preferred runway, which is often specified in charts. When surface winds are less

than 5 knots, this runway is the one in use (for example, at Birmingham runway 33 is the preferred runway).

For more information, see the following document:

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/downloads/resources/documents/basic/UKV_TRD_2.3_ACTIVE_RUNWAY.pdf

Now this is all fine if you’re flying out of a normal airport. But our main base, London Heathrow International

Airport, is definitely not normal. Heathrow has many procedures which determine the runway in use and has

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 6 -

multiple preferred runways. This usually freaks out most pilots. Lucky for you, we at Fly UK have a solution!

Simply visit the link below:

http://www.civilaircraftregisters.org/Mode_S_Resources/LogReport/EGLLADSB.asp

The link will take you to the real world page for arrivals into Heathrow. Specified is their arrival runway. Using

that, you now know which is the arrival runway (the one specified), and which is the departure runway (the

opposite side). That is, if it says RWY 27L is arrivals, then RWY 27R is departures.

Different Weather Conditions to VATSIM

At times you may have different weather conditions displaying in your flight simulator than those on VATSIM.

In this case, simply inform the relevant controller of this on first contact. If the weather is a serious problem

(e.g. a hurricane), it would be best to log off VATSIM. If the controller asks you to do something that you

obviously can’t do (e.g. the runway in use is different), then you can request from the controller the runway

that suits you. Again, if refused, fly it offline.

Facility Websites

To be an active member of VATSIM, you will need to visit more than just the vatsim.net and flyuk.aero website.

There are also websites for all the different regions and facilities in VATSIM. The ones most relevant to Fly UK

pilots are:

VATSIM United Kingdom – http://www.vatsim-uk.org VATSIM Europe – http://www.vateud.org

Make sure you particularly familiarise yourself with the VATSIM-UK website; get to know the chart links, events

page and other parts of the website.

Connecting to the Network

Right, we are here at last! Fire up your flight simulator to begin with. Next, you’ll need to pick your airport of

departure and your stand number. On FSX and FS2004, stands are referred to as “Gates” and “Parking”. The

one you’ll want is a gate because it usually has a jetway where passengers walk down into your plane. Then

load up and connect to VATSIM. If you haven’t learnt how to do this, check out the Software Setup course and

relevant setup documents.

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 7 -

Transponders

For full information on transponders see the “Squawk Codes and Transponders” document available from the

Fly UK Training Academy:

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/downloads/resources/documents/basic/UKV_TRD_2.6_SQUAWK_CODES_AND_TRA

NSPONDERS.pdf

Squawk Codes

For full information on squawk codes see the “Squawk Codes and Transponders” document available from the

Fly UK Training Academy:

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/downloads/resources/documents/basic/UKV_TRD_2.6_SQUAWK_CODES_AND_TRA

NSPONDERS.pdf

Maps and Charts

Charts are used to navigate around airports and airspace. They can be found on all your flight dispatches and

are highly recommended. Fly UK pilots should always have charts with them, whether they be printed, or

simply accessed by switching windows. The Fly UK course “Understanding Charts” is the one to go to if you

have any trouble with using charts.

Airport and Terminal Charts

Airport charts are the most important for flying online. They enable you to follow taxi instructions properly

without having to ask for progressive taxi and enable you to find stands at your terminal. You can obtain airport

diagrams for the UK from the following address:

http://www.nats-uk.ead-

it.com/public/index.php%3Foption=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=6&Itemid=13.html

SIDS and STARS

You can find charts on SIDS and STARS at the link above.

Enroute Charts

You can get these by again following the above link and clicking Enroute Information.

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 8 -

Phraseology

You will be required to demonstrate your understanding of basic phraseology in the UK for this course,

including being able to read out a dialogue between a controller and a pilot. A full phraseology guide is beyond

the scope of this document but as always, we have links:

Fly UK IFR Communication Guide –

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/downloads/resources/documents/online_flying/UKV_TRD_4.2_IFR_ATC_COMMUNI

CATION.pdf

VATSIM-UK Phraseology Guide –

http://www.vatsim-uk.org/training/index.php?page=voice

Official UK Real World Phraseology –

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP413.pdf

Navigation

This topic is also beyond the scope of this document because it varies from aircraft to aircraft. Essentially, you

need to be able to find your way in the skies; can you identify your position? Can you program your aircraft to

fly a certain route? Can you maintain a heading? And so on...

You will need to undertake some self-learning for this. Explore the capabilities of your aircraft and it’s GPS or

FMC. If you need extra guidance, Training Academy courses such as “Radio Navigation” and “IFR Flight

Planning” will assist you in your understanding. Feel free to book any aircraft specific courses as well if you

can’t find your GPS or FMC or need further help in using it.

Aircraft Equipment Codes

As mentioned in the flight plan section, these are used by controllers to identify the type of equipment you

have on board. Most Fly UK pilots will be flying with either GPS or FMC and therefore should select “Advanced

RNAV with GPS and/or FMC and/or Duel FMC”. If only using radio navigation techniques, use “Simple RNAV,

Transponder with Mode C”. Generally, the higher up on the list it is, the simpler the aircraft equipment. Fly UK

pilots should be operating at a middle to low section of the list where aircraft equipment is advanced enough

to fly IFR easily.

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 9 -

VATSIM Basics and Citizenship

Forums

Forums are places where people gather to share thoughts, comments and participate in general conversation.

VATSIM has many hundreds of forums in its communities, from VA’s to divisional forums etc... The main forums

you should be concerned about are:

Fly UK Virtual Airways – http://www.flyuk.aero/en/community-forums/index.php

Global VATSIM Forum – http://forums.vatsim.net

VATSIM-UK Forums – http://community.vatsim-uk.org

Conflict Resolution

In the event of a conflict between you and another pilot or you and a controller, please contact a Fly UK staff

member. You can do this by emailing a member of the Department of VATSIM Online Operations (private), or

by using the Contact Us page (this will be visible to all staff).

DO NOT contact controllers privately or make public statements in forums. This will only spark a bigger debate,

usually against you.

Supervisors

There are a number of members that hold a supervisory role on VATSIM. These people log on as XXX_SUP and

have the power to remove people from the network. If you are ever in need of immediate assistance (an

annoying pilot is trying to fly his plane into yours), type

.wallop need help at XXXX airport (or whatever comment)

into your Squawkbox/FSInn’s main bar. Make sure you include the dot at the front. This will summon a

supervisor who will use private chat to work out what the situation is and remove the annoying member if it is

deemed necessary. DO NOT use supervisors as a way of venting anger (i.e. the pilot has already logged off;

supervisors don’t like being screamed at) or as a way to file a complaint (email Fly UK staff instead).

If no supervisor is available, you may find help via Fly UK’s Live Support on the website, or on the Fly UK

Teamspeak.

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 10 -

Regional Structures

VATSIM is divided into many structures, outlined below:

Regions – these have a small staff team who manage an entire continent (e.g. VATEUR – VATSIM Europe Region)

Divisions – these normally have quite a large staff team and are the main organisations that manage controlling services (e.g. VATSIM-UK – VATSIM United Kingdom Division)

vACC’s (Europe), RTS’s (UK) and Facilities (Generic Term) – these are groups within a division that manage small pieces of airspace or particular groups of controllers (e.g. Midlands RTS in the UK)

Air Traffic Control Structures and Ratings

Air Traffic Controllers all hold different ratings depending on their level of seniority and skill. They are divided

into numerous structures which are outlined below:

OBS (Observer) o This rating shows students who are still learning and are observing airport procedures.

S1 (Student One) o This rating shows students who are just beginning to control. They manage Clearance Delivery

(your IFR clearance) and Ground (taxiways and pushback). S2 (Student Two)

o This rating is the most common on VATSIM. Students holding this rating have usually controlled for more than 6 months and have had many mentoring and training sessions. They control Tower (runways, visual circuit, and airspace within 2 mile radius of the airport).

S3 (Senior Student) o This is the last student rating. Controllers by now normally have over a year’s experience and

are eligible to control Radar/Approach/Departure/Director (airspace within 30 to 50 mile radius of the airfield).

C1 (Controller One) o This rating allows controllers to manage an Area Control Centre (enroute approximately below

FL240 depending on country) or Upper Level Control Centre (enroute approximately above FL240 depending on country) or Oceanic Control Centre (over an ocean – e.g. Shanwick Oceanic Control over the Atlantic Ocean).

C3 (Senior Controller) o This rating is normally a reward for experience or allows management of a major Area Control

Centre. I1 (Instructor One)

o This rating signifies a staff position I3 (Senior Instructor)

o This rating signifies a senior staff position

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 11 -

VATSIM operates on a “top-down” basis, meaning if a controller isn’t online, the next controller on the list will

take over his/her position as well.

DEL – Clearance Delivery

GND - Ground

TWR - Tower

APP – Radar/Director/Approach/Departure (depends on country of origin)

CTR – Area Control Centre/Upper Level Control Centre

FSS – Upper Level Control Centre/Oceanic Control Centre

Using the positions above, say DEL wasn’t online, GND would do delivery. If GND also wasn’t online, then TWR

would do ground and delivery. And so on...

Pilot Rating Program

Pilots on VATSIM are rated according to ability. The program is completely optional but highly recommended.

Authorised Training Organisations (such as Fly UK) train pilots and award ratings as follows:

P1 – This is the rating awarded for the course that you are reading right now. It covers the basics of VATSIM

and its structures.

P2/P3 – P2 is awarded for VFR pilots, P3 for IFR pilots. They are equal in rank and demonstrate flying ability.

P4 – You must hold both P2 and P3 to gain the P4, which demonstrates flying experience.

P5 – The ultimate indicator of flying experience, ability and skill.

The VATSIM Headquarters Website

http://www.vatsim.net

This is where you signed up. You should become familiar with the website and its workings, in particular:

Codes of Conduct – http://www.vatsim.net/network/docs Pilot Resource Centre – http://www.vatsim.net/prc/

UKV TRD 4.5 (31 Oct 11)

VATSIM - GETTING STARTED - P1 RATING

Fly UK Virtual Airways P - 12 -

Communications

Common Courtesy It is important to remember that this is not a robotic flight simulation world. When speaking to the controller,

remember that he is a human, and therefore treat him accordingly. Simple manners such as “Thanks for the

service, have a nice day!” and “Good morning!” often make a controller’s day. So please use some common

courtesy when on frequency and flying; you’re almost guaranteed to get something in return.

PM’s and Private Channels PM stands for “private message”. You can send these to other pilots and controllers in flight. They are meant to

be used for simple chatting, or organising a pushback sequence. Private channels are private voice frequencies

for virtual airlines. Because Fly UK has a Teamspeak sever, we do not have a private channel.

UNICOM 122.800 UNICOM is the universal frequency to tune to when in flight with no controllers online. It is used for

announcing your next move or your position. Therefore, other pilots can coordinate with you to determine the

landing sequence or departure separation. Do not use it for private chat (that’s what PM’s are for) or to speak

to a controller (because there isn’t one).

Example announcements include:

UKV1671: Good morning, push and start stand 54, CPT3D departure

UKV1671: Taxiing to hold E1 via V, D, E

UKV1671: Passing HON FL120 for CPT FL320

UKV1671: Expect ILS24 via TWEED1A arrival, landing in approx 5 mins

Contact Me’s You may receive from time to time a rather rude message that tells you to contact a controller but not to reply

to the message. Just do as it says, because you’ve just received a “contact me”. The wording in these messages

is not chosen by the controller; indeed many have been petitioning for it to change. Basically, the controller

thinks you are in their airspace and has pressed a button that will send you that message. It’s nothing personal!

Well done! You’ve finished reading the P1 Syllabus and Beginner’s Guide to VATSIM! Now you should go and

take the VATSIM P1 Beginner’s Course to gain your rating, before progressing to the VATSIM Assisted Online

Flight course on your path to becoming a Fly UK online flying pilot.

See you in the skies!