Editor's Note: From time to time we feature an AVSIM Online department so you can get to know something about the people "behind the scenes." In this installment of 'Contrails' we visit with our Library staff, and include Library Manager James Webb's pictorial recounting of their recent "get together" with Senior Library Manager Rick Rosner.
We're the guys that work behind the scenes to bring you the latest, greatest flight sim files in the business, and in record time!
Our Library is staffed by yours truly and 3 other Library Managers that work around the clock in order to keep our file Library up-to-date and on the cutting edge. More about the lib guys in a minute though.
As you might have noticed, our library is new and an on-going work in progress. Were always looking for ways to make it better! Ideas? Please let us know! Our Library Guru Matt Johnson is the man of the hour, every hour when it comes to the Library's everyday functions and performance. If the library is broke… Blame Matt not me!
Matt did some amazing things when he developed the new library and we hope you are all enjoying it. But there is much more to come in the very near future! We are looking to up-grade our FTP server to a state-of-the-art system which will be very capable by today's standards. Our current duty server has served its purpose, but it has recently become very taxed as we continue to grow at record paces. I'm happy to say, the new server has been purchased and should be online by the first or second week of next month. Yes!! Our Chief Technology Officer Jeff Babb (another one of AVSIM's experienced and impressive tech's) will be the one taking on the installation of the new server and systems. When the new server is finally online, you can then expect to see some more great features and tools in the library that are not currently being used. We plan on being the best in the business!
Back to our library Managers. As I mentioned, We have a team of 4 Managers that pull daily duty shifts, in order to keep up with the daily upload demands. We are all volunteers to the hobby, and we work up to 7 days a week anywhere from 5 to 8 hour shifts. Posting files is a very demanding and time consuming job as we are tasked with proof reading, checking for viruses, and posting pictures and thumbnails for your convenience in seeing what your about to download.
A brief biography of our Library Staff -
Mark Roberts, Sergeant First Class (SFC) in the US Army. Currently stationed at Ft. Irwin near Barstow California. Been in the military for going on 15 years. Teaches basic electronics. His job specialty is Electronic Technician and he fixes just about anything from satellite systems to high power workstations and computer networks. He loves his job and can't think of anything he would rather do. Married for 14 years to wife Kari, they have two daughters, Aimee (8) and Kristina (6). Mark loves to relax in front of the Flight Sim.
James Webb, Full Time Student, James lives in the Orange County area of Southern California. He has a full fledged flight sim cockpit set up, takes real life Helo Lessons, and is multi talented.
Clint Wade, (Picture not available) Our newest team member, but nonetheless is a very strong team player. Clint is a 26 year Tennis Professional in Springfield, Missouri. He's been flying Flight Sims since the late 80s with the old F5, plus 3 years VA and ATC experience.
And yours truly, Rick Rossner, VP, Marketing with Commander Aircraft Company. Pilot of 26 years with over 5000 hours flight experience. I'm a single guy with one son (Erick 15). I like to relax in the late evenings shooting approaches with the latest version of MS FS. I live in California's Central San Joaquin Valley and manage the Western Sales Territory for Commander Aircraft.
I hope this helps all to know who we are and what we do on a daily basis. If you ever have a question, issue, or concern, please feel free to contact us at libman@avsim.com and we will be very happy to help you.
Last weekend we had a little "Library Manager Christmas Get-together" in Barstow Calif. We all had a great time and our own James Webb was kind enough to write a summary of the day. Hope you enjoy it!
Rick Rossner, our Senior Library Manger, is employed as Vice President of Marketing for Commander Aircraft, Rick has the dubious pleasure of showing his brand new Commander 115TC to potential West Coast clients. A few weeks ago, Rick suggested that the three of us get together on a Saturday. He further explained his plan that would involve him flying down to Santa Ana, where I live, to pick me up, and then fly up to Barstow to meet with Library Manager Mark Roberts for some lunch. Mark is currently stationed with the U.S. Army in Barstow, California. We all agreed on the idea, and we scheduled the get-together for the following Saturday.
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Departure
Newport Jet Center at John Wayne Airport serves as Santa Ana's main executive terminal. I arrived at the big blue building on the East Side of the airport and met Rick and his son Erick. We all walked out to his metallic green & white Commander parked amid Citations, Gulfstreams and King Airs. The Commander 115 is no slouchy flight school Cessna 152… it looked right at home next to those business jets. Stepping into his aircraft confirmed this. The leather seats fit nicely and a quick look at the panel revealed that it is very well equipped. Rick ran through the prestart procedures and called clearance, "Commander 6071 Zulu at Newport Jet, IFR to Barstow Dagget." After a brief stay on the taxiway holding for a mix of airliner and general aviation traffic, we were cleared for takeoff with an initial heading of 220. As per normal procedures, we made the turn and were vectored over Seal Beach, then continued as filed. Passing through 3,000 feet, Rick switched on the preprogrammed KCF-225 3-axis autopilot which guided us smoothly up to cruise altitude. Navigation enroute was accomplished solely using GPS via the Garmin GNS 430/530 combo avionics.
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Arrival
At 9,000 feet 10 miles from Barstow Dagget, Rick pulled back the throttle just as he canceled IFR with LA center and started a rapid descent into the pattern to runway 24. After a quick but not stomach turning descent, we were established on final and Rick made a smooth touchdown. We then taxied over to the parking area with directions from the Unicom attendant. Mark was waiting for us. He opened a waist-high gate and walked over to meet us. Since there was no dining facilities located on the airport (actually, there was hardly anything on that airport) we drove into town for lunch.
Dual in the Commander
After a hearty lunch in town (Thanks Rick!) we drove back to the airport. Mark took the left seat and after some brief instruction from Rick, began taxiing. Mark is not a rated pilot, but is a very experienced FS pilot and has many hours on the FSD Commander 115. [Editors note: The panel pictures for that add-on are actually from N6071Z; Rick was a beta tester and contributor to the FSD project.] Back-taxiing 24 was no problem because the traffic at Dagget was light to non-existent. A few more last minute instructions and the throttle was pushed forward and the takeoff roll began. At 80 knots Mark lightly pulled back on his yoke. The aircraft began to climb and the landing gear was retracted. Mark was starting to get a hang of the aircraft and declared it "Easier than FS." We then executed a few maneuvers in the air. Airwork completed, Mark professionally established himself on final and made a shallow approach to the desert airfield. "A greaser!" I thought as the mains gracefully touched down. Mark, with a big grin, taxied the aircraft in and shut it down.
Mark in the cockpit
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Mark on final
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When we were discussing this article, Mark exclaimed, "Christmas came early for me this year! It was the greatest time! I'm still on cloud nine. That was a nice plane!"
Departure II
We took a group photo and said our good-byes. Rick dialed Flight Service and filed an IFR flight plan back to Santa Ana. We made our departure and waived to Mark who was watching from the ground. We got our IFR clearance from a controller as soon as we approached the bottom of LA Center airspace. It was a busy evening in the LA Basin with a lot of out bound Christmas traffic, and we were forced to the North West, on the edge of R-2508 (Edwards AFB) and over downtown LA. Out of the right window was Edwards AFB and in front of us was a small chain of mountains. The sunset was at a perfect angle so that the rays of the sun shown through the haze, making for a beautiful picture.
Arrival
Approaching our decent, we were cleared direct to Seal Beach. Because it was such a busy Saturday night in SoCal approach airspace, the controller had to squeeze us in between two airliners trying to make it in before Santa Ana closed for the night. Finally, after being subjected to a 360, we were cleared for the ILS approach at SNA. The autopilot did a beautiful coupled approach and had us fully stabilized before Rick switched it off at the established decision height of 250 Feet MSL. I couldn't tell if the smooth landings were due to Rick's pilot skills, the 115's trailing link landing gear or both, but there were no bone-rattlers in this plane. We taxied clear just as the sun disappeared below the horizon. After being guided in by a very professional lineman at Newport Jet, we shut down. Rick ordered a refuel top off for his flight back to his home in Three Rivers, California (San Joaquin Valley.) We're looking forward to the next library managers get together!
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