Hello all.This weekend I flew in my first PIC on VATSIM event. Incredible stuff. Here is my little account of the PAR approach.After flying from Cranbrook to Calgary, then Edmonton, I took of from the later right after Michael Bevington, who was flying as AAL327. Since it was a 150nm leg, I only climbed to FL190, where I had the time to change my visibility settings in FSUIPC. I was feeling lucky, so I typed 45 accross the board, which translates to a little less than a 1/2 mile.I have never done a PAR before. I fly in real life, and have done non-precision radar approaches here in Florida, but after that controller got me 1/4 of a mile off from the centerline (he did get me parallel to it though ;-)), I did not have much hopes to see the runway. Could I ever be wronger.So I eagerly awaited for Mike's approach to hear how it went. As I got within 20 miles of Cold Lake, already descending to 6,000 feet, the Center controller nonchalantly lets me know that Mike had gone around (although I haven't confirmed that, since he did make it to the ground before me). So here I am, now on a downwind, with the airport in my Nav Display, thinking to myself: "Mike, who has done this before, did not see the airport. That probably means the soup is really thick. So how am I supposed to land?". Fuel wasn't a problem, but I really wanted to see those beautiful F-18s lined up on Cold Lake's ramp, so I had to at least try it.I get handed-off to Mike Gloude, who is running the PAR screen (and I am absolutelly sure he does this for a living, due to his professionalism and efficiency), and he turns me inbound to intercept the final. By now ten thousand things are rushing through my head, and I am trying to cover all bases, trying not to forget the basic stuff "OK, we need gears to land, so let's start slowing down for that. Oh, yeah, slow down! And let's start dropping those flaps, and how do we stop? Ah, AutoBrakes!".We get to the point where Mike tells me to shut the hell up and listen, hopefully resulting in me bringing this leviathan to a landing on runway 31R. His instructions and sharp, precise, and to the point: "Left correcting well, 308 on the heading, 2 miles from glideslope intercept. You are now on course, 1 mile from glideslope intercept, wheels should be down". His words are incessant, and assure me that there might be a chance I can do this after all.Then we get to the glideslope. I initiate the descent using V/S on the autopilot, but I don't do it in time, and Mike is quick to let me know: "You are a little above the glideslope, adjust. 306 on the heading, right correcting very well. 4 miles from runway. Well above glideslope now, adjust". Apparently I got excited, and over corrected, which now makes matters worse. Not only am I not on the glidepath, but I am below it. Mike issues a warning, and a few seconds later he says something that definitelly snaps me back into reality: "You are dangerously below the glidepath, level off", to which I forget the initial instructions and get on the frequency with a frail voice "Roger, uh, level off!", only to remember "Darn, I am not supposed to talk!".The Tower has informed Mike I am clear to land, and he passes that information on to me, and keeps bringing me in. I have yet to see the ground, and we are only 100 feet away from decision height. And suddenly, out of the mist, just like every cliche approach description you have heard, the approach lights pop into view. I am ecstatic, thrilled, and already can feel the accomplishment of a job close to being over. Like an idiot, my excitement brings me to once again bug Mike, by jumping on the radio and almost screaming "Runway in sight!", and right after that, realizing he has almost a better picture of my approach than I have. That is confirmed a few moments later, when he says "You are touching down.........nnnnnow!" with almost scary exactitude.I taxi off the runway, so marvelled by making it to the ground that I forget to stop clear of the active, clean up the bird, and call tower for my taxi clearance. Instead, our 767 just keeps on going, invading the ramp, while I realize what I have just done and hurriedly call the tower, trying to act cool now, after all, I have just done a succesful (barely!) PAR approach.I would like to thank Mike Gloude (PAR and CYYC_V_APP), Scott Seitz (CYYC_V_TWR), Greg Phelan (CYYC_V_GND), Mike Langhan (CZEG_V_CTR, fantastic job accomodating everyone), Dan Poelman (CYEG_V_TWR), and the other wonderful controllers whose names I did not catch, and also Mike Bevington and Ian Elchitz, for the initiative and organization. I am sure more people were involved, but even though I do not know your name, I thank you just as much.I cannot wait for the next PIC on VATSIM, but I will be definetelly flying a lot more in Canada after experiencing such an amazing quality of controllers. Great job everyone.

Fabio, good report and sounds like you had fun. I am yet to try VATSIM. One problem I do have here - I am a realism maniac and clearly in the real world you would never hear controller tell pilot when to lower gear or deploy flaps. This is one thing I keep hearing from those who don't care for VATSIM - you often hear conversation that doesn't belong to the normal ATC phraseology.Michael J.

Hello Michael.Although you are right, there is an exception, and that is a PAR approach. But even then, the controller is not commanding you to lower your gear. It is a recommendation, and a welcomed one, since you do not have visual guidance for the glideslope (which is for the vast majority of the airlines a cue to lower the landing gear, one dot before intercepting the glideslope).Even though some of the chatter you may hear does not belong in a real ATC environment, it is extremely fun and rewarding to fly at VATSIM. After all, it is as real as it gets, but it is not real ;-). So come join us in the next one, I guarantee you will be pleased.

>Hello Michael. >>Although you are right, there is an exception, and that is a >PAR approach. Ok Fabio, I just realized I misunderstood your report. PAR is truly a unique approach and not your typical ILS. My apologies. But it is my understanding PAR is restricted to military *only* flying these days.Michael J.

Fabio, Thanks for the description of your approach! Landing with minimums and nothing but voice cues...it

Military ATC always ask pilots to 'check gear'... seems military pilots like to belly land their aircraft? =)I can assure you between Mike Langhan and others in VATCAN (especially on the west and east coasts) it is very authentic and realistic. We are lucky enough to have real world controllers (Mike Langhan, Edmonton ; Mike Oxner, Moncton for example...) either current or past working the scope, some on a daily basis!

Other than a PAR approach, I have never had any VATSIM ATC ask me about gear or flaps.And you can always tell a real-world controller when you hear one on VATSIM. Those guys can talk very quickly and clearly! They don't waste a single syllable.Lee Hetherington (KBOS)

Danny and for the others interested in PAR,PAR is only a military approach aid and not used at any purely civilian field that I know of. I am a military pilot and have probably flown 100's of PAR approaches in many different countries to many different airfields in my 6000 hrs or so of military flying (including Comox where I was based for 5 years flying Auroras).We are actually in the process of phasing it out, except perhaps at only one or two bases as a training aid. If all your aircraft have ILS (and not all ours did until recently) then it really is not required except for deployed ops. If you deploy to an austere airfield then you can take along a portable PAR and set it up their as a precision aid (since setting up an ILS would not be feasible). If you are potentially going to fly PARs at these deployed airfields then you have to maintain an ability to practice them at home, hence, one or two of our bases will likely keep PAR.For the description of the approach it sounds to me that the VATSIM controller was (or is) indeed a real-life controller. His controlling procedures/terminology sounded spot-on.Of interest, most pilots I know given a choice would prefer to fly an ILS rather than a PAR if the weather is at minimums. The controllers (at the least the Canadian ones) are excellent but the controller is just one more thing that can go wrong (hey, everybody has bad days) and as a pilot I can react much faster to a glide slope or localizer deviation on my instrumentation than it takes for the PAR controller to see the deviation on his radar, pass it to me, and for me to make the desired correction.For those flying PARs, it is almost always done manually, not on autopilot. It is really just an exercise in basic IF, fly a heading and fly a rate of descent (usually 500 to 800 fpm). Very easy, in theory. In fact, it was (I don't know if it still is) the first approach we taught our pilots to fly because it is such a simple exercise. I could go on about PAR procedures but I don't want to take up too much bandwith.And yes, PAR controllers will "remind" you to put your gear down, or in the US, complete your landing checks.Kevin in CYOW

Fabio,It is obvious that you really enjoyed the flight Sunday. That is what these PIC flights are all about. To fly in new areas, learn new procedures, interact with top notch ATC, test your skills, and spend a really fun few hours with a dozen or so of your friends. Thanks for being a part of it. Stay tuned for the next "PIC on VATSIM" which will be anounced in a couple of weeks.THANKS TO ALL OF YOU who participated and helped make the day!

Great real world insight, Kevin, thanks for sharing! I see from your profile you've flown 'em all, almost, huh?

I am bumping this story just to see if we can attract more people to the Wicked Wichita event this weekend. If you think this was cool, come fly with us over the skies of Wichita.Read this to learn more about it. The ceilings will be low, the winds will be high, and the adrenaline will be pumping. VATSIM will once again put on a good show, and you shouldn't miss it!