California Screamin' VII - Sunday December 8, 2002

[H3]CALIFORNIA SCREAMIN' SEVEN ANNOUNCED[/H3]ZLA and ZOA to Host VATUSA's Largest Event EverNovember 17, 2002 (Los Angeles, California): Representatives from the Los Angeles ARTCC and the Oakland ARTCC today announced plans for their latest intallment of California Screamin', to be held on Sunday, December 8, 2002 from 1800z to 2300z. This, the seventh in a long and successful series of large scale events is the product of support from not only the staffs of ZLA and ZOA, but also the members of supporting ARTCC's bordering the two west coast centers, including Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver and Albequerque ARTCC's. Airports serviced in the participating regions include some of the largest in the nation. "We're excited to feature the most realistic air traffic management offered online by linking airports such as Los Angeles International, Las Vegas McCarren International, San Francisco International and Oakland International," said newly appointed ZLA ARTCC Chief David Hendleman. "This event benefits both the participating pilots and controllers in that it provides real-time traffic simulation as if it were the real thing." Pilots are encouraged to reserve times slots from the Flight Reservation System made available by 11th Street Technologies. "We've put together a database of over 600 flights available within the sectors covered by the event," said Oakland Chief, Jim Bartosh. "This isn't just a 'big airport' flyin. We also like to highlight the smaller fields that don't normally receive traffic on a regular basis - and that's what makes this event so special." Unlike most other flyins, California Screamin' isn't a 'follow-the-leader' type of event. It is commonplace for pilots to see other traffic going many different directions all in some of the most complex airspace in the nation. Traffic advisories, altitude restrictions and other commonly unused online air traffic management techniques are called into play for CalScream. "We just like to make sure everyone has a chance to experience the real-life situations professional controllers and pilots deal with day in and day out," Hendleman said. "The flightboard enables pilots to be pushing back from their gates approximately at the same time the real flights are starting up their engines." California Screamin' 6 was called a success as it was the main contributor to setting VATSIM's new online record of over 700 connections. "We hope to top that number with CalScream 7, without causing network issues for VATSIM," said Bartosh. "We have good bandwidth-saving procedures in place for an event like this and we're confident the end user's experience will be as pleasant as it always is."For more information about the California Screamin' event, please visit the OFFICIAL PAGE at http://www.n715dp.com/ben/events/calscream7/