Controlled Sectors

[Guest FS_freak]

Hi,On my quest to better understand the intricate details of on line simming, I now have a question regarding controlled and inactive sectors. For the time being I am using Vatsim's applet to determine where there is ATC (Whazzup also locked up on me and Servinfo is not that easy to figure out). While I am writting this there are 182 pilots and 70 ATC on line. However in the american continent all I can see is one extensive green sector in Argentina that goes all the way down to the south pole and no one is flying in it :-eek ,and another green sector up in the Boston-Eastern Canada area. I estimate that less than 20% of the pilots online are actually within the green sectors. Now my question: What's so fun about flying on-line in an inactive sector? I don't know if I got this right but there are a lot of people flying plans that have no control at all in any of the stages of their flights. Don't these people worry about their phone bills if like me, they have dial up connections? I have calculated something like $0.25 for an hour long flight at my current local phone fares and am perfectly willing to pay that ammount only if I am effectively being controlled. But flying on-line just to see your airplane icon on the applet, with your com radio tuned to Unicom and completely silent, what's the catch? Sorry, but I don't get it :-hmmm

[Guest]

Humm....VA's, flying flight's for them, you can't just go to the "green sectors" ;-)DSL, I pay a flat monthly fee and keep it on all the time ;-))

[Guest ielchitz]

Here in Canada we do not generally pay for our telephones by the hour or minute, we pay a flat fee per month and the use of the telephone for local calls is unlimited.I have no clue how people do this with dial-up connection charges, I assume that they have unlimited Internet access or just do not do it.Personally, I have had a cable modem since 1997 so connection times and phone bills are trivial to myself.I can not answer for everyone else.. but for me - I log on and fly my flight in real time as often as I can. I like to be connected for most of the flight (assuming that I am actually sitting in my cockpit - if I were to leave or go to bed, I ALWAYS DISCONNECT - and you should as well). For some of the longer flights, it is nice for the fellows who control the sectors I will be passing through or arriving at, this may affect their decision to plug in and control.It's certainly not the same being in uncontrolled airspace (you should try flying the Pacific or Atlantic with no ATC) but communicating with the other pilots is certainly entertaining, and often times there is someone new out there who needs help. 50% of the guys who fly during the day in North America spend most of their time helping newbies, and if you see someone like VATSIM5 on line, if you listen in on UNICOM you will most likely ALWAYS see him answering questions and helping people.Trying to remember my point. I think that part of the fascination to be online has to do with tracking people's hours on line. This seems to be very important to many people (including myself at one point). I personally feel that being online makes it a little more realistic for me, the weather, the possibility of someone coming online, the traffic (if any), and the fact that I should not be pausing or restarting anything.. just fly it all real time.That's what I am looking for I suppose.Ian Elchitz CYWG