Hi Guys,I am an experienced Simmer who has not flown ONLINE till now.Today i tried it but just got frustrated !!!!The problem as follows;1)Got FS2002 up and running2)Positioned on the Apron at Mumbai-VABB (India)3)Flight plan to Goa (VAGO) loaded on to the MCDU (Airbus a320 pro)4)Connected to multiplayer5)Connected to Vatsim - (Hongkong server).- Got the Blue text on the SB screen6)Connected to RW - "Unicom-120.80"7)Requested for IFR clearance.......NO RESPONSE recieved.My questions....1)Who do I take clearance from if I dont know who the controller is ??2)When COMM set to "Unicom", Whom do I contact for clearance and flight following???3)Which Vastim server to log on to for India or at least Middle East region?Really need help hereRegards,Seacat.

Seacat,I understand the confusion here, we were all new and had the same questions in the beginning.First, here is a very good link for you that contains answers to many questions that new members have:http://users.adelphia.net/~jbartosh02/vat_faq.htm1)Who do I take clearance from if I dont know who the controller is ??Use the ATC Directory menu in Squawkbox or use Servinfo (link is in the FAQ document linked above) to determine what controllers are on line. Start with Clearance Delivery (xxx_DEL) and tune to their frequency. You would request clearance there. If that position is not staffed for your departure airport (xxx), look for ATC staffing in this order:Ground (xxx_GND)Tower (xxx_twr)Appoach (xxx_APP)Center (xxx_CTR)2)When COMM set to "Unicom", Whom do I contact for clearance and flight following???You would not require departure clearance if finding no ATC available following the procedure described in answer 1. In that event, tune to 122.8 (Unicom) and announce intentions as the local on-line traffic would require. If you appear to be all alone in the area you are flying, I would suggest to keep your unicom calls very basic (no reason to announce taxi when no aircraft on the ground). On takeoff, just provide a brief line of text, " departing rwy xx, direct xxx (or heading xxx) climbing FLxxx. For a real world summary of unicom at uncontrolled facilities see the procedure discussed here: http://forums.avsim.com/dcboard.php?az=sho...g_id=1346&page=3)Which Vastim server to log on to for India or at least Middle East region?Question S-1 on the FAQ link above discusses options for finding the nearest server. I would recommend you use Servinfo, it's linked in that answer, and click on the "Network Server" tab. Ping the servers from there and find the one that gives you the best result.

Mike,Thanks a million,youve sorted out all the confusion I had.Did my first flight this morning from Doha to Sharjah and it was great ...great !!!Thanks once againSeacat:-)