Hi All, i hope the administrator will allow this post due to its unprecendented content. Here in the U.K. and in Scandinavia all airports have been closed today for an indefinate period with no passenger flights outbound and incoming flights diverted outside U.K. airspace due to the recent vulcanic eruption in Iceland. dust has entered the upper airspace making flights too dangerous for obvious reasons. the powers that be have stated that this occurrence is unprecedented. just for info, probably no replies necessary. richard welsh.

A thread OT is available in the Hangar Chat forum: http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=282298

Hey Richard, Vulcan is a few million light years away (allegedly) But at the moment in London it is quite surreal to not see a single aircraft in the sky due to the Volcano...

Wow! For those who don't know why they had to close UK/Scandinavian air space...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWDU8XRQ_GY

I was meant to be flying the VS43 home today but now I`m stuck here in vegas for at least another 24 hours,oh well I`m sure I can find something to do.If I win big on the slots I`m going to resign and sail home by luxury cruise liner!cheersJon Bunting

Fortunately volcanic ash doesn't affect Vatsim but I wouldn't mind betting there are loads of purists sitting at home not flying online in the UK 'because they shouldn't' :(

Fortunately volcanic ash doesn't affect Vatsim but I wouldn't mind betting there are loads of purists sitting at home not flying online in the UK 'because they shouldn't' :(

I have been sitting on the ground at EGSS for a hour and a half on Vatsim getting ready for a short hop to LFPG, the only traffic at the airport was a BA A320, Fedex MD11 and Airfrance A319! the rest of europe is pretty quiet too, I think thats taking realism a bit too far lol Europe online should be packed around this time of day! funny thing is EGSS ground, TWR and approach are still online in silence, thats pure dedication. Heathrow has 12 aircraft inbound.

Wow, that's pretty intense! I actually just saw a volcano warning a couple weeks ago during a dispatch brief on one of my Airling DVD's. I don't think it was the same one, and am not exactly sure which dvd it was but think it was only a year old so who knows,,, I'll have to find out now for sure,,, thanks for the homework asignment :(Haha Rob, that's too funny. One of these days I'll have to try Vatsim. I like the whole idea of it and started many times but am at a loss since the setup they have seems to have others say not to use and some have issues with certain addons, etc, etc... One of these days (hopefully sooner than later) I'll at least be able to join you in the dust.

I was going to do a US to France flight this weekend but I have put that on ice since the whole volcano thing erupted. I will just do carrier practice with the VRS F-18 and hope that the ash stuff clears out by next weekend. Guess that makes me a purist. :( I see no point in flying though if you aren't going to abide by the NOTAMS, regs, and such. Then again that is just what I choose to do with my software. Everyone is free to do what they will and that is the beauty of MSFS. You can abide the rules if you want to, and if you want to just go burn holes in the sky there are no consequences to that either.

One of these days I'll have to try Vatsim. I like the whole idea of it and started many times but am at a loss since the setup they have seems to have others say not to use and some have issues with certain addons, etc, etc... One of these days (hopefully sooner than later) I'll at least be able to join you in the dust.

Dan - doing stuff like Vatsim is what really brings out the power of advanced add-ons like PMDGs, it's one thing to use all the bell'n'whistles offline but online adds a massive new dimension to them. When I first joined I learned more about accurate operation of the PMDG 737 in a few days than I had in years offline because suddenly it really mattered, people were watching :( . Setup isn't as problematic as some will tell you, it's far easier these days than it used to be and if one follows the installation instructions for the pilot clients you can be online in 5 minutes. You'll spend more time reading the code of conduct than setting up the software!

Have turned my SBS1 on over the last couple of days and boy is is quiet out there!!! :(

Wow, that's pretty intense! I actually just saw a volcano warning a couple weeks ago during a dispatch brief on one of my Airling DVD's. I don't think it was the same one, and am not exactly sure which dvd it was but think it was only a year old so who knows,,, I'll have to find out now for sure,,, thanks for the homework asignment :(Haha Rob, that's too funny. One of these days I'll have to try Vatsim. I like the whole idea of it and started many times but am at a loss since the setup they have seems to have others say not to use and some have issues with certain addons, etc, etc... One of these days (hopefully sooner than later) I'll at least be able to join you in the dust.

I've never used it either. I used to do the live flight events that FlightsimATC used to put on and I loved them, but when it's a normal thing for me to get interrupted on a regular basis when I fly, I'm just afraid to get everything all set and then have to abandon it. For example, it just took me 24 hours to complete a Narita-JFK flight that should have only taken about 12 hours. Just the way it goes with the wife and kid and stuff like that. One of these days I'll get on there.

Oh well, realizing that I am after all sitting at my desk while piloting an imaginary aircraft, I will continue my unrealistic and very short flights between Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead, regardless of what sort of dust fills the air above Europe. That being said, I may consider interrupting my flight if I look out the window one day and see a mushroom cloud.Regards from Tony

Think I may have solved everyones problems, how do I get a patent on this??

Think I may have solved everyones problems, how do I get a patent on this??

Hahaha, that's awesome! Are those cigarette filters? They look like my Marlboro's :)+1 for Nicotine Airways