I am a bit fearful of posting this here, but want some unbiased opinions on IVAO. I switched from Vatsim (after 5 years) last month and have found IVAO great up untl last night. Traffic models and the user interface is great.Here is something I posted below on the forum. Has anyone else had an experiance like this?I have been flying in FS and real world for over 20 years now. The last 5 years I have been using Vatsim and a month ago I switched to IVAO.I would like to express that all the ATC I have come across are polite and professional however last night I had an experiance that has made me question how ATC are trained.Last night I flew out of OOMS. I fly complex addons like the PMDG MD11/744F and AS A320. Preflight on these aircraft normally take a fair bit of time however I was constantly being asked by tower to hurry up even though I was only on the ground programming the MCDU for 15 minutes and no other traffic was around except for an A330 inbound about 90 miles away.My clearence was wrong and I had to help tower give me my own clearance, once I had pushed back, engine start, APU flight controls checks etc will take a few minutes (I am not flying a default jet) again I was told to hurry up dispite no other traffic at the airport.When I advised ready to taxi ATC said cleared for pushback, I again advised I was already cleared for push and ready to taxi, the responce - 'Ok go!' No taxi instructions, not even runway in use (although I could figure it out myself)The whole time he kept telling me to update my departure time in the flightplan, which was out by 5 minutes due to the crazy delays.To say the least I couldnt wait to line up set TOGA thrust and get the hell out of there. I understand this should be fun, and I know people have to start somewhere and learn but this was a complete joke.So my question is how can someone like that get past training? It would be choas in lo vis ops, plenty of traffic and this guy in control.Kind Regards

Nevermind, I have been informed that anyone can log in and start controlling on IVAO even if they have no idea what they are doing. Great if you want to get vectored into the side of a mountain.

So 'The Zone' has returned?

Huh whats the Zone? Everythings fine, it was pretty much my fault for not researching properly. On IVAO anyone can be a controller without training if the airport is not is not under any division. Not really my kind of thing so I will stick to Vatsim and only fly on IVAO between certain airports we're I know the controllers are good.I do have to say that I am very impressed with the IVAO software and level of traffic, however the fact that a 12 year old kid with no idea how ATC works could be handling my approach in CATIII conditions kinda puts me off.

I woukd agree, to be told to hurry up would definetly put me off, however i have never tried ivao so just saying. I am a vatsimer when flying online, only really because ivao doesnt seem to popular in north america, if it werent for that i would definetly try it.

I would use .wallop command to call a supervisor to deal with him.

Hello,Of course I can understand your frustration, but these are exceptions that can happen with other online networks too.Furthermore, I believe the better solution in this case an e-mail to headquarters or a wallop. Such kind of thread often may end in personal blmaings about IVAO and VAtsim.Nevertheless, I hope you continue to have fun at IVAO.

Hey Arvid,As I previously mentioned I have been very happy with the ATC on IVAO. In fact today I did the return flight back to Oman and the ATC was perfect, after that I flew on to Dubai and then Bahrain with full professional control all the way in.My initial concern was that someone was not properly trained and providing ATC. Now that I have been informed that it is possible for someone with no training to control at certain airports then it all makes sense.You are right, I was initially concerned that it could turn into an IVAO v Vatsim debate so I wanted to make it clear that this seemed like a one off. I will continue to have fun on both networks :)Cheers

My initial concern was that someone was not properly trained and providing ATC. Now that I have been informed that it is possible for someone with no training to control at certain airports then it all makes sense.

Wow! I didn't realise that was possible for somebody unqualified to control on IVAO - I suppose I have just always been in division controlled areas! I have only had god experiences with the professionalism of IVAO ATC. Occasionally, you will get someone who is being trained and is under direct supervision. In this case, the person doing the training will often put out a private message explaining that and encouraging patience...Geoff