I am a ne Simmer. I see there are about 5 different Delta websites. How do you tell which is which or

how you would rank them for joining as a member?

I'm not knowledgeable about Delta VAs. But I can offer some general recommendations on choosing a VA. First, consider VATSIM's Heritage Airlines -- these have been around the longest time and one of them happens to be a Delta VA: http://vasops.vatsim.net/ and http://www.deltava.org/ 

 

But just because a VA is the oldest may not mean it's the best. Consider the types of resources they offer for their members on the website, the frequency of events, and things like that. If community is important to you, I think the VA's discussion forum is a good way to tell how active and friendly the members are with one another. Also, maybe asking if you can hop onto a VA's TeamSpeak for a week or two may give you a sense before joining of who the people are with whom you can fly.

 

Those are my two cents. I'm sure sim pilots here that are more experienced than me can offer you more advice.

I've been a member of DeltaVA (http://www.deltava.org/) for a while.

 

The guys running the place seem to be very much on the ball and the whole experience can be described as smooth. Their software (company ACARS) simply works and is updated regularly, flight schedules include not only Delta flights but a bunch of other codeshare airlines such as Air France, KLM etc so you are pretty much covered for global flying and the forums are an active place where queries get answered quickly.

There is a system in place that covers joining and promotions from smaller aircraft to the larger ones and applying for the different ratings require that you give a written test (multiple choice and time limited) as well as having a minimum number of flights on each type and also a check ride that is assigned to you.

 

Unlike another va that I was a member of you can break down long haul flights over a 36-hour period by simply saving the flight mid-air in FSX and then disconnecting from the ACARS server. The next day you just reload your flight, connect to ACARS which picks up where you left off and you're on your way again. Seamless. Position reports are done automatically by ACARS.

You may use payware aircraft or utilise DeltaVA's extensive freeware library of aircraft. Visiting the website will give you a pretty good idea of what it is all about although you have to be a member to access certain areas as well as be able to see the complete forum.

 

One last thing. Both Vatsim and IVAO are supported as well as offline flying.

 

Ask away if you need more info.

 

P.S. There are no minimum number of flights you have to complete each month in order to remain an active member (unlike a lot of other VAs). Just logging into the DeltaVA website ensures the system registers you as an active member.