Another newbie to vatsim

[tamsini 278]

Hello all, I have been meaning to try vatsim for what seems to be ages and am pretty much ready to finally give it a whirl. I thought I might try flying around areas that are not ATC-controlled to hopefully hear what goes on. But a few questions have popped up.

If I check out uncontrolled areas on vattastic, (example, NE USA & Canada), do I have to make any contact of any kind or can I just fly VRF and have a good listen to ATC? And how can I assure I don't get in anyone's way?

Perhaps it's just the insecurity of being new to vatsim but if anyone can give me a few bits of advice.

 

[cryptomaniac 4]

If just flying VFR in uncontrolled areas, use Unicom to broadcast your intentions to others in the area

[tamsini 278]

Excellent! Thanks, crypto! That, at least, gives me a good starting point.

[skelsey 765]

If you are new to the network it is well worth seeking out a good ATO and doing at the very least the P1 course (to be honest -- I'd recommend anyone flying on the network, whether they've been around for five minutes or twenty years, does so as well if they haven't already). The P1 covers everything you need to know to keep yourself out of trouble in terms of rules, etiquette and general information to get you started. I highly recommend working through the other ratings as well -- again, to be honest even the most experienced sim pilots I know (and a couple of real-world ones as well!) have learnt a lot from doing our P2/P3 course.

A good ATO will give you an instructor who will guide you, answer any questions and support you through your first steps on the network. It's always easier to learn it correctly the first time round rather than having to un-learn bad habits later!

Welcome to VATSIM!

[tamsini 278]

28 minutes ago, skelsey said:

If you are new to the network it is well worth seeking out a good ATO 

Yes indeed! I have joined Canadian xPress in hopes they can guide me further when I get a little more familiar with it all. Thank!

[dmarques69 316]

28 minutes ago, tamsini said:

Yes indeed! I have joined Canadian xPress in hopes they can guide me further when I get a little more familiar with it all. Thank!

Same here, although i have some hundreds of flight hours offline or using atc programs, im a newbie in vatsim, i also joined Canadian xPress recently which looks a very nice VA, did you check their video on how to contact atc? Very good!

 

[tamsini 278]

Nice! I know this VA has tons of training material on their website. I haven't had a chance to look at all this stuff yet. A bit at a time...