Living in Europe, I use Ivao (https://ivao.aero/).  Same as Vatsim, but they have more controllers in Europe. So much more fun flying with ATC.

 

VATSIM or IVAO is definitely the way to go.  It'll take your simming experience to the next level.  Nothing more immersion breaking than ATC in a can.  Id rather have a few empty ATC sectors on VATSIM

Edited September 22, 20205 yr by ErichB

I’m a VATSIM newbie and I’m put off by the inaccurate taxi ramps and signs. I know I need charts but will they help when many of the airports aren’t that accurate? For now I’m going to remain parked and listen and learn!

9 minutes ago, MikeyOnTheFlightDeck said:

I’m a VATSIM newbie and I’m put off by the inaccurate taxi ramps and signs. I know I need charts but will they help when many of the airports aren’t that accurate? For now I’m going to remain parked and listen and learn!

Yes, inaccurate layouts and markings will not help.  But it it something you should look forward to.  It's a great lot of fun flying online.

6 hours ago, flyinion said:

That’s good to know. I’ve had an account forever but always been too nervous to actually do it. With the stupidness brought on by the last patch I figured  it meant vatsim was essentially unusable due to all the bugs. Especially the avionics bugs. 

There's no need to be anxious about Vatsim. Everyone you can hear has had to be a beginner at some point in the past.

Make sure you append to your flight plan "New Pilot" and the controllers will be gentler with you.

Always have a pad and paper to scribble down clearances, squawks, etc, and don't forget the power of being able to say; "Say again".

See you up there!

2 hours ago, MikeyOnTheFlightDeck said:

I’m a VATSIM newbie and I’m put off by the inaccurate taxi ramps and signs. I know I need charts but will they help when many of the airports aren’t that accurate? For now I’m going to remain parked and listen and learn!

So, this wouldn't work with the default ATC since it's also giving you the inaccurate names in addition to the sim having them wrong in the visuals.  I think it would work fine for VATSIM though because you can look at the chart for what taxiways and then just use those taxiways in the sim.  You'll have to pay attention to the visuals of the taxiways themselves and ignore the signage, and something like Navigraph or some other app that can show you moving on a taxiway chart would be good (or zoom in a MFD really far).  I suspect that's how I'd be trying it once I finally give it a shot.

2 hours ago, MikeyOnTheFlightDeck said:

 I know I need charts but will they help when many of the airports aren’t that accurate? For now I’m going to remain parked and listen and learn!

If possible, strongly consider purchasing the FMS Data and Charts for Flight Simulation from navigraph.com . You can even start by getting a one month subscription and cancel anytime if it's not for you.  Not only will you always have up to date Navdata for VATSIM navigation, but you will also have an awesome "moving map" that projects your aircraft location directly on a chart of your current location which prevents you from ever being "lost" at a large airport ! 😀  https://navigraph.com/home

Great thread!

I’m another who is nervous about diving in. I’ve only got 8 hours on a sim in the last 4 weeks, and nothing before that for the last 30 years. 
 

I’ve signed up for the VATSIM PPL course, and am currently working through the theory modules. Yesterday I thought I’d try a circuit at Goodwood (not on VATSIM) to get some practice. Had the airfield in sight all the way along downwind, turned onto base and completely lost it! Flew around for 20 minutes before I even found the airfield again!

I think I’ll practice a bit more yet 😂

48 minutes ago, Dharma66 said:

 

I’ve signed up for the VATSIM PPL course, and am currently working through the theory modules. Yesterday I thought I’d try a circuit at Goodwood (not on VATSIM) to get some practice.

Which course and where did you find this?

 

 

2 hours ago, flyinion said:

So, this wouldn't work with the default ATC since it's also giving you the inaccurate names in addition to the sim having them wrong in the visuals.  I think it would work fine for VATSIM though because you can look at the chart for what taxiways and then just use those taxiways in the sim.  You'll have to pay attention to the visuals of the taxiways themselves and ignore the signage, and something like Navigraph or some other app that can show you moving on a taxiway chart would be good (or zoom in a MFD really far).  I suspect that's how I'd be trying it once I finally give it a shot.

Thank you that’s helpful. It doesn’t help that some of the planes are still broken of course but I’ll say no more on that rather sore subject! 

2 hours ago, flyinion said:

So, this wouldn't work with the default ATC since it's also giving you the inaccurate names in addition to the sim having them wrong in the visuals.  I think it would work fine for VATSIM though because you can look at the chart for what taxiways and then just use those taxiways in the sim.  You'll have to pay attention to the visuals of the taxiways themselves and ignore the signage, and something like Navigraph or some other app that can show you moving on a taxiway chart would be good (or zoom in a MFD really far).  I suspect that's how I'd be trying it once I finally give it a shot.

Flyinion / Mikey on Flight Deck - I haven't found the taxiway bug to be a problem.  I pull up a chart, zoom in the MFD and just know what I'm looking for.  Again, KATL is going to be more challenging than KSAV to navigate from parking to runway. Again, don't get intimidated just because a lot of VATSIM pilots are comfortable flying 737s and A320s from any airport in the world.  I'm having fun flying less busy airports with a Beechcraft Baron G58.  The only problems with airport taxiways that can mess you up are the ones that are not smooth/level (see KPIT).  If you hit the 15' tall hill too fast, you will flip over and crash.  IMO MSFS2020 is stable enough to enjoy VATSIM from virtually any airport with probably half to 2/3's of the airplanes.

1 hour ago, Dharma66 said:

Great thread!

I’m another who is nervous about diving in. I’ve only got 8 hours on a sim in the last 4 weeks, and nothing before that for the last 30 years. 
 

I’ve signed up for the VATSIM PPL course, and am currently working through the theory modules. Yesterday I thought I’d try a circuit at Goodwood (not on VATSIM) to get some practice. Had the airfield in sight all the way along downwind, turned onto base and completely lost it! Flew around for 20 minutes before I even found the airfield again!

I think I’ll practice a bit more yet 😂

You will get there!  If I can make a suggestion that helped me.  Try some instrument flying - I think sometimes when instruments tell you what to do, it then helps you come up with the visual clues.  I'll be honest, I was horrendous at lining up and landing visually.  I did enough ILS approaches that I got better at where the field should be visually, how to get lined up, glide slope, speed....and I did them enough that now I can do them visually.  Opposite of what they teach you, but there is some merit to it.

34 minutes ago, DocPadds said:

Which course and where did you find this?

 

 

It’s on the  ATSIM UK site, under Pilots -> Pilot Training on the main menu. 

Those pilots interested in P1 (and beyond) Training for Vatsim should sign up to the main Vatsim site or their own country's Vatsim site if it has one. Here's the UK one;

https://www.vatsim.uk/pilots

 

Edited September 22, 20205 yr by Will Fly For Cheese

Great write up. The default ATC is a great start of the flow of communications and phraseology. Once one understands the fundamentals of radio work, going with a live controller makes for a huge part of the overall flight. VATSIM is a great free option. For myself, I use PilotEdge for my ATC flying. If you ever find yourself on their site, go to the page where you can listen to daily recordings as they save all radio transmissions and remove all dead space in between calls. It will give you a nice example of the level of professionalism you will have as a member. If you like what you hear, they a a free trial period.