New Pilot Center

New Pilot Welcome Pack | BVA's Getting Started Guide

The New Pilot Center is a guide intended to help new members learn the basics of flying on the BVATC server. It does not cover specific flying techniques, but does explain the essentials of flying with BVA's ATC system.

Forums

Before Start Checklist

"Share the Cockpit" Co-Pilot Ridealong Program

Connecting to the BVATC Server

Network Settings

Which Controller Do I Contact?

Choosing a Callsign

Filing a Flight Plan

Tutorial Flight #1: IFR, KBOS-KFJK

Tutorial Flight #2: VFR, KACK-KBOS

Forums

All members can view forum content at any time (without a login). However, BVA's forums require a separate registration (you must register for the website, wait for that account to be approved, and then go to the "Forum" page and register using your BVA ID). Any forum usernames that do not match a BVA ID will be deleted.

Before Start Checklist

1. Don't hestitate to ask questions ... ever! All controllers prefer to answer a simple question than to try and correct a mistake after it has already been made. If you don't understand an instruction, ask for clarification - you'll hear veteran pilots do this all the time in real life.

2. Be sure you have the latest version of FlightDesk installed on your computer, so you can file Flight Plans. FlightDesk will soon be the only method of filing plans to ATC. You can download FlightDesk by clicking here.

3. Which Controller do I Contact? The most important thing to remember about controllers is not to start taxing or flying without talking to somone first. Even if you get the wrong frequency by accident, we'll help you find the right person.

4. Don't Fake It. Once again, if you don't understand an instruction, ask for clarification. We can't stress this enough.

5. Start from the ground up. Spend a few minutes on the ground listening to ATC (or even observe from the "Tower Controller" mode if you have the Deluxe version of FSX) before beginning, and start with a short flight, maybe even a VFR hop.

6. Begin with an aircraft you know how to control. Especially if this is your first time flying multiplayer, this is not the time to be searching for your radio stack or fooling around with an FMC ... start with something manageable, and work your way up.

7. Fly with the ATC! Our controllers are here because they love controlling. Save the long-haul flights for times when no controllers are online, and fly the short hops in controlled airspace during our peak hours.

8. Don't spawn on the runway. And if you do - CONTACT ATC FIRST! Check the session info to see who's online, and talk to them. The best option isn't always an immediate turn off the runway. You can also choose "World" > "Go to Airport" from the menu, and re-spawn yourself at a gate if you accidentally spawn in the wrong place.

9. Enter your Callsign Correctly. Don't forget that the three-letter ICAO callsigns are not necessarily intuitive; check out the "Flight Planning" section of the website for more information.

10. Don't pause in controlled airspace without asking a controller for permission first.

11. Listen, and wait your turn. Before speaking, make sure pilots and controllers have completely finished their conversation, wait a few more seconds, and then begin your request.

12. Maximum airspeed below 10, 000' MSL is 250 knots.

13. Use the resources. Especially BVATC Live! and this website.

14. Helpful Websites

a. Charts, Airport Diagrams, and Weather: http://www.airnav.com and http://www.myairplane.com.

b. Sectional Charts (especially for viewing boundaries of airspaces): http://www.skyvector.com.

c. LiveATC - listen to numerous real-world ATC frequencies live, including Boston Clearance, Ground, Tower, Departure, Approach and Center: http://www.liveatc.net.

d. This website.

15. Downloads. Numerous downloads of aircraft and liveries are available on the Boston Virtual ATC website free of charge. Most importantly, however, download the KBOS Airport Enhancement, AFCAD updates, and Event Scenery updates from the Downloads section of the website. If you have installed these files correctly, you will see Runway 14/32 at the south end of the field at Boston along with updated taxiway signs. You will also see all of our featured airports as they are in real life, with several tweaks and fixes. If you don't download these files, you will find navigating our airports very tricky.

Share the Cockpit

Everyone in our server is always willing to help out new pilots at anytime, especially when traffic is quiet. However, we do have a specific "Share the Cockpit" program to ease the transition into Boston Virtual ATC. We have a pool of experienced co-pilots waiting to take the left or right seat with you for some orientation flights. Our experienced pilots can help you with everything from radio communications to SIDs/STARs to flying complex instrument approaches. Just e-mail sharethecockpit@bostonvirtualatc.com with your request. Your BVA co-pilot will respond lining up a time, place, and aircraft type for your to share in-session.

Connecting to the BVATC Server

We strongly recommend that you connect to the BVATC server using the 'Direct Connect' feature instead of GameSpy, but both options will work. Connecting directly to the server eliminates many of the connection issues that GameSpy has. Here's a step by step guide to 'Direct Connecting' to the BVATC Server:

1. In the Multiplayer window, select ‘Local Network (LAN)’ not ‘GameSpy’.

2. Sign in with your username (formerly your GameSpy ID).

3. Click ‘Connect Directly’.

4. Enter the Server IP Address: 66.109.25.244

5. Click ‘Find Sessions.’ The password window will appear, and enter the current password for the server.

6. You're done! Set up your aircraft properly (see "Choosing a Callsign") with your Airline Call Sign drop-down box to "None" and Flight Number at "0", then load into the session and enjoy.

Network Settings

Which Controller Do I Contact?

All certified controllers at Boston Virtual ATC sign in to the server with a specific username related to the position they are working so that pilots can easily view all active controllers by looking at the "Session Info" screen. The format is as follows: (Airport)_(Postition)_(Frequency)_(First seven letters of GameSpy ID).

The position the controller is working is identified by the letter in the username: Cl=Clearance Delivery, G=Ground Control, T=Local Control(Tower), A=Approach/Departure, C=Center.

Some examples of these usernames are: BOS_Cl_121.65_John7, PWM_G_121.95_TrysV, ACK_T_118.30_Loctite, BDL_A_127.22_Maveric, ZBW_C_124.52_Capt.Mi.

The ATC positions hierarchy:

All certified controllers log in to the highest position they wish to control, and cover all positions underneath that aren’t already staffed. Again All certified controllers log in to the highest position they wish to control, and cover all positions underneath that aren’t already staffed. For example, if you see a Boston Approach controller online (BOS_A_133.00_Maveric, for example), the controller obviously handles approach, and will also cover Boston tower, ground, and clearance, if another controller is not logged on to any of those positions under him/her. If this is the case, all traffic departing Boston Logan would contact 133.00, BOS_Approach for their clearance. This also means that if there is a controller logged on as tower with no approach or center frequency active, he/she will NOT handle approach’s duties. In this scenario, all inbound traffic would monitor UNICOM on 122.95 until they turn final, and then contact the tower controller for a landing clearance. Likewise, the departure frequency for all departing aircraft in this situation is also UNICOM. If you’re not flying in an active controller’s airspace, monitor UNICOM to communicate with other pilots and announce intentions. This way, if you enter another controller’s airspace, that controller can reach you on the UNICOM frequency and ask you to contact him/her on his/her frequency.

At all times, when there are no controllers online, monitor UNICOM on 122.95, and treat the server as you would for a VFR flight in uncontrolled airspace, making position reports and keeping an eye for other traffic.

Choosing a Callsign

1. When selecting an aircraft, edit your aircraft's callsign in the "Aircraft Details" screen.

2. Set all fields in the dialog box to what is described and shown below.

Ensure that "None" is selected as your Airline call sign.
Flight number should be "0".
Your call-sign goes in the "Tail Number" box.

3. Your callsign is entered in the "Tail number" box. In the example below, your callsign would be "Delta thirty-six twelve". Controllers will be able to properly see your tag when working ATC...it will appear as written in the "Tail number" box. While this doesn't realistically make sense, due to a glitch in FSX, this is the only way to ensure that the controllers in the session are able to see the correct callsign for your aircraft on the radar screen.

Now that you know how to properly enter your callsign, here a few notes on acceptable callsign formats.

1. GA (General Aviation) Callsigns:

Registration numbers (also called "N-number" or "tail number") for aircraft registered in the U.S. begin with the letter "N", which is followed by:

Anywhere from one to five numbers (e.g. N24896, N5333, N243, N12, N2)
Anywhere from one to four numbers, followed by a letter (e.g. N2385P, N829P, N12A, N2A)
Anywhere from one to three numbers followed by two letters (e.g. N107KR, N70AF, N2AG)

Note that the letters "I" (India) and "O" (Oscar) are not used in these tail numbers to avoid confusion with the numbers 1 (one) and 0 (zero), and the numeric portion of these callsigns cannot begin with zero (for example, N032BC is incorrect). Tail numbers for aircraft registered in other countries are quite different, and consist of five letters. Every aircraft registered in a particular country has the same prefix, which is assigned to that country. For example, an aircraft registered in Canada has a tail number that starts with either C-F or C-G, such as C-GYAP. While the "dash" in the tail number is written on the fuselage for readability, it is not included in air traffic systems. When filing a flight plan or choosing a callsign, the "dash" is omitted, and the tail number should be submitted as CGYAP instead of C-GYAP.

There are also specific 'formulas' for aircraft registrations from other countries. Some of these include LQ-xxx (Argentina), XB-xxx (Mexico) and HB-Vxx (Switzerland) - in all cases, the final three 'x' digits are to be replaced with numbers.

2. Airline Callsigns

Airline callsigns consist of a three letter prefix assigned to the airline, followed by one to four numbers representing the flight number. A list of the most common airlines and their respective prefixes can be found here (scroll all the way down). Again, dashes are not used in the callsign (e.g. use AAL603 instead of AAL-603).

Filing a Flight Plan

If you are departing IFR, you are required to file a flight plan prior to contacting a controller for your clearance. If you intend to depart VFR, filing a flight plan is still strongly encouraged, especially if you are departing out of a busy airport. All flight plans are filed through FlightDesk.