10th Anniversary Planning

We're just putting the finishing touches on our 10th anniversary plans. Included will be 10 codeshares with other airlines, a world tour, and an online event. Stay tuned.

Operation Tomodachi

Tommie posted a new event on the web page and flights for this event are good until further notice:

Daily AeroTexas Aviation International Relief Aid flights to provide assistance to the Japanese community and support survivors of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. Flights will be staged out of Yokota AB and flown to the Sendai airport, which is back in operation. For online flying, VATSIM Japan is an option, http://www.vatjpn.org/en/

vACC Online Event + VA-Meeting 2009

A few years back we had international service to Switzerland, and it was a lot of fun. This year we return to the land of Helvetica as we join with other virtual airlines online with VA-Meeting 2009. This event, presented by vACC Switzerland, is one of the biggest VA-events on VATSIM and will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2009 starting at 1800Z (1:PM CDT) to 2200Z (5:PM CDT). The event was made especially for VAs, and AeroTexas was invited to participate. It doesn't matter if you fly VFR or IFR, and it doesn't matter what your current rating is at AeroTexas - everyone is welcome to participate, especially our new members!

Though any arrival or departure from Zurich (LSZH) is acceptable, here are a few suggested places:

About 1 hour:
Frankfurt (EDDF)
Munich (EDDM)
Luxembourg (ELLX)
Lyon (LFLL)

About 1.5 hours:
London (EGKK)

About 2 hours:
Madrid (LEMD)

Most slots are filled , but I understand that they are planning to open more slots this afternoon. Please use the following code to book flights: 4a92c061cd816

Event Website
http://vameeting.vacc.ch

Charts
http://www.vacc.ch/en/documents/airports_and_charts/LSZH

See you in Zurich!

Houson LIVE! Event Recap

The Houston Live! event was well staffed in the Houston terminal area, and there were two Center controllers online too. I only managed one flight - from Monterrey to Austin. The weather at MMMY was marginal VFR and there were no controllers there - so that it made it easier to get in the air. Flight plan was LRD-SAT-CWK. Crossing the border near Laredo I was contacted by Houston Center, and shortly afterward directed to cross pilot's discretion one zero thousand, and to expect ILS Runway 17R. Received the full treatment, though conditions were very good and could have just canceled IFR and landed visual. I think there is an event in Fort Worth pretty soon - I'll keep you posted about this - hope to see more ATXans on VATSIM - it was fun.

Plans for Houston Live!

AeroTexas plans to participate in the 2009 Houston Live event. The event is pretty much free-form - so there's no specific departure or destinations, but the goal is to spend some time in Houston ARTCC airspace, or ZHU (see map).

As I plan for this event I think there are several options for AeroTexas members. The most basic is simply a one leg flight inside Houston airspace. I'm thinking the best plan for this option is to fly from San Antonio to Houston (either KIAH or KHOU will probably guarantee coverage all the way to ground). A second option is to either depart ZHU and land in another airspace, such as KAUS-KDFW, or depart from outside and return to ZHU, such as Memphis to Austin or Houston.

If you really want to mix things up, I would recommend a triangle. Flight triangles are a lot of fun and allow for different experiences in different centers. One possibility is Corpus - Lake Charles - Alliance (KAFW) - Corpus. All of the airports are relatively small, but have long enough runways for large jets. This means you usually won't have to deal with ground and tower comms - just pick up your clearance from Center before departing. Smaller airports I think are just easier to deal with all the way around - and it gives you the opportunity to consider a non-precision approach should conditions prevail upon your instrument skills. And if not - then you'll likely get a visual approach from a harried Center controller. If it gets too crazyn then you can just cancel IFR below 18000 and make your way in however you want!

Still another option would be to fly Bravo local - you could do KHOU-KGLS-KBPT-KIAH, for instance. All of these routes are valid and acceptable for the fly-in and any curve balls you can throw to ATC will keep things interesting for you and controllers.

Don't forget - this Saturday, August 22nd Houston ARTCC controllers will gather in Houston and they will be plugged into the scopes for 3 hours of LIVE controlling. Staffed from Delivery to Center, pilots will enjoy professional and courteous Lone Star hospitality as Houston controllers guide them safely home. No sign ups, no timetables, no worries, just come fly the friendly skies of Houston ARTCC (ZHU). The event will be in effect from 2200Z to 0100Z (5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.)

After Cross[ing] the Pond

The traffic was a snarl at Toronto in the wee hours on Saturday morning for VATSIM's "Cross the Pond Eastbound" event. This meant lots of waiting...my aircraft stood more than an hour delayed at various taxiway hold-points before finally getting the green light to `line up and wait`, as they say it in Canada.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, but never lonely as there were always plenty of controllers and tons of traffic for company along the way. This was my first time to fly transatlantic with VATSIM. Received Oceanic clearance about 20 minutes before entering Gander airspace on NAT-N at DENDU, and then it was position reports every 45 minutes or so; my last call was, `AeroTexas One reporting fifty two North, thirty West at one seven five nine zulu, flight level three three zero, mach zero decimal seven niner estimating five five north two zero west at one eight four nine zulu, RESNO next.`

Entering Shannon control area was cleared "ROKNA direct, expect no delays" - as in no holding via the published - but on final things were tight and they had me slowed way down on final for the ILS RWY 28.

The slow speed and fierce crosswinds made things too interesting so I wisely went around. The second time I approached with more power - but still had a near 20 knot component on flare. Nice to be in Dublin, even if it is dark - now it's time for a pint!

Cross the Pond Eastbound

AeroTexas will Cross The Pond (CTP) - a bi-annual event which takes place on the VATSIM Virtual Air Traffic Network. It involves a large number of aircraft flying between the United States of America & Canada and United Kingdom. This year the Eastbound event is taking place on Saturday 25th October 2008. There are departures planned from two airports in the USA and one airport in Canada, with arrivals into three UK airports and one Irish airport.

All members can participate in this event and log hours flown using ATAVS - even if you're a new member you can join in on the fun. Slot reservations are required, and you will need to brush up on your oceanic airspace skills, but it should be fun.

VATSIM Cross The Pond Eastbound 2008

LSZH Fly-In

The fly-in at Zurich was big fun. As I checked on yesterday morning Richard sent me an e-mail and I found out that he got an early start out of Zurich before the traffic got too bad. Can't say I blame him, though - the traffic was something. But I had a good time anyway. My flight was an inbound to LSZH and it was a pretty long flight for me in the 737-700 with an ETE of 4 hours from Madeira to Zurich. I thought the service was great. Lisbon Center picked me up not too long after liftoff from Funchal, and though he was not entirely understandable we made good progress without embarrassing ATX while traversing his airspace to the north. Chatted up a fellow in an A320 who popped up a few miles behind me enroute to Frankfurt. Lufhtansa does good business in these parts. The good ATC continued all the way to Zurich for the Flughafen Zurich fly-in on VATSIM. Traffic was incredible in the terminal area, but Zurich Center, Approach, and Final Approach were so cool you would have thought it was just a few locals in the traffic pattern. Of course you could tell the difference from the rapid-fire back-and-forth in Center and approach airspace. Spent a bit of time in the hold over GIPOL, but it was a breeze using the Smiths FMS - I'm sold on ISG Simavionics gauges now! Landing was picture perfect - it was hard darkness by the time we made it to the terminal area and cleared for approach. Still, the skies were clear below 6000 and the winds were calm, and I managed an excellent landing off the ILS on Runway 14.

Flughafen Zurich - 2nd Call

A reminder to all of our members to reserve a slot for Swiss ARTCC's online event next Saturday. Flughafen Zurich will be held on on VATSIM on Saturday October 18th from 12:Noon to 8:PM CDT. AeroTexas members should reserve a slot using the following VA registration code ( 48ee721b53d69 ).

Valid flights include any departure or arrival between Zurich (LSZH) and the following airports:

KAUS - Austin, Texas
KJAX - Jacksonville, Florida
LOWL - Linz, Austria
LFMN - Nice, France
EDDL - Dusseldorf, Germany
EDDK - Cologne, Germany
LEBL - Barcelona, Spain
LFBP - Pau, France
LHBP - Budapest, Hungary
LIRN - Naples, Italy
EGPH - Edinburgh, Scotland
EIDW - Dublin, Ireland
LBFF - Sofia, Bulgaria
LEMD - Madrid, Spain
EHFH - Helsinki, Finland
EGSS - Stanstead, England
EGKK - Gatwick, England
LPMA - Madeira, Spain

A Brief History of Events

September, 2008 - AeroTexas Check Ride
July, 2007 - ZFW Friday Night Operations Event
April, 2007 - TexAirVirtual Fly-In on VATSIM
Feb, 2007 - Mountain Madness Flyin (Vancouver FIR on VATSIM)
December, 2006 - Surprise Fly-In on VATSIM
September, 2005 - 4th Annual Flight Review
August 2004 - 3rd Annual Flight Review
July, 2004 - Tour de France
August, 2003 - 2nd Annual Flight Review
June, 2003 - Jacksonville June Jumble
March, 2003 - Mardi Gras Fly-In
December, 2002 - Flyin' Around the State of Texas
August 2002 - 1st Annual Flight Review
July, 2002 - July Evening Tour of Texas
September, 2001 - Battle of the Airlines - Scent of Southeast Asia
October, 2001 - Online IVAO Fly-In
July, 2001 - Hawaii Bash - online SATCO Fly-In