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!

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.)

Houston LIVE!

On 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. The event will be in effect from 2200Z to 0100Z (5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.)

Houston Overload - July 12 Fly-In on VATSIM

Flight Date: 07/12/2009
Origin: KMSY
Destination: KIAH
Distance: 264 nm
Flight Time: 1.5 HRS
Flight Route: TBDDP JEPEG WOLDE WOLDE2

2000Z - 2300Z (3PM - 6PM CDT)
Planned Altitude: your choice, but see instructions below.

SPECIAL Instructions:

Have ALL CHARTS for both the departure and arrival airports handy in case of wind changes!!! Please make sure you have the current departure chart with you. Some ATC request 1st waypoint information on RNAV Departures! Make sure flight simulator is displaying “Indicated Airspeed”. Please be very patient with the controllers, they may have their hands full with us!

Please make sure you sign online with ATX in your call-sign. Your call-sign should include your AeroTexas ID (eg., ATX01).

FLIGHT LEVELS:
Eastbound RVSM (FL290, FL310, FL330, FL350, FL370, FL390, FL410)
Westbound RVSM (FL300, FL320, FL340, FL360, FL380, FL400)

For more informaiton visit VATSIM ZHU

VATMEX Fly-In

At the fly-in yesterday I heard ATX31 on Houston Center frequency and we set up a chat for most of the flight to Mexico City. He was dogedly trying to get ZHU's attention for liftoff from Laredo, and I had been airborne for a while, departing earlier from Austin. Actually ZHU was so busy, and I must have been just ahead of the horde lining up in Houston so my first contact with any ATC was entering MMTY airspace. They had two controllers on frequency - one speaking English and the other Spanish, so it was sort of a DI-lingual staffing. I flew the Vista Liners Boeing 727-100 Beta with a panel of my own mashed-up design. ATX31 was flying the CRJ-200. The airwaves were busy, but we got good attention from all the VATMEX staffed throughout Mexico. Closer to Mexico City, the terrain rose to the South and West and we got instructions to fly the TAMAL1A. In Mexico, there is a different terminal arrival procedure for each approach. We were cleared for the approach to Runway 5R, and this was my view from the flight deck.



Also notice the mass of radar echos - there's a lot of aircraft in the area. This was a fun event and I hope VATMEX does it again sometime soon.

VATMEX Fly-In Today

The !VIVA MÉXICO¡ Fly In begins today at 6:PM CDT (2300Z). AeroTexas has approved a good selection of round-trip flights to Mexico City. Suggested flight plans are below (thanks Ben!). You are encouraged to check the VATMEX Website for the latest information. See you in the air this evening - check the aerotexas voice channel during the event.

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Flight Plans

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ARRIVING Mexico City:
KAUS-MMMX: AUS2.SAT.J21.TMN.VITOS1A
KHOU-MMMX: PSX3.PSX.J177.TAM.UJ14.TMN.VITOS1A
KSAT-MMMX: BOWIE3.LRD.J21.TMN.VITOS1A
KELP-MMMX: CJS.UJ47.SLP.UJ45.QET.KOBEK1A

Departing Mexico City:
MMMX-KAUS: BETER1.BETER.J177.TAM.UJ19.MAM.J25.BRO.J25.CWK
MMMX-KHOU: BETER1.BETER.J177.TAM.UJ53.AGUAS.UJ25.CRP.LISSE6
MMMX-KSAT: BETER1.BETER.J177.TAM.UJ19.MAM.J25.BRO.J25.CRP.LEMIG1
MMMX-KELP: [SID].TLC.J13.PTJ.UJ45.SLP.UJ47.TRC.J42.DEL.UJ27.OMVAV

Flights to Mexico City (MMMX)

I'm just going to rehash what Ben sent me a few days ago. These will be the routes that will be available for the fly-in for AeroTexas. As far as a I know I don't think there's a reservation system, so you can just fly-in whenever you like on that day.

TO MMMX
KAUS-MMMX: AUS2.SAT.J21.TMN.VITOS1A
KHOU-MMMX: PSX3.PSX.J177.TAM.UJ14.TMN.VITOS1A
KSAT-MMMX: BOWIE3.LRD.J21.TMN.VITOS1A
KELP-MMMX: CJS.UJ47.SLP.UJ45.QET.KOBEK1A

FROM MMMX
MMMX-KAUS: BETER1.BETER.J177.TAM.UJ19.MAM.J25.BRO.J25.CWK
MMMX-KHOU: BETER1.BETER.J177.TAM.UJ53.AGUAS.UJ25.CRP.LISSE6
MMMX-KSAT: BETER1.BETER.J177.TAM.UJ19.MAM.J25.BRO.J25.CRP.LEMIG1
MMMX-KELP: [SID].TLC.J13.PTJ.UJ45.SLP.UJ47.TRC.J42.DEL.UJ27.OMVAV

The departure procedures vary in Mexico City, so there are more options than I have listed for the departure procedure out of Mexico City.

I would advise all participating pilots to have charts ready to reference for the Mexico portion of the flight; I was able to find everything at www.vatmex.com.

Thanks, Ben!

Mexico Fly-In on May 8th

! VIVA MÉXICO ¡ Fly In.
Friday May 8th begining at 1800 hrs CST (2300Z).

For more information visit http://www.vatmex.com/index1.htm

Download flyer:
http://www.vatmex.com/events/EVENTO_MAYO_2009.pdf

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.

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

VATSIM Event

VATSIM's ZFW ARTCC has invited AeroTexas to attend their Friday Night Operations (FNO) event on Friday, July 25. They will be extending their hours for FNO from 0000 to 1200 Zulu - to allow for more flexibility for domestic and international arrivals. They will be using an arrival and departure slot method. Pilots can either sign up for an arrival or departure slot or ATC will assign one to them. This event will serve as a "warm up" for their annual Summer Sizzle, which takes place August 2. Summer Sizzle is a 12 hour, live event, where ZFW controllers gather together at a hotel in Dallas, Texas. Don't forget to use your AeroTexas ID (ATX**) when flying on VATSIM. Visit http://zfwartcc.com/events2.php for more event information.

Stampedes and Networks

The First Annual Lone Star Stampede, sponsored by ZFW ARTCC and American Airlines Virtual, will be held this Saturday, May 12, 2007 from 2:PM - 5:PM CDT (1900Z-2200Z). With our new slate of Lone Star flights in and between the two centers, AeroTexas members are encouraged to jump online, and show the ZFW and ZHU controllers that we can be stampede too. Be ready for rapid-fire clearances, crossing restrictions, and holding patterns.

AeroTexas Interflight service has been renamed, Network Flight Service, and has been expanded with a few new segments in Oakland and Jacksonville airspace.

Cowboy Breakfast

On April 21st, TexAirVirtual is promoting a Texas-based fly-in on VATSIM. There's sure to be a few "Texas" callsigns on the server that day from 6:AM - 10:AM CDT (1100Z-1500Z). TexAirVirtual is a new airline with which we are happy to collaborate on events like this. Just remember to use your AeroTexas callsign on the network to show your ATX spirit.

Spring Adventure Series

AeroTexas announces the 2007 Spring Adventure Series, and welcomes all members to participate in the discussion in the new forum. This series will feature 15 flights in Texas, each of which will be described with route and fuel planning, alternates, and any other useful information - check the AeroTexas message board for more details.

Mountain Madness

AeroTexas will participate in the Mountain Madness Flyin, a VATSIM-sanctioned event in the Vancouver FIR with opportunities to win prizes. It is an all day event taking place on Saturday, February 10, at 1800 - 2300 UTC, and will be sponsored by many of the companies that produce add-ons. In the next few days I will release a list of airports in the Vancouver that are approved for AeroTexas pilots (so you get to compete for the prizes and log some time for the roster as well), including suggestions for making the most points in the event. All AeroTexas pilots will be eligible to participate.