In this issue

President and COO David Klain presents his “President‟s Page”.

Jason Archambeault takes us back to our roots And follows it into the present. Part 1

Bill Perry shows us a little of what it took to produce the flight planner/dispatch program. Welcome to the latest issue of the “SHIELD” This issue starts a new era in the history of this magazine as I take the helm and steer it Our new assistant editor presents part one of into the future to bring it more inline with the a new series he calls “Know your Domain” current technical trends here at United Virtual. In this issue we are using a retro theme due to the fact that the “SHIELD” has been inactive Adam Hay tells us where we started and where for quite a while and also to give us the ability we Are headed with the Saturday Scramble. to “ pick up where we left off ” so to speak. As President Dave Klain gives us an overall view of the state of United Virtual to date, we also look back at where we started and how this Virtual Airline grew, and some of the unique events that have taken place such as the article in P.C. Pilot that caused an explosion in membership. We have reached a number of major milestones here at UVA that I believe Anyone wishing to contribute to the SHIELD is more than surpasses the experience any other virtual air- welcome. Please submit all articles for review to the following line could ever provide. Personally I will never email address . Articles may include a maximum of two graph- forget when “ all of a sudden ” everything dis- ics and should be produced in Microsoft Publisher format. appeared (this would have collapsed any other Questions, comments and ideas for future issues are always VA) and how one by one we started finding welcome. one another and pulling together until Dave and the rest of the staff got everything back up and [email protected] running. This one incident indicates to me that no matter what the circumstance is “United Virtual” and it‟s members can weather the storm, and we will be here leading the way for all the other virtual airlines. We have come a long way from our humble beginning, and have accomplished much, but I believe we still have a long future ahead of us here at “ The Greatest Virtual Airline ” in existence. Cheers !

IT‟S TIME TO FLY

Editor-in-Chief

"From the President"

Welcome back to United Virtual Airlines‟ own in-house magazine – “The Shield”! Due to a number of personnel changes and real-life demands, we had a hiatus with the magazine‟s production, but I believe we now have a team in place that will lead us to ever bigger and better things. We want to go back to making this a quarterly publication and the staff is already at work on the next issue, but they really need your contributions. This magazine will be what you put into it. With that in mind, I encourage anyone interested in writing an article or contributing to the magazine to contact the editor at editor@united- virtual.com.

This issue of “The Shield” reflects some of those ideas and contributions. Based on your ideas and suggestions, we‟ve put together a unique mixture of articles. Some relate to the real world, some relate to flight simulation. Some talk about ways to improve your ability as a UVA pilot. Some are just fun. I encourage you to take the time to read through the entire magazine – rest assured there is something in here for everyone.

A lot has gone on at UVA over the last year, but one thing has remained constant – the dedication of our pilots. It is your efforts that give United Virtual literally a 24/7/365 presence on the VATSIM network. The staff and I remain committed to enhancing your flight simulation experience, and we‟re always looking for feedback. If you have some suggestions for ways to improve the VA, let us know! If you have suggestions for things you‟d like to see at United Virtual, let us know! Just like this magazine, while I can‟t promise we‟ll implement all your suggestions, but they will get a fair hearing and consideration.

Remember that UVA is nothing without you – the pilots who make this a living, breathing online community. As al- ways – “It‟s time to fly!”

All the best,

David R. Klain President and COO

History of United Airlines and UVA Part 1

By Jason Archambeault UAL012

On a windy day on the beaches of Kitty Hawk, NC, Orville and Wilbur Wright ushered in a new era in history by proving to the world that man could fly in a heavier than air craft. Fifteen years later, in 1918, the United States Government found an important peacetime role for aviation; delivering mail. Originally an experimental program, within months, air mail delivery proved so successful that it became a permanent part of the US Postal Service. As a result of the success of air mail operations, many private businessmen were intrigued and saw a lucrative business opportunity. Pennsylvania Congressman Claude Kelly was enlisted and his efforts resulted in the Air Mail Act of 1925. This act allowed the carriage of air mail by private carriers under a competitive bidding system. One of the successful bidders was Walter T. Varney who launched air mail service between Pasco, Washington and Elko, Nevada on April 6, 1926. That flight was the start of true commercial transpor- tation in the United States. Because Varney was a predecessor of United, it was also the birth of United Airlines. When Leon Cuddeback flew this historic flight, it was the start of a chain of events that energized the United States from the mid-1920‟s into the mid 1930‟s. During this 10 year period, on May 10, 1927, Charles Lindbergh courageously flew a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Along with Lindbergh‟s incredible solo flight, several US Aviation giants, William Boeing among them, rose to prominence. Clement Keys, Vern Gorst, and founder of the predecessor company that launched the first US commercial air transport company, Walter Varney among them. Among the aviation pioneers were adventurous travelers who were daring enough to use the new mode of transportation. With no heat during the winter and no air conditioning in the summer, these brave travelers rode in cramped cabins filled with sacks of air mail until bigger and more comfortable air transports came into service. When the Boeing and Ford Trimotors came into operation, stewardess service was born. Steve Simpson, the Boeing Air Transport traffic manager took the suggestion of nurse Ellen Church by pro- posing that nurses serve coffee, sandwiches, and reassure apprehensive flyers. May 15, 1930 one of United‟s predecessor subsidiary airlines, Boeing Air Transport, introduced the world‟s first stewardess service. This proved so successful that stewardesses quickly became an integral part of commercial air travel. Ellen Church was the world‟s first stewardess.

Part II will further define the time line of United and through the next few installments will Show how our cherished United Virtual came into being and eventually paralleled its real world Counterpart. Stay tuned

nlike general aviation aircraft in which fuel and passenger calculations and loading can fit onto a single sheet or follows a simple formula, balancing safety, fuel costs, and efficiency in jet aircraft is a very complex process. One of the big- Ugest steps forward we‟ve taken at UVA is the amount of realism we have taught our pilots through online sessions, fo- rum postings, and the checkride process. With a Training department staff that has a large background of real world and virtual aviation experience, we have taken many steps forward in making out pilots the best on VATSIM. The Saturday Scramble is a good example of the magnitude with which the training and experience of our pilots shines as we impress con- trollers with our abilities to correctly plan flights, follow flight planned routes, and follow clearances. The following is a few excerpts taken from the documentation that is provided with the UVA excel and online flight planner.

The UVA Dispatch tool, both the online and excel version took the Training Department staff over 1,000 hours to complete. The original idea started with a simple spreadsheet similar to this:

The idea included all of the UVA aircraft, and performed some very simple fuel calculations. The original version, the UVA Fuel Planner V1.0 included only fuel calculations, and it wasn‟t until V1.5a that the V-Speeds were introduced.

Following the Release of the UVA FVP (Fuel and V-speed planner), the training department did extensive testing on the num- bers that were being used for fuel burn and v- speeds which were ALL based upon the most accurate real world numbers our research provided. Besides the over 1,000 hours that went into programming and completing the final version of the Dispatch Creator, there was over 100 hours of research alone for the fuel, weight, and v-speed charts and numbers that were used to form the basis of the calculations. In December 2006, version 2.01beta of the UVA Planner was released to the testers:

After an extensive amount of flight testing, our figures showed that in many instances our fuel, weight, and v-speed calcula- tions were the most accurate of any freeware and several payware options available. With fuel burns over a 5 hour flight coming to within 400lbs of calculations, we were quite proud of the work that had been done. Along with the new Flight in- formation input area, the UVA Planner introduced one of our (the developers - Orest and I) most anticipated new upgrades… the Dispatch Page.

By clicking on the dispatch tab at the bottom of the sheet, and after inputting a simple bit of information on the Fuel Plan- ner page, the dispatch release was born:

With the new ability to have ALL of your flight information on a single dispatch release page available, the realism of pilots, and the upgrade of UVA tLast but not least came the release of the online version of the Dispatch Creator that incorporates and pulls data from the flight reservation screen:

Last but not least came the release of the online version of the Dispatch Creator that

This final version of the overall project was a great leap forward in helping our pilots answer so many of the complex questions, and bring a majority of their flight planning into a single, couple click area that prints on a single page. For those who haven‟t tried it yet, please do…you‟ll soon forget how hard it was to make all those calculations and find all that information from multiple sources. To our many new UVA pilots who have not experienced the great publication of the Shield and also to our veteran pilots, VHQTD would also like to include some excerpts from the Dispatch Creator documen- tation that is a good learning tool for new pilots, and refresher for us old veterans about the Fuel, Weight, and V-Speed plan- ning that goes into a flight.

Take off & Landing Speeds – VSpeeds The speeds used for the critical Takeoff and Landing segments are carefully calculated for efficiency and safety. It is abso- lutely imperative to not approach stall speed in a swept wing jet,especially during these critical times – so you must carefully respect these speeds. Stall speed may be only 25% below the speeds you will be flying in these segments! “VSpeeds” will vary depending on the aircraft weight, configuration and weather & conditions. This planner will calculate reasonable values for you to use, as long as your aircraft simulation has reasonable accuracy. The planner will also indicate the UVA SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) flap positions for takeoff and landing in all fleet aircraft. Calculation and proper application

Fuel & Weight Maximum Gross Takeoff Weight (MTOW)

There is a maximum weight for takeoff, in any plane. The fuel on board and the payload is the extra weight that is added to the Empty Weight of the plane. This total weight must be less than the maximum to safely takeoff. Note that sometimes you will need to trade payload for fuel, in order to make a trip. You will be warned by this planner, if you are too heavy.

Maximum Gross Landing Weight (MGLW)

If you try to land your plane at a weight exceeding this, you will damage the plane, or at a minimum put it into an extensive maintenance review. It should not be done except under emergency considerations. This is a critical issue.

Most larger planes will be able to take off with more fuel than they can safely land with. The values vary tremendously for different planes, but if you have more than 3 to 4 hours of cruise fuel still on board when you land, you may be over the limit. Beware. This Planner will tell you for sure.

Far Reserve Fuel

For dispatch planning, this is the absolute minimum legal amount of fuel that must be on the aircraft when you land. This amount of fuel cannot be used for the flight, during planning. Once planning is done and you are in the air, all fuel on board is in play. But, unless you have a good reason like an unanticipated emergency, we expect you to have at the very least this minimum amount of fuel when you land,. With proper planning and no unanticipated events, you will have much more than the FAR Reserve when you land. This is a critical issue.

For UVA SOP the absolute minimum is 45 min of cruise fuel, or 10% of the flight fuel on overseas flights. The Planner will calculate this value for you.

How much fuel to board?

These are the items that the planner will add up for you, once you fill in the particulars of the trip.

● Flight Plan Fuel (the fuel required to fly from the origin to the destination) ● Wind Correction (headwinds and tailwinds will affect the amount of fuel required) ● Alternate Fuel (cruise fuel required to fly to your alternate) ● Contingency Fuel (cruise fuel for holds, 2 missed approaches, off optimum flight/route, long taxi) ● Captain's/Tanker Fuel Taxi Fuel Absolute] Minimum Landing Fuel (45 min cruise or 10% trip)

As a general rule of thumb, landing at your primary airport without exercising any of the contingencies will typically result in having at least 1.5 hours of cruise fuel remaining on board.

What is an hour's worth of cruise fuel?

The UVA planner will assume that you are flying a plane/panel that is reasonably close to real world values. If this is a valid assumption, then fuel and weight planning will be accurate. If not, then errors will occur - but you can easily check for and correct for these errors with a little bit of testing.

If you have a fancy payware plane, pretty likely it will be quite close. In fact you may even have some sort of utility available to do much of your fuel planning for you.

In order to correct for an inaccurate panel (or just check it), you will have to collect some simple data yourself to make a first approximation, here is what to do. Load up your plane with about 50% of its fuel capacity, take off and level out at a typical cruise level for the plane. (FL300's for jets, FL200's for turboprops). Now set a timer and see how much fuel you burn in an hour while in stable cruise. Now you have a measured base amount fuel burn to work with. Check that against the fuel burn figure used by the Planner, if it is different, you will need to apply a correction, or even better fix up or get a more accurate panel!

VSpeeds

Now, what are all these mysterious VSpeeds? We will only discuss a few of the very many different speeds that are critical for aircraft operation. This planner will make it very easy for you to calculate the critical speeds you need to make a safe take- off and landing.

V1

The Go – No-go or Decision speed. For takeoff you proceed in the following manner. This is UVA SOP.

Centered in position on the takeoff runway, with the brakes applied, runup the engines to 70% N1, check for stabilization, then smooth advancement of throttles to takeoff thrust, engage TO/GA mode. Keep your right hand on the thrust lever until V1 (decision speed), if you reach that you are committed to T/O, both hands on yoke then.

For the takeoff roll, this speed is calculated as the maximum that will allow you to abort the takeoff, and come to a safe and complete stop on the available runway you have. This is done in conjunction with setting the autobrakes to RTO (rejected T/ O)

The correct sequence for an abort at >80 knots (and less than V1) is:

1. Close the thrust levers quickly and firmly 2. Confirm/hit the A/T disconnect, not necessary if THR HLD is indicated, but good habit 3. Confirm/manually deploy the spoilers to be sure. 4. Full reversers down to 80 knots. 5. If above 85 knots on rejection, confirm RTO autobrakes are active. 6. Bring the aircraft to a full stop and engage parking brakes. Announce to the cabin crew if passengers should sit tight or evacuate. 7. Look outside and see lots of smoke coming from the gear, and a bunch of fire trucks all around real soon with hoses ready. RTO application of brakes will give it every possible ounce of braking it can muster, all in an instant. Aircraft will be out of action for the day.

Vr & V2

The Rotation Speed (Vr) and Safety Speed (V2). When rolling down the runway, Vr is the speed at which you will begin to apply smooth, steady, and positive back pressure on the yoke to lift the nose off the ground and start the aircraft rotation and takeoff from the ground. V2 is called the safety speed, as it will allow you to climb at the best rate with one engine out.

At Vr you should smoothly rotate the aircraft to about 8° of pitch over 3 seconds, confirm that you have lifted off, and then continue in a smooth movement to about 15° pitch. You should control the pitch to maintain V2+10 speed up to Acceleration Height (1000ft AFE). AFE is above field elevation, AGL is above ground level, they will coincide only if the ground is per- fectly flat around the airfield. This V2+10 speed is sometimes called V3. You should have V2 in the speed window for this portion of the flight. If the aircraft is light (especially if you didn't derate the takeoff power) and you miss V3, don't worry, just hold the speed you are at. Even up to V2+25, the climb profile will be very similar. Never decelerate to try to catch it. Once you have 1000fpm positive rate of climb (just seconds), gear up.

And remember, set and fix your TO thrust on takeoff, and then control your speed with pitch, take whatever VS you get. As a reference and to guide the FD, V2 should be set in the speed window, don't you dare touch the SPD button.

From 35ft AFE to acceleration height (1000ft AFE) is the second segment climb. This segment is designed to get you away from the ground as quickly as possible, while still allowing for recovery in the event of an engine loss.

Once you reach Acceleration Height (1000 ft AFE), you pitch down, generally to around 8°, and accelerate to 250 knots still maintaining a bare 500 to 1000 fpm climb. As you speed up, retract the flaps gradually as you increase past the minimum flap speed for each setting. Note that 250 knots to 10,000 ft AGL is a target not a limit. Once you approach 250 knots, pull the nose up a bit again, and hold 250 knots with your pitch

Vref

This is your reference speed for landing. The planner will calculate the raw Vref, as well the Vref corrected for the landing winds, for the UVA SOP flap position.

Your landing approach speed is calculated as Vref + 5 + wind correction. The wind correction is half the steady wind plus the full excess gust. If winds are 10, G15 on the nose; speed = vref + 5 + (10/2) + (15-10) = vref +15. Never more than Vref + 20. But, don't worry, the planner will do all the work for you! The wind corrected Vref is sometimes called Vtgt, for V(target).

If you are autolanding in weather (can't on a checkride), then your landing approach speed is just Vref+5, as autoland has gust protection. Note that autoland is not just flying the glideslope with the A/P. Only more advanced panels have a full autoland, this will do an approach, full landing, flare and even rollout in the larger Boeings.

The FAF (final approach fix) will be marked on runway plates with an “X” or Maltese Cross. It will usually be located 5nm to 7nm from the threshold, and will be denoted by a co-location of an OM (outer marker), NDB (non-directional beacon, use your ADF to sense this), or perhaps just an intersection. It is critical that you use every navigational instrument you have to backup and crosscheck your course. Regardless of the type of approach, always tune in the NAV radios to nearby VORs or the ILS, and the ADF as applicable. This goes not only for landing, but for all segments of the flight.

Do not get into the bad habit of just following the magenta line, it may lead you into trouble.

You must fly a stabilized approach from the FAF, flaps in landing configuration, gear down, and at the wind corrected Vref. Your VS will be -750 fpm or so, and should never be more than -1000 fpm, and not less than -300 fpm, and you must be within one tick of glideslope and localizer centers. If you fail to meet these conditions, or get even one aural warning (such as PULL UP) you must go-around. Bad landings follow from a Bad approach, conversely Good landings follow from Good ap- proaches.

If you need to go-around, you engage TO/GA mode, as soon as your engines spool up, retract flaps to 15° (20° in the 747), nose up and set the command speed for the set flaps minimum speed + 10. On positive rate up, retract gear and then retract flaps as per the usual schedule as you speed up.

Assuming you have a good approach, and do not go-around, you continue to approach the runway. Once over the threshold you should be at 50ft AGL, and still flying at the wind corrected Vref (Vtgt). This puts you in perfect position to touchdown on the two big white rectangles, which is your aiming point on a precision runway. If set up correctly, you are like an arrow headed straight for the bull's eye! That landing aim point is 1000ft downrange from the usable runway threshold. You may land on the runway even 2000ft further (3000ft downrange from the threshold) and still be UVA SOP. The smaller markings on the runway mark off 500ft intervals, and are for orientation.

So, when you reach 50 ft AGL (hopefully at the threshold), slowly retard the throttle to flight idle. While doing so, at the right point (40ft to 10ft AGL, depending on the plane) you give a gentle tug for the flare to reduce your descent slope by 2° or so, you will then be descending on a 0.5° to 1° slope in the flare and at 150 fpm or less. You literally fly the plane (gently) into the runway.

Ideally during the flare and up to touchdown you should not go below Vref+5 + the gust excess, that is you bleed off the steady wind component only, but in any case you must never go below Vref – 10. If you flare at the right time this will not be a concern as you won't bleed enough speed for it to be a factor. The important thing to remember is that base Vref is only 30% above your stall speed and nothing good happens when the stick starts shaking!

Bill By Brian Hunsicker, Assistant Editor Know your domicile... UAL026

Part 1. Headquarters

ORDFO: Chicago, Illinois Population: 2,842,518 (city), 9.5 million cago Cubs, Chicago White Sox (MLB base- Things you might not have known about (metro) ball); Chicago Bulls (NBA basketball); Chi- Chicago: The Post Office at 433 W. Van Location: On the southwest corner of Lake cago Blackhawks (NHL hockey); NASCAR Buren is the only postal facility in the world Michigan Nextel Cup event at Chicagoland Speedway which you can drive a car through. And Chi- Founded: Aug. 12, 1833 How it came to be: The area was primarily cago‟s Western Avenue is the longest street Nickname: The Windy City inhabited by Native Americans, but Jean in the world. What makes it notable: The third-largest Baptiste Pointe du Sable of Haiti settled Mayor: Richard M. Daley city in the U.S. and has been a major transpor- there in the 1770s and founded the region‟s Signature event: Taste of Chicago tation hub. first trading post. After European settlers DOM: Jason Goo Iconic structure: The Sears Tower took over the land through the Treaty of St. Assistant DOM: Bernie Eddy Other places of note: Navy Pier, an enter- Louis, the Town of Chicago was formed in tainment center on Lake Michigan; the Chi- 1833 with a population of 350. Within seven cago River, which winds its way through years it had swelled to 4,000 people; fifty- downtown five years later, the population had reached one million. Nearby major colleges and universities: University of Chicago; DePaul University; Famous Chicago natives: Al Capone University of Illinois at Chicago; Northwest- (gangster); Hillary Clinton (former First ern University (Evanston) Lady and current U.S. Senator, D-N.Y.); Walt Disney (entertainer and entrepreneur); Major professional sports teams and Harrison Ford (actor); Jesse Jackson events: Chicago Bears (NFL football); Chi- (activist)

Photo courtesy of Chris McGuire/City of Chicago

Saturday Evenings are the time to jump online for the biggest and most realistic VATSIM Flyin to date: The Saturday Scramble!

Beginning at 2300Z and ending around 0300Z this multi-companywide flyin features some amazing traffic loads and controller stress levels that we have never seen before!

Combining real world procedures, hundreds of real world VATSIM pilots and perfect Air Traffic Control, this defiantly is the most exciting, heartpounding, exhilarating place to be on a Saturday Evening! Controllers will stay on a little while afterwards because it will The Saturday Scramble all started back in 2005. take a while to sort out the mess we Basically, here‟s the story… created…

Here‟s how it will go: The Scramble responds to survey data demonstrating that, given the choice, the Everyweek, based on the schedule, the majority of members prefer Saturday evenings for online group flights; they prefer Saturday Scramble BoD select oe group flights with the professional ATC provided by the VATSIM Network. destination airport to be that weeks „host‟. Management at UVA (United Virtual Airlines) and VAC (Virtual Air Canada) Pilots will sign up to fly in or out of recognized the potential in the Saturday evening environment, plus the fact that the host Airport, choose what aircraft they will fly (based on category certifications), between their rosters they had over 1,200 pilots… now THAT‟S a lot of traffic! select the aircraft (Tail number) they wish to fly, edit and print the automated dispatch release, then get to the gate, close those doors, get the engines started and head to the hot-spot for all Saturday night fun – The Saturday Scramble!

On November 3rd 2005, VAC announced their partnership with UVA and to fully integrate operations in the ongoing Saturday evening VATSIM event, The Saturday Scramble.

So, there it is… nothing too amazing… its not like it just happened and that the SatScram is what it is today by chance… there is a story going back 2 years from whence the Scramble once came, and where is it going?? Lets find out… Portland :

Saturday Scramble number one, I was another UAL pilot, and behind him one VAC pilot. We made the first Saturday Scramble a success, there was no ATC, but at least there were some pilots… Each event continued in the same pattern, low pilot turnout, and a few ATC positions manned.

UVA made the decision to make weekly posts of the event in the Satur- day Scramble forum to inform members of the event. When the next Saturday evening came along, the team at UVA and VAC strapped themselves in to Portland 2006. count the numbers… Through forum discussions and posts, the Saturday Scramble was up to a record of 25 pi- lots, covered with TWR, APP/DEP and CTR Controllers! Those who attended the Saturday Scramble said:

“I really enjoyed it! There wasn‟t much traffic, but it certainly was great to have ATC from descent to landing.”

“Its good to see that people are willing to give up their time to control us pilots, so we should show our appreciation by giving them someone to con- trol. I am free Saturday evenings, so I gave the Sat- urday Scramble a try and I‟m happy to say I‟ll be back next week.” Atlanta 2006.

Towards the end of 2005 there was slight increase in participation; and peo- ple were starting to recognize what the Saturday Scramble was. We had a small name to start 2006 with!

2006 was the year when the ball really „got its roll on‟! As per usual, during the first few Scrambles‟ of the new year participa- tion numbers are down with people away on holidays or still recovering from that New Years eve party… but we persevered with our event, and gradually the participation came back up. New Orleans 2006.

Again, things continued steady for the Saturday Scramble with participation numbers now rising weekly, so we were obviously doing something right! In March 2006, I was ap- pointed the Group Events Manager with UVA, and am still in that position. My primary focus was to build and grow the Saturday Scramble to become the largest event on the VAT- SIM Network.

Working closely with (at that time) my counterpart at VAC, Adrian Ng, we built an action plan on how to build and how to publicize the event. We agreed that VAC would handle all the ATC Coordination and notification in VATCAN also organize their own marketing for the event in their VA, and I would San Diego 2006. handle all forum posts in UVA, and organize ATC Coordina- tion for VATUSA.

It worked well! With ATC aware of our arrival one week prior to the event, there was always a nice bunch of controllers waiting for us to arrive! Of course, as everyone knows, added ATC coverage also draws more pilots to the event, so by April 2006 the Scramble was in full swing with pilot numbers higher than ever before, and ATC actually looking forward to our arrival! As you could imagine, the workload was not light. I needed someone else to help me out with all the paper- work…

My wish was granted by the nice folks at VHQ as we accepted a partnership with V-USA Airways. My initial contact at V- USA was Matthew League. I handed V-USA Airways the re- sponsibility of handling all ATC Coordination for the event, as well as requesting feedback from all ARTCC‟s. Those of you who have flown a Scramble recently, can tell this is a very well worked team effort. Toronto 2006.

Now with three airlines sponsoring the Saturday Scramble, with a total pilot count greater than one thousand seven hun- dred between them, the event was headed directly where it needed to go! VATSIM Forums posts became a weekly object, as did con- tinued discussion in all airline forums with regards to the event and what was in store.

Then the test was on.

Los Angeles 2006. April 22nd 2006… Saturday Scramble and Cross The Pond! This was a huge test for everybody involved, be it pilot, con- troller, or one of the event organizers, it all came down to teamwork!

The VATSIM Cross the Pond event was scheduled to run from 1000z - ????... that means everywhere is manned until, well… the traffic (or ATC coverage) log off, boy was it fun! VA- TUSA had integrated a „twist‟ into the April 22nd CTP by add- ing USA Domestic and Canadian traffic to the mix. UVA and VAC took this opportunity to host the Saturday Scramble into New York using three fields; KEWR, KJFK and KBOS! It started off with a boom! The folks at VATUK had staffed up with full ATC Coverage from London Heathrow to Shanwick Oceanic. With full ATC from start to finish, all the way across the pond, and complete East Coast Network coverage, the co-joined event was a success!

“Id just like to add my thanks to everyone who made CTP a fun and memorable event.

Despite some initial FSim and Internet problems (my end - line dropping out all the time) at Gatwick once we got up and running it was great fun. I think I overloaded my FSim with a big aircraft, big Gat- wick scenery and all the other traffic as well.

I departed EGLL at the 1300Z slot. The quality of the controlling was brilliant at every stage of the journey. The controllers did an absolutely excellent job in managing the quantity of the traffic. Thank- fully I had a friend with me acting as 1st officer which reduced my workload a bit and helped when the captain required his cup of tea!

When you get to Gander the US style of controlling hits you straight away. There were some fun times on the radio as we approached JFK and I love the US landing clearance with the customary „caution wake turbulence.‟." Tim Mollart VATSIM Member

“It has been a great pleasure for me to be part of the ATC crew for this CTP. I issued 104 clearances between 1000z and 1530z, and found the vast ma- jority of pilots to be very professional and well pre- pared. A few people made the whole request with their initial call-in, therefore they had to repeat that later-on again, but otherwise there were no real trouble. Thanks to all pilots, ATC and managers involved, it was great fun!” Martin Georg UVA were offering double hour credit to all pilots who flew into or out of one of the Saturday Scramble airports. Needless to say this proved very promising with a large number of members re- questing double hour credit.

As you will know, this procedure has remained in practice since and is available to claim at all Scramble events!

As always, movement was steady and participation numbers were still rising.

On December 24th 2006, UVA got into the Christmas spirit for the UVA Homecoming Saturday Scramble into VHQ, Chicago O‟Hare!

“Coolness! Really enjoyed this one, came in all the way from HKG.” Ben Hoffman UAL023

“A great event to finish the year!” Rich Lee VHQHR UAL005

At the end of 2006, the average pilot count per event was 78!

2007 brings new airports, new pilots, new charts, and new chal- lenges!

Looking back so far this year, I can tell you with the utmost con- fidence that the Saturday Scramble is really beginning to soar!

As I mentioned earlier, at the beginning of the year numbers are always down with people pre-occupied, so it was a slow starting scramble in Philadelphia.

A few weeks later, VHQCC announced CAT I routes for the Sat- urday Scramble! This allowed flights for every single category for every single member!

February was the month when things really „kicked off‟ when the Saturday Scramble headed to KMIA for the 2007 Superbowl XLI Fly-In! “Great event. Controllers handled some heavy traffic and did a tremendous job! I checked servinfo after landing....over 50% of US traffic was ZMA bound.....over 110 flights at 0300z. Camilo and staff.....great job on the Pilot Info Packet. The care taken in planning by the ZMA crew was evident by the excellent service provided by all. Well done!” Dave Catalani

“Well over six months and 1000+ hours of planning went into this, and although we didn't please everyone, we had no major incidents and both pilots and control- lers had a good time. From an ATC perspective, it's an awful lot like pouring from a huge jug into a funnel with a very narrow opening ... you watch it back up, and back up, and try really hard not to let it spill out.

We owe a huge debt to all the pilots who cooperated and made the whole thing possible, and to our neighbor ARTCC's, without whom we absolutely could not have had a successful event.” Tom Seeley VATUSA9

On March 10th, we headed West to New York to participate in the 2007 Nor‟ Easter event! ZNY had themselves staffed up from 2100z; two hours before the Scramble arrived, so we ex- pected it to be busy…and busy it was!

The final pilot count stood at 213, with 0 losses. Another fantastic event.

March 24th, VATUSA Convention! Real controllers controlling real people all in the same room! Now, can you honestly say that wouldn‟t have been fun? Everyone who made it to the LAS Scramble sure enjoyed them- selves, and were gearing up for the next week!

On April 3rd, I announced the event time change to the Saturday Scramble, which would become effective April 7th when we headed to Chicago. The basis for this descision came from the Saturday Scramble BoD in an attempt to a) better accommodate the West Coast, and b) to allow those who are finishing work, or driving home that extra hour to get to the sky.

So far our average pilot count for 2007 is 89 and still climbing! Hopefully the above has given you some insight to where the Saturday Scramble has come from and where we are now. It ob- vious that the event is established in the VATSIM community with a very solid foundation, and with everything working how it is, we are going to have a very strong future!

So, where is the Saturday Scramble headed? It‟s not going anywhere, but you are! The team here at SatScram have a number of surprises that we will be unveiling throughout the year, with a special surprise that you won‟t want to miss in December, other than that…we‟re still in the USA and Canada.

Thank you to everybody who has helped the Saturday Scramble grow and get to where it is today!

See you in the friendly skies… and remember, „Its time to fly!‟

Adam Hay Group Events Manager VHQCC UAL022 Dare to Fly With Class Aviation Word Search

J G B D R H R R F O R C E Q N X F A T P P M Y S M K Q R S E Z T D E O Q N W M S A S L T R E R T T U N S I A D S G G O W E D U T I T A L O E R C H A Q W Q K T V O T U L T O D Y F V H Z P W S U A A B B E X N T L I B I B E I T Q M Y J E Q E S T P N I E A I R P O R T Y N J J Z L D J L J H R U R T S L G T E S D A E H Y Y A B L M O L L F Z Y R A A C I Z C J D S J N A E Q S T R T E R V B O Z E P I I Z Y M E A S U R E M E N T I R O N T F L R T E N M E T E A O M C C B Z R Q P C O O G A N E W E D G A R I A I G N L R K Q V K V I I N W E S O B U O G N E C W F W V R T P C C A L T N P Y T P Q C L H T Y W O C D Q F N T H O C L A I L L U O N R E B J E D K L X X S O E H C H S V G O H Y I H M I J O G Q O G E A L T I T U D E R S O X E T M U T S F A T T R H V P L K I R V S E E Z S Z D D J D G L L X A L E W Q H V M S U W S Y Y T U B W X U U X E E K A R A G O T N A D N E T T A T H G I L F T S C E B G A R D J T C G U R S Z Z W V M A L D G U I O O W T F R Z K T S R N I T T Y N W O A N F F L F G H N X A L Z Q A A U Z I O B V U T N R P Q I F I F N I T I E M Q U H T R L W U X R D O J Y V W O K D L O F R D S T A E O I H T O K I T Y T S G D G A D E T L K O A H A E P V W T H N O G C N F L B E B V L O K L A L B L T Z P V Y G V G O Y I H E I U I B X O U F V X S

AERODYNAMICS AIRPORT ALTITUDE BERNOULLI CAPTAIN COCKPIT CONTROLS CONTROL-TOWER DEPARTURE DESTINATION DRAG FLIGHT-ATTENDANT FORCE FUSELAGE GLIDE GRAVITY HEADSET JET LANDING LATITUDE LIFT LOG LONGITUDE MEASUREMENT PILOT PRESSURE PROPELLER RESERVATION RUNWAY SEATBELT STABILIZER TAKE-OFF THRUST TOWER VELOCITY WING

The Staff and I hope that you enjoy this issue. We have had a lot of fun (and some crazy times) putting it together for you and We are already hard at work on the next edition. Until then, remember, It‟s not only time to fly…..It‟s time to SOAR !!!