Boston Virtual ARTCC was once again a centerpiece of FlightSimCon, with more than 40 pilots and controllers present at the event. This year’s conference was the biggest and best yet, with more exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, and attendees than ever before. As always, BVA was a big part of making that happen.
In addition to being a great chance to promote our community, FlightSimCon is one of our favorite opportunities to get together in person. In some cases, we meet each other for the first time; for others, the event is a chance to catch up with members who have become long-time friends.
The 2016 experience began on Friday, June 10. After moving tables, stuffing attendee bags, and helping out with several other conference setup activities, our members were treated to a ‘thank-you’ dinner at the Wood’N’Tap restaurant in downtown Hartford, courtesy of the conference.
The conference itself took place on Saturday and Sunday. Our community helped make the 2016 edition of the conference the biggest and best yet, with more than 520 FlightSimCon attendees travelling from 40 U.S. states. International attendees came from as far as Europe, Australia, and even Japan to be at the event.
During FlightSimCon 2016, BVA members brought their own pilot and ATC setups to demonstrate flying and controlling live from the exhibition floor. For readers who haven’t been to the event before, flying and controlling online (but in person) is a uniquely cool experience: you can be looking in the eyes of the controller as you hear the instruction that would normally be given over the radio. Even though the event itself offers a jam-packed agenda of panel discussions and speakers, being part of the BVA setup is a highlight for our members every year.
If you haven’t been to FlightSimCon yet, it’s hard to explain what you are missing in words. Even the photos posted on our Facebook page don’t really do the event justice. It’s one of those events where you really have to be there.
To see all of our upcoming events, please visit the Events Calendar.
It is with great pleasure I can announce that effective May 16th, 2016, Boston Virtual ARTCC, Inc. was officially recognized by the United States IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt, non-profit public charity!
As a result of this process, Boston Virtual ARTCC has become Boston Virtual ARTCC, Inc., a tax-exempt non-profit corporation. Additionally, and most importantly, all donations made to the community on or after May 16th, 2016 are fully tax deductible under IRC Section 170.
On Saturday, August 13th, the controllers of Boston Virtual ARTCC will gather at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, New Hampshire, near the sites of the real world ZBW and A90, for one of the premier and longest running live events on the VATSIM network. We invite you to join us for the 17th Annual Boston Tea Party!
There is plenty of fun to be had for pilots and controllers alike. During last year’s Tea Party, virtual Boston had more traffic than real Boston did during the same time span, and numbers were comparable at Bradley International. Where ever you choose to fly or control during Tea Party rest assured you will not be alone.
Last month's question was:
The correct answer is: MACE71. Under the BVA Military Letter of Agreement, fighter jets can be flown under the callsign MACE 11-59, heavy aircrat under MACE 61-99, and helicopters fly with any three digit MACE callsign. The full LOA can be found here. Members of Boston Virtual ARTCC may join the BVA Military in order to be approved to operate military aircraft using the MACE callsign.
Challenge Question: What RNAV departure can a turbojet aircraft not file when departing KBOS?
The answer to the challenge question will be included in next month's Pilot Tip.
