December Logan Informer: BVA a Feature in PC Pilot

Trouble reading this email? Visit our forums to read articles from this month's Logan Informer.

BVA members were recently interviewed by popular simulation magazine PC Pilot. Members Camden, Dhruv, Evan, Jay, Josh were asked to speak to the value of flight simulation as a real-world training aid, and the role simulation has played in the lives of real-world pilots across the aviation industry.

The article was featured on the cover of the November/December issue of PCPilot. Click here to read the full article.

Pack the Pattern: KBTV

Tuesday, December 12, 8-11pm ET

End of Year All-Member Meeting

Sunday, December 9, 9pm ET

To see all of our upcoming events, please visit the Events Calendar.

BVA's Pilot Ratings Program

By: Evan Reiter, Training Administrator

The Pilot Ratings Program (PRP) is on the verge of celebrating a milestone, with 398 members now enrolled in the self-study training program. Since its inception, controllers have monitored and passed more than 3,300 PRP flights, including almost 30 this month alone.

Earlier this year, BVA released a new series of jet-focused flights (while retaining the ability for a /A pilot to complete the program). Since then, 13 members have completed all of the flights, while several others continue to progress through them.

The PRP is designed for pilots to gain experience flying within the air traffic control system through a series of structured, self-study guided lessons that can be completed at a pilot’s own pace. As a VATSIM Authorized Training Organization (ATO), members are eligible to receive the P3, P4, and P5 VATSIM pilot ratings just by flying our PRP.

The PRP is comprised of several flights, each of which contain a series of tasks. The program starts with common VFR scenarios and gradually progresses through to advanced IFR procedures. If ATC determines you successfully meet all of the criteria for a particular flight, you achieve that particular rating.

The program has drawn new members from across VATSIM who fly within our airspace to complete the 26 sequential flights that start at Nantucket, criss-cross the ARTCC, and end up back where they began. Along the way, pilots visit some of BVA's larger 'featured airports', as well as several smaller, uncontrolled fields that rarely see traffic. The first six flights are flown under VFR conditions, while the remaining flights focus on IFR techniques.

Interested in getting started? Any time ATC is staffed in Boston Center, you can load up and get flying! Visit www.bvartcc.com/prp to get started.

Read full article >

All-Member Meeting

By Camden Bruno, Air Traffic Member

The annual end-of-year all member meeting will be held on Sunday, December 17, 2017 starting at 9pm ET. The meeting will be held in the Member TeamSpeak.

The meeting will be a member-wide, town hall style question and answer meeting. Although the Administration Team will be hosting this meeting, there will be no specific agenda. We encourage members to bring their questions, comments, concerns, and suggestions to the session.

We look forward to speaking with you on December 17 and welcoming our members to TeamSpeak as 2017 comes to a close.

Read full article >

The Cape Air Virtual Pilot of the Month for October is

Bill K (KAP099)

for completing over 5 flights from KPWM. January's POM will be based on the amount of PIREPs filed for the month.

BVA's ATC Instructors have recognized:

Pete Kalker (KR), Class C Tower

as Air Traffic Controller of the month for his outstanding dedication and service.

Failures During IFR Flight
Last month's question was:

You are flying under instrument flight rules (IFR) at 14,000 feet when you notice that your DME equipment has failed. You have a WAAS-capable GPS on board, and you are using it as your primary means of navigation. What is your course of action?

A) Declare an emergency, and land at the closest suitable airfield

B) Advise air traffic control of the outage and continue the flight as normal

C) Knowing that your GPS is WAAS-equipped, continue the flight as normal, not needing to advise air traffic control

Answer: the correct answer is (B) advise air traffic control of the outage and continue the flight as normal. See 14 CFR 91.187 paragraps (a) and (b) (commony referred to as FAR 91.187); according to paragraph (a), the pilot in command of each aircraft operated in controlled airspace under IFR shall report as soon as practical to ATC any malfunctions of navigational, approach, or communication equipment occurring in flight. Furthermore, paragraph (b) states that you must report the degree to which the capability of the pilot to operate under IFR... is impaired, and nature and extent of assistance desired from ATC.

Since you are not heavily relying on the DME and are instead using your GPS as primary means of navigation, this would most likely not constitute an in-flight emergency, so you would tell ATC of the outage and that you most likely don't require any additional services. In answer (C), the fact that your GPS is WAAS-equipped is a red herring. While having WAAS does play a role in some situations - selecting alternate airports, approach minimums, and a few others - it does not matter when reporting failures.

Challenge Question: What are the three most common types of structural icing? (Extra challenge, what are the other two types [5 total])? What do they each look and feel like?

The answer to the challenge question will be included in next month's Pilot Tip.

Each month, we run a contest on our forums to determine who has the best flight simulator screenshot. Sean Doyle won November's contest!

You can always find current and archived editions of the Logan Informer on our forums.

You are receiving this message because you are a registered member of Boston Virtual ARTCC. Boston Virtual ARTCC is an integrated community of pilots and air traffic controllers on the VATSIM network that you applied to join. All members receive emails from us approximately one to two times per month, which include major announcements and our community newsletter. Members signed up for Event Reminder emails will receive emails from BVA more frequently. To delete your BVA account and stop receiving communication from us, please visit the Account Management page.

Trouble reading this email? Visit our forums to read articles from this month's Logan Informer.


BVA members were recently interviewed by popular simulation magazine PC Pilot. Members Camden, Dhruv, Evan, Jay, Josh were asked to speak to the value of flight simulation as a real-world training aid, and the role simulation has played in the lives of real-world pilots across the aviation industry. The article was featured on the cover of the November/December issue of PCPilot. Click here to read the full article.


Pack the Pattern: KBTV Tuesday, December 12, 8-11pm ET End of Year All-Member Meeting Sunday, December 9, 9pm ET To see all of our upcoming events, please visit the Events Calendar.

BVA's Pilot Ratings Program By: Evan Reiter, Training Administrator The Pilot Ratings Program (PRP) is on the verge of celebrating a milestone, with 398 members now enrolled in the self-study training program. Since its inception, controllers have monitored and passed more than 3,300 PRP flights, including almost 30 this month alone. Earlier this year, BVA released a new series of jet-focused flights (while retaining the ability for a /A pilot to complete the program). Since then, 13 members have completed all of the flights, while several others continue to progress through them. The PRP is designed for pilots to gain experience flying within the air traffic control system through a series of structured, self-study guided lessons that can be completed at a pilot’s own pace. As a VATSIM Authorized Training Organization (ATO), members are eligible to receive the P3, P4, and P5 VATSIM pilot ratings just by flying our PRP. The PRP is comprised of several flights, each of which contain a series of tasks. The program starts with common VFR scenarios and gradually progresses through to advanced IFR procedures. If ATC determines you successfully meet all of the criteria for a particular flight, you achieve that particular rating. The program has drawn new members from across VATSIM who fly within our airspace to complete the 26 sequential flights that start at Nantucket, criss-cross the ARTCC, and end up back where they began. Along the way, pilots visit some of BVA's larger 'featured airports', as well as several smaller, uncontrolled fields that rarely see traffic. The first six flights are flown under VFR conditions, while the remaining flights focus on IFR techniques. Interested in getting started? Any time ATC is staffed in Boston Center, you can load up and get flying! Visit www.bvartcc.com/prp to get started. Read full article >

All-Member Meeting By Camden Bruno, Air Traffic Member The annual end-of-year all member meeting will be held on Sunday, December 17, 2017 starting at 9pm ET. The meeting will be held in the Member TeamSpeak. The meeting will be a member-wide, town hall style question and answer meeting. Although the Administration Team will be hosting this meeting, there will be no specific agenda. We encourage members to bring their questions, comments, concerns, and suggestions to the session. We look forward to speaking with you on December 17 and welcoming our members to TeamSpeak as 2017 comes to a close. Read full article >

The Cape Air Virtual Pilot of the Month for October is Bill K (KAP099) for completing over 5 flights from KPWM. January's POM will be based on the amount of PIREPs filed for the month.	BVA's ATC Instructors have recognized: Pete Kalker (KR), Class C Tower as Air Traffic Controller of the month for his outstanding dedication and service.



Failures During IFR Flight Last month's question was: You are flying under instrument flight rules (IFR) at 14,000 feet when you notice that your DME equipment has failed. You have a WAAS-capable GPS on board, and you are using it as your primary means of navigation. What is your course of action? A) Declare an emergency, and land at the closest suitable airfield B) Advise air traffic control of the outage and continue the flight as normal C) Knowing that your GPS is WAAS-equipped, continue the flight as normal, not needing to advise air traffic control Answer: the correct answer is (B) advise air traffic control of the outage and continue the flight as normal. See 14 CFR 91.187 paragraps (a) and (b) (commony referred to as FAR 91.187); according to paragraph (a), the pilot in command of each aircraft operated in controlled airspace under IFR shall report as soon as practical to ATC any malfunctions of navigational, approach, or communication equipment occurring in flight. Furthermore, paragraph (b) states that you must report the degree to which the capability of the pilot to operate under IFR... is impaired, and nature and extent of assistance desired from ATC. Since you are not heavily relying on the DME and are instead using your GPS as primary means of navigation, this would most likely not constitute an in-flight emergency, so you would tell ATC of the outage and that you most likely don't require any additional services. In answer (C), the fact that your GPS is WAAS-equipped is a red herring. While having WAAS does play a role in some situations - selecting alternate airports, approach minimums, and a few others - it does not matter when reporting failures. Challenge Question: What are the three most common types of structural icing? (Extra challenge, what are the other two types [5 total])? What do they each look and feel like? The answer to the challenge question will be included in next month's Pilot Tip.


Each month, we run a contest on our forums to determine who has the best flight simulator screenshot. Sean Doyle won November's contest!

You can always find current and archived editions of the Logan Informer on our forums.

You are receiving this message because you are a registered member of Boston Virtual ARTCC. Boston Virtual ARTCC is an integrated community of pilots and air traffic controllers on the VATSIM network that you applied to join. All members receive emails from us approximately one to two times per month, which include major announcements and our community newsletter. Members signed up for Event Reminder emails will receive emails from BVA more frequently. To delete your BVA account and stop receiving communication from us, please visit the Account Management page.