BVA’s 18th annual Boston Tea Party took place earlier this month. More than 30 air traffic controllers came together near the site of the real-world Boston Approach and Center facilities to provide more than 7 hours of live, in-person air traffic control for our pilots. From 12-7pm ET, Boston Center was lit up with 4 Center sectors, 7 people working the Boston Approach facility, and 4 controllers on Boston Tower. Meanwhile, we had top-down staffing at KACK, KBDL, and KPVD, as well as coverage at many of our other Class C regional facilities.
Boston saw almost 230 takeoffs and landings during the event. It proved to be an interesting afternoon at Massachusetts’ busiest airport, with fog that was not in the forecast rolling in off the water reducing the airport’s visibility to less than ¼ of a mile. Controllers acted quickly to change the runway configuration (Runway 22L is not available in those conditions) and even had to temporarily hold inbound aircraft as, for a few minutes, inbound aircraft were missing on the ILS approach.
To see all of our upcoming events, please visit the Events Calendar.
During a recent field trip to the Boston area, a few of our members were treated to a free ride in a realistic Boeing 737 simulator near Boston. The Global Flight Adventures simulator center, opening next month in Canton, Massachusetts, will provide pilots, simmers, and aviation enthusiasts with the opportunity to fly extremely realistic, state-of-the-art simulators. Pilots can choose from one of two Cessna 172 sims, or use the Boeing 737, which includes a realistic cockpit design, 220° views generated by four projectors, and even connects to VATSIM!
All of the simulators run Prepar3D, and interacts seamlessly with the software to provide an extremely realistic experience. The C172 simulators will be FAA approved training devices that can be used for currency and training, while the B737 simulator will represent a great way for interested virtual pilots to get some one-on-one, hands-on experience from experts.
BVA's next major event is Bradley Bash! It happens Sunday, September 17 from 1900-2300 ET. We'll be staffing not only Bradley International Airport from top to bottom, but also some of the satellite airports, including Barnes and Worcester (yes Matthew Miller, it really is pronounced “Wooster”).
If you're a pilot, fill up your tanks, as this is an exciting event that you don't want to miss! Bradley offers an exciting blend of general aviation traffic and large jetliners, with commercial service from most major airports and multiple Class C and D airports just a short hop away. Whether you like to control or fly, GA or turbo, we look forward to seeing you at Bradley Bash on September 17!
AccuMap is a new, modern desktop application for viewing live VATSIM data. The recently-released platform, which is similar in function to VatSPY, allows VATSIM members to view pilots and controllers who are online on the network.
Alongside web-based applications like Vattastic and QuteScoop, AccuMap can be used to determine which controller to contact, view statistics, and track the progress of fellow pilots’ flights.
Read about the new software and download it from the AccuMap website: http://accumap-project.com/.
Like all VATSIM software, the application was released by a volunteer developer. The software has not been tested or reviewed by Boston Virtual ARTCC.
Last month's question was:
Challenge Question:
(B) Disengage the vertical speed mode, but leave the heading mode engaged
The answer to the challenge question will be included in next month's Pilot Tip.
