Get your Kicks from Route 66

[Wayne Pierce]

OK gents thanks to Todd for the pictures now.
I started this flight on VATSIM, no ATC was around so Unicom was the order of the day. As I was a commercial flight with an "airliner" I filed a VFR flight plan for 16,500' using Victor airways. My aircraft really was not set up for IFR type flights.

Comms from taxi and takeoff ensued then The VATSIM wanna-be-police-know-it-all piped in;
The AAL 328 started in on me. The DAL guy was defending my actions then AAL 565 was not giving up on the runway assignment.
Needless to say I quit VATSIM and flew off line. I am AAL783.



Continuing now;
At the gate;




Climbing out of KORD, a snowy day.


Following the Route 66.


Lined up for landing and touchdown;




Bidding good day to the brave Souls who flew with me.


1st Leg of the flight.


Thanks

[Greg Gemelli]

Great pics Wayne! Love the DC3!! Sorry ya got a hard time about the VFR. It's nice to shoot for "as real as it gets" but there is also a point where a controller should say, no prob, give you sq. code for flight following out of the Class B and send you happily on your way.

Regarding the RW ORD. They seem to be on a East/West RWY building kick these days. Soon we will have 27L/C/R and 28L/C/R.

Cheers!

[Todd Meek]

Thank you for the pics. Very nice. Sorry you had such a hard time online. I fly online all the time, but most of mine are IFR so don't have the VFR issues. Enjoy your next leg.

[Wayne Pierce]

This is one of the main reasons for why I am not flying online yet. I dont really feel like dealing with all those issues, not yet anyway.

Don't let that reason stop you from VATSIM flying. I kept flying anyway, as soon as they were out of range or landed, all was well. I try to stay away from the large, huge, megatraffic FNO's, as it usually is a real cluster-O-fun.
WLP

[Todd Meek]

This is one of the main reasons for why I am not flying online yet. I dont really feel like dealing with all those issues, not yet anyway. One of these days I will hop on and try my hand on it. Thanks for posting the chat Wayne, it helps with figuring out what happens.

I always encourage people to fly online. I do about 98% + of my flights online. Sometimes it can be an issue, but most of the time it's not that bad. Like Wayne said if you know there's going to be a fly in at or near where your flying, then I would try to avoid that. Most of the controllers I've interacted with are pretty good and nice. If your worried about being new to the online world, just let the controller know that your new and most of the time they will work with you. Again I wouldn't try that at LAX because there is always tons of traffic and sometimes the controller simply doesn't have time to try and help out someone that is new. Give it a try, I think you will like it plus the hour bonus is nice too.

[Theodore Martin]

This is one of the main reasons for why I am not flying online yet. I dont really feel like dealing with all those issues, not yet anyway. One of these days I will hop on and try my hand on it. Thanks for posting the chat Wayne, it helps with figuring out what happens.

Victor, one good way to get comfortable with online flying and ATC is to join some of the GFI flights we fly on Fridays. There are AAV pilots on those that can help you with any questions or issues you may encounter, as well as provide you examples of what is expected.

Wayne has a dark cloud that follows him around. Like Todd I fly most of my flights online and have had very few problems. In years of flights online I've only had problems in two categories. One was when flying in crowded FNO areas as previously mentioned. Controllers (or sometimes the actual computer servers) get overwhelmed and you either get forgotten or given incorrect information. The second category was with another American VA whose pilots thought they owned a specific call sign and would blast you rigorously for using "their(?)" call sign, even though VATSIM rules clearly state no one owns a call sign and that it is first-come-first-serve.

[Theodore Martin]

OK gents thanks to Todd for the pictures now.
I started this flight on VATSIM, no ATC was around so Unicom was the order of the day. As I was a commercial flight with an "airliner" I filed a VFR flight plan for 16,500' using Victor airways. My aircraft really was not set up for IFR type flights.

Comms from taxi and takeoff ensued then The VATSIM wanna-be-police-know-it-all piped in;
The AAL 328 started in on me. The DAL guy was defending my actions then AAL 565 was not giving up on the runway assignment.
Needless to say I quit VATSIM and flew off line. I am AAL783.
......

Don't know what it is Wayne but it seems people wait online to harass you. Must be your moustache

[Todd Meek]

Thanks Todd I will give it a shot. Right now I am also working with ZNY to get my S1 cert as controller so I am learning both sides. I am however a pilot at heart. I will concentrate my "Virtual career" in the skies not behind the scope.

I too was working the scopes for a bit down in Albuquerque airspace primarily phoenix tower and started working towards phoenix approach. Wasn't for me. I so much prefer piloting the aircraft myself than being stuck behind a scope watching a bunch of triangles moving around and giving them instructions. Would love to become a real pilot, but just cannot take that kind of debt on at this time. I have zero interest in ever becoming a controller, my heart is in the airplane.

[Michael Blakely]

But thank goodness there ARE people that like to ATC-sim or VATSIM would be a free for all.