airways the magazine for IVAO United Kingdom
MILITARY AIRBRIDGE
BRIZE TO BRUSSELS SPECIAL OPERATIONS COORDINATOR, DAN LEWINGTON AND ASSISTANT, WILLIAM BRUCE INTRODUCE THE LATEST EVENT FROM THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT AS THEY SET FLIGHT TO MELSBROEK AIRBASE (BRUSSELS ARPORT). PAGE 4
airways CONTENTS MEET THE STAFF An insight into our Training Assistant Coordinator Chris Prophet and his life inside and out of IVAO. MESSAGE FROM DIVISIONAL HEADQUARTERS The welcoming message to airways, and his overview of the Division over the previous month.
MILITARY AIRBRIDGE
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A look into the latest Special Operations event.
DESINATION GUIDE This month’s guide is for Rovaniemi, the location of our Christmas Groupflight.
EVENTS UPDATE An update for the Events coming up this month on IVAO United Kingdom
STAFF VACANCIES We’re currently seeking applicants for exciting roles, are you suited for one?
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SEASON’S GREETINGS FROM US ALL AT IVAO UK!
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airways MEET THE STAFF BY CHRIS PROPHET (GB-TAC) My name is Chris Prophet and I am the United Kingdom Training Assistant Co-ordinator (GB-TAC). I have been a member on IVAO for about 8 years when I first discovered online fly-ing, currently hold an APC rating and CP rating. I have been involved in Flight Simulation since FS5 (1993) and I think that started my interest in aviation from a young age. I continued to use versions of FS98, 2000, 2002, 2004, FSX, and started my PPL (A) in 2003. Currently I use the simulator and IVAO to practise procedures and approaches, to which I find a very good training aid. Outside of IVAO I obtained an ATPL (A) and now fly to many European Destinations for a European cargo operator. I also enjoy playing Cricket, Golf and Mountain Walking.
MESSAGE FROM DIVISIONAL HEADQUARTERS BY THOMAS CARTER (GB-DIR) Welcome to the December issue of the monthly update! The Year 2013 has Flown By. The division continues to grow with strength. I would like to welcome back a large number of people who have decided to get active again with the UK division. It is great to see so many old faces online with us again. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to the large number of brand new members who have joined us over the last year. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill in the recent division survey, the results of which will prove incredibly valuable. We will now spend some time going over them to try and improve things to the way you would all like them. The Training Department has been working very hard and We hope you share our excitement as we embark on a new era for training in the United Kingdom Division. We will shortly be putting up AD and AP courses which you can enrol on. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us or ask on the forum. I hope you enjoy the December events and the Holidays and I hope to see you all again in the New Year.
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airways MILITARY AIRBRIDGE BY WILLIAM BRUCE (GB-SOAC) For December’s Event the GB Special Operations Department is proud to announce a joint event with the Belgian Special Operations Department. After seeing the successes of the Atlantic Crossing and other airbridges on the network we have decided that perhaps, we should have a go at it too. The decision was made that it would originate from RAF Brize Norton due to its large runway, heavy aircraft capability and large parking facilities; the next choice that had to be made was where to fly to? After a short time of thinking the choice was made, due to their support of our events in the past and the nice distance from RAF Brize Norton we decided to ask the Belgian Special Operations Department if they would like to be part of the event. Joris Laeremans, the BE-SOC, was more than happy to become the partner department for this event! Once we knew we were flying to Belgium we knew the destination would be Melsbroek. Melsbroek is the transport and support hub for the Belgian Air Component and is located on the north side of Brussels Airport. We hope to have both airports fully staffed for your journey, so head over to the Special Operations Forum to sign up for an ATC position and to keep up to date with any news regarding the Airbridge. If you have any questions regarding Special Operations, please post on the forum and we will answer your question as soon as possible. We hope to see you in the skies on Sunday the 15th of December between 15z and 18z
DESTINATION GUIDE BY: BEN LEONARD (GB-MC) Rovaniemi Airport Again plays host to our annual Christmas fly-in where we will be joining pilots from around the world. The airport only has 2 scheduled airlines however during the Christmas season the airport comes alive with many charter airlines from around Europe due to its close proximity to Santa Park. The airport it's self is on the very edge of the Arctic Circle with a single runway aligned 21/03. The runway can handle most aircraft as it is 3000m long and can take aircraft such as the Airbus 340 and Boeing 747. In terms of approach, Runway 03 only has a VOR or GNSS approach, whereas Runway 21 has both of these plus the added benefit of an ILS.
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airways If you join us on the Christmas fly-in you can expect a lot of holding, as users from all over the world descend all at once to the airport for a fantastic event. You can honestly say after you have done it, Christmas is coming.
EVENTS DEPARTMENT BY ALEXANDER CLOVER (GB-EC) Dear members, What a year 2013 has been, we have had some extraordinary events like two Atlantic Crossings and The Real Heathrow. But now we are at the last of the bunch. We have got for you a Christmas groupflight which you cannot miss. It’s going to be amazing. Of course I’m talking about the annual Christmas fly-in to Rovaniemi. As per every year and is now tradition, IVAO UK are again holding a groupflight out to Rovaniemi. All division members are invited to fly as one for this event whether you are part of a Virtual Airline or not. The event is again hold alongside that of the Finland division who are hosting the annual Rovaniemi fly-in between 18-23z. Every year this event is incredibly busy so all pilots should plan to load additional holding fuel in anticipation of the en route and arrival holds. More information can be found here: http://gb.forum.ivao.aero/index.php?topic=233513.0 Also this coming month we have a HQ event that we would invite everyone to participate in. As 2013 draws to an end we invite you to celebrate 15 years’ service to the flight simulation community with our massive Crystal Skies event. Taking the format of our prestigious Crowded Skies event that thousands of pilots and controllers enjoy each year we are creating a special Crystal Skies celebration award. This all day event involves dozens of countries worldwide providing extensive ATC coverage for literally thousands of online flights. We expect peak traffic to start building from 18:45 UTC so make sure you are able to join in and experience the very best that IVAO has to offer. We are currently in negotiation with Aerosoft to have a partnership during this event where we aim to beat our previous record of 2,303 simultaneous connections. Our network team are hard at work making improvements to our network stability and although not yet 100 percent complete they
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airways anticipate these changes will help us beat our target. More information can be found here: http://gb.forum.ivao.aero/index.php?topic=233140.0 As this is the last update of 2013. Andrew and I would like to thank you all for participating in the IVAO UK events for 2013. We have had some truly wonderful events and we hope that into 2014 we can continue that. So from the events team we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. See you in 2014.
STAFF VACANCIES BY: JACK PLUMB (GB-ADIR) IVAO United Kingdom is currently seeking motivated and inspirational members to assist the current Staff Team in the development of the division. All applicants are required to have been active on IVAO for at least six months and should read the full job descriptions at http://www.ivao.co.uk/vacancies. We are currently seeking candidates for the following positions:
GB-AWM (ASSISTANT WEBMASTER) Assist with the maintenance and development of the IVAO United Kingdom website.
GB-AOC (AIR OPERATIONS COORDINATOR) Responsible for all ATC operations that fall under commercial or civil categories in the division. The AOC shall be responsible for coordinating ATC positions with the Events Coordinator regarding events within the division.
GB-FOC (FLIGHT OPERATUIONS COORDINATOR) The Flight Operations Coordinator is responsible for all procedures directly concerning pilots.
GB-MAC (MEMBERSHIP ASSISTANT COORDINATOR) The Membership Assistant Coordinator is responsible for assisting with maintaining the membership database of the division, as well as "keeping in touch" with members on a regular basis.
GB-TA (TRAINING ADVISOR) Training Advisors are "specialists" in their field. They act as instructors on structured courses (ATC and Pilot); they may be required to assist in other training sessions, such as Pilot Training Nights. Training Advisors also answer questions from members on their specialist subject.
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airways STAFF STATUS BY: JACK PLUMB (GB-ADIR) The following Staff Members have successfully completed a 6-week trial as an IVAO UK Staff Member and are now deemed of trial by IVAO UK Headquarters:
Jason Moore (GB-WM) – Off trial on 17th September 2013 Dan Lewington (GB-SOC) – Off trial on 5th October 2013 William Bruce (GB-SOAC) – Off trial on 9th October 2013
We welcome all three to the team and look forward to the work they have planned for the future.
PILOT/ ATC TRAINING ASSISTANT AWARD BY: JACK PLUMB (GB-ADIR) Jason Moore, GB-WM, recently created a form for the Pilot/ ATC Training Assistance Award. The page allows pilot and controllers to easily add sessions they have flown, and once accepted, emails you to let you know how many you’ve filed. To receive each award you need to take part for longer than 30 minutes in a Training Session for, 10 sessions as Air Traffic Control, and 20 sessions as a Pilot. More information is available on the website, http://ivao.co.uk/training/assistance_award/. This award is achievable through all On Job Training and Exams within IVAO United Kingdom, which are advertised on the IVAO UK Training Forum and on the front page of the IVAO UK website.
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