Your First Flight on VATSIM: VFR Circuits Tutorial (with lots of Tips) Part 1 (Pre-Flight Briefing)

[@Houster_]

Getting ready for my first flight and this all seems so confusing but I’m feeling much better now after watching this. Thanks!

[@CaptNabs]

Happy to help out. Thats my goal.

[@CaptNabs]

Introducing: NEWBIE NIGHT on VATSIM WHEN: Thursday Night Sep 23 from 6-9pm PDT / 9pm-midnight EDT / 0100z-0400z WHERE: CYYJ, Victoria International, British Columbia Are you new to VATSIM? Nervous? Unsure you can keep up with the phraseology and procedures? Try out VATSIM on Newbie Night. For 3 hours on Sep 26, I will staff Victoria Tower (CYYJ). During that time, I will answer questions and coach rookies about procedures on the VATSIM network. Note: This will NOT be a livestream. This is just a chance for rookies to get some practice on VATSIM. Experienced pilots: I respectfully request that you fly elsewhere so that nervous new members will not be intimidated by your mad VATSIM skills. Watch my Intro-to-VATSIM videos if you need a refresher: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6KTgIaJh52caJY See all you rookies then!

[@sky173]

Great tutorial. Its been about 15 years since i've tried Vatsim. Cant wait ti try again.

[@ThomasGrillo]

Thanks for the flight plan tips. :)

[@haroldnicholson8603]

Excellent video , thank you from NZ

[@CaptNabs]

Friendly greetings from the other side of the planet, Canads.

[@espengarriott6515]

Wow, I can't believe I haven't found this video earlier! This is exactly what I needed! Thank you so much :)

[@rangerrick8220]

Very helpful - thanks - trying to get ready for my first VATSIM flight so everything helps!

[@newman_gaming]

New Subscriber here thanks for sharing im just starting this!

[@CaptNabs]

Caution. Its ridiculously addictive!

[@Miguel_Angel718]

my first flight on vatsim was amazing! My second flight I logged off because understanding taxi instructions was hard af! lmao a weakness I will work on

[@CaptNabs]

Aviation is about practice and aiming to always improve.

[@cephalopod113]

Thanks for directing me to this video! Educational, in-depth, and explained very well.

[@CaptNabs]

Hope it helps. And thanks for letting me know. I sometimes end up spending hours making these videos. Nice to know my time is not wasted.

[@daveslow84]

Excellent tutorial series! Thank you :)

[@N3verGiveUp]

Great tutorial! I've been practicing for SO SO long, but still panicking to just login and do it...

[@CaptNabs]

I think I said it to you in my stream, but just get out there and try it. Everyone has a first day. It may not go well. But hopefully you'll learn from it and still have fun. Even my tutorials did not go as planned. In Part 2, my controller logged off halfway through my flight. VATSIM is great for teaching you to just roll with it and keep going. :)

[@peterkaiser3682]

This is a fantastic tutorial.

[@jono12345]

thanks for the help! are you using the tobii eye tracker for the head motion?

[@CaptNabs]

No. I have a friend who sent me a TrackIR. I love the setup except that the tracking does steal a percentage of your system performance. Its not a lot, but quick movements of the head do sometimes cause a short but perceptible pause in the sim.

[@jono12345]

@@CaptNabs oh ok thank you! great videos too!

[@franksmit4914]

Nices done, question: when i click on the flightplan, i got directed to the vatsim website to fill in the form and not the popup you are getting, is that a new way?

[@CaptNabs]

@@franksmit4914 Yes. The software was updated about 6 months ago. Flight plans can only be filed through the web page now. It has more details than the old form inside vPilot.

[@jakehouchin8965]

How do you play the game? Do you use controls? Or M&KB

[@CaptNabs]

@@jakehouchin8965 I have a yoke, throttle quadrant and rudder pedals. I would say it would be almost impossible to fly with M&K because you need to be able to make fine adjustments without looking down. It is possible, but if you really want to enjoy it, a yoke or sidestick is a must.

[@Houster_]

How can I tell if I’m at a correct distance from the circuit? 1/2-1mile?

[@CaptNabs]

Thats an easy question without an easy answer. In short, you will have to learn what 1 mile looks like from the air with practice. There are little tricks to help you learn. You can often find landmarks on a map (that intersection or that building) that are at the right distance and fly right over those while looking at the runway. Some airplanes may have tricks too. When I was learning, halfway up the wing strut of the C150 or C172 would be about the right distance. More than anything, practice will help you learn.

[@Houster_]

@@CaptNabs That makes sense. Thank you, your tutorials have been very helpful!

[@AirspeedisLife]

how do you ask them by typing .wallop by any chance this that bla bla bla?? or by radio and asking them ? thank you in advance

[@CaptNabs]

Can you be more specific? Who are you asking and what do you want to ask?

[@sunburntsteve]

Hey just wondering how you get you camera inside the cockpit to look like that?

[@CaptNabs]

Are you talking about panning around inside the cockpit so smoothly? I use a product called TrackIR that tracks head movements. It makes looking around the airplane very natural.

[@sunburntsteve]

@@CaptNabs Ok thank you :)

[@Mista_Spicy]

Is it normal to get %100 on the Vatsim test first try???

[@CaptNabs]

Yes it is very possible. The test is just designed to prove you read the welcome material.

[@Mista_Spicy]

@@CaptNabs ahh ok cool :)

[@wintersplash2256]

what if you have a ground controller, but not a tower/approach? do you contact ground when on final as you would with approach?

[@CaptNabs]

No, because the ground controller is only responsible for taxiways and inactive runways. So contact GND after landing.

[@wintersplash2256]

@@CaptNabs ok thanks

[@pokemon_vatsino6216]

My names Vatsin and I want to use VATSIM lol

[@Pies.]

I crashed the first time. It was hilarious

[@CaptNabs]

hehe. Controllers just have to smile and move on because crashes, both aircraft and computer happen pretty regularly.

[@adamarzo559]

Can I disconnect at will on Vatsim? The idea of Vatsim is very interesting to me but I am afraid that I will mess up a taxi instruction or something. Is my best course of action to just disconnect, and try to further educate before attempting again, or is there issue with instantly disconnecting?

[@CaptNabs]

So, the easy answer is YES, you can disconnect from VATSIM at will. Controllers are used to seeing it, as even network troubles can cause pilots to disappear temporarily or permanently. Many pilots start a long flight and disconnect sometime after takeoff, leave the plane flying, do errands, and come back and reconnect for the landing. If you can give a heads up on when you are disconnecting, that's great, but its not needed. Just keep in mind that when you 'Connect', you should generally be at a quieter location, such as an apron. Not on a taxiway or runway or final approach, where other pilots are also likely to be flying. (Of course, if you were disconnected by a network issue and come back a minute later, controllers expect that and won't get too upset as long as you aren't disrupting operations - they are mostly pilots too and have dealt with many network/connection problems in the past.) If you make a mistake, you can disappear, but often times if you ask for some guidance or advice, controllers will try to help you directly or point you to useful resources. This depends on controller workload. If they are super-busy, they will not have time, but most controllers would rather you learn and keep coming back. A big part of it is just how you approach mistakes. A willingness to admit error and learn from the mistake will go a long way.