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Pilot Training

VFR Expansion to The Flying Programme

Changes to The Flying Programme We’re pleased to announce the launch of a brand new VFR (Visual Flight Rules) course within The Flying Programme, built specifically to support everyday pilots who want to fly light aircraft confidently on the VATSIM network without getting too buried theory or technicalities. This course provides a practical, no nonsense introduction to VFR flying, focusing on the essential knowledge and skills needed to operate competently in the online environment. Unlike t
Riley Casement

Riley Casement in Pilot Training

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Staff Changes

Events Manager Staff Appointment

I am pleased to announce that James Bayliss-de Gruchy has been appointed as the events manager. I have been covering this role for a while whilst James got to grips with the department. He will now be supporting me with the events side of operations, whilst support the events assistants. 
Archie Middlefell

Archie Middlefell in Staff Changes

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Vacancy

Operations Vacancies

As we head into the summer of 2025, the Operations Department is short of a few staff members. We would like to recuit one events assistant and a handful of operations assistants.  If you have any questions about the roles, including suitability then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Myself and peter are keen to foster some more home-grown talent in the department - we do not expect anyone to be the complete package when they apply for staff roles - training and guidance will be provided. I
Archie Middlefell

Archie Middlefell in Vacancy

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Staff Changes

Community Team Changes

Good Afternoon, I'd like to start by announcing the departure of @Thomas Hallam from the team. After years of dedication, hard work and valuable contributions, Tom will be stepping away from his role in the Outreach Team. Tom began in the Marketing team where he helped deliver numerous successful events, with a particular focus on the graphical elements that came with them. Since the disbandment of that team, Tom agreed to continue some of his responsibilities within the newly formed Commun
William Shaw

William Shaw in Staff Changes

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Pilot Training

Changes to the Pilot Training Waiting Lists

What's Changing? Each of the Pilot Training waiting lists can be subject to three types of restrictions: Minimum network experience This requires members to have a minimum number of flying and/or ATC hours on the VATSIM network Minimum activity This requires members on the list to maintain a minimum amount of activity on the VATSIM network Maximum list size This will close enrollment to the list if it reaches a predetermined size The implementation of t
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Member Services

Waiting Lists Are Now Self-Enrollable!

Waiting Lists Are Now Self-Enrollable! We’re excited to announce that all ATC and Pilot rating-based waiting lists are now self-enrollable. These are available through  https://www.vatsim.uk/mship/waiting-lists If you meet the required rating and hour criteria, you’ll be able to add yourself directly, meaning no more waiting to be manually added by a staff member. This change brings several benefits: Reduces the workload on our Community Department. Ensures a faster
William Shaw

William Shaw in Member Services

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Pilot Training

Initial FI - Resignation

Hi everyone, After joining the VATSIM UK Pilot Department in September 2023, I’ve made the decision to step down from the Initial Flight Instructor role. It’s been a genuinely rewarding experience to contribute to The Flying Programme, especially during a period of significant growth and change across the division. Life, however, has a habit of catching up with us all, and I’ve found it increasingly difficult to give the role the time and attention it deserves. I’m proud of what I’ve been a
Cole Edwards

Cole Edwards in Pilot Training

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United Kingdom

VATSIM UK Live! 2025

VATSIM UK Live! 2025     VATSIM UK Live! is back for the 12th edition and you are invited to join us! This year’s event takes place on the 2nd and 3rd of August 2025 at Conference Aston – a meeting space and hotel located close to the centre of Birmingham. We'll be taking over their large event room providing a space for everyone to fly, control and socialise in person with dozens of other members from across the network.   The weekend offers a unique opportunity to see 
William Shaw

William Shaw in United Kingdom

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ATC Training

OBS > S1 Mentoring Changes

Good evening, We've had really rather a lot of discussion during my tenure so far about the capability for S1s to mentor others hoping to achieve their S1 rating. Whilst we've allowed S1s to mentor at Gatwick Ground for some time and more recently expanded this to Heathrow, there have been two key impediments that have prevented us permitting S1s to mentor others on Sweatbox: On average, our S1 controllers - whilst competent - represent some of the least experienced controllers on V
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

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ATC Training

Demand Review, Feedback and Training Initatives

Hello all, As ever, things have been changing within the ATC Training landscape and it's important to me that people remain informed of what's happening. All of us on the DSG are 'servant leaders', in that we volunteer our time to lead within VATSIM UK for the enjoyment of others and this is one of the driving factors behind my intention to be as open and transparent as possible - we have nothing to hide here! It's worth noting that much of the content of this blog entry follows on fro
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

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Vacancy

[Vacancy] Community Outreach Assistant

Outreach Assistant We are looking to expand the Community team and as such I am pleased to start recruitment for an Outreach Assistant. This role sits within the Community department under the Outreach Manager, and will play a key role in developing a vibrant, welcoming community experience.  The Outreach Assistant will be responsible for: Developing our Community Spaces (Discord, TeamSpeak etc); Developing member retention and outreach strategies; Developing
William Shaw

William Shaw in Vacancy

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Staff Changes

Pilot Training Manager and Initial Flight Instructor

Hi all! I am please to announce two appointments to the Pilot Training team! @Lewis Hammett returns to the team as our Pilot Training Manager @Riley Casement joins us as our second Initial Flight Instructor alongside Cole Both of them bring the enthusiasm and passion we need to take our training forward. I cannot wait to see where Pilot Training goes! Safe landings ✈️
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Staff Changes

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ATC Training

ATC Training Department Opportunities - Moodle Team

All, The ATC Training Department is seeking motivated individuals to join our new Moodle Team. This team will support Training Group Instructors (TGIs) with the ongoing upgrade of existing Moodle courses and the development of new training resources. Reporting to the ATC Training Manager, ideal applicants should: Hold at least an S1 rating (We would ideally like a plethora of members across all rating levels) Have recent mentoring experience (Preferre
Will Jennings

Will Jennings in ATC Training

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ATC Training

S1 Mentors at Heathrow

All, We are now accepting applications from S1 rated members to mentor at Heathrow. Please see the following extract from the next update to the ATC Training Handbook: S1 rated members may also mentor at Heathrow, at the discretion of the TGI, if they: ●        Have no significant negative feedback; ●        Have previous Gatwick mentoring experience: ●        Have at least 20hrs on Heathrow GND/DEL positions post award of endorsement. There is a minor inconvenience
Will Jennings

Will Jennings in ATC Training

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ATC Training

Self-Service Waiting List Enrolment

Good evening, all, In my last blog post, I spoke about how I'd come to the epiphany that not everyone on our OBS > S1 waiting list was waiting for training. For reasons described in that blog post, many people were on our 'waiting' list that were not actually waiting. Many of you will know that I am a man of action and I promptly sought to remedy this. With thanks once again to the legendary @Callum Axon, we now have the capability for prospective controllers to self-enrol on the OB
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

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Member Services

Community Spaces - Temporary Discussions

Hi, Back in June @Ben Wright posted an update regarding the removal of general-chat. Within this forum post, he mentioned the future expansion of “short-term channels designed to encourage discussion of upcoming events such as a ‘pmdg-777-chat’.” In collaboration with the Technology team, We have created a new category called “General - Temporary Discussion” with it placed under the existing “General” category. This category will house channels created for temporary short-term discu
Kye Taylor

Kye Taylor in Member Services

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Pilot Training

Quarterly Review: Q1 2025

A massive shout out to everyone who is involved with Pilot Training at the moment: our wonderful team of mentors, our FIs ( @Ben Carpenter, @Benjamin Arrowsmith, @Firas Bashee, @Cole Edwards, @Tarik Merrylees), and our TDA @Craig Stewart. Join the team We are always looking for new mentors across our training courses: P1, P2, and TFP. Irrespective of your experience, if you are interested in contributing to the division and passionate about flying then please reach out! Helpdesk:
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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ATC Training

ATC Training Q1 '25 Review

Well good morning! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Q1 flashed by in a heartbeat and as I start to write this, I have just finished and submitted my quarterly report to the Region. The report commonly provides a foundation for the basis of my quarterly updates to you, but this time, we have rather a lot to talk about. Strap in, this will be a long ride. Regular Statistics As ever, a quick overview of progress within the division. We are, of course, aware of the recent changes in a numbe
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

3
United Kingdom

New Operations Director

Good Evening All,   Following the departure of @Jack Edwards from the role of Operations Director, I am thrilled to announce @Archie Middlefell as his successor following the conclusion of our recruitment process last week. Archie has a wealth of experience within the Operations Department as well as a number of ideas he wishes to implement moving forwards. I am certain that the Operations Department will continue to thrive under Archie's leadership, and I look forward to working along
Ben Wright

Ben Wright in United Kingdom

4
ATC Training

Mentor and Member Retention Surveys

Hello all, We are now well over a year into my minimum two year term and I concede that things are happening now at a reduced pace. Will and I have been able to introduce some meaningful changes with our colleagues across the department and we're beginning to see some real, tangible improvements to our training process. For example, the OBS > S1 waiting list went down in size for the first time in years and with the award of a batch of training places earlier this month, for the first ti
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

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ATC Training

TGI Heathrow - Appointment

Good afternoon, It is with great pleasure that I announce that @John Batten is returning to the ATC Training department, this time in the post of Heathrow Training Group Instructor. John is no stranger to the division, having held posts as both TGI New Controller and Member Services Director for a time. John's tenure within TGNC came to a somewhat premature end, having faced an increase in demands for his time within the workplace. Thankfully, John has more availability now and makes a welc
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

1
United Kingdom

[Vacancy] Operations Director

The Operations Department is responsible for the creation and maintenance of our sector file, controller pack, local procedures and documents, letters of agreement and temporary procedures. The Operations Department also holds responsibility for managing the Events Team who plan and execute online events within the UK. The Operations Director’s main responsibility is to provide leadership to the Operations Department. Other responsibilities of the role include: Continually - Providi
Ben Wright

Ben Wright in United Kingdom

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ATC Training

[VACANCY] Training Group Instructor - TG Approach

The department is pleased to accept applications for the role of Training Group Instructor - TG Approach. As you will no doubt be aware, VATSIM UK is a highly-demanded division for ATC training, providing thousands of mentoring sessions per year and hundreds of rating upgrades. Globally, we are renowned for providing high quality training and providing a high standard of service in some of the most densely populated and complicated airspace in the world. Our ethos is to provide pragmat
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

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