Introduction ✈️

On the 13^th of March 2021, Pilot Training put out a prospectus forum post describing The Flying Programme. Envisioned as an expansion of the P0 Initial Pilot rating, The Flying Programme proposed sessions, group flights, and seminars open to all home members on VATSIM UK to assist in starting out on the network.

On the 13^th of February 2023, The Flying Programme will be released.

A special thanks to @Ben Carpenter, who has led the TFP development team since March 2022, and to our 2 development members: @William Shaw and @Henry Yandell.

Implementation 🏗️

The Flying Programme consists of 3 different areas for members to engage with: a mandatory Moodle course, one-on-one sessions, and group sessions.

The Moodle

Mandatory Section

The Flying Programme’s Moodle is designed to expand upon and reinforce the principal topics found in the P0 Online Pilot, with emphasis on UK-specifics. As such, completion of the Moodle and the open-book assessment is mandatory for one-on-one and group flight sessions, which allows mentors to focus on applying these concepts.

The Moodle course contains the following topics:

• IFR Pre-flight Planning
• Connecting to the network
• ATC Procedures
• Navigation usings SIDs, STARs, and Navigation Aids
• Common Approaches
• Holding
• CPDLC
• Altimetry

The final assessment is open book, with a time limit of 1 hour and a pass grade of 75%. The exam may be retaken after a cooldown period, allowing you to revise the necessary areas.

Optional Section

In the future, there is provision for an optional section which will contain details and references to guides on advanced topics, such raw data approaches.

If you are interested in authoring material for this section, please do get in touch via the Helpdesk (Help Topic: Pilot Training).

One-on-One Sessions

One-on-one sessions can be requested via CTS once a member has been granted permissions by the Initial Flight Instructor. Once a session is booked, the mentor will communicate with the student in Discord to select a route and coordinate any further details for the session.

A student can request an IFR route from our list of beginner friendly flights, available as a pinned comment in the students’ channel. These routes have been planned and verified by the Pilot Training team for their short duration (under 1 hour flight time) and simple procedures (eg SIDs, STARs).

A member can request a maximum of TWO one-on-one sessions per 12 months, with the 12 months starting from the date of the second session. This allows a member to return after absence from the network and get assistance in starting to fly again. The Initial Flight Instructor may allow exceptions to this rule in very specific circumstances.

Group Sessions

Group Flights

Group flights will be flown once every two weeks (depending on the demand) along one of the routes as listed in the student’s channel.

Members with the relevant Flying Programme permissions to book a slot in CTS and will be allocated a specific flight number for the flight, with the ficticious callsign ‘TANGENT’. Members who have not enrolled via CTS are still welcome to attend the group flight and be in the Discord channel.

Group flights will take place in one of the public group_flight_1/2/3 Discord channels with at least one mentor present. The mentor is there to help everyone attending but will give priority to helping members who booked via CTS.

Members taking part in The Flying Programme can attend an unlimited amount of group flights.

Seminars

Group seminars will be hosted regularly on a rotating series of topics. Additionally, event-specific briefings for events in the UK such a Cross the Pond will be held.

Sign-Off

Members who have completed The Flying Programme will be announced weekly in the VATSIM UK Discord. To quality, members will have to attend:

• At least 1 one-on-one session
• At least 2 group flights
• Be deemed by a Flying Programme mentor to have sufficient understanding of:
• Radiotelephony
• Aircraft and Systems
• Flight Planning

Removal of CTS Permissions

Members who signed up for The Flying Programme will have their CTS permissions revoked after the following time has elapsed:

• One-on-one sessions: 90 days without a session request, or after 2 session reports have been filed*.
• Group flights: 120 days without joining a group flight in CTS.
• All permissions: If no session requests of group flight bookings are made within 30 days of permissions being assigned.

* The 2 sessions in 12 months rule in enforced using the removal of CTS permissions.

Should a member wish to resume sessions, they may request to have their permissions reinstated at the discretion of the Initial Flight Instructor.

Interested? 🔍

Students

Do you think you would enjoy and/or benefit from The Flying Programme?

From the 13^th of February 2023, the mandatory Moodle course will be available for any home member of VATSIM UK to join: https://moodle.vatsim.uk/course/view.php?id=63

Any feedback on the course can be sent via the Helpdesk (Help Topic: Pilot Training).

Mentors

One of the most important aspects of The Flying Programme is the involvement of ALL VATSIM UK members. As such, these are the requirements to become a mentor:

• At least 50 hours of flying on the VATSIM network;
• Be a member in good standing in the division;
• Be familiar with the operation of at least one of the common aircraft on the network (eg Boeing B737).
• Have a steady enough internet connection to conduct training sessions via Discord screenshare.

Above these requirements, a mentor is required be engaging and make sessions exciting for new members. You are now the face of the VATSIM network for a new member!

Want to sign up? Send us a ticket via the Helpdesk (Help Topic: Pilot Training) and the Initial Flight Instructor will coordinate with you to arrange an Over-The-Shoulder (OTS session).