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Pleasure working with you John, thank you for your hard work and dedication in TGNC and beyond.

Effective 16 May 2024 Manchester Airport has published new times for dual runway operations during the summer months (which VATSIM controllers are permitted to simulate year-round). The times are as follows; Monday-Friday (0615-2000L) Saturday (0615-1600L) Sunday (0615-0930L) (1300-2000L) AIR 1 may open dual runways during these hours, or when the other conditions documented in the vMATS are met. In addition, GMC may now elect to select dual runway operations only during the published times, in the absence of AIR or top-down coverage GMC controllers are reminded that an ATIS without an AIR controller is advisory, pilots on unicom may choose to land on a different runway. GMC controllers do not provide service to traffic on the taxiways south of runway 23R/05L whether AIR is online or not. Therefore, when simulating dual runway operations without AIR coverage, GMC should instruct traffic to monitor UNICOM when approaching the northern runway and allow them to cross and depart on unicom. Inbound traffic on 05R should only be controlled once they have crossed 23R/05L If traffic contacts GMC after vacating the southern runway, they should be instructed to cross 23R/05L on unicom and recontact when vacated.. Controllers are encouraged to put a note in the controller information making it clear they don’t cover the taxiways south of 23L/05R. Documentation Status The Manchester (EGCC) vMATS Part 2 has been updated to reflect the changes.

It's been a pleasure John, we've worked hard to keep TGNC rolling and we'll keep on it with everything you've put into place and the ideas you had for the future! I know you won't be a stranger, we'll be badgering you for group flights and alike going forward!

Dear all, It's with some regret that I announce that @John Battenis standing down from his post as Training Group Instructor within our New Controller training group. John was appointed in March 2022 and in the 27 months that he's been in post, he's been instrumental in the success of TGNC, leading the delivery of quality training to new members of our community whilst also juggling his tenure as Member Services Director. In recent times, the training group has seen record numbers of exam passes in the beginning of this year, under the joint leadership of John and his colleagues. TGNC is an exhausting place subject to significant demand as new members join our community and I have not been shy about sharing the view of demand that the team face. John has taken that in his stride and delivered excellence within that training group over a number of years and I am incredibly grateful for his contribution in that time. John has committed to continuing mentoring after a short break and I look forward to his continued involvement in VATSIM. John - thank you for your time and efforts - you'll be sorely missed. Adam

2024/05 Released! --- AIRACs: --- 2405: Added Fairford Danger Areas EGD218A-D Removed stand 32 from Jersey (EGJJ) SMR Changed Prestwick (EGPK) Runway designator 03/21 to 02/20 Updated Fairford (EGVA) Runway coordinates Updated Manchester (EGCC) SMR 2404: Changed Mona (EGOQ) Tower frequency Changed Valley (EGOV) frequencies Updated Leuchars (EGQL) frequencies 2313: Updated Southampton (EGHI) stands 2-5 --- Other: --- Procedure Change (2405): Updated agreed level (EHAM departure via LONAM) Removed ENSV_E_CTR from sectors 10,11,15 and added ENOR_SC_CTR to top-down order Bug: Fixed Fairford (EGVA) ATZ coordinates Removed EURN_FSS from top-down order of Stavanger low sectors Corrected Glasgow (EGPF) Tower automatic arrival airport selection Corrected Bournemouth (EGHH) SMR definition errors Enhancement: Removed old STARs from 2022/05 or earlier Re-structured 'Misc' folder Defined the Ostend (EBOS) TMA and updated agreed levels Added GND and DEL Automatic Airport Selection functionality Added Glasgow (EGPF) Campsie line Added Burnham Box (Bristol/Cardiff) --- Many thanks to our contributors this cycle: --- @Daniel Button @Luca Kulaga @Peter Mooney @Ben Walker

Effective 16th May 2024 The secondary runway at Prestwick (EGPK) has been redesignated. The Runway 03/21 has changed to Runway 02/20. Documentation Status The Prestwick (EGPK) Airfield Controller Brief will be amended at its next revision.

Good evening all, Those of you who read my April update will be aware that we were unable to fill the position of Marketing Director in February. In the time since, I have continued to ‘caretake’ the role while temporary solutions were discussed within the DSG. Effective immediately, the responsibilities of the Marketing Director role will be split between Kieran Hardern and myself, with Kieran assuming responsibility of events and the Events Team. Thomas Hallam, who has done an excellent job of managing the Division’s social media presence, will join Luke Thompson in event planning to pick up some of the workload that I will be dropping. Given the high level of involvement that Kieran has had in event planning from the Operations Department, this appears the most logical temporary solution. Kieran will be aiming to further improve the Events Team (discussed in my April post) and aiming to streamline some of our processes and interactions with Operations. This will have the effect of reducing the knowledge and time prerequisites for the Marketing Director role. This solution will be in place until the end of August 2024, at which point the DSG will re-evaluate the situation. Please continue to direct any event suggestions or proposals to the VATSIM UK Helpdesk as usual. For escalation to Marketing Management, please contact Kieran in the first instance and hwe will forward your message to the correct person as required. Ben

Well done !

Congratulations 🤩

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Congratulations to @Alice Ford on passing their exam at Gatwick this evening!

VATSIM UK is pleased to announce its latest event On the Rocks, join us for the fun and challenging approach into Gibraltar, in collaboration with BA Virtual, we will offer top-quality service with a visual around the infamous Rock of Gibraltar, ready for a very important meeting with Mr J Walker on June 26th from 1700-2100z. Please be advised that this event will have arrival slots, please plan accordingly to try and stick to these times. Bookings for this event can be found here. Bookings will open on June 19th from 1700z. Controllers please note that this event will be rostered, an expression of interest will be posted in due course.

Effective 16 May 2024 Due to the implementation of the Global Controller Administration Policy (GCAP), all towered positions require the provision of top-down control services. Redhill however is an outlier for top-down in the UK, given it only handles local VFR traffic and departures are authorised outside the hours of ATC. For the purposes of VATSIM, Redhill Tower is now covered top-down by Gatwick FIN who will assume authority for both local flying zones. However, Gatwick FIN must prioritise its IFR workload and as such during busy periods it may be necessary to either delay VFR traffic or provide a reduced top-down service. During examinations on Gatwick Director, candidates may seek guidance from an examiner on the provision of service if no Redhill Tower is online. It is acceptable in this situation for circuit traffic to be denied until the end of the examination. Documentation Status The Gatwick (EGKK) vMATS Part 2 will be amended at the next revision. The Redhill ACB will be released with this AIRAC.

Good luck!

There will be an exam on Gatwick Tower (EGKK_TWR) on the 13th of May, commencing at 1900z. The exam is expected to last 1 hour and 30 minutes but the exam may end earlier/later, depending on whether the competencies have been sufficiently assessed. A good number of IFR outbounds as well as some IFR inbounds/VFR are essential to making this exam a success. Please, no funny business without first speaking to EGKK_M_TWR. Pilots wishing to fly to ensure that they are familiar with the pilot guidance for ATC exams. Good luck to the candidate!

Effective 16 May 2024 Traffic routing to EBOS, EBKT and EBFN via KONAN and VABIK are agreed as follows from London TC SE to Brussels West. via KONAN, FL80 to FL110 (odd or even levels) via VABIK, FL110 Ostend Approach has airspace between FL65 (at KONAN/VABIK) and FL95 (north of VABIK), the interface at the boundary is depicted below (Figure 1). When EBOS is operating in an easterly runway configuration it is advantageous for traffic to descended as early as possible, however London ACC shall not descend this traffic outside of controlled airspace (Figure 2). The agreed levels to Brussels West are therefore the lowest levels available for transfer. Brussels West may request London to transfer traffic directly to Ostend Approach during the easterly configuration. Figure 1 - EBOS TMA at the London AC/TC boundary Figure 2 - London Controlled airspace at the London/Brussels boundary Documentation Status This change will be reflected in the next London vMATS & Agreed Levels release.

A look back on 2023 The 2023 calendar year saw some major changes to Pilot Training across the network, notably the introduction of the P5 and P6 ratings. In addition, the VATSIM UK ATO was audited for the first time in 2 years – a new experience for everyone involved due to the new audit structure and scope. One thing that didn’t happen much last year was regular updates from our department. The lack of the usual quarterly reports is something I let slide while life got busy, and their absence undoubtedly left some members wondering what we were doing. The P5 and P6 Ratings VATSIM introduced two new ratings: the P5 and P6. These are temporary pilot ratings issued directly by the VATSIM PTD, as per document PTD4001. The P5 is required for a member to conduct unsupervised instruction for members toward a pilot rating (P1-P4). An important note is that members, while working towards their P5, are permitted to instruct (or as well call it, mentor) other members. I am proud to say that the hard work our team put in last year allowed us to be the first ATO to be approved for training new flight instructors (P5s). The introduction of the P6 officially moved the role of examiners away from the ATO. As such, no examiners are affiliated with the VATSIM UK ATO and all examiners operate in their capacity, reporting directly to the VATSIM PTD. The Audit The audit report highlighted some areas of concern and issued corrective action. The major points were: No process for monitoring the quality of training and instruction. This was primarily due to not having a set process outlined in our training handbook. A process was written for the training handbook and implemented in the January release. Theoretical examination process does not comply with PTD 1001 requirements. This was due to us splitting the theoretical exams into several parts. As such, exams were concatenated. No conflict resolution process independent of the training staff. Like point 1, a process was written for and implemented in the January training handbook release. All recommendations were implemented by the requested dates. Staff Changes Several new staff members joined our team, including Cole Edwards overseeing TFP, and Ben Arrowsmith overseeing the P1 PPL(A). What is happening in 2024? Q1 Statistics The P1 course saw a good number of sessions in Q1, slightly above the previous 8-quarter average. The quarter also saw a sharp increase in P1_MEN sessions due to three new mentors being added to the team. The P2 also saw a healthy increase over the previous two quarters. Expectedly, no P2_MEN sessions were conducted as none of the new mentors elected to do their P5 on the P2. Exam statistics are no longer tracked directly as they aren’t under the remit of the VATSIM UK ATO. The only student to be forwarded for an exam was for a P1, for which they passed to an exceptional standard – a testament to our course! Projects and the Road Ahead The big project for the next few months will be the P1 Rewrite. Behind the scenes, the project has slowed down considerably due to me and other key members having limited availability. My goal is to get this rewrite out as soon as possible, as it will deliver the same content as we currently do but in roughly 1/3 of the time! We will need help to edit content, write lesson briefings, and put together the new Moodle. If you are interested in participating, please get in contact with me or Craig Stewart. The P3 is also moving along at a steady pace. However, I cannot give an exact date of completion. TFP has started to gain traction over the past quarter, surpassing the P2 in number of sessions conducted. Cole and his team are continuing to develop TFP and work with the VATSIM PTD to give it more visibility to new members. Where can I get involved? If you’re interested in completing a P5 rating with us or are interested in joining the team, please get in contact with me via email or Discord. Where has Darren been? As many of you will have noticed, my availability over the past few months has been a bit sporadic and I’ve had to take some “leave” at times. I’ve had the privilege of doing a year of my degree in the United States, which has involved me having to move countries, settle down in a new university, and contend with everything life could throw at me. Nevertheless, I am soon going to be on my summer holiday and returning to being more active in my role. A massive thank you to Ben Wright, the DSG, and my team for supporting me as much as possible in this time! Who knows, maybe I’ll see you all at Live!

VATSIM UK and Portugal vACC have the pleasure of hosting a one way shuttle between London Gatwick and Madeira airport. You can expect full ATC coverage on the departure from Gatwick and on the challenging approach into Funchal. Just be advised slots will be regulated and only people with a slot will be able to attend this event, slots will become available on 14th July @ 1200z, link for slots can be found here. We look forward to seeing you there! Controllers please note that this event will be rostered, an expression of interest will be posted in due course.

I've flown with a similar company (Virtual Flight Experience) who do 737 sims, and that was using Vatsim. Warning: you'll suddenly have a thirst for very expensive hardware.

I have heard its certainly the plan to, if booking for the purpose of VATSIM I would contact them (they are very approachable!), and they'd be able to advise whether its fully set up yet, and/or provide a timeframe.

Does the simulator support VATSIM, that's the only question 🤔

We have teamed up with Simulator Adventures to provide an exciting discount in their immersive A320 motion simulator, based at Salford Quays, Manchester. They have kindly offered VATSIM UK Home Members 20% off their experience, so if you are a Home Member and you wish to take advantage of this discount, please submit a ticket to Member Services requesting a discount code. A unique, one-time code will be issued to you, and you will be able to use this on their website. Below is a review from @Craig Stewart who has kindly taken the time to describe his experience and work with the business to attain this discount for us.

Effective 16 May 2024 From the effective date, departures from EHAM routing via LONAM (via MUAC Jever sector) will be climbing FL320. (Previously climbing FL300). There is no change to the RFC for this traffic (FL350). Documentation Status This change will be reflected in the next Scottish vMATS release. The Agreed Level diagrams will be updated this cycle.

After discussion amongst the DSG, it has been decided that UK Visiting Controllers who are only permitted to control Shanwick positions will be exempted from quarterly activity requirements effective immediately. Practically speaking, this means that Shanwick only visitors will not fall inactive on our controller roster. If you believe you meet this requirement and have been erroneously marked as inactive, please get in touch with the Member Services Department via the Helpdesk who will be able to assist you. Oceanic positions are not popular and we recognise that visitors who only control Shanwick are disadvantaged in comparison to home members that retain their Shanwick permissions through controlling UK domestic airspace. As a majority of both home and visiting controllers only control Oceanic positions for events such as Cross the Pond, it was decided that activity requirements and reactivation processes are of little benefit. UK Home Members with a Shanwick Endorsement and Visiting Controllers who can, in addition to Shanwick, control other ‘domestic’ positions within the UK remain unaffected by this change, and they must still obtain 3 hours in a fixed quarterly period in order to remain active on the controller roster.