event - meet-up Looking to post an Informal Staff-up? Please read first!

[Ben Wright]

Hello!

As part of a new marketing scheme, we would like to promote controllers staffing up UK aerodromes. The objectives of this new scheme are to increase pilot turnout by advertising staff-ups on social media, and as a result, we should also see a bit more variety in the aerodromes being staffed. If you want us to advertise your staff-up, then you must read this post carefully.

It is important you understand that by posting your staff-up on the Forums, you agree to be held responsible for the planning and rostering of controllers as necessary for the entire duration of the staff up. It is important to note, that staff-ups are not formal ATC events, therefore you will need to book any positions via the CTS booking system. It is also worth noting that staff up bookings will have no priority over existing bookings in the CTS, and will be subject to the same booking rules found on the VATSIM UK Website. For this reason, it is recommended that you plan your staff up, and book positions accordingly several weeks in advance, as this also gives the marketing team plenty of time to advertise your staff up, and as such increase pilot turnout. Due to the fact that staff-ups will be advertised online (and to prevent a poor reflection on the division), you must provide full ATC coverage at your chosen aerodrome, lasting the entire duration of your planned staff-up.

For the purposes of staff-ups, we are defining full coverage as the following:

• Ground
• Tower
• Approach

Delivery and area control is not required for staff-ups, however bear in mind that this simply a minimum requirement, and it is preferable that you get as much coverage as possible to maximise turnout and quality of service. All staff-up posts will be manually reviewed by the marketing team prior to being made publically available, this is to prevent abuse of the system. Examples of such abuse could include (but is not limited to) poor pilot feedback, not showing up to a previous staff-up, and staff-ups that are excessive in length or frequency (see booking rules on VATSIM UK website,).

When creating your staff-up post on the forums, please ensure you adhere to the following, as this makes sure all posts are clear and consistent.

Title format [Day Month Time] STAFF UP - Aerodrome + ICAO e.g. [1st April 1900-2100Z]  STAFF UP - Manchester EGCC

• Use the UK date format (Day before month)
• Use the full month name (i.e December not Dec)
• Remove colons from times (i.e. 1800-2100Z, not 18:00-21:00Z)
• Include a hyphen between event times
• Include a "Z" to indicate that the time is in Zulu
• Block capitalise "STAFF UP" and the airport ICAO code
• Capitalise the first letter of the month and aerodrome

Post Content -  Please copy and fill out the following template to ensure that details regarding your staff up are unambiguous.

• Aerodrome: As per title, include name and ICAO code
• Date and Time: Same format as the title e.g 1st April 1800-2100Z
• Staffed positions: Note that GND, TWR and APP is mandatory e.g EGLL_2_GND, EGLL_S_TWR, EGLL_N_APP, LTC_CTR, LON_SC_CTR
• Requests or Extra Info: Will you be simulating any special operations? Do you require any other ATC coverage? Are you planning to staff up alongside another aerodrome for a city link?

Thank you for taking the time to fully read this post and we hope you enjoy this new system! If you have any suggestions or questions, then please contact the marketing team using the Helpdesk here.

Cheers!

Edited July 26, 2019 by Loui Ringer