Happy birthday VATSIM
Yes, we have got some greeting cards to our anniversary. A couple of them are following on this page.
Of course we would like to hear from you too.
If you would like to pass a short greeting message or have a story to pass like Andrew Carr did, please send me a short mail. I will read them and post an extract out of it.
Why not sending a mail and say happy birthday?
Thanks
Florian Harms
VATGOV10
Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Australian Royal Flying Doctor Service takes this opportunity of congratulating VATSIM on its 10th anniversary. The RFDS acknowledges VATSIM and its support of our organisation which dates back to your first year of opperations
Yours sincerely
Clyde Thomson GM
Executive Director
(Each World Flight event is collecting money for the RFDS to support the flying doctor service in Australia)
Greetings from our members:
Adam Trzcinski [1125672]
I've been a member with VATSIM and especially VATSIM Germany for about 1.5 years and have not regretted stumbling over this exciting network ever.
VATSIM has become a part of my life and weekly planning, as many friendships have been forged over the past months and online sessions.
This fine network has been a great source of interesting ATC sessions, challenging flight hours on my CRJ7 and many lessons learnt as Chief Events and Mentor in my regional group Düsseldorf. Even beyond the online network, VATSIM has provided many laughs and joy on various real-life meet & greets or flightsim conferences.
Happy Birthday VATSIM!
Andrew Carr [812404]
I discovered VATSIM by accident, when I was searching online for aviation information. A search result immediately caught my eye. Virtual Air Traffic Control? Intrigued, I clicked the link. Within minutes I had signed up and was immersing myself in online ATC. I was hooked; it was a fascinating and at times exhilarating hobby. Little did I know that a few years later it would lead to a significant career change and a leap into real world ATC.
I developed some strong friendships with others on VATSIM who were equally keen to learn about ATC and provide a service to pilots flying on the network. Over the years, I have had great fun getting to know the regular VATPAC pilots and controllers, participating in a variety of events, experiencing Worldflight from many points of view and forming some strong friendships. Several of these people, including myself, have taken things to a whole new level and progressed to real world ATC or flying.
VATSIM planted the seed that has led to a very satisfying and rewarding career in real world ATC. As one would expect, there's an awful lot to learn, but VATSIM gave me a good introduction to the basic concepts and the confidence to press the transmit button and start talking to real aeroplanes. I look back on my VATSIM/VATPAC experience with fond memories.
Andrew Carr
Paul Byrne [816289]
I'm scared of flying; used to be absolutely terrified of it. I had to seriously medicate myself before any flight and I was in the unlucky position that my job requires me to fly a lot (a lot of sleepless nights).
Thankfully the people I work with and the type of work I do were very understanding of this. To try and combat this crippling (and it was crippling) fear of flying, I got FS98 to try and understand everything that was going on during a flight. While I was trying to figure it all out, I discovered the multiplayer option and found the Microsoft Game Zone.This was great as I met many good people who showed me how to conduct a flight in a basic manner.
Then I discovered VATSIM; a realistic simulation of the aviation world.I learned even more about flying and eventually controlling. More importantly, I met some amazing people who taught me everything I now know about aviation. Eventually, I ended up coming across the pond to meet some of them. Do you know what those guys did for me? They took me up in small planes and let me fly them (I don't know what they were thinking). That was about 5 years ago and it scared the hell out of me, but helped me so much. It all culminated 3 years later when one of those members (one of my best friends now), who is also a CFII took me up in a Diamondstar, IFR, gave me control of the aircraft after takeoff and let me fly the entire route under ATC. He then let me line the plane up on the approach and when I was ready to hand over control for the landing, he refused and told me in no uncertain terms that I was landing the plane. I ended up landing that plane twice over the next couple of days. My fear of flying is still there, but it is a hell of a lot more manageable than it used to be. I can actually go up sober now when I fly commercial (which is a big thing for me).
If it wasn't for VATSIM and those friends (Dan Everette, Dave Pascoe, Keith Smith, Don Desfosse, Richard Critz, Jason Herman, Mike Kaplan and the vZBW crew), my life would be very different now.
I owe those guys (and in turn VATSIM) a considerable amount for changing my life. To me VATSIM is more than a game. It is a place where you can meet people who have a passion and love for the aviation world and want to share this experience. You know, whenever I think about this and those guys, I always remember the final lines of VATSIMs Code of Conduct as this is exactly what it is all about :Remember, the primary goals of VATSIM are to educate, to provide a realistic simulation of flying and air traffic control and, most importantly, to provide a fun environment for everyone to enjoy our hobby. By following the simple rules set forth in this Code of Conduct, everyone is ensured of learning and making new friends from around the world.
Paul Byrne