FlyVirtual.org Information

A Welcome Message

Greetings,

Welcome to Flyvirtual.org! Whether you’re a veteran flight simmer from the day’s of old when we all though FS4 was the greatest thing since sliced bread, or you’re just about to rip the shrink wrapping off the box of your first flight simulator program, it deserves mention that you are involved in something virtually unheard of. –We are a group of individuals who have come together because of an interest in aviation and found something so much more substantial: friendships that though miles and even generations apart are not at all virtual.

What has happened along the way is equally as amazing because at its foundation is the hard work and many hours of the people who made us what we are: a coherent organization. What has worked yesterday - what works today - what will work tomorrow - is that same commitment to excellence.

This document has been created with one thing in mind - to make life easier and free up more time for flying - which is what we do best and what we most enjoy. It can only get better from here. When one thinks about what we have created, how many hours we have logged not as perhaps the achievement that they are evidence of, but as the evidence of the hours of fun we have.

Enjoy this document, for you will find it no where else and in it is the fruit of your labor, the sign of an excellent bill of health, and a prediction of a future of cloudy skies - they are after all more fun.

Though we call it standard operating procedure, we know that there is nothing standard about it: FlyVirtual unlike any other, exemplifies what a virtual airline should be like. We welcome to FlyVirutal.org

Sincerely,

Louis Merck
Chairman FVA001

FlyVirtual Operations Manual

Contents

1. Membership Requirements
2. Standard Operating Procedures
3. SquawkBox Procedures
4. Glossary of Terms / Abbreviations

1) Membership Requirements

After joining FlyVirtual, and before flying your first flight, pilots are encouraged to read this document. This is so applicants know how to get started flying with FlyVirtual as well as what to expect from our virtual airline.

Pilots will be to fly a minimum 1 flight per quarter to retain their active status. After 90 days of inactivity a letter will be sent out by the Human Resources Department. The probation status will be removed when a flight is completed. Pilots who are on probation status for an additional 90 days will be removed from the roster. Pilots can always be reinstated by e-mailing the Chairman or Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Remember to keep the communication channels open with your Hub Manager. They are always glad to work out an arrangement with you to keep you flying with Flyvirutal.

Hub managers track your hours, so it is the responsibility of each pilot to file a PIREP as soon as possible following the flight. FlyVirutal uses a fsacars based pilot reporting system, pireps can be automatically submitted. Remember, you represent your hub and there is some healthy competition between hubs for the most active pilots (i.e. pilot of the month).

Whether you fly with or without VATSIM at a particular time is up to you. We do encourage flying on VATSIM, however, because of the increased realism and fun of being part of the flightsim community. All pilots will be required to have a VATSIM ID within 90days of submitting their application. While we want to encourage all pilots to fly online, if you do not want to or cannot, that is fine. While online, you can get updated weather via real world weather. If not logged on, you can still get real world weather through download in FS2004/FS2002 or with Real Weather (free) or FSMeteo (shareware).

While FlyVirutal does not require its pilots to fly online, we encourage the use of SquawkBox available from avsim.com. Because SquawkBox Air Traffic Controllers (using ProController) use real life aviation terminology, it is also recommended that pilots be familiar with the phraseology used in aviation. The use of citizens band radio lingo or pilot-to-pilot chatter on controlled airspace channels is not appropriate for aviation communications. It is also recommended that pilots become proficient with aviation navigation via Steve’s Flight School. See our link on the Evergreen International Airline main page. We also want to ensure you are familiar with the aircraft you will be participating in before flying online with SquawkBox. Your first few flights with SquawkBox can be quite intimidating but once you start flying online, you will be hooked. THIS is as real as it gets!

2) Standard Operating Procedures

The intention of this standard operating procedures (SOP) is to raise the level of enjoyment possible here at FlyVirutal EVEN HIGHER. We call this document our standard operation procedures because they are the common procedures that bind all who are part of FlyVirutal. But we acknowledge that OUR operation procedures are anything but standard. EIAVAC has a higher standard than other airlines for three reasons: a great reputation among controllers, a fun environment and because so many pilots also do controlling, chances are you might well wind up being guided in by a fellow Flyvirutal pilot. Typically, the FlyVirutal pilot enjoys flying with a challenge, and embracing real-world aviation techniques and procedures. We do however--and this is important--recognize that once our pilots step into their cockpits, just like in real world aviation, they are the pilot in command. At FlyVirutal, the pilot is in control.

The SOP provides a set of universal tools and aides to flying. It says what you can do, and very little about what you cannot do. It answers questions that you might have, and serves as a tool for any dispute resolution, something which we hope will be very rare at FlyVirutal.

As well, the SOP is a reminder of the vast world that accompanies aviation--that we are the sum of more than just pilots with callsigns. The activities surrounding the actual flying can be as fun as flying itself: working with aircraft, flight planning, weather tracking, etc. There is also the community that springs up around the hubs and gives rise to events, which really engage the pilot and build lasting friendships. At FlyVirutal, there is much going on outside the cockpit and if the pilot does not take advantage of it, then he is missing out on quite a lot. If you want additional recommendations on how to get involved, let your hub manager know and be sure and visit the message board, which is truly a happening place that changes by the hour and the day and not by the week.

The enjoyment of being involved with Flyvirutal also includes the organizational structure that has evolved. The individual hub managers take pride in the challenge of building exciting schedules for pilots to fly, maintaining the rosters, welcoming new pilots, and organizing hub activities. The management team takes pride in creating training opportunities, painting new aircraft, maintaining and updating the web pages, and keeping it all working together smoothly. We understand that people have different likes and dislikes about their participation within the VA; therefore, we have constructed the ‘Pilot Information Form’ questionnaire that all pilots should fill out. This form will address items including preferred aircraft type, preferred destinations, flight hours per week, etc. The Pilot Information Form, along with the SOP is FlyVirutal’s method for establishing communication amongst all citizens within the airline to enable all to benefit from being involved.

What is so cool about FlyVirutal is that you can see your hub manager and the management team out there flying on VATSIM just like their pilots. They love to fly as well.

FlyVirtual Member Guidelines

• All members of FlyVirutal will act professionally and courteously at all times while using SquawkBox, Roger Wilco/AVC, email, and the FlyVirutal message board and chat room. At no time is it appropriate to use foul language in any of these means of communication. If there are additional incidents the offending member will be removed from the FlyVirutal roster.
• No member of FlyVirutal should fly unattended for more than 30 minutes while connected to VATSIM. It costs money and takes up bandwidth to fly online when you are not present. If you are contacted and do not respond within a timeframe they feel is appropriate, you are subject to suspension by VATSIM. This could be 2 days, a week or a month. Depending on the circumstances and frequency of the offense.
• No member of FlyVirutal will be permitted to display irrelevant conduct such as: disrespectful attitudes, inappropriate comments, disregard for assignments/orders or behavior in any way towards a ranking member of this VA. Failure to comply here as well will place this member on a 1-month probation. During this time, if there are additional incidents, the offending member is subject to termination and removal from the roster immediately.
• No member of FlyVirutal should address the members of VATSIM Management regarding issues without out first taking the issue to their chain of command within FlyVirutal. Pilots to their H/M’s and H/M’s to the Operations Director.
• Remember, if you want to post notes on message boards other than the FlyVirutal message board, that is fine. But they are your opinions and not those of FlyVirutal. Please remember, you are still representing FlyVirutal by putting your title or pilot id and this VA under your name. It is best not do so at all if there is any question or doubt whatsoever.
• If the member has incurred more than 2 probation placements within a 12-month period, they will be removed from the roster indefinitely.
• All members of FlyVirutal are allowed and encouraged to report any incidents or situations that damage the professionalism and integrity of this VA or its members by simply emailing their hub manager, Director or Chairman. Screen prints are a great help in this area if you have them. It makes it a bit hard to dispute a print screen. Please follow the chain of command: Pilot to Hub Manager to Operations Director to Chairman.
• All members of FlyVirutal are required to keep it fun! Light-hearted fun is expected. Learn from others, we don’t have time to make all the mistakes for ourselves.
• All members of FlyVirutal may use the training center to further develop your flying skills. It is encouraged. While it is not a requirement, we do love to see pilots learn to fly better. VATSIM expects us to know what we are doing up there. Let’s prove it to them that we do!
• All members of FlyVirutal are encouraged to fully participate in the message board, corporate RW channel or chat room while helping others with questions and ideas, sharing comments, by congratulating others’ accomplishments and welcoming new pilots to FlyVirutal. After all, this is your VA, help out the others when you can. You never know when you will need it yourself.
• All suggestions are welcome here at FlyVirutal. We do care about what our pilots and management thinks. At times, we may not be able to address or pursue suggestions at the moment they are presented, but Flyvirutal does value the feedback of it’s members. So keep them coming because we don’t know until you tell us and we love to hear from you.
• All members getting certification should indicate their name AND hub on the certification registration forms. It helps us get the info to the appropriate hub manager so they can get your certification on the roster sooner.

Pilot Guidelines

The following are guidelines for ALL members of FlyVirutal to adhere to:

• All pilots will be accepted to a hub.
• Pilots can represent FlyVirutal by participating in group flights, fly-ins, and other special events with your callsign and have the hours flown count double.
• Pilots flying Routes, Special Flights, Group Flights or flying online using Squawkbox will use their pilot id number as the Callsign. EIA**** - **** being your hub id number (e.g. EIA405).
• All pilots are encouraged to provide their preferences for flights, destinations and aircraft by filling out a Pilot Information Form (PIF) found on the Evergreen Capital Management site. We won’t bother you with a second assignment until the form has been completed and the hub manager has a chance to know the preferences of the pilot.
• Flying can be conducted with the following aircraft: A300, A310, B707, B717, B727, B737, B747, B757, B767, B777, DC-8, DC-9, DC-10, MD11, MD80 and the MD90.
• Pilots can fly the aircraft listed on the flight schedule, or make a substitution for an aircraft of similar size as noted in the table below. Switching aircraft from 727 on a 500 mile hop to a 747 is not an acceptable substitution. I think we can get by on common sense on this one:

  Aircraft	=	Sub Aircraft
  747	=	MD-11
  747	=	767/MD-11
  757	=	767/A300
  767	=	757/A300
  767	=	747/DC-10-30
  767	=	A300/A310
  MD-11	=	747
  DC-8	=	767/A300/A310
  767	=	DC-8/DC-10-10/MD-10-10
  A300	=	767/A310/DC-8

• Special flights assigned by the Hub Managers, Directors, or Chairman are to be filed as a PIREP for credit of the flight time. Examples of special flights are:
  • Parts run…
  • Awarded Pilot of the Month Round Trip To Anywhere
  • Birthday Round Trip Flights
  • Occasional - Chairman, Director, Hub Mgr Vacations, Meetings, Conventions, etc.
• Pilots can get credit for flights they have flown by filing a PIREP on their hub pages and have their hours totaled by the hub managers or assistant managers.
• Pilots can file their PIREPs as soon as possible once safely at the cargo ramp of their destination. - Any pilot may transfer from one hub to another by filing a transfer request form if that destination hub is taking applications and has room. Hub manager discretion is allowed to override if a hub is deemed full. All transferred pilots need to remain at their destination hub for no less than two months before allowed to transfer again.
• If you are disconnected from the on-line ATC network (VATSIM/IVAO) during takeoff or landing, or experience an autopilot failure or crash, all pilots are required to squawk disconnect, squawk standby and reset or land. At no time should you reconnect and continue to land inside 5 mile finals or slew back and try again with out re-establishing authorization from the controller in the area after a crash. There may still be pilots in the area, so be careful.