I've just read the pdf and am slightly baffled; well, about the pilot side anyway.
Having taken only the first, and relatively painless, exam I am rated C. Under the new system that equates to Recreational Pilot. That's one exam below a VFR pilot and two below an IFR rated pilot. My Walter Mitty traits are reasonably under control and I fly only one of two Tobago variants, for VFR, and one of two Bizjets for IFR trips. As someone pointed out on the IVAO forum, there are a lot of us at that level out there. Logically I should have to stop flying the two Bizjets on line, until I had passed at least the IFR Pilot exam. Since I have no intention of taking the exams, that would see me, with great reluctance, leaving IVAO.
However, the publication says users don't need to take exams and achieve higher ratings. So, that means that I, and others in my position, may appear as Recreational Pilots, flying IFR and, if the fancy takes us, flying heavy metal like the A380.
The rather lame excuse for the changes to something that ain't broke is that it enhances realism. It would if the proposed pilot system changes were to be compulsary. However IVAO, realising that's a great way of decimating their membership, have stopped at the brink. So it isn't enhancing realism at all, just making the system more contentious and a proportion of the pilot base more suspicious.
I can quite see the point of preventing ill prepared pilots, or cowboys, from spoiling the enjoyment of others but I'm sure there are better ways of tackling this.
Gerry Winskill Fossil wrote:
When starting a VA it is all too easy to fall into the trap of over regulating. Many try to emulate real world airlines and they think they can do this by applying real world rules. IVAO and VATSIM are falling into the same trap for ATC too but more of this in a minute. Some VA's reproduce the actual schedules of the airlines they emulate. The trouble here is that in the real world the senior pilots get to pick the best routes and the newcomers are left with the dross (when Tony moved to BA he got stuck with Heathrow-Detroit for years). If you try that in a VA your newcomers aren't going to be happy - but I've seen some try this. Some VA's try a proper command structure but again it doesn't work because in real life it takes decades to work your way up the ranks. That's assuming the airline doesn't go bust and you end up at the bottom of the ladder again. A VA should be fun. Trying to make it real turns it into a career - and not a very realistic one at that. Even with regulations, using FS Passengers and other add-ons you still cannot emulate the real world to any degree of accuracy. You don't get stuck on stand waiting for a slot time some three hours ahead, you don't suffer technical failures that leave you stuck overnight in a dismal airport and you aren't forced to fly with a First Officer with the wit of a slug. Any VA that thinks they are doing it for real is dismally unaware of what real is truly like. IVAO and VATSIM are falling in the same trap but I am more inclined to defend them. They are online ATC services and so try to provide as accurate portrayal of this. If you don't want ATC you fly offline or use MP if you want company. You join IVAO because you want to have interactive ATC but that also implies knowing and operating with some sort of ATC structure. I think we all accept this. What is going wrong is that IVAO and VATSIM try to separate out the good controllers and pilots from the bad ones. FRA's are a way of doing this but it isn't ideal - personally I don't like them. If you rate an airport as C1 only then you limit the use of that airport to times when a C1 wants to jump in there. I log into EGNS about once a week so it effectively closes the airport to ATC for the other six days. The rest of the UK is equally empty because we don't have enough C1 rated people to staff the places. I guess it comes down to whether pilots would like some ATC even though it may be rubbish or no ATC at all. I would have thought the existing rating system was enough to tell people what to expect. If you see an S1 plugged into an airport it automatically means he's a newcomer and probably doesn't know what he is doing. Treat with caution and you'll probably get some sort of service but nothing brilliant. If you see a C3 online you know that capability is much higher - and your own capabilities will be expected to be higher too. The only tricky rating for ATC is an S3 because he could have been doing the job for years but not bothering to take exams - or could be a 25 hour newcomer. Newcomers will always be on the system and we have to allow for it. Restricting them with FRA's isn't the best way. ATC should always expect a novice to call them and do daft things - and pilots should always expect to encounter a new controller from time to time and allow him some slack (or avoid him). bones bones@xxxxxxx -----Original Message----- From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Gerry Winskill Sent: 08 July 2009 11:21 To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [jhb] Re: IVAO Changes for pilot ratings I'm a bit reassured by a reply on the first link.The second link asks for my username and password, before I can read the thread. Since I've misplaced the notebook in which I writ them, I won't bother.There was an item on Flightsimcom, at the beginning of the week, attacking VAs, and Vatsim, for their rules heavy approach. The criticism doesn't apply to JHB but I'm concerned that IVAO may be going further down the bureaucratic path.I always have suspicions about outfits that move towards grander titles. Gerry Winskill Kev Townsend wrote:A very hot topic - 33 pages in 72 hours <http://gb.forum.ivao.aero/index.php/topic,115055.0/topicseen.html>I think many are concerned that there is a plan in place for introduction of FRA's for pilots online! (as seen by ATC)For very sensible alternatives, just read the responses from Peter Bremer If you dont want to trawl through the thread just read the explanationhere <http://forum.ivao.aero/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=115100.0;attach=6203best wishes Kev
