Thoughts on PE from a VATSIM S2

[stevekirks]

I've been tossing this around in my head for awhile so instead of waiting, I think I'll just dump this out as a semi-random stream. I don't dislike VATSIM and that's not what this is about. I see the big differences now and when I was deciding whether or not to buy a year of PE and be "stuck" with ZLA airspace, much of this came into play.

* PilotEdge is what I thought VATSIM was going to be when I first started flying online. It's been a couple of years since I first started flying online and when I first found out that VATSIM existed (and read the website) I thought it was a serious place with all of the rules and such. It's not. I usually control Memphis Tower (KMEM) on Wednesday evenings and sometimes other people in my ARTCC join in on Ground or approach. While the sound and behavior is generally pretty professional, the details are always missing and my PE experience brings that into sharp relief. Ground controllers forget that tower owns the taxiways in certain parts of the airport. They rarely deal with VFR pilots and stumble inconsistently with clearances for someone that wants to fly in the Bravo. They don't enforce the SIDs based on the instructions (HOTRD not allowed during the day, only for the overnight). Overall, the people are fantastic, but I've learned something about myself - I want the realism that PE provides

* Flying on PE and listening to the constant traffic and instructions has made me a better controller. I did my third supervised Approach training session and my instructor was impressed. I was able to take immediate and confident control of the inbound and outbound aircraft because I'm so familiar with the calls from my time on PE. Being a VATSIM controller is like getting a tower tour and a chance to sit at console and observe in real life. While I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, VATSIM scratches an itch and contributes to everything I want to learn as a future pilot.

* PE's technology infrastructure is an underappreciated value. Stop and think about this for a moment:

• Automated AI traffic with realistic flight paths and density - someone had to fly those routes and record those drones right? But there are hundreds (thousands?) of routes and some piece of infrastructure injects that into the experience and "just works".
• Real world frequencies handled by magic -- I've figured out how it works from my own research but it's likely a trade secret so I won't mention it here. Based on what I know, it is half pixie dust and half staff skill. If you want to make your brain mush, try writing down a process of how you would build it and you'll quickly get lost.
• Sound quality stays good even under high system loads
• Regular shift changes are managed without drops in service - it's not like there's an office where everyone sits next to each other, so there has to be an extensive setup of interoffice comms to do controller turnovers and keep track of pilots.

* Concentrated areas are the way to go - as much as I would like to see additional areas contiguous to ZLA, even if they were no costs to PE as a company, I would miss the density of traffic and people on the network. I used to see the ZLA airspace as a hindrance because it wouldn't relate to my personal training area (KSGF Class C) but it's not the space, it's the traffic and other pilots on the frequency. The recent change to ground/tower frequencies to allow everyone to hear each other is a great addition. Learning to share frequency time with pilots in the real world (and listening for what they are doing) is a valuable training aid to pilots.

[Keith Smith]

Thanks Steve, what a lovely post. I appreciate you taking the time to write it. The radio system is by far the most complex piece of the infrastructure followed not far behind by the server and the X-Plane pilot client. Getting the motion to work that well over connections which aren't perfect took a lot of time.

The radio piece is really is the secret sauce of the technical part of the infrastructure. Making it work in such a way that it isn't a total bear for the controllers to manage was one of the things which made it so hard to build. The end result is that pilots tune real world freqs (including CTAFs) and it works, whether we have 1 controller doing it all, or 400+ controllers all plugged in at the same time, or anything in between. So, I appreciate the kinds words about that little bit of technology, it was non-trivial to design.

At the risk of sounding corny or predictable, though, none of it would be of the slightest value if the controllers didn't know what they were doing. What's truly unique about PE is that it brings together a high end, purpose-built technical infrastructure with a very specific vision about the level of controlling that we want to offer on the network. So, without the controllers, we'd be precisely nowhere.

There is another part of the retail market which I'd like to capture, and I think we have a shot of doing it with some reasonable expansion plans. We're doing what we can to make that happen. For piston pilots, though, I think we're delivering a pretty compelling service. We know we could have more jets if we could cover some more fields. We're working on it.

Expansion is also a good thing for the high end of the commercial market, too, which is going to demand coverage at a wider range of airports.

[stevekirks]

More (or MOAR depending on your age)

• X-Plane's PE plugin will change some aircraft's N-number placard to match your logged in callsign. Amazing
• Echoing Keith's comments on professionalism - I equate flying on PE like playing golf with someone better than you. When you're listening to a PE controller regardless of their history or background, it's clear that they are professional and they "own" their role. They know their job but don't treat it like a sim or a game. Some of that is expected since as a consumer, you're paying for a service. What is hard to teach (and maybe hire) is the *desire* to be professional and provide that higher level of service. When I'm on PE as a simpilot, I sit straighter in the seat, pay more attention to what I'm doing, and think about how professional *I* am when I'm on frequency. If you want to see this for yourself, try listening to KSNA on LiveATC and compare that to what you hear on PE.
• The users are different - it's like hanger talk at your local airport -- The PE forums have a good amount of fun and silliness, but overall, it's like a room full of smart old pilots trading stories and tips. I was forced to spend some time on AVSIM forums not long ago and it made me die inside just a little. The signal to noise ratio is very high on PE and I think a lot of that comes from commitment. The pilots of PE made a financial commitment when they signed up for the service, and that sets a mental breakpoint. These pilots try to make sure they are getting value for their money. I've spent time with some folks in my ARTCC on TeamSpeak that joke about downloading airplanes for free, screwing around on approaches to mess with their friends on the scope and generally betray their age with their actions. Here, it never occurs to me how old someone like Peter Grey or Harold Rutila would be, but their posts speak volumes about their maturity.

Comic Relief: IF PilotEdge was run like an iPhone app, it would be free to join, then have in app purchases for each level of control/TRACON/airfield. Be glad that it's only $20 a month for unlimited access to a professional network. It could be sadly worse.

[Peter Grey]

Thanks for the kind words Steve.

Here, it never occurs to me how old someone like Peter Gray or Harold Rutila would be

No idea how old that Peter Gray guy is . As for Peter Grey, well let's just say I'm not as old as most people think.

[stevekirks]

Fixed the gray Mr. Grey.

[snglecoil]

Be glad that it's only $20 a month for unlimited access to a professional network.

8-10 months of Pilot Edge = 1 hour of dual in a 40 year old C172. While PE isn't a substitute for flight training, the value you can get from PE to supplement real world training is tremendous. Best bargain in aviation!

[Keith Smith]

Thanks, Chris! If you actually use the Annual plan ($179), it's 12 months or more compared to an hour of dual.