joespeed52 wrote:I have not flown on PilotEdge for many months after my account has terminated. I think adding this huge space is actually a waste, personally. I think that just listening to the frequencies some days it seems there are a small amount of controllers online, and they have to fill as many positions as there are on PE. I find that spreading the ATC so thin to make each controller work as a separate ARTCC or something like that is just a waste. And to add extra money per month to pay for this control.
The expansion area is always staffed by a separate controller, so they're not "spreading the ATC so thin". Adding another controller position costs PE money, hence the additional (optional) subscription cost. To emphasize, the additional cost for the Western Expansion is
optional.
joespeed52 wrote:Sure, VATSIM and IVAO are not as professional, but at least you get non-stop ATC some days from one side of the US to the other, FOR FREE! I'm not promoting VATSIM, I'm just saying that it is much better in terms of places to fly and controllers online at any time.
VATSIM coverage is at the whim of amateur controllers deciding whether or not they feel like controlling. I would be stunned if you could get coast-to-coast coverage, ever, unless an event was organized specifically for that purpose. Heck, I'd be surprised if you could get a full flight's worth of authentic handoffs according to real world procedures regardless of route.
joespeed52 wrote:Sure, PE is better and more professional
Yup!
joespeed52 wrote:but the space to fly in
...is intentionally limited to provide traffic density and allow quality service without unreasonable staff requirements. ZLA provides just about every challenge imaginable. It's the perfect training airspace.
joespeed52 wrote:the controller variety
...is not the point of the network. Getting "voice changes" on different frequencies is a novelty and has no bearing on the quality of the training experience.
joespeed52 wrote:and the terminology is confusing
The terminology used on PilotEdge is identical to real world practices. VATSIM is not. If you're confused by PE terminology, there are vast amounts of training materials available, including the
VFR and IFR workshops and the
Training Ratings - not to mention hundreds of YouTube videos, twitch streams, and forum posts.
Alternatively. you could just grab a copy of the real world rules, regulations, and training standards. They will transfer 100% to PE. That's why I will never fly VATSIM, and why PilotEdge is such a great value.