Flying with a VA

[bhk]

I joined a VA the other day - Ansett-VA.
It was formed by a group of like-minded people - many of them ex-Ansett employees - a few years back.

I was interested in the Classic/Historical section of the operation and am currently assisting in expanding the choice of aircraft and the timetables/routes catered for within the Classic category.

The Short Sandringham will soon be joining the fleet and will have historic timetables for Ansett's two most frequented island journeys - Rose Bay to Lord Howe Is. and Rose Bay to Hayman Is.

There is another interesting history-based VA (with minimal rules and regs) which has only been in operation for two months.
It is "BOAC Virtual" (or BOACv) and is presently building up its base of historical timetables.

This is an interesting one too, as it caters for a wide range of prop-liners and early jets, including the Comet and 707.
The props include the Boeing B314 'boat, Avro York, DC7C, Short Solent, Boeing B377 and Bristol Britannia.

Should you be interested in either or both of these VA's, here are the URL's:

Ansett-VA
www.ansett-va.com/an_home/

BOACv
www.ansett-va.com/an_home/

Bruce

[AirCoaster]

Cool Bruce, the VA experience is something all should try for the fun of it. I know I had a lot of fun at BlueGrass Airlines, and Big Bear Airlines years ago. All I can recommend to anyone is to make certain the airline fits in with your niche, otherwise you may be disappointed. Looks like you may have found yours.

Good Luck

[kbr]

Neat. I've often thought about joining a VA, but my schedules is so erratic that I never have.

I do fly with FSE (FSEconomy) which is a little like a VA but for freelance pilots. I currently own two airplanes on FSE, a DHC2 Beaver and a Piper Super Cub and run a small bush & charter flying business.

[bhk]

Kevin,
The BOACv has no rules - you fly if you like, when you like. You don't even have to submit a pirep if you don't wish to.

Ansett-VA has a more regulated environment but still only requires one pirep a month.

Bruce

[sgtmajor]

Bruce... that sounds as though it would be really fun. Like Kevin, it seems I never have enough time to do much of anything. I took a 20 min. flight tonight in FS9 which was the first flight I've had in a couple of weeks.

Something here is just horribly wrong!! (smile)

Please do keep us informed on how you like it. The Ansett route to Lord Howe Island sounds really nice. That's one place I've always wanted to visit. Maybe someday when I finally get back to Oz for a cold VB. (smile)

Cheers!

[bhk]

Steve,
Aside from actually flying, I also enjoy the researching side.
But the flights are no problem at all because they can be saved en-route; There is no requirement to complete a flight in one sitting.
(Ansett-VA doesn't permit time compression, so you can't hurry-up the flight. But you can save it.)

Other than choosing to fly a particular route and schedule, for those with an interest in passenger or cargo ops, there is really no difference between flying and submitting a pirep to a VA or flying "solo".

It's the historical aspect that I find interesting.
Sitting on the flight-deck of a BOAC DC-7C as you climb out of Heathrow late on a Wednesday night in 1959, heading for Manchester on the first leg of the London - New York service.

Quite nice.

Bruce

[sgtmajor]

Aug 28, 2008 16:14:22 GMT -5 bhk said:

But the flights are no problem at all because they can be saved en-route; There is no requirement to complete a flight in one sitting.

It's the historical aspect that I find interesting.

Now that does sound nice!

I'm assuming one could use FSPassenger while flying too?

Also.... it sounds as though this VA is pretty much leaving it up to you etc. I did look into a very interesting VA a couple years back.... but you had to fly on-line.... if my memory serves me correctly there was some type of microphone/headset control tower stuff you had to learn, etc., etc. Bottom line.... after I checked into it was rather like a second job then just having fun so I never pursued it.

Cheers!

[bhk]

Steve,
Yes, FSPass can be used very easily.
In fact, the Ansett-VA caters for FSPass in that it may be used to upload the detailed report and then the required fields in their on-line report card can be completed using the FSPass info.

There's no requirement for on-line flying. In fact, I don't think they facilitate on-line flying at all.

Bruce

[AirCoaster]

We did our schedules much like these folks when Big Bear Airlines was in sevrice. Of course, that was in Alaska, and there were only a few flights that were more than an hour long. The idea with Big Bear was to create a storyline for your flight along with flying the scheduled passenger, and cargo flights, and any special op flights. A good example of this is Don Moser's VA Bush Alaska.

VAs are great as long as you have the time to do the flights, and you have a close-knit group of flyers, otherwise the whole thing loses it's luster quite fast. The things I liked about VAs was the the role play, the learning of associating the navigation to the flights, and the comradery with the other pilots. Also, if you get in with one of the ATC groups this even extendeds the experience a bit.

Back years ago, a few of us had LEAF (Lake Erie Air Ferry), which was a commuter connector airline, and we did much the same with the schedules, and requirements. The guys really liked reading eacxh other's short stories to go along with there pireps.

[bhk]

Aug 29, 2008 8:29:10 GMT -5 AirCoaster said:

.....VAs are great as long as you have the time to do the flights, .......

Aside from the historical aspects, the main reason that I chose these two (Ansett and BOAC) was for the fact that Flights under-way can be saved. There is no pressure on a having to do a one-session sitting.

The second reason was that Ansett only require one pirep per month and BOACv don't require anything.
So that meant a very relaxed and casual environment. Again, no pressure.

The third reason was that there is no on-line requirement and no real-life ATC.
With on-line,and associated ATC, the pressure comes back to complete the flight in one sitting, which is not what I was looking for.

I guess it all boils down to my wanting to try historical passenger-carrying flights but at my own leisure and using the information provided by someone else for a change.

Sure, these two VA's aren't that great a step-up from just doing one's own thing but then, that's exactly why they appealed to me.

Bruce

[lifejogger]

Thanks for the information on Ansett-VA, I am going to look into it.
Another good VA to fly with is DC-3 Airway.

www.dc3airways.com/