"Estamos lá!"

Brazil is growing a lot on IVAO.

Everyday that passes, around 23:00z, Brazil wakes up! Control Centers from almost every part of Brazil, the main airports covered with much ATC, and hundreds of pilots flying regional flights.

This last part (the regional flights) is something very important. Normally, European pilots don't fly regional flights although european countries are not as big as Brazil. But still, brazilian pilots still choose short regional flights than the longer haul ones.

The flightsim brazilian community is also growing everyday.
Thousand of pilots are divided by the most four biggest brazilian Virtual Airlines! I think the Virtual Airlines should pay attention to this new Market: A growing emergent market that surely is a great addition to any Virtual Airline.

New Hub ? New strategy to gain brazilian pilots (multi-lingual support on site) ? You choose...

Pardon me!

Dear reader,

I'm sorry but my life got complicated on the last weeks. Work, a new home planning and baby duties leave no space for my blog thoughts :(

... but next week I will come back! With hot topics already in mind ;)

Regards and sorry!

"Hello All,

Recently some members have been copying and then uploading the written examines for the pilot and controller test to several internet sites for others to download, e.g. EMULE and others.HQ has reviewed this problem and decided that if a member is participating in this activity the member will be SUSPENDED for 12 months.

Allen
IVAO-ADIR"

Go get them tigers!

VATSIM vs IVAO

Here is a hot topic. Again.

Well, I'm sorry to unplease you but this topic will not be to compare both online flying network profiles, but to try to capture our attention to something more important than that.

We all know that both networks are very good. Both networks offers very professional (if we can call it like that) services to the pilot community and they both have a great grow potential.

What is calling my attention is for the last months the pilot community from both networks are not so competitive as before. Ok, there are still some countries divisions (Hi Portugal!) that still battle for pilots (sometimes with dirty and flammable posts on both Division Forums) and with old scars still open, but yet and overall speaking, aren't we navigating through calm seas now ?

I wonder if one day we could have one single network. Definately this scenario is not good for pilots because the plural gives place to competition and that gives place to quality. But still then, should both networks live forever ?
I see some up's and down's from both, and still they are running from persons that love the flight sim just like us ... still, there is no money envolved here (at least not directly) so ....... things don't last forever (talking like Dr. House here).

The last scenario should, at my opinion, be the most remote one: A cooperative online network mode: Both networks, sharing pilots on the same "virtual airspace". What a ride! We would double the traffic, with more ATC available!

Still, for that happen, on both networks, the ancient common sense should leave, leaving space for new fresh blood to manage them.

... and for that to happen is the same as saying that tomorrow I will turn gay.

Daniel de Oliveira

Just to show you how the world is small, the other day I was navigating though some VA sites, and I got on BIAS VA (http://biasva.com).
There I saw a friend of mine, Daniel Oliveira, that is the Cargo Divisions Manager and also the Fleet Manager for that Virtual Airline.

Why the world is small ? Because actually he is also the Assistant Training Director for the Portuguese Division, and the Fleet Managet for Portugalia Virtual (http://www.pgavirtual.com).
It's shocking great when we surf a little on the internet and find these kind of things!

This time I didn't found my friend the way I am used to search for pilots on other VA's. If you want to try, try a google search with your name and "Virtual Airline" after it ;) ... Be surprised with the results.

A business opportunity not used yet!

We all know that there are millions of payware add-ons for flight simulator;
From airplanes to sceneries, from utilities to modules.
But all of this specifically to be with the target of pilots. Single human persons that stay on the computer and use that software to play on Flight Simulator.

What about payware software for Virtual Airlines ? We don't have a single payware software that should be payed by Virtual Airlines Management Teams and also should be licensed to be used by pilots for that respective VA.

I think the flightsim companies have much to gain here:

1. They could achieve a better market penetration by using the Virtual Airline to expose their products to pilots.

2. They could create a new license type and achieve better revenues.

3. They would have a better feedback (with all respect to pilots and users) from the Management team who would give them strategic suggestions for the future. After all, the Management Team always want the best for his VA!

4. The first company to do this, with a good, stable product, wins the market.

3 .. 2 .. 1 .. GO!

To have a strategic development plan, we need to feel the need for it. And we already have. Look at FSAcars, a freeware software, simple one and we have hundreds of VA's using it. And I'm sure if José Oliveira (one of the founders) made it payware the VA's would use it.

I'm sure that our Virtual Airlines community would give a step to payware if that new software could be tremendously improved and with a specific covered necessity.

I'm not defending the payware mode for this kind of software. But, I defend that if we want to improve this software in a way like pilot-software improves, we need to get the best flightsimm companies to design it and integrate it on the Flight Simulator.

You, FS2Crew, FsPassengers and others, think about it ...

EuroHarmony Features ...

Giving a supported answer to some emails from readers regarding where EuroHarmony is different from the other VA's, let me tell give my answer:

1. We have 31 airplanes. Yeap, 31. We know the number is high :). All of them compiled on installation setup files.

2. We have 7 hubs and more than 160 active pilots (pilots that fly at least once per month).

3. We have 4 Divisions. Each one with specific flights and airplanes. Main Division with general flights, and 3 specific divisions: EuroCargo (flights for secondary airports, made at night), Euroholidays (flights for Holidays destinations that changes that are seasonly compatible) and EuroBusiness (flights for business destinations with smaller airplanes).

4. We have one of the biggest forum communities that I saw (and pardon me if my vision is limited).

5. We have one of the most innovative online-flying features ever: The Daily Fly-in Flight - Basically it's a system that everyday looks at the scheduled IVAO ATC (the booked ones) and generates a flight from the most ATC-covered airports, with a maximum range of 2000 nm.

6. We have another innovative system called ProPilot: It's a system that simulates the airplane movement when a pilot does a flight. Also, it only permits flights from airplanes that are at the source airport.
Also, the system analysis your flight and gives you a flight score, a graphical report, and reports where you had made mistakes.

7. We have the Automatic Flight Assignment System: A system that sends you an email with a random flight given some configuration values chosen by the pilot. Like, if you want flights that belongs to certain Divisions, period (monthly, weekly, etc), besides others.

8. We have ProPilot Events: Real life based events to be done on a certain date interval. Definately one of most chosen feature by our pilots!

9. We have 10 Tours! Alps, Mediterranean and a 150+leg world tour!

10. We have a Timetable with more than 5000 flights.

... and much more! A stable and helpful Management Team, Screenshot Contests, Monthly Fly-In's, Hub Fly-In's, and even we send you an email when it's your birthday ;)

... I know I should stay neutral here, but it's impossible to not answer to our reader's emails :).

FSX Interests

Microsoft has launched a new Flight Simulator version called "FSX".

When I saw it I got very excited with it, but after install it on my P4 HyperThreading 3.0Ghz, 1 Gb RAM and a nVidia GeForce 6800GT with 256Mb of dedicated RAM I didn't passed the 15 fps on a normal flight.

Ok, we are used to know that a game release is normally followed by a great computer machine requirement so it can run smoothly, but on this case the step was really too high.

Why release a software on mid summer 2006, when Microsoft actually says that to run it smoothly we need Windows Vista and DirectX 10? And we all know that Vista and DirectX only will be deployed this year...

Well, one thing is sure! The first Service Pack 1 for FSX is out, and we even have the Direct-X 10 official released! Curious thing, heim ? :)

I think that Microsoft was looking for early revenue from the game.
I'm saying this because the major companies that sell FS add-ons (airplanes, sceneries, etc) just now have the first good versions for the FSX. But from other side there was some pressure from the pilot's community: The ones that buy the product (or not).

Still, Microsoft had to find a way to use that early anxiousity to try to sell the product even if the product doesn't run on a normal computer. That way they could fit some money before the community understands that they need to wait a bit before buying the game to play it. And that's what it happening now: The game is not being sold as before due to the wait interval for pilot's to get a new computer, a new software and a new ... job to pay all of it.