HIPPYHAPPY Germany / FSXtools.de

Player Manual

Author: Phil_Tailor

Version: 1

Datum: March 2012

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Content

1 Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................................ 3 2 HippyHappy Germany Server ........................................................................................................... 4

2.1 Playing modes .......................................................................................................................... 4 3 Typical flight (job) on HippyHappy Germany Server .......................................................................... 6

3.1 Flight plan................................................................................................................................. 6 3.2 Log in........................................................................................................................................ 6 3.3 Online....................................................................................................................................... 6 3.4 Cruising .................................................................................................................................... 8 3.5 Approach and Landing .............................................................................................................. 8

4 Jobliner (!jobliner) ............................................................................................................................ 9 5 Virtual Airline VA (!vl) ..................................................................................................................... 10

5.1 Join ......................................................................................................................................... 10 5.2 Leave an airline (part) ............................................................................................................. 10 5.3 Start VL ................................................................................................................................... 10 5.4 Create and manage VL ............................................................................................................ 12

5.4.1 Create a vl ....................................................................................................................... 12 5.4.2 Destinations .................................................................................................................... 12 5.4.3 Points ............................................................................................................................. 13 5.4.4 Maintain vl. ..................................................................................................................... 13

6 Points ............................................................................................................................................. 15 6.1 Earn points ............................................................................................................................. 15 6.2 Lose or spend points ............................................................................................................... 15

7 BOT / ATC – Server ......................................................................................................................... 16 8 Exam guide (as copied from FSXtools.de) ....................................................................................... 17

8.1 License Exams......................................................................................................................... 17 8.2 Prop Exam .............................................................................................................................. 17 8.3 Turboprop Exam ..................................................................................................................... 18 8.4 Small Jets Exam ...................................................................................................................... 18 8.5 Jetliners Exam......................................................................................................................... 19 8.6 Example Prop Exam ................................................................................................................ 19 8.7 How to setup the shared cockpit for your exam ...................................................................... 20 8.8 Things to remember! .............................................................................................................. 20 8.9 ATC Exam ............................................................................................................................... 21

9 All available Commands ................................................................................................................. 23 10 More information .......................................................................................................................... 25

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1 Disclaimer

The information contained in this document is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Phil_Tailor and while we endeavor to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the document or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in the document for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this document.

Through this document you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of Phil_Tailor. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.

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2 HippyHappy Germany Server

HippyHappy Germany server (short HHG) is based on the multiplayer mode of Flight Simulator X (in short: FSX) from Microsoft. It was commissioned in 2006 and meanwhile has a large number of members. Memberships range from actual pilots, amateur pilots and new pilots from around the world. To join you must not be an expert, but it is worth to know the user intro rules, as in the case of misconduct your stay on the server can be of very short duration (players not following the rules will usually get kicked quite fast). Entering is completely free; all you need is a PC with FSX installed (including joystick and everything you need to operate the FSX) as well as a good and stable internet connection.

2.1 Playing modes Basically there are five options how to play on HHG and make the virtual experience interesting and challenging (there are more and some of them may be described in later versions of this document):

1) Fly as you like You can enter to the community and fly from A to B to C without any ambition and just enjoy the multiplayer environment and with that the fact that other players are flying in the same virtual world. Even if this is free, please always be kind and follow the basic rules as mentioned below (especially the rules around host and ATC activated airports!)

2) Regular Job Described in section 3 (link), fly with a regular Job either given by the server or chosen on your own, flying from Destination A to Destination B

3) Jobliner Described hereunder in Section 4 (link). This is a simplified version of the virtual airline job. No need to join any virtual airline but enjoy most of the functionalities. Air Berlin and Lufthansa will host you to make first experiences as an Airliner Pilot

4) VL pilot Further details under Section 5 (link) in this document. A mode where you actively participate in a virtual airline and fly your duties. Some conditions to enter but a lot of fun once you’re there

5) VL owner Outlined in Section 5.4 (link) there are some details about creating and maintaining an own virtual airline. This comes with a certain responsibility but certainly is a very nice challenge and for sure a lot of fun.

In all above mentioned cases you are asked to follow the basic rules. The following things are unacceptable behaviors (copied from new user’s intro):

Spawning on runways Not using ATC Ignoring ATC Ignoring Admins (check the chat box sometimes, we do a lot of communication inside there)

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Landing against traffic Taking off against traffic Swearing or any other offenses Mic use on ATC freq. Cheating in VL or Job Spamming the Chat box Spamming the Mic Dangerous Flying Ramming others

Doing any of the above may result in your temporary or even permanent removal from the server. In opposite we like you to do these things (= acceptable & welcome behavior): Be curious and willing to learn from the experienced people we have here!

Be patient – No one is ignoring you or your questions in the chat box by bad purpose. Some patience is helping a lot :)

Always watch the easy and fair rules: No spawning on runway (spawn at the gate!), be polite (no cussing and such), do not use your mic on active BOT ATC frequencies. Ah yeah, also watch the other DO-NOTs above ;)

Be human, as we all are humans... Everyone can make mistakes and we know this (and do some ourselves^^). If you get kicked or banned, check what you did wrong (i.e. check the reason in the online ban list on this homepage or ask for the reason of a kick in the chat box, if you do not know it already). We know that most people don't do wrong things with a bad purpose. Just being such a big community is requiring us (or our automated BOT) to stop some behavior - by purpose or not - disrupting a smooth gameplay.

Be hippyhappy :) xD

Please help the community to keep this server a nice and friendly environment.

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3 Typical flight (job) on HippyHappy Germany Server

3.1 Flight plan 1. Define 2 or more destinations and find out corresponding ICAO codes. They can be found e.g.

here: http://www.airlinecodes.co.uk/aptcodesearch.asp 2. Flight plans can be done on FSX directly or offline, e.g. on following webpages:

http://www.flightsimaviation.com/_flight_planner.html http://www.vatroute.net/ (routes according to VAT database) http://www.simroutes.com/ (USA only) (Can also be used to verify FSX created flight plans)

3. Study Airport charts and have them ready, either printed or on another PC (ILS codes, approach charts etc.). These charts or maps can be obtained here:

USA: http://skyvector.com/ World: http://www.allanville.com/aviation_charts/ Or: http://www.fscharts.com

4. Create and update flight plan on FSX

3.2 Log in 1. Log in on http://www.fsxtools.de/ 2. Start FSX 3. Load Multiplayer Page 4. Select and Login for LAN Modus 5. Click direct connect 6. Use following IP Address: 83.243.84.15 (you can also log in via Gamespy but that connection is

less stable then connecting directly)

3.3 Online 7. Multiplayer -> departure airport and position -> choose in accordance with flight plan (do not

spawn on runway; choose a gate or any other location but not on runway. Personal note: On less famous or crowded airports you may spawn on runways. But in that case you need to check online on fsxtools.de -> live! -> Map if anyone is nearby and if the tower / ATC is active or not -> !atc. If no one is around or the tower is not active you can spawn on runway. Especially on small airports FSX sometimes does not recognize gate locations and puts you somewhere nearby in the air)

8. Start Session 9. Enter flight plan into FSX and verify the same 10. Shift-3 opens GPS and shows the programmed flight plan 11. Open Chat Window: Ctrl – Shift - ´ 12. Check Call sign:

a. Type !callsign -> see actual used callsign b. If you want to change the callsign use: !callsign <a callsign> (e.g. <!callsign N-1234>)

13. Activate ATC:

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a. !atc (in Chat window: Ctrl-Shift-`) b. If not already mentioned in list: !addtower <ICAO> <frequency>

e.g. !addtower LSZH 118.1 c. Change Frequency on Com1 accordingly

14. Pre-Start Check (see checklist) 15. Startup Check (see checklist) 16. Set first parameters

a. AP (autopilot): Heading on active runway (!active <ICAO> shows active runway) -> Remark: evtl. Needs to be changed according to ATC instructions

b. AP: Altimeter on 4000ft (depending on elevation on airport, usually 4000ft above ground)

c. AP: Speed to 250kt d. AP: GPS/NAV switch to GPS e. Com: Nav1 can already be set on ILS or VOR-freq of destination (if available) f. Com: Com1 second frequency can be set to destination airport (if available)

17. Check before Taxi (see checklist) 18. Start Job type !job <destination-ICAO> (distance to destination needs to be >85nm, otherwise

bot will return error message) 19. Set clock to 0 (press 2 x set) 20. !status -> shows how much time you have left for the job 21. !taxi -> ask ATC for taxi instructions 22. Taxi Check (see checklist) 23. -> taxi to holding point according ATC instructions 24. Verify settings (Check Before Take-Off (see checklist))

a. AP: Heading b. AP: Speed c. Flaps 5-10° (depending on the aircraft model) d. Landing Lights on e. Cabin Lights/Seatbelts

25. !takeoff (if not instructed by ATC) 26. Take-off check (see checklist) 27. Take off (according to flight experience) and first steps according ATC 28. Climb-out check (see checklist) 29. Activate AP shortly after rotation and follow ATC instructions until you receive following call „you

may resume you own navigation” (usually after you have reached the altitude as instructed) 30. Change heading according flight plan 31. Set AP to NAV 32. Deactivate ATC of departure airport (only if no one else is using it -> check with !freq first)

!removetower <ICAO> 33. Cruise Check (see checklist)

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3.4 Cruising 34. Altitude according to FP calculation 35. Activate Destination-ATC and change to related frequency (only if you are less than 50nm away

from destination, otherwise ATC will not accept e.g. !land)) a. !atc b. If not on the list: !addtower <ICAO>

36. Change frequency on Com1 (if not done before) 37. Timing:

a. !status -> shows how much time you have left for the job b. Please note:

i. Regular job (!job): remaining time = absolute Maximum (allowed: -20min) ii. !jobliner / !VL: timing = +/- 10 min limit

iii. Max Speed 550kt (Grnd) -> check on GPS Example: current time 8.15 Job: remaining time 45mins -> you can land between 8.40 and 9.00 Jobliner / Vl: ETA 8.00-> you can land between 7.50 and 8.10

38. Descent check (see checklist)

3.5 Approach and Landing 39. As soon as last VOR is reached or <50nm distance to destination: !land <destination-ICAO> to

activate ATC for landing instructions 40. Change AP to heading and follow instructions given by BOT (radar vectoring) 41. Change ILS frequency, if available, !details <ICAO> provides the necessary information.

Sometimes bot also mentions the active ILS frequency. 42. Change altitude according to approach chart 43. At localizer intercept and ATC clearance for landing change AP to APP 44. Check for approach (see checklist) 45. Let AP do the approach (localizer and glideslope in case of available ILS) 46. Final/Landing check (see checklist) 47. Short before landing:

a. Deactivate AP SPD b. Deactivate AP and land manually (depends on aircraft, some have Auto land

functionality) 48. Taxi to ramp (see checklist) 49. Taxi to next available gate and park (according ATC instructions) 50. Welcome to your destination 51. Shutdown check (see checklist) 52. Secure check (see checklist) 53. Before you leave the Multiplayer mode, please deactivate ATC (again only if no one else is active

there -> type !freq <freq> and/or ask in the Chat if someone is active)

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4 Jobliner (!jobliner) Job liner is basically a free virtual airline (VA) without the need to join it. This kind of job is very good to get initial experience in the area of virtual airlines. The following information is compiled from contributions of the Forum

1. Activate !jobliner -> according to choice, select one and activate, e.g. <!jobliner AirBerlin>

Remarks / tips: - Aircraft needs to have a minimum passenger capacity, otherwise you receive an error message

and Jobliner cannot be activated (e.g. you can’t start a jobliner with a simple Cessna) - VL and jobliner can only be activated on the ground (to be verified) - Before you start check on the flight-times. In case the timing is too short (can happen e.g. with

transatlantic flights) !canceljob and restart. That cost’s 20 points but is much better and less costly than missing the time schedule.

- Flight plan times and reserves can be adapted on fsxtools.de via -> Bios. There you can set additional time reserve to up to 20min. That means that for each leg bot will add that reserve accordingly.

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5 Virtual Airline VA (!vl) A VA (also known as VL = Virtual Life) is a virtual airline which you can join. However, the join conditions are quite different, some airlines are "free" such as Southwest Express, but most of them cost >500 points and have some and additional requirements for pilot's license. On most airlines you can discuss the terms to join if you meet one of the owners online in the chat. Sometimes they also require positive VL-stats (can be retrieved by typing !vlstats). If no VL-statistic is available, with !Jobliner a neutral liner airline can be chosen and there the necessary experience can be gained. South West Express for instance also has no joining conditions and is ideal for first flights in an airline.

5.1 Join You can join a VL online on FSXTools.de only:

1. Log in on homepage 2. -> Virtual Airlines 3. -> VL Mainpage 4. -> list all 5. Join (works only if joining conditions are met of course)

5.2 Leave an airline (part) You can leave a VL anytime without any cost (but keep in mind that joining another airline may cost an entry fee again!

1. Log in on homepage 2. -> Virtual Airlines 3. -> VL Mainpage 4. -> Part

5.3 Start VL

Via Infotool II everything can be done offline. Online it looks like the following:

1. Start FSX and spawn at departure destination (not on runway) 2. Type !vl ICAO (1. Dest) ICAO (2. Dest) ICAO (3. Dest) ICAO (4. Dest) ICAO (5. Dest) 3. With !status or on the webpage (web based Infotool) you can check your flight plan and status 4. Stop VL can only be done with !cancelvl. It is recommended to do that on the ground, then it

only costs 5 Pt. In fact !cancelvl is the only way to stop a current vl.

Remarks: - !vl needs either no or 5 Destination - Without destinations BOT will allocate an own flight plan according to available airline

destinations

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- All 5 destinations have to be part of the airline; otherwise bot will return an error message. For instance Southwest Express offers 5 destinations, FlyGermany-Lufthansa approx. 1000)

- Flight plan times are calculated with low margins. Due to that you may consider the following o Start the job only after reaching the holding point of the active runway (or on the way to

the holding point. Clearance for taxiing you may get before applying for a job) o Adapt fuel to the minimum – aircraft will be faster and you can fly higher climb rates o The longer the leg the more time is calculated -> there is more reserve because it allows

reaching cruising altitudes and therefore nice ground speeds. o Flight plan times and reserves can be adapted on fsxtools.de via -> Bios. There you can

set additional time reserve to up to 20min. That means that for each leg bot will add that reserve accordingly.

o The fees /cost for not reaching the destination within given times (+/- 10 mins for vl’s) are quite high. Therefore check the times before departing and do cancel before starting in case you don’t see a chance to make the leg in time. Cancelling on the ground only costs 5 points, during flight it costs 100 points.

o Time fir landing is ETA +/- 10 mins. o In case of a failure this will be mentioned in the VL-stats. Note: VL-stats always remain

and cannot be changed (other than with crash-stats where for 50pts you can remove each crash).

o Do not fly faster than 550kn ground speed (check grnd speed on GPS). - After reaching a destination bot adds another destination to the flight plan. So there are always

5 destinations in the schedule. - A flight plan does not need (and can’t be) to be finished. It can be stopped any time. Note: on

the ground only 5 points are billed whereas in the air 100 pts. are deducted. Type !cancelvl (in case you cancel during flight you have to confirm twice)

- Flight plan status changes to boarding after landing. Usually ATC gives clearance for the next destination after 5 min’s. In case the time is short ATC gives clearance right away. Tipp: time on the ground is quite short. Due to that it is recommended to do the planning for the next leg earlier and you may already taxi to the next holding point to save time (holding point active Rwy (!active <ICAO>). Some extracts form the forum on fsxtools.de:

o As Rene said, 5 minutes after ETA BOT starts its procedure to guide your flight to outbound mode. So when you land at this time, immediately after you turned to taxiway, BOT starts it's procedure for send you for your next leg.

o It's always a good idea to land few minutes before the ETA time, so you will have some spare time to set your GPS or FMC and taxi close to the holding point.

o Do not actually go to a gate as there isn't enough time. Head to the starting Rwy and prepare for takeoff. If you have arrived early then the tower will contact you 5 minutes after your landing time. If you were slightly late then you must hurry as clearance will follow very quickly

- ATC is activated automatically on freq 126.75, if ATC is already activated before you will be added to the tower and the corresponding frequency. You will be added automatically if you’re closer than 55nm

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- An exemption to that is the first leg. There in case tower / ATC are not active this needs to be done manually. Check: !atc. If not active: !addtower <ICAO> <freq>

- If time is too short, ATC can be cancelled any time. However, be aware that this is not allowed on big airports or on the host airport. You’ll be kicked if you still do so. Secondly you do not get the 50% point’s bonus in case you land without ATC.

- Sometimes it happens that you have to wait for other players to land before you can continue to your next destination (some passengers want to transit to you). In that case in the status is mentioned that you have a waitfor obligation. If you feel that you don’t have enough time to wait you can cancel that obligation with !cancelwait. However this costs 20 points. Changing passengers give additional points, so it is worthwhile to fulfill that waitfor obligation.

- Statistics about your VL can be retrieved anytime via command !vlstats as mentioned before these stats cannot be changed or reset and stays forever.

- As member of a VA you get additional points for other successful VL-members. (10% of the job but only if you were active in the past 7 days of that flight). On the other hand you also lose the same points if the other pilot fails. Therefore if you want to stay in the Airline you better keep doing successful jobs; otherwise the owner may release you from the membership.

- In case of a disconnect – when you lose internet connection – during a vl flight you don’t lose points. On the other hand you also don’t get any.

- In Australia the bot is not very accurate and may give strange leg times. Therefore always check the time schedule on feasibility.

5.4 Create and manage VL

5.4.1 Create a vl

- Foundation cost: 2000 Points - A Vl needs to have at least 5 destinations so that you can create a flight plan. This means initially

you will have to spend another 5 x approx. 1000-5000 points (cost of a destination depending on attractiveness).

- Total cost for an airline approx. 8000-20000 Points. - -> fsxtools.de -> VL mainpage ->

5.4.2 Destinations

- The cheaper a license for an airport the less costly the landing fees, but the less attractive this destination is for passengers.

- Average cost for a destination is 3000points. - In order to become a member of Star Alliance you need to buy: EDDF, EDDH und EDDM -> results

in higher demand and more passengers per flight if you travel to these destinations. - Following list shows the various airport categories and the related cost, one-time and running

fees (per landing)

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CAT Attractiveness License Cost (one time)

Service Charge

Parking Costs

Technical Service Fee

Taxes & Charges

Total

I 23% 977 18 13 29 2 62 II 46% 1954 36 26 58 4 124 III 69% 2931 54 39 87 6 186 IV 92% 3908 72 52 116 8 248 V 115% 4885 90 65 145 10 310 VI 138% 5862 108 78 174 12 372

Examples: Cat I: KSAN (San Diego), KTVL (South Lake Tahoe), KFLG (Flagstaff), KGCN (Grand Canyon Airport) II: KPSP (Palm Springs), KRDD (Redding), MYNN (Nassau Bahamas), CYMX (Montreal, Canada) III: KPHX (Phoenix), KMSY (New Orleans), KIAD (Washington DC), KEWR (Newark) IV: KJFK (New York), KATL (Atlanta), KMIA (Miami), KSFO (San Francisco) V: CYYZ (Toronto), KBOS (Boston) VI: EHAM (Amsterdam), KDEN (Denver), KORD (Chicago) To by KLAX (92%) you have to pay a onetime fee of 3908 points. For each flight / landing it costs 248 points. This means you better have a plane full of passengers and maybe come from a longer leg in order to make a positive result out of the leg.

5.4.3 Points

- Per successful flight of an airline pilot the vl-owner (resp. All vl-owners) receive 20% of these points. Of course they also have to pay the same in case of a failure

- Per successful flight of an airline pilot all other pilots of the same airline receive 10% of the points (if they have been active on the server in the past seven days of that flight). Also lose the same points in case of failure.

Example: Success: Pilot receives 250 points, all other pilots receive 25 points, and the owners receive each 50 points. Failure: Pilot has to pay 120 points, all other pilots active in the last 7 days have to pay 12 points, the owner (s) each 24 points.

- To kick pilots from the airline costs 1000 points.

5.4.4 Maintain vl.

- Per day each airline loses 1% point on technical availability (i.e. after 1 day technical availability is 99% only, after 10 days 90% etc.

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- Technical availability [%]: equals the number of flights out of 100 flights during which no technical problems are being reported and points not awarded. In case of technical problems the pilot gets no points for the respective leg.

- Minimal technical availability should be 70%. That means approx. Once per months airline owners have to do technical service (otherwise it is not fun to fly for this airline if e.g. 2 out of 3 flights give points only)

- Cost Technical Service: 100 points per pilot More info on VL here: http://www.fsxtools.de/j/faqs Info to FlyGermany-Lufthansa: www.fgl-va.de Infotool II: www.realized-it-solutions.com/fsx/diu/setup.exe

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6 Points

6.1 Earn points a. You receive 1 point per minute in the air b. A Job (!job) gives between 80 and 500 points c. !jobliner: points per Leg (depending on length of leg and attractiveness of destination) d. !vl: points per leg. Later legs in the flight plan give more points e. 10 points you receive for using ATC during departure or for landing f. Maximum points are 100000 (capped), periodically the points will be reduced to that

limit

6.2 Lose or spend points g. Per day 20 points are being deducted h. If you don’t fulfill the job within the time limit corresponding points will be deducted i. Minus 20 points for !canceljob (sometimes can make sense in case you’re way out of the

time limit) j. Minus 5 points for !cancelvl, in case you’re on the ground k. Minus 100 points for !cancelvl, in case you’re in the air l. Cost for joining an Airline can vary between 0 and 1000’s of points m. License exam cost 2000 points

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7 BOT / ATC – Server BOT (short for robot - bot) is a program that simulates the multiplayer environment, e.g. supported with BOT ATC. The interaction on HHG works exclusively in chat via keyboard (Ctrl - Shift - '). It is possible that either bot or chat or sometimes audio simulation fails. In such a case, you can continue to fly with the online information tool (unfortunately with loss of 50% bonus points).

Server time = time = UTC +1 offered

From time to time, the so-called Strictmode is adjusted to optimize the computing power depending on the workload of the server. There are the following settings:

OFF: No strictmode at all. Fly as you like…

LOW: The Bot will enforce, that ATC controlled runways stay usable. Kicks interfering players.

MEDIUM: Immediate kick for using a runway without ATC permission in controlled areas.

HIGH: Immediate kick for not using ATC on controlled airport. Requiring valid license (min Prop).

Note: Medium and High are not valid at host airport (either EDDF or EDDM)

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8 Exam guide (as copied from FSXtools.de)

8.1 License Exams Pilot license exams in the real-world have two main areas of study. i. Ground Exams e.g for a Private Pilot's license: Air Law, Aircraft General Knowledge, Navigation, Radio Telephony, Meteorology, Human Factors, Flight Performance and Planning and ii. A Checkride.

The exams on the server will not cover all these topics since this much more information than is necessary on Flight Simulator, but will still include some of the topics. The checkride and the theory are combined into one exam:

Theory (tested during the checkride)

During the checkride the examiner will test your knowledge of: - The aircraft's specifications (e.g. what is this aircraft's rotate speed?) - Meteorology (e.g. when you check the weather conditions using either the bot or the ATIS, how

do you know which is the correct runway to use for takeoff?)

Checkride

During the checkride the examiner will pay close attention to: - The precision and accuracy of your flying (e.g. holding a given altitude and airspeed within +/-

100feet and +/- 10knots) - How confident and familiar you are with the aircraft (e.g. taking-off, climb, cruise, descent,

landing or using the GPS to navigate to airport 'x')

8.2 Prop Exam This check ride lasts approximately 20-30 mins. It will begin in daylight with a flight to another airport nearby. Once you have contacted the examiner he will tell you your starting location.

Things you should know/have before taking this exam:

- Your aircraft (specs, v speeds, etc.). - How to use the GPS and finding an airport identifier using it. - Elementary flying skills (using the trim, holding an altitude/heading/airspeed). - Confidence flying your aircraft VFR without the use of the autopilot.

Aircraft you may use for this exam: Cessna 172, Baron 58, Mooney Bravo

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8.3 Turboprop Exam This check ride lasts approximately 30-60 mins. It will begin in either daylight or at night* and will be flown from one airport to another. *(The candidate can have preference over this option).

Once you have contacted an examiner he will give you starting and finishing locations. It will be up to you to plan the flight between the two airports before your exam. Navigate using any of the following: direct GPS navigation, VOR navigation, NDB airways navigation or a combination of these.

Things you should know/have before taking this exam:

- Your aircraft (specs, v speeds etc.). - How to perform an automated ILS landing at the destination airport (depending on ILS Category

available at the airport you may be asked to fly the final portion of the approach manually). - Confidence using the autopilot. - How to plan a route in FSX. - Confidence flying your aircraft IFR and calculating a descent profile - i.e. planning the descent

from your cruise altitude to the traffic pattern altitude. - How to use the BOT-ATC* for standard operations (taxi, takeoff, land)

* If the candidate prefers to use the radio for LIVE-ATC and there is a controller available he may do so but he/she must be familiar with aviation radio communication.

Aircraft you may use for this exam: Beechcraft King Air 350, Cessna 208B “Grand Caravan”

8.4 Small Jets Exam This check ride lasts approximately 30-90 mins. It will begin in either daylight or at night* and will be flown from one airport to another. *(The candidate can have preference over this option).

Once you have contacted an examiner he will give you starting and finishing locations. It will be up to you to plan the flight between the two airports before your exam. Navigate using any of the following: direct GPS navigation, VOR navigation, NDB airways navigation or a combination of these.

Things you should know/have before taking this exam:

- Your aircraft (specs, v speeds etc.). - How to perform an automated ILS landing at the destination airport (depending on ILS Category

available at the airport you may be asked to fly the final portion of the approach manually). - Confidence using the autopilot. - Confidence compensating for a single or multiple engine failures and what action to take. - How to plan a route in FSX (fuel load, cruise altitude, descent profile). - Confidence flying your aircraft IFR and calculating a descent profile.

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- How to use the BOT-ATC* for standard operations (taxi, takeoff, land) * If the candidate prefers to use the radio for LIVE-ATC and there is a controller available they do so but he/she must be familiar with aviation radio communication.

Aircraft you may use for this exam: Boeing 737-800, Airbus A321, Bombardier Learjet 45, Bombardier CRJ-700.

8.5 Jetliners Exam This check ride lasts up to 2 hours. It will begin in either daylight or at night* and will be flown from one airport to another. *(The candidate can have preference over this option).

Once you have contacted an examiner he will give you starting and finishing locations. It will be up to you to plan the flight between the two airports before your exam. Navigate using any of the following: direct GPS navigation, VOR navigation, NDB airways navigation or a combination of these.

Things you should know/have before taking this exam:

- Your aircraft (specs, v speeds etc.). - How to perform an automated ILS landing at the destination airport (depending on ILS Category

available at the airport you may be asked to fly the final portion of the approach manually). - Confidence using the autopilot. - Confidence compensating for single or multiple engine failures what action to take. - How to plan a route in FSX (fuel load, cruise altitude, descent profile). - Confidence flying your aircraft IFR and calculating a descent profile. - How to use the BOT-ATC* for standard operations (taxi, takeoff, land).

* If the candidate prefers to use the radio for LIVE-ATC and there is a controller available they do so but he/she must be familiar with aviation radio communication.

Aircraft you may use for this exam: Boeing 747

8.6 Example Prop Exam Well when I did the prop exam I had to do the following:

- know which is the active runway and why - Takeoff and fly runway heading - fly to 4000 ft (+-100ft of set alt, in this ex. 3900-4100ft) and 100 knots (+-10 knots, in this ex. 90-

110 knots) - Turn at a 30 degrees angle to the right or left while maintaining alt and speed - I was tested to see if I can fly at 4000ft and 80 knots, and 60 knots, and 50 knots - I was tested what I would do with engine problems, like fuel shut off

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- I was tested to see if I can glide, and I was asked what is a good glide speed for the plane - Find the airport and land at the active runway (normally the runway you took off from)

Hints:

*know when to use flaps (takeoff, landing, low speed flying....) *know the speeds of the plane (cruise speed, stall speed, glide speed, landing speed, takeoff speed....) *do not pause the game or view the map (because it pauses the game) *do not use GPS to input data, use only as a guide If you know how to do all of this you should do fine.

Note: each examiner may test you differently, so the above info is just a guide and not to be perceived as an actual test.

8.7 How to setup the shared cockpit for your exam 1. When you are on the server, go to the first lobby screen. 2. In the 'sharing' section check the box saying 'share my aircraft', also check the box which says

'enable shared aircraft communication'. 3. Set a password that you will remember. 4. Join the session and let the examiner know what your password is.

8.8 Things to remember! - Practice for your exam; fly the aircraft you’ll be using leading up the exam to get used to it. - If you aren’t contacted by an examiner it’s your responsibility to contact them before your

license application expires after 30days. - Read up about your aircraft and aspects of flying, the Learning Center in FSX is very useful, as is

kneeboard reference card when in your aircraft. If you're still confused or unsure of something you can also ask for lessons and help on the server.

- Be willing, and open to learning something from the examiner. - If you make a mistake ask if you can do it again. - Examiners are not out there to fail you, but it’s up to you to prove you have the skills to pass.

Relax and don’t worry if you don’t pass on your first-time. With practice you will become more confident and find flying in Flight Simulator easier.

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8.9 ATC Exam Guideline and hints for ATC licence / exam Introduction Core skills of a controller: Air traffic controllers are generally individuals who are well organized, are quick with numeric computations and mathematics, have assertive and firm decision making skills, and possess excellent short-term memory and visual memory abilities. In addition, studies have shown that air traffic controllers generally have a degree of situational awareness that is much higher than the average population. Excellent hearing and speaking skills are a requirement, and trainees undergo rigid physical and psychological testing. In addition they are generally assertive but calm under pressure, and they are able to follow and apply rules yet be flexible when necessary. Communication is a vital part of the job: controllers are trained to precisely focus on the exact words pilots and other controllers speak, because a single misunderstanding about an altitude level or runway number for example can have tragic consequences. Controllers communicate with the pilots of aircraft using a push-to-talk radiotelephony system, which has many attendant issues such as the fact only one transmission can be made on a frequency at a time, or transmissions will either merge together or block each other and become unreadable. Although local languages are sometimes used in ATC communications, the default language of aviation worldwide is English. Controllers who do not speak this as a first language are generally expected to show a certain minimum level of competency with the language. Teamwork plays a major role in a controller’s job, not only with other controllers and air traffic staff, but with pilots, engineers and managers. Requirements: Prop exam Turboprop exam Small Jets exam Jetliner exam microphone needed minimum 3 months member of hippyhappy community proper and clearly English language some trainings together with minimum one of the ATC examiners and/or ATC seniors (All conditions are required!)

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Theory: During the checkride the examiner will test your knowledge. This exam requires knowledge of basic meteorology, basic air navigation, standard air traffic control and communications procedures, the types and uses of aid to air navigation, and regulations governing air traffic. Not to mention, your character is calm, you are tolerant and attentive. Practice: During the checkride the examiner will pay close attention to: How you behave to other pilots your knowledge about leading a whole airfield as ATC and how you handle the traffic your attention knowledge of the FSX ATC radar and FSX Radar Beta ATC phraseology Things you should know/should have done before you sign in to ATC exam: see requirements you know what is a chart, you can read and understand them SID, STARS, Transitions

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9 All available Commands

Command Example/ Remarks

!active <icao> shows active runways at the given airport !addtower <icao> !removetower <icao>

Adds or removes a Bot ATC !addtower LSZH

!atc Lists all ATCs in use. ATC = Air Traffic Control, some people say 'tower' instead.

!atclicence 2000 points! Same as !licence, just for ATC !autogreet <blabla> 2000 points! Sets a personal welcome message !bios <nick> get bios details !callsign <a callsign> Sets your callsign. !callsign N-1234 !cancel cancels ATC or BOT. Better use !cancelatc,

!canceljob, !cancelvl for more precise cancelling

!cancelatc !canceljob cost: 20pt !cancelvl cost: 5pt on ground, 100pt in air !cancelwait Cancels a wait-for obligation within a VL flight. Costs

20 points.

!distcalc p <nick> <ICAO> !distcalc p <nick> <nick>

Calculates the distance between player and ICAO destination or between two players

!details <icao> shows many airport info’s (incl. ILS freq if available) !exams prints the whole list of people waiting for

examination as well as if an examiner is online

!freq <freq / nick> checks what freq a person is on or which people are on a given frequency

!help lists all commands !human <icao> <freq> Adds you as human ATC for the airport ICAO on the

frequency freq. Stop this by typing !out

!icao <airport name> or <icao>

translates an Icao to airport name or other turn around

!intro shows a link to the webpage !job <destination-icao> Fly a job to the given destination. You get points if

you succeed! Note: make sure to add ATC to list before landing max 50nm before landing

!job LSZH

!jobliner Similar to VL, just you do not need to be a member of a VL. Jobliner is like a public accessible VL. Of course the conditions are not that good as with a well-managed VL ....

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!kick / !ban / !unban Admin commands for managing the server !lastseen <nick> shows last time the person was online !licence 2000 points! Will set you on the list of pilots waiting

for examination. Contact an examiner within few days for taking your examination flight

!micinfo shows the last 5 mic users !mystats showing your crashes and landings !out Removes your human ATC from the ATC list. !points showing your points, rank, license !propjob / !cargojob special types of jobs !repeat repeats BOT messages !stats shows stats !status showing your job / vl status and times !status Prints your time left or your VL flight plan !taxi or !land or !takeoff Trigger the Bot ATC. You can give a destination icao

as well, i.e. !land EDDF, if you plan to use a specific airport. Otherwise bot will assign the next airport nearby.

!vl Starts a VL flight. You will get a flight plan with 5 destinations. Check it by the command !status. You need to join a VL before on our webpage. Note: You can also specify all 5 destinations of the VL flight plan by using !vl <icao1> <icao2> ...

Location EDDM: !vl EDDN EDDS EDDF EBBR EDFH

!vlstats shows some stats of your VL activities !weather <icao> Shows weather info’s for a given ICAO.

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10 More information

Hippyhappy Germany Homepage: http://www.fsxtools.de/ -> New Users Info

VATSIM DE http://www.vatsim.net/prc/

Online Flight Planner: http://www.flightsimaviation.com/_flight_planner.html

Info Flight plan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_plan

ICAO Airport Ident: http://www.worldairops.com/EUR/

USA Maps: http://skyvector.com/airports/California

VATSIM Germany: http://www.vacc-sag.org/

FSX checklists: http://freechecklists.net/simchecklists.asp

FS-Maps: http://www.fscharts.com/

Infotool release note: http://www.fsxtools.de/j/component/kunena/14-coding/10991-fsxtoolsde-info-tool-all-in-one-15-released?Itemid=0

Infotool Screenshots: http://www.realized-it-solutions.com/fsx/infotool/

Infotool Download: http://www.realized-it-solutions.com/fsx/infotool/setup.exe

Infotool direct access: http://infotool.euve22502.vserver.de/wi2/

FlyGermany Lufthansa: http://asptest.euve22502.vserver.de/fgl/

Joining fee 10’000 pts. and prop license required)

Blue Airliner: http://www.blueairliner.com/

Aloha: http://www.aloha.at.vc/

Ruegen Ariana United Airlines http://www.rau.de.vc/