Whether it's against the rules or just bad etiquette, these are the top annoying things never to do when flying on VATSIM! Please like this video & subscribe to our channel!
I hate it when people don’t read charts and weather properly. Once I was at a busy uncontrolled airport approaching the correct runway direction, and then this one guy lined up on the other direction, and on a runway that is closed according to charts. So then everyone else follows them and uses that runway while I am trying to land on the correct runway
No point in being annoyed silently. I make it known via Unicom what the real world operations are if I see someone landing or starting in the wrong direction.
Its just hard to understand why people connect to vatsim when they dont even want to give anough fs to fly on the active runway. I get its unicom, but if you dont care why bother flying on vatsim in the first place.
I agree with the “not announcing intentions on Unicom” portion. Not too long ago I was flying with a streamer into Boston with no ATC on. Me and the other pilots that were flying were landing on 27, which was the runway that was actually in use IRL at that time. I, who was first in line, announced all my intentions, including 10nm final, short final, and vacating runway, while another aircraft flying behind me announced that he was extending his downwind for me because we were very close (mad respect to him). Meanwhile, the streamer was doing his own thing, overflying the airport to turn for final on 33L. He did not announce what he was doing, so me and the other pilots assumed that he was just flying a different approach than us. I landed and vacated while the dude behind me was around 7nm out, he was announcing what he was doing and flying as one should. The streamer, on the other hand, was on a 7 or 8nm final for 33L, which crosses 27, without telling us what he was doing. They ended up landing at the same time and going through each other on the runway. I saw this happen while I was taxiing in and was confused, because I thought the streamer was going to land on 27. After finishing my flight, I went and rewatched the stream to see exactly what happened. While me and the other dude were flying the correct approach, announcing our intentions, and making space for eachother, the streamer wasn’t even on Unicom, and KNEW that everybody else was landing on 27. Not only that, but once he landed he blamed the guy landing on 27 for RUINING HIS IMMERSION because he thought that WE were the ones not flying correctly. His stream was also on his side because he is a pretty popular streamer. It really annoyed me that he blamed me and the other guy for his ignorance, and I lost a lot of respect for him. Sorry for the long story, but it’s something that had been bothering me for a while. I don’t want to say who the streamer is, but I just wanted to tell this story because I feel that I’ve seen a lot of streamers get away with being unprofessional on Vatsim while blaming or getting mad at others (whether it is another aircraft or a controller) to make themselves seem like they are correct. I’m not saying every streamer does that, but I just think that we should all work on our professionalism and awareness while on a network. Thank you to whoever actually took the time to read this :)
This is BY FAR what annoys me the most on VATSIM/IVAO. People just not communicating and doing their own thing no f**** given, landing or taking against incoming traffic on the wrong runway. There should be a way for the networks for each airport to check the metar and "hardcoded" runway preferences and suggest a landing/taking off runway, when no ATC is online.
My main rule with comms and flying in Vatsim is: do what you would do in the real world. Vatsim and flightsim in my eyes is supposed to be a simulator.
Streamers in any game think they have priority because they operate a stream. Most entitled group of filth to exist if you ask me. Streamers need to be tuned down a notch or two.
So true! People on Unicom doing their own thing is so annoying. Once I was taking off from RWY 27 at Mumbai, for a long haul to Frankfurt. After announcing that I was entering RWY 27 and taking off, once I started my takeoff roll, this guy in a 777 just suddenly entered the runway for departure through the holding point ahead of me! I had to abort my takeoff (nearly avoiding a collision). My brakes were hot, so I had to wait for 10 mins before taking off again.
What I think most people get wrong, including me sometimes, and what annoys me the most is the readback. They don't seem to understand that the instructions you are given are supposed to be written down and read back to the controller. That is why it is called a "readback" not a "memory check". No one expects you to memorize the clearance or the taxi instructions. You are supposed to write along as you are given them. And then you read out loud what you wrote. And what many people seem to do is trying to figure out what all of that means before they answer, which is why it takes ages until they respond. You are not supposed to look through your charts finding the correct procedure or understanding the taxi instructions. You do that AFTER the readback. The readback is just to confirm to the controller that you wrote all the instructionds down correctly. After that you can take all the time you need to understand them. Second are controllers who give out these instructions too fast. They should always remember that people need to have time to write along as they give out taxi instructions or clearances.
I think people should just get in the good habit of ALWAYS announcing their intentions on UNICOM at uncontrolled airports whether there is traffic or not. That way you don’t have to worry about accidentally forgetting here or there if there does happen to be traffic around.
Great video as always Hoch! I’d say know what you want to say before you say it. As a controller IRL, a VATSIM pilot and ATC, I look at this as a huge item on my list. Be short, concise, informative and make sure the information is useful. Otherwise, you’re just tying up the frequency and we’ll need to play 20 questions or wait for you to finish your speech lol.
I was doing a tour flight a bit ago and as I made a fake announcement to the passengers I instinctively hit my PTT button and the controller was confused and once I realized I was mortified but luckily I was the only person on the frequency at that point so that was a good thing
One thing that has happened to me a few times you didn't mention is when your lining up for that picture perfect landing, speeds great and your dead on the localizer. Out of nowhere someone loads their sim on the active runway so now you have a plane on the runway your landing on. Time for a go around and I've had to do that a few times.
I agree with all you said and also the ones in comments (specially the one from Elliott B). One thing that saddens me the most on Vatsim are people not taking the time to read or search the information on a specific country and its airports. For example, I've seen a lot of VFR pilots coming to Switzerland and not using proper VFR phraseology and worse not having the correct charts when you can easily find them in the internet. Even if it is not a problem for other pilots it IS an issue for the ATC, because they waste time with you when you could have been prepared in advance, let's say.......like in real life. For those who don't know, in Switzerland we don't give VFR clearance IRL, it is the same in Vatsim. You start your engines, listen to the ATIS and ask for Taxi with a specific VFR exit route in mind (although night VFR request startup clearance). Same happens in Germany also. Although I understand that Navigraph subscription comes with a price there is other free solutions. It won't kill you to read charts beforehand and search for any specific procedures on the country you're flying from/to. Sorry for the long comment 😅
I think you raise very important issues, especially people who just sign onto the network with no knowledge of the nuances/rules of where they are flying.
Walking on each other can happen without either pilot ever hearing the other pilot, especially on the ground or low altitude. VATSIM simulates radio line of sight coverage, and if Center is the only one online, people at airports 500 miles apart won’t hear each other.
So are we just going to sit here and watch your subscriber count go up??? lol you're going to get popular my dude. love you voice! sounds like a radio broadcast!!!!!!!! I'm subscribing!!!
Big cringe for me is hearing folks complain at or argue with controllers on frequency (beyond genuinely trying to understand instructions and/or get clarification). That sort of behavior just kills the enjoyment for others in earshot-no need to air grievances in the open as it’s a waste of frequency
I do UNICOM callouts regardless of who I might see around me, it just keeps me in practice. "N872DL San Diego traffic pushback for Runway 27 please advise traffic" when I'm on the ground or "N872DL Los Angeles traffic established on final for Runway 24R please advise traffic" when I'm coming in to land. It never hurts to keep communicating.
Far more annoying is your fellow countrymen in the REAL World using 121.5 as a chat frequency. From a distance if you hear just noise on that or 243.0 it gets SAR assets needlessly activated, block real emergency calls et.c et.c. So many American civvy airline pilots do this - mostly mid-Atlantic. Blocking emergency frequencies is NOT harmless banter: it's potentially life-threatening.
Just yesterday I was doing an approach into marseille. I accidentally hot micd and said wat the fuck am I looking at. Needless to say the controller informed me that I was hot micing and I have never been so embarrassed lmao
I had some issues with people not announcing on UNICOM. It makes me mad and annoyed immediately Once at STN, only tower was online, everything went smoothly, I captured the ILS then a guy in front of me thought we are on a highway and without making ANY (literally he made NONE) announcement,he pulled in front of me Crazy...
Hmm wonder if it's same guy myself another pilot and the controller had issues with at Manchester. Dude was unresponsive on unicom , I had to guess his intentions and he got way too close to the guy behind me. Didn't say a word to controller until he was about to try land with the other aircraft on the runway still.
People taxing through others be like: "I want a more realistic experience, so I will connect to VATSIM" "Ok let me just taxi through that other plane here" yeah.. I dont care that much about what happens on unicom myself, but that one is just so unnecessary. Exception is maybe if noone is answering to you on unicom, and the guy is just standing on the taxiway for 2 minutes and not moving..
To be fair, in uncontrolled airspace those pilots have every right to be there. Being one of those pilots myself the even more annoying thing is having airliners pull onto the runway for departure when they KNOW there is a GA on short final, causing a go around. Have had to deal with that multiple times, including once from someone that was rated with a VATSIM PPL
I've done this, I don't want to but they're often the only towered airports to practice atc coms on, i've thought about using larger aircraft but im not an airliner guy.
same here, been flying in sims for almost 10 years now and i am so scared of doing a mistake and annoying the whole community that i just don't feel like Vatsim is even worth trying. I do fly online tho and it is allot of fun and i always follow the rules either way
