Image: Screenshot of the Month winner Leo J.

Boston Virtual ARTCC's Community Newsletter · November 1, 2025

Crossfire: West Atlantic Free Flight Experience

By: Cameron Peterson

Are you missing the thrill of a 10-hour transatlantic flight on VATSIM? There may not be a CTP this year, but don’t worry—we’ve cooked up something special!

The West Atlantic Free Flight Experience, or WAFFLE, will bring guaranteed coverage across the busiest skies of the West Atlantic, with staffing provided by ZBW, ZNY, ZWY, and ZSU ARTCCs. This special event will take place between 10am - 3pm ET on Saturday, November 22. 

For five full hours, pilots can enjoy fully staffed operations across the following airports:

• KBOS – Boston Logan
• KEWR – Newark Liberty
• TXKF – Bermuda
• TJSJ – San Juan

Whether you’re flipping over to the Caribbean, crossing the ocean, or stacking flights up and down the East Coast, this is your chance to experience seamless ATC coverage. Plan your legs wisely—the event only runs for five full hours.

By: Camden Bruno

Our Winter 2025 BVA Merch Line has arrived — just in time for the cold months (and the gift-giving season)! This collection features a range of new apparel and a festive keepsake:

👕 Long Sleeve Tees
👚 Crewnecks & Hoodies
🧥 Quarter-Zips
🎁 Limited-Edition Holiday Ornament

Most pieces feature a clean, minimalist design that highlights BVA pride without loud or busy graphics — perfect for everyday wear.

We’re also introducing our Community Sweatshirt, a special limited-edition design that showcases logos from BVA’s sub-communities — celebrating the diverse people and passions that make up our group.

🕒 Available only for a limited time this season! Don’t miss your chance to grab yours before they’re gone.

👉  https://shop.bvartcc.com/collections/winter-line 

By: Evan Reiter

One of our favorite events of the year is coming up next month! Starting at 11am ET on Friday, December 5, we’ll have 60 non-stop hours of live ATC coverage for you to enjoy. No sign-ups required: just connect any time, day or night, during the first weekend of December and you’ll find us online.

We’ll also be hosting VATUSA’s FNO on Friday, December 5. Look for more details about that event on our forums in the coming weeks. 

By: Evan Reiter

Effective October 2, a new arrival procedure - the PUCKY1 - came into effect for KJFK. This RNAV STAR is a replacement for the IGN1 arrival, and should now be filed by RNAV-capable jet and turboprop aircraft capable of operating at 250 knots or greater at FL190.

New procedures are also coming into effect for KLGA and other NY-area airports in the coming months. The changes are part of a broader effort to increase the use of RNAV and GPS technology over ground-based navigation aids like VORs.

Each time new procedures come out in real life, our teams create corresponding updates so VATSIM pilots get the most realistic experiences possible. Our Facilities team keeps navigation data and controller radar displays up-to-date, while our documentation team updates Letters of Agreement (LOAs) and Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) for our controllers and neighboring facilities.

As a pilot, you’ll need up-to-date navigation data to see these new procedures in your FMS/CDU and to fly them. See this forum post for more information on how to keep your navdata up-to-date.

By: Camden Bruno

As the holiday season approaches, we are pleased to invite the community to an All-Member Meeting on December 21 at 8-10pm ET in the BVA Member TeamSpeak.

The meeting is open to all community members. It’s designed to highlight and review the year and offer dedicated Q&A time with the Administration Team. You can find connection/joining instructions here. 

At the conclusion of the meeting, the A-Team will stick around and invites controller members to join us in a staff-up of the ARTCC, as well as invites pilot members to fly within the airspace.

By: Jonathan Halverson

The BVA Special Operations Group, or BVASO, is an immersive and professional group of pilots and operators dedicated to realistic simulation of various civilian, military, and paramilitary operations on the VATSIM Network.

On October 19, BVASO conducted a joint exercise called Operation Leaf Peeper that brought together 12 pilots from five VATSIM vSOAs to conduct a multitude of special activities within the airspace controlled by Boston Virtual ARTCC.

During the event, we provided full ATC coverage at KBTV, KGTB, and KLEB. 

Members from BVASO, MODv, USNv, vPEAK, and vUSCG conducted search and rescue and HEMS operations to locate and rescue a group of lost and injured hikers, intercepted multiple aircraft illegally crossing the border from Canada, and flew training missions within the Cranberry and TUPPER MOAs. Working with other VSOAs allows for knowledge exchange and strengthens working relationships within the VATSIM special operations community. 

BVASO would like to extend special thanks to BVA member Michael M. for creating free X-Plane scenery for pilots to use during the event. 

For more information on BVASO and to apply, visit specops.bvartcc.com. 

Pilot Tip of the Month

Checking On...

On VATSIM, pilots will occasionally encounter a scenario that doesn’t happen in real-world domestic U.S. flying: you’re at FL360 but not speaking to a controller—because that particular facility is “offline” at the moment.

As your flight progresses and you encounter an airspace that is staffed, the way you identify and announce yourself can help simplify radio congestion and make it easy for the “online” controller to find you in a large airspace.

When you enter a controller’s airspace for the first time—and you aren’t being “handed off” (transferred) from another facility—you can help the controller by including the following information in your initial transmission:

• The facility you are calling.
• Your callsign.
• Your location, with respect to a point on your flight plan or prominent VOR or airport.
• Your altitude.

For example:

• “Boston Center, UAL1101, 20 miles east of ALLEX, FL340.”

The same information is helpful on an initial contact if you have a VFR request. For example:

• "Boston Center, N984VW, 15 miles east of Albany, 5,500, VFR request.”

By including your location/position, ATC can “radar contact” you in a single transmission. Omitting your location may require ATC to first issue a squawk code (or have you “ident”) before establishing radar contact, creating another transmission and delaying the ability to provide traffic or control instructions.

When you check on to a new frequency after being “handed off” from the previous controller, ATC has already forwarded your radar track and flight information (i.e., you are already “radar contact”). As a result, you can omit the position information and simply check on with your callsign and relevant altitude information. Examples:

• “Boston Center, DAL218, FL350.”
• "Boston Approach, N425TA, FL190, descending via the ROBUC3 arrival, Runway 4R, information Kilo.”

You are receiving this email as a member of Boston Virtual ARTCC. Members receive emails from us monthly, including announcements and this newsletter. If you're signed up for Event Reminders, you'll receive more frequent emails. 

We rely on donations from our members to support the community. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation.

To manage your subscriptions, use Settings. To stop receiving all correspondence from us, Delete Your BVA Account Online.