Your virtual Airline Resume

[bigrobmjca AS350]

Hey,

I was just wondering how everyone wound up here at the greatest virtual airline(s) on earth. What's your history with VAs'/who have you flown for?

I used to fly for Simairline.net and wanted a better selection of flights. Most of you can probally guess if you looked at my logbook it was so I could fly cargo flights.

I haven't flown with them since May of last year, and don't ever plan to. Thanks for all the hard work Tom, Norm, Andre, Roy, everyone who puts work into Air-Source.us.

bigrobmjca AS350

[Leemazz]

I have been here 4 years now and just played around with VAs previous to that . Its exactly what i want at airsource .

[MidniteRider]

I flew virtual flying clubs for 2 years. During that time I had joined Airsource but wasn't flying much here. Flying clubs are a bunch of group flights online. Lots of flyins and stuff. But what happens is that egos get in the way and it becomes a power struggle. Everybody wants to be in charge, a superstar. The flying club that I was in started limiting who could join based on what you could offer the club. Either make missions, paint, web skills or something. Too many chiefs and not enough indians. That is what I like about AirSource, we know who the chiefs are and we respect then for that.

I flew for FedEx Virtual for a few months when I realized that what I really wanted to do was AirSource. I stopped all of the other activities and put my full effort into AirSource..... especially ASHA. I don't know of a better place to fly. AirSource is exactly what I want and need. I don't fly anywhere else now, except for flying some FSX missions for fun.

[Lochnivar-AS430]

wow....

I started out with Continental (VCA) as COA555. I flew around with them for a little bit, maybe 2 months before they split. Nice little internal implosion.

After that, I joined the breakaway group and we tried to create a new NW VA (NWAV) as NWA620. Until we got the Cease and desist note from NW. Jerks.....

I joined AVA after that as AAL124 and have flown with them for 3+ years. But, they simply aren't the same VA I joined. To many personnel changes.

So I'm here.

[vic365]

Edit due to double post.

[vic365]

Jeez, lets see. I've probably forgotten my less memorable ones.

DC3 Airways.
Still a member but, need a flight in my MAAM-SIM DC3/R4D to become "active" listed. Gotta be ready for the G.A.A.R every year!

Bluegrass Airways
Not flying with them anymore.

Evergreen Sky Aero Services.
The best damn bush flying VA that had ever existed! I Performed flight operations then moved to flight dispatching, cargo dispatching then cargo ops manager...all the while flying our fleet. We had our bush division out of Bremerton and the cargo out of KSEA. I miss the place, my buddies and my aircraft there. I wish it would have lasted forever.

Livewire Airlines;
We will NOT talk about that debacle.

Virtual Pilots Association;
I actually loved this VA. Based on you finding actual real world scheduled flights and flying them. They had a "classics" division, with real world classic schedules. If you could find a flight, you could fly it and record it. The downfall, for me, was the silliness they required regarding timezones. You had to actually figure out your timezone differences and THEN record your flight hours...what a waste of a great VA. Especially considering the MSFS timezone issues and all the changes in TZ's that take place every year. A simulator pilot needs to know his timezones...but he DOES NOT need to know them to record his flight time...time flown is time flown. What a waste of an otherwise great VA.

AirSource;
Here I reside, the perfect balance between reality and simulation.

I've never tried an airline based VA. I always found it too restrictive to only fly one airline's flights. I have considered it for classic, like Olympic Airlines VA, which flew the 707. Anytime I can find an opportunity to fly my heavy metal, I will.

I really miss a good bush flying VA, like ESAS was. That was one of my most happy times!

I'm happy here...but there is always that flight in a Beaver to a hunting camp, the load of food to that small island in a C206 or the emergency flight of a new Mitsubishi diesel to a crabber before dungeoness season.

Those were fun, too.

If I could have one VA back, it would be ESAS. I learned to make scenery, manage a division, dispatch flights, swoop into a flat spot (what runway??)...it was FUN.

I know most everyone here is into "heavy metal". I ask you to consider an occasional flight in something much smaller, over beautiful territory. Or maybe something to get your blood going...a landing at SABA, the shortest commercial airstrip in use...with a cliff at the end. I use my DHC-2 twotter.

OK...that my history.
Vic

[JSkorna]

This has been my one and only stop. My 10,000+ hours are only from here!

[AS 2 Tom Little]

Good thread topic!

I started getting really interested in this hobby when I found Westwind Airlines VA. I stayed there for about 1 month, don't think I PIREP'd but about 2-3 flights.

I then joined Southwest Virtual Airlines (as a hub manager KLAS!! whohoooo). That lasted about 6 months, and is where I started my first programming of automated PIREPS, and since KLAS was the only hub with automated PIREP's, they asked me to kindly leave

Then in 1998 started my own VA called Coral Airways. There are still a few members here at AirSource which were at Coral Airways! Coral eventually closed since I felt it was very cumbersome to keep up with aircraft repaints, and thought why not use the repaints from the talented artists over at AVSIM and Flightsim.com and the idea of AirSource was born.

[Guest]

Really interesting thread, its good to see others experiences.

It make me look very inexperienced though.

My first real taste of a virtual airline was with a fabulous outfit called 'The Virtual 8th' which was a VA arranged around the amazing B17 The Mighty 8th which was one of my fave flight sims. I reckon this must have been about 10 years ago now!

You weren't online as such but the idea was you would log in and get your mission briefing (there was also a link to a site full of recon and intel about the targets). You then flew the mission and posted your results on the site (target % hit, enemy fighters damaged/downed, injured/KIA crew etc).

The results were then posted and all the pilots averages were added together. Then some kind chap would do the maths and we would find out if the target had been destroyed etc. you could get medals and promotions etc. It really was a fab time.

Then when I started to get into the civilain flight sims this was the 1st VA I tried and I loved it.

I got up to around 250-300 hours I think and then my PC died on me and so thinking that my FS days were behind me for a few years till I could get a new PC I let my membership here lapse.

Then fate took control and I was suddenly in a position to get a new gaming PC and the first (and only) game I have installed was FS and I started my career here again.

I love the variety here above all else and I love how friendly everyone is. I am a semi pro photographer and have a fair knowledge of photoshop and so a large part of my enjoyment is knocking up screenshots from my flights and sharing them here (incase you hadn't noticed LOL - hope you don't think I am hogging that forum by the way!).

[Moose4]

I started off over five years ago flying for a small, casual British VA named Solent Air Virtual (now sadly defunct). This is my second time around with AirSource, I joined once and let my membership lapse.

Currently I fly for AirSource, Delta Virtual (where I'm an assistant chief pilot in the MD-88/MD-90 program), and British Airways Virtual. In the past, I've dabbled with Mid-Continent, Virtual Flight Options, Execjet Virtual, and a couple of others.

I like AirSource because of the things it has that few other VAs offer--the incredible flexibility in the Scheduled division, challenging flights with ASHA, and the events.

[rabhaw]

I see I have been with Airsource for 5 years now.
Found it by accident, liked the format at freedom of choice.

Been with British Airways Virtual since about 2001, the first version of it.

Since then I have applied for several VA's but never continued because why bother, I can do the same flights on AAS.

Before that I was in a few VAs, Simulated Air Canada was a good one, and World Airways was my first I think.

If I had records, I'd be around 5000 hrs I guess for VA flying, but official is like 3460 at the moment.

[Ken Bolish]

I flew for Noble air out of Berlin, Orange Air out of Amsterdam and Cyber air out of Washington DC. My last airline was Freedom Air because they gave you the freedom to fly for any airline. They disappeared one day after a real airline with the same name appeared out of New Zealand. I was looking in the Flight sim virtual airline forum and I typed a question for an airline where you could fly anywhere. Vince Horan replied with Air Source and I have been here ever since.

[iang77]

1. I flew with a tiny VA, Central States Airlines, out of Kansas City for about a year.

2. Found AirSource by accident a few years ago, but didn't stick around for very long.

3. Signed up briefly with Virtual United, but never filed a flight.

4. Came back to AirSource, discovered AAS and ASHA. I've been here a year now, and am an ASHA SDO for the Africa region. In the words of Ronald McDonald, "I'm loving it."

[AS-487 T. Headlam]

Hub Manager for the I-MAN back in the years With Virtual United.
http://virtualunitedairlinesklaxhub.cz2 ... ntact.html
I came across Air-Source 2001 by AVSIM. Signed up. But always felt intimidated to try. Anyway FLY!2 was strong for me back then. With no support from Air-Source made my decision easier.

I could still remember though, my first purchase of MSFS 5.1.
Reading the manuel on my way home. Couldn't wait to get home to install those four diskettes which I really had to shop around for. CD-Rom versions was everywhere.
That Old Cheap 486.

Do anyone still remeber Microwings?

[AS283 Roger Dean]

AirSource is the only VA I've flown with.

I flew FS alone for almost 20 years before I ever heard of such a thing as Virtual Airlines. That was back in mid 2004.

I did a great deal of researching different VA's to see what they offered. None seemed to fit my needs in that airlines and routes and aircraft were somewhat limited for someone who flies allot.

I found AirSource almost by accident. AirSource offers just about all the variety anyone could possibly want. I joined. Life has not been the same since.