01 / 06
Free, and staying free
No subscription, no membership tier, nothing behind a payment. The people running it pay for it, and that is the arrangement rather than a launch offer.
Get a member number
Run entirely
by its members.
Every position staffed, every event on the calendar and every page of this website is the work of a volunteer. That is the model the network operates on, and it is worth understanding before deciding how involved to become.
What makes us what we are
Six things, and every one of them is something you can go and check rather than something we have said about ourselves.
Free, and staying free
About the network
A free virtual airspace for people who want to fly and people who want to control, and a deliberate attempt to make the second of those as easy to start as the first.
- members
- 62
- airfields on file
- 4,748
What we are
trying to be
Four intentions rather than four achievements. Written this way on purpose: you can tell from them whether you want the same things, which is more use than a list of what we have already done.
Somewhere to start
Most people who want to try air traffic control never do, because every route in looks like it assumes you already know. The network is built around the idea that the first hour should be survivable.
Small enough to be known
A frequency where the controller recognises your callsign is worth more than one with a thousand aircraft on it. Growth matters less than whether an evening is any good.
Written down
The rules, the ratings, what each department does and who sits on it are all published. A volunteer network that decides things in private stops being a community and becomes somebody's project.
Built to last past its founders
Every rule lives in the database rather than in a habit, every decision is logged, and the site is documented well enough for the next person. Nothing here should depend on one member staying interested.
Ways to contribute
Six routes, and the first is a complete answer on its own. There is no expectation that anyone takes on more than they came for.
Just fly
The largest group of members by some distance, and a perfectly complete way to use the network. File a plan and work with whoever is on frequency.
Asks of youAn evening, whenever it suits
See what is onLearn to control
The half of the hobby most members never try, and the half the network is short of. Training assumes no prior experience.
Asks of youA couple of evenings a month
How training worksMentor someone
Any rated controller knows enough to teach the rating below their own. Most mentors qualified recently themselves.
Asks of youOne session a month
What mentoring involvesRun an event
Choose a field and a date, then write the briefing. The events desk handles staffing and promotion, and supports you throughout.
Asks of youA few hours of planning
Read the events noticesWrite documentation
Local procedures, airfield briefings, and the guides that were missing when you started. Unglamorous work, and among the most useful.
Asks of youEntirely at your own pace
Get an account firstHelp moderate
Moderation is mostly early, quiet intervention. The need is for members in time zones we do not currently cover.
Asks of youTime you already spend here
Read the Code of Conduct
How the network is run
Five departments and an appeals panel, none of them large, and most people sit on more than one. What each is responsible for, who leads it, who is on it and whether it is recruiting, in full and in the open.
Board of Administrators
Sets the direction of the network, owns its rules, and is accountable when something goes wrong.
- Decides what the network takes on next, and declines what it will not.
- Owns the Code of Conduct and the Code of Regulations, including revising them.
- Resolves anything a department cannot settle on its own.
- Luca F-B.Administrator
- Jack C.Administrator
- Charles H.Administrator
Seats here are appointed rather than applied for, and only when one becomes vacant.
Executive Panel
Reviews the decisions the board takes, and is the route of appeal when a member disputes one.
- Hears appeals against suspensions and rating decisions.
- Reviews any conduct case a department head is party to.
- Holds the board to the Code of Regulations rather than to its own judgement.
- Max C.Executive panel
- Keanu K.Executive panel
- Carson O.Executive panel
Seats here are appointed rather than applied for, and only when one becomes vacant.
Network Operations
Keeps the network running: servers, coverage, the website, and the response when any of it fails.
- Runs the connection servers and the maintenance windows.
- Decides which fields and sectors get local teams, and stands them up.
- Builds and maintains this website.
Luca F-B.Leads Network Operations- Kayne G.Lead Website Developer
- Charles H.Network Operations
- Jesse B.Network Operations
- Sam M.Network Operations
- Alex S.Network Operations
- Silas S.Network Operations
- Jack C.Network Operations
Looking for Members who can write clear documentation, and anyone with server administration experience. Put your name forward
Training
Takes members with no prior experience and qualifies them to work a live position.
- Runs mentoring sessions and manages the waiting list.
- Conducts assessments and writes the feedback that follows them.
- Maintains the syllabus, which is revised as procedures change.
Max C.Leads Training- Luca F-B.Training
- Charles H.Training
- Carson O.Training
Looking for Mentors. Any rated controller who can give an evening a month. Mentoring capacity is the constraint on the whole network. Put your name forward
Community Support
The first point of contact when something goes wrong, and responsible for conduct on the Discord.
- Answers support tickets, most of them within the same evening.
- Moderates the Discord, which in practice is far more guidance than enforcement.
- Handles conduct reports discreetly and without an audience.
Jack C.Leads Community Support- Sam M.Community Support
- Jesse B.Community Support
- AnthonyCommunity Support
Looking for Members in Asia Pacific and the Americas, so a ticket raised at 04:00 UTC is not held until European hours. Put your name forward
Events
Plans the calendar, staffs the major events, and reviews how each one went.
- Builds the event calendar a season at a time.
- Finds controllers for every position before an event goes live.
- Writes the briefings, with particular attention to the parts most often misread.
Carson O.Leads Events- AnthonyEvents
Looking for An organiser for an event night outside European hours. This is the most accessible department to join. Put your name forward
The Discord server
Day to day activity happens on the Discord rather than here. Select a channel to see what it is used for, so it is clear where to post from the outset.
announcements
Announcement feedEvery notice from the board, mirrored from the news page. Urgent ones land here first.
Sits under Start here
Typical of what appears in this channel
Standards of conduct
The Code of Conduct sets this out in full and is worth ten minutes of your time. In practice it reduces to three principles, and they are rarely a difficulty for anyone.
- Assume the person on the other end is new, tired, or both, and extend the patience you would want yourself.
- Say so when you are unsure. Admitting it has never been what gets anybody into difficulty.
- Do not connect and leave the position unattended. An aircraft nobody is flying becomes somebody else’s problem.
Start by listening in.
Many members spend weeks in the Discord before their first flight, and some never fly at all. Both are entirely reasonable ways to be part of this.