Hello everyone!
Allow me to welcome you to the first edition of the Winnipeg FIR Quarterly Roundup! You can think of it sort of like a quarterly newsletter. Here you will find the latest in news, staff, events and much more from around the FIR, as well as Vatsim as a whole!
It goes without saying that the last few months have been a chaotic few for the FIR. Once again I must thank Nate Power and Ethan Mason for all of their hard work for this FIR over the years. Nate in particular was a huge reason the FIR was starting to pull out of it’s most recent activity slump. But alas we cannot dwell on the past, we must always continue moving forward, and move forward we have!
First allow me to introduce myself. Many of you already know me, but for those of you who don’t, hello! Please to meet you! I have been on the Vatsim network for north of five years now, and it will be four years as a controller in the new year. I have spent all of this time in the Winnipeg FIR and enjoyed it the whole way! In that time I have worked my way up through the staff roles beginning as the Events & Marketing Coordinator before becoming the Deputy FIR Chief, and now I find myself in my current role. In real life I work in the broadcast industry, hold a private pilot’s license, and I enjoy woodworking, canoeing, camping, performing, and gaming in what little free time I have. Oh and I am a die-hard Saskatchewan Roughrider fan! I’d love to have a chat and get to know each and every one of you.
Now onto the important stuff! There have already been lots of exciting new things introduced this quarter but I assure you there are more on the horizon!
Ryan Miltenberger was hired as the FIR Deputy Chief. His primary role will be to assist myself in the daily running of the FIR.
5 years ago, I came to this FIR as a bright eyed C1 transfer, breaking the tradition of “train in Winnipeg, move to Toronto”. I stepped into the staff role of facilities engineer and I haven’t looked back since. Winnipeg became an unlikely home for an American like me, and I have grown to love more than just the FIR. I’ve claimed the Winnipeg Jets as my hockey team, and started a tradition of an almost yearly real world “pilgrimage” to the Great White North, thanks to the first ever Winnipeg Real Ops in 2021. I am more than excited to step into the new role as Deputy Chief, and I hope that I can work with all of you to grow this FIR back into the crown jewel of Canadian FIR’s.
– Ryan Miltenberger, Winnipeg FIR Deputy Chief
The training department has been busy rolling out new management tools and working hard on new course materials:
As we head into the final quarter of the year, the Training team has been working on several improvements to make training more organized and accessible across the FIR. Most notably, development of our new Winnipeg FIR Academy is well underway, which will eventually provide a centralized home for training material, course progression, self-assessments, and other resources for students and staff. We have also recently made a number of changes to the training scheduler to improve how sessions are booked and managed, so we encourage everyone involved in training to familiarize themselves with the updated system. There is still plenty more to come, and we look forward to sharing more details about the Academy as we get closer to its release.
– Ren Kehler-Yokobori, Winnipeg FIR Chief Instructor.
And of course there’s a lot to look forward to on the events front:
Prairie Skies Saturday continues to gain momentum as a regular weekly event, bringing pilots and controllers together to showcase the unique airspace and operations within the Winnipeg FIR. The event has become a great opportunity for members to build their skills, enjoy realistic traffic levels, and strengthen our community. Looking ahead, the Winnipeg FIR is exploring collaboration opportunities with other facilities across the network, including joint events with Toronto FIR and the potential for an exciting transcontinental event connecting Canada and Mexico. These partnerships will help create even more engaging experiences, higher traffic volumes, and a chance for members to participate in larger-scale operations spanning multiple regions. Our events team has been hard at work pitching new ideas to VATCAN and are looking to expand into Asia, Europe and South American markets for large scale events. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements as we continue to expand and enhance our event calendar.
– Sumeet Kumar, Winnipeg FIR Events & Marketing Coordinator
And lastly a few notes from myself!
VATSIM recently launched a new pilot feedback system. So what does this mean for you? Well the next time a pilot busts a SID, calls you on the wrong frequency or makes a similar mistake you can report this. The most important thing to understand is that similar to real-world feedback systems this is non-punitive. That means that unless the mistake is reckless or malicious it will not be punished. The goal is to ensure that everyone has a chance to learn! Please keep this tool in your back pocket to help educate pilots!
I would like to remind all of our controllers that the TeamSpeak server is to be used at all times when controlling. Furthermore channels should be used for their intended purposes. Controller rooms are for controllers actively connected to the network. If you are not controlling, please do not connect to those rooms without an operational reason to do so or without private messaging a controller in those rooms first to ensure you will not be interrupting. These common courtesy things help make the network fun and enjoyable for everyone!
The Winnipeg FIR has deployed VACS! You may download the latest version of VACS here. This communication platform simulates a landline system allowing controllers to “phone” other controllers for coordination purposes. Note that VACS is NOT mandatory and thus not all Winnipeg controllers or neighboring facilities use it so all controllers are still required to be connected to TeamSpeak. Keep your eyes on the Winnipeg FIR discord for an announcement regarding some new features within VACS!
Head on over to the policy section of our website to check out some of our latest policy and document updates! The S1, S2, and S3 phraseology guides have all had a major overhaul as well a massive restructuring and update to the SOPs document. Make sure you are up to date with the latest and greatest in procedures and phraseology!
The FIR is still looking for someone skilled in web design to be our webmaster! If you are an S2 or higher I encourage you to check out the job posting and apply if you think you have the skills! This job posting will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified!
And last but not least just a quick activity reminder for all of our controllers. Per the Winnipeg General Policy all controllers are required to control a minimum of 3 hours per quarterly period. Visiting controllers must meet the 3 hour requirement in Winnipeg as well as meeting a minimum of 50% of their total hours for the quarter in their home subdivision. If this requirement is not met you can expect an email from a staff member informing you that you have not met the requirement and have 14 days to do so or face removal from the FIR.
As usual my door is always open for any of you who want to raise a concern, provide a suggestion or simply just have a chat! I would love to hear from each and every one of you!
Until next time, don’t do anything I wouldn’t!
Adam Brookman
Winnipeg FIR Chief