OZARK VIRTUAL
PILOT’S HANDBOOK

WHAT WE DO
To provide Pilots of Microsoft Flight Simulator a “virtual” employer, complete with a seniority structure, management, accurate timetables and a accurate hangar. Functioning along the same operational guidelines as the real airline, Ozark Airlines, while having fun simulating the operations of a great but not forgotten airline.

OPERATIONS
With our main hub located in St. Louis, Missouri (KSTL), and secondary hubs in Chicago (KORD), and Dallas Fort Worth (KDFW), our pilots can choose their principle hub of operations. (Please note as of September 2005 KORD and KDFW are not options but are coming as hubs inthe future here at OVA)

The management team within the company consists of our CEO/ Founder as the President/CEO. Under him, a dedicated staff comprised of management members provide Ozark Virtual with essential support for the day to day operations.

COMMUNICATION
With any company, communication is essential. Ours is no different. Utilizing MSN while online, most Management can be reached anytime while online. If not online, then Pilots can use our forums or email. Feel free to e-mail questions, complaints, or comments to any of the staff. Remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question!! You’ll find that our Pilots/Management are quite a valuable resource. We can all learn from each other, so don’t hesitate to email or post your question in the forums.

THE OZARK VIRTUAL WEBSITE
Before we can continue any further, you must be aware the website has most of the information a new Pilot needs to get started, ie..seniority, promotions, aircraft info etc.....
This handbook will act as a reference once the Pilot has become familiar with Ozark's (OVA) website. It will contain General Policies, Online etiquette, and links to other relevant web pages.

THE OZARK VIRTUAL RANKING BREAKDOWN
We do accept hours transferred from other Virtual Airlines as well as VATSIM. Please let us know how many hours you have when you sign up. From time to time we will police these hours to verify they are true. Below is the breakdown of ranks and airframes:

	Second Officer	First Officer	Captain	Senior Captain	Master Senior Captain	Command Senior Captain
Ranking	< 50	51>100	101 > 200	201 > 350	351 > 500	501 >
Duty Type	Regional Domestic	Regional Domestic	Domestic	Domestic	Domestic	Domestic
Type Ratings	Metroliner	Metroliner/FH-227B	All Except 727	All	All	All

OVA ONLINE PROCEDURES
For many virtual Pilots, flying online is second to none. Using a program called Squawkbox 3 in tandem with FS2004/FS2002 and flying on the VATSIM network, you can fly with other virtual Pilots from around the world with live virtual ATC. While we at OVA do not require usage of Squawkbox (SB) for all flights. We highly recommend it. And it may become a requirement in the future. If you have never used SB before, we have many experienced pilots that are here to help you get online. If you have experience flying using the VATSIM network, be advised that while online you are an “ambassador” of Ozark Virtual, and with this, we have some general “Do’s and Don’ts” to follow:

DO
Move off runway before connecting to SB NEVER CONNECT WHILE SITTING ON A RUNWAY!!
Have the correct SB plan filed, complete with the right altitude
Keep a pencil + paper handy to copy ATC clearance information
Have latest files and NOTAM’s from the FIR sites for arrival/ departure info
Read the NOTAM’s section in the Ozark Virtual web site Forum for new info
Set Transponder to Standby until ready for taxi or told to Squawk C
Be patient with ATC, servers experience heavy traffic often causing slow responses

DON'T
Argue with controllers, follow ATC’s instructions…if you have a question, ask!
Slew or pause your aircraft unless you have permission
File a flight plan with SID’s and STAR’s unless you have them printed off for reference
Forget to visit the FIR sites for departure and arrival procedures

There’s quite a few others but these are the ones most often violated. The VATSIM website includes many training aids to help you along with tutorials. Please check it for more information on online flying. Once logged in to SB, you must file a flight plan with ATC. Be sure to check the airports FIR web page for recent NOTAM’s and procedures.
Without a proper flight plan, ATC will not allow you to continue with your flight. We will now cover a few more things to remember and practice for online flight.

INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES
Altitudes at and above 18,000, Pilots must hold an instrument rating on their licenses. All flights in North America flying between FL180 and FL450 fly along Jet routes, or J airways. Below 18000 Victor (V) airways are used. When completing your plan for ATC on SB either IFR or VFR must be checked off before clearance will be granted!

VOR’S, NDB’s AND INTERSECTIONS
VOR’s- These are 360 degree VHF bands that generate directional info. The ICAO format is 3 letters i.e. CSX is CARDINAL VOR.

NDB’s- A low freq. non-directional beacon that have max. range of 75/200 miles during day/night respectively. 2 letters identify them

INTERSECTIONS
Points where known VOR radials intersect each other and are identified by 5 letters.

Please note that European navigation differs somewhat from North America i.e.; NDB’s consist of 3 letters and intersections can contain both letters and numbers. In North America, Flight Levels are only used for altitudes above 18000, in Europe however they use them above 6000.

VISUAL FLIGHT RULES
Essentially, VFR is exactly as it sounds, relying on sight for navigation. Under these rules you are supposed to fly with 3 statute miles visibility within 10000 feet above the surface.
Most, if not all OVA flights are flown under IFR rules because of the jet ways used. But some of the older flights can be flown VFR.

SID’s AND STAR’s
Some ATC centers will ask you to also include a SID and/ or a STAR in your plan.

STAR- is a Standard Terminal Arrival Route. These are basically a series of navigation waypoints and altitudes that lead to the airport. Once you passed the final waypoint, ATC will direct you in from there.

SID- is short for Standard Instrument Departure. It follows the same method of navigation, but for leaving the airport control area. Many of these charts can be found on the ARTCC or FIR sites for the respective airports. Links to these sites have been included at the end of this manual. These can also be called DP’s (Departure Procedures)

ATC DUTY POSITIONS
These positions are placed in their hierarchal order: the senior position being Center. Periodically, Center will control all duty assignments if no other is available.
Again, OVA highly recommends the use of online flying. For more help on Online flying please use the Forum, or E-mail one of our staff.

Clearance Delivery (DEL)
-Verifies accuracy of the FP for correct routes and altitudes
-Receives read back from Pilot

Ground
-Controls all movements in tandem with TWR Tower
-Co-ordinates IFR departures and arrivals with DEP and ARR
-Issues takeoff and landing clearances
-Controls VFR aircraft operating within the Zone up to 3000 (tower may do this as well)

Departures
-Controls IFR aircraft once they leave the ground and spacing between them
-Works in conjunction with Arrivals for separation within the terminal

Arrivals
-Controls arrivals with controlled airspace
-Establishes them on appropriate IFR approach to the localizer

Center
-Controls flights not under the control of another position