Pilots, do better, seriously. A rant from another pilot.
I am genuinely frustrated at the amount of times I’ve planned an immersive VATSIM departure with coverage only for the controller to log off because of incompetent pilots, and then I end up having to depart on UNICOM.
I understand the controller’s perspective. If you’re working Atlanta Center, LA Center, Boston Center, Heathrow, Frankfurt, etc., you are already dealing with some of the busiest airspace on the network. You’re volunteering your time, trying to provide a realistic ATC service, and then you get absolutely buried by pilots who clearly have no idea what they are doing.
And honestly, that is not fair to the controllers or to the rest of us.
I’m not saying everyone needs to be perfect. Nobody is perfect on VATSIM. We all make mistakes. We all have moments where we mishear a clearance, miss a turn, botch a readback, or need something repeated.
But there is a difference between making mistakes while learning and showing up completely unprepared.
If you are flying out of a known busy airport on the network, especially when there is good ATC coverage, you need to have at least some idea of what you are doing. Know how to read a chart. Know your SID. Know your taxi route. Know how to hold short. Know how to follow basic altitude and heading assignments. Know how to not step on the frequency every 5 seconds. Know how to follow basic ATC instructions. And if you genuinely do not understand something, ask the controller instead of just guessing and creating chaos.
Controllers should not have to babysit someone through every single phase of flight at a major airport during a busy session.
This is not about gatekeeping new pilots. Everyone starts somewhere. But maybe don’t start by loading into KLAX, KBOS, KATL, EGLL, EDDF, etc. during peak coverage with no charts, no plan, no understanding of your aircraft, and no clue how IFR works. Start somewhere smaller and less busy. Practice offline. Learn the basics before jumping straight into the deep end.
Because when enough unprepared pilots pile into busy airspace, everyone else pays for it. Controllers burn out. Frequencies become unusable. Realistic operations fall apart. And pilots who actually planned their flight and wanted an immersive experience are left watching the controller disconnect because the session became unmanageable.
VATSIM only works when both sides respect the environment. Controllers need to be patient and professional, yes. But pilots also need to respect the controller’s time and the other pilots on frequency.
So please: do better.
Study a little. Prepare your route. Read the charts. Listen before you transmit. Don’t fly into the busiest airspace on the network if you are not ready to handle basic instructions.
It's okay to make a mistake. It's not okay to show up completely unprepared.
From a frustrated pilot on the network.
Rant over.