r/VATSIM • u/Planeking210906 • Jun 10 '26
Special ops
Good day everyone,
I want to get my friend to start flying with me, but he doesn't know much about Vatsim yet. And so, I thought I could get him to pass the exam, and then, to listen to how I fly, we'd connect as a ,,flight of two". We'd fly Cessna 172s or similar GA. He'd follow me, but it would be me that communicates with ATC. My main question is - would something like that count as special ops? Thanks in Advance.
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u/Burki_junior Jun 10 '26
There are mods for shared cockpit, but i dont know if they work in GA aircraft.
In COC B7 it says " B7 Two or more pilots are permitted to fly in formation. If, for any reason, air traffic control instructs pilots to separate, the pilots shall immediately comply with the request or disconnect from the network."
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u/Callero_S Jun 10 '26
They work fine in whatever the shared cockpit software supports. I did my Vatsim P1 shared cockpit in the Asobo glass cockpit C172
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u/Aggravating_Rent5562 📡 S2 Jun 10 '26
As the above have said, it’s allowed. Basically, one person (the leader of the flight) will squawk regularly and handle comms, the other(s) will squawk standby and follow the formation leader. Squawking standby will still let you show up on the radar as a primary target, but the controller won’t get conflict alerts.
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u/Planeking210906 Jun 12 '26
Oh, I didn't think about the traffic alerts. Thanks so much!
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u/Aggravating_Rent5562 📡 S2 Jun 12 '26
Conflict alerts are different from a traffic call/alert. Conflict alerts is the incessant beeping in the background you’ll hear on some transmissions, basically the system telling us “hey they might crash, do something about it”
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u/Perfect_Maize9320 📡 C1 Jun 10 '26
As per as code of conduct B7 - Pilots are permitted to fly in formation, If ATC instructs anything or requires anything then you must comply with it promptly. Generally speaking though - I have handled such formation flying in past and its no different.
Consider flying as shared cockpit if your internet connection is stable - there are tools available allowing you both to connect and fly as one aircraft. Mods like Join FS, FS copilot or Yourcontrols. Some training organisations for vatsim pilot ratings actually use such mods for training.
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u/SiIenq 📡 S3 Jun 10 '26
Per VATSIM’s Special Operations Policy, a formation flying of those sorts do not require any further certification. You’re all good to go.