In some ways this seems odd but I’ll put it out there. A reality of the sim is the BRB (be right back) usually done in text or voice to ATC.
An example might be, I’m flying away but I’ve been at it for an hour, I want to step back into the craft to get a quick coffee from the thermos. I pop the aircraft on AP, press BRB(on), get my coffee, come right back a few minutes later, press BRB(off) and then start flying again. Now we have an indicator.
What we do with the indicator can be varied. For example, your online colour in one of the vatsim display maps might turn yellow.
Are you asking for such a button to be added to the pilot clients? I don’t think this is something we should do, because you need ATC permission to leave the flight deck.
I hope we don’t get tied up in this subject again. From a purely practical sense a pilot may need to leave the flight deck for many reasons both when ATC and non-ATC. Yes a BRB time stamped indicator would help ATC and SUPs in compliance.
On a purely text book side, I now accept that if I’m off the deck when ATC choose to connect, I run the risk of being kicked. It hasn’t happened in my twenty years on the network because I believe that most ATCO have some common sense.
In summary, if this is doable, why not. The hardliners would then have evidence that a pilot was away for >30min.
Are you referring to this policy? It’s B3(b) under “B. Pilot’s Conduct”. I’ve included it here to save you finding it. I’m definitely not proposing a change to the policy. I think it’s a good one.
“ * B3(b) If it becomes necessary to leave a pilot connection unattended, the account holder should disconnect from the network. When operating under active air traffic control, a pilot may step away for a short period of time with express permission from air traffic control. Notwithstanding anything in this Code to the contrary, no pilot connection is permitted to be unattended for a period of longer than 30 minutes”
Al there are members on the network that do not agree with any time away from the keyboard. You will never convince them. Your solution is both supportive of the CoC and practical. Great idea if it is doable. Don’t get worried that some will say no because of the CoC and the technical implications.
It’s not just a question about doing this when you are not under ATC control. It’s also about the fact that it would encourage people to leave the flight deck without getting permission when they are under ATC control.
If you are under ATC control, you need to get permission, so you’re already letting ATC know when you’ll be back, so the BRB button is not necessary.
If you are not under ATC control, then I suppose it could be marginally helpful for SUPs if they can see when you left the flight deck, and if it was recent enough, then they don’t have to send you a message. But even then, it seems like a solution looking for a problem. I’m not a SUP, so maybe it would be more helpful for SUPs than I realize.
Still, the problem remains about the likelihood of it being misused when under ATC control, and there is no reliable way for the pilot client to know if you are under ATC control or not.
Hi Sean, I’ve been doing this for awhile, as well. My thoughts are like yours. People are “sneaking” off, real quick, for many legit reasons. I am also supposing that people are using wireless headsets to keep a listen while they run off to get a quick tea.
So for, I see this a valid use-case.
What I don’t see as a valid use-case is leaving the flight deck for more than some X time limit; maybe that limit is 4 minutes.
The BRB would let everyone know that someone has left the deck for a couple of minutes. Very useful for pilots that just switched into a new frequency.
Ross, maybe you are right. When ATC is in control, what does it really matter to individual pilots. And if ATC is not in control then there is a CoC breach.
A new status indicator would be very difficult to implement across all the many Vatsim/multi-user apps.
It’s interesting for me to know what other people think. So this thread has been quite informative.
Oh you should be shocked how silly some people can be. I’ve been on 10+ hour long hauls, having a small sector that I’ll fly through in 10-15 minutes pop on and send me 5+ contact me messages within 5 minutes of them connecting, then proceed to wallop me when I’ve been to the bathroom, and this is not an insulated incident.
I’m not entirely opposed to the idea, but I can’t help wondering about the purpose of such a button. While the idea is good, I think it would make less sence put in a practical context.
The idea is to give ATC a way to see that you’re briefly away. However, if ATC is involved, you’re likely in or near controlled airspace, where it doesn’t really matter whether you display a “BRB” tag or not. In those situations, you simply shouldn’t be away—you need to contact the controller.
The only version of this idea that I would fully support is a form of dead man’s switch. We see cases all the time where pilots plan to step away for a short break, but then something comes up and they end up being away for far longer than they intended.
An even better application would be for long-haul flights, where pilots fear unintentionally dozing off.
A dead man’s switch could solve this by using a predefined timer - maybe with predefined times up to 30 minutes. If the feature isn’t turned off in time, the client would automatically disconnect.
A feature like this, or even an endpoint for remotely disconnecting from the network (@887155 ?), would help pilots who make honest mistakes without deliberately attempting to break the rules.
Thanks for your insights. I was thinking 4 minutes, maybe 5 to 10 is better before an auto disconnect happens. 30 minutes seems like a lot. I’m sure once the general idea is agreed upon, we can come up with some number.
If we were able to simulate real-world requirements then we could require a co-pilot with larger aircraft. But the co-pilot requirement would just take away too much from the sim. I don’t like the co-pilot idea, for sure. But because our aircraft only has a captain, the BRB would simulate the handing of controls to your co-pilot … sort of
I assume you’re referring to some way for the pilot to disconnect themselves from their phone if they need to. This would be something the tech team would implement and wouldn’t require any changes to pilot clients.
