How do you keep your roster Active?

[HawaiianAirVirtual]

Aloha,

I just encountered a problem, i can't seem to find an easy way to keep my roster active! I have a 1 PIREP within 14 days set in place but after that i can't tell easily if people are actually flying unless i print out my roster and highlight when people did flights last which is kind of a pain in the butt. If you have any good pointers of something you do to keep your roster active from month to month i would love to hear it.

[flyalaska]

Most pilots are members of at least 3 Virtual Airlines. Many pilots are roster squaters, meaning they join as manay as they can find and do nothing. Give your pilots a reason to keep active with you. Do events, etc.

[tutmeister]

Remember that your airline is very niche. If you follow real-world Hawaiian Airlines you have a limited fleet and limited routes, so quite possibly it isn't enough to keep the average person happy. Which is why airlines that offer flexible fleet and routes tend to fair better unless the pilot is a huge fan of the particular airline you are simulating. Look at VACentral and go see the top airlines, see what they're doing right and try to create your own way of doing it right based on what you've seen. Don't copy though, just use them for inspiration.

[MCSchwartz]

If I'm a virtual pilot what do I want?

Well the above question seems simple however the opposite is true. Since we are in such a diverse community people enjoy totally different things. Some pilots enjoy a realistic virtual airline simulating financials and PART121 air carrier standards while others like the fly anywhere virtual airline.

The first thing you need to do is look at what most pilots look for in a virtual airline. It is important to provide your pilots with the best resources available. This mean you need solid fleet downloads and easy yet nice website layout. It is also important to look into communication forms such as teamspeak. Another important resource in my opinion at least is a solid flight tracking system. The free ones for phpvms are over used and can show a lack of develop on the staff end. I recommend developing a private custom acars system. There are people out there that you can hire for free. Eventually it makes sense to develop your own custom system and move away from php. This can be free or cost money depending on who you can find.

The other thing you need to do is decide how you want to run your airline. Do you want to be that realistic airline following Hawaiian's operations to the tee or do you want to stray from that. After deciding this you have to realize that some pilots will enjoy your chosen style and others will not. However there is a large market for either side.

After reading this you are probably thinking i'm crazy and what I am saying is unrealistic. I realize that the costs can add up however in all honesty the best virtual airlines often spend more money. This isn't always the case though. Right now my and others are developing a brand new airline. We are working on our custom system, flight tracking software, and more! The cost for this...free(besides web hosting costs). It really comes down to who you can find.

Of course remember pilots also like the little things: events, kind staff members, etc. People want to feel welcomed in your community.

Edit: Two other things that can boost activity. One, set up a rewards program for pilots where they can earn badges for maybe flying all your routes to Asia or having 200 complete legs. Two, you can set a pilot of the year award or something where you can give away a payware prize(that obviously does cost some money). With these pilots can compete against each other and fly to earn all of the awards etc.

Regards,

Michael

[joeri]

The first thing you need to do is look at what most pilots look for in a virtual airline. It is important to provide your pilots with the best resources available. This mean you need solid fleet downloads and easy yet nice website layout. It is also important to look into communication forms such as teamspeak. Another important resource in my opinion at least is a solid flight tracking system. The free ones for phpvms are over used and can show a lack of develop on the staff end. I recommend developing a private custom acars system. There are people out there that you can hire for free. Eventually it makes sense to develop your own custom system and move away from php. This can be free or cost money depending on who you can find.

not sure what you are trying to say with this Kacars is still in dev by Jeff he also has the custom version oof that one that can be fully developed at your own wantings,fsflightkeeper is a top program and still under dev i belive and with xacars they just started developing a new one. So they are all still under development.

then the pfrase create you own custom system

why are you here on the forums then ,just for joy? or do u use the system. and iff so maby you can do what you suggest "develop your own system"

you are talking about no bashing on the forum but now you took a shot at 3 acars developers and 1 va system developer so thats 4 in 1 post

regards joeri

[HawaiianAirVirtual]

If I'm a virtual pilot what do I want?

Well the above question seems simple however the opposite is true. Since we are in such a diverse community people enjoy totally different things. Some pilots enjoy a realistic virtual airline simulating financials and PART121 air carrier standards while others like the fly anywhere virtual airline.

The first thing you need to do is look at what most pilots look for in a virtual airline. It is important to provide your pilots with the best resources available. This mean you need solid fleet downloads and easy yet nice website layout. It is also important to look into communication forms such as teamspeak. Another important resource in my opinion at least is a solid flight tracking system. The free ones for phpvms are over used and can show a lack of develop on the staff end. I recommend developing a private custom acars system. There are people out there that you can hire for free. Eventually it makes sense to develop your own custom system and move away from php. This can be free or cost money depending on who you can find.

The other thing you need to do is decide how you want to run your airline. Do you want to be that realistic airline following Hawaiian's operations to the tee or do you want to stray from that. After deciding this you have to realize that some pilots will enjoy your chosen style and others will not. However there is a large market for either side.

After reading this you are probably thinking i'm crazy and what I am saying is unrealistic. I realize that the costs can add up however in all honesty the best virtual airlines often spend more money. This isn't always the case though. Right now my and others are developing a brand new airline. We are working on our custom system, flight tracking software, and more! The cost for this...free(besides web hosting costs). It really comes down to who you can find.

Of course remember pilots also like the little things: events, kind staff members, etc. People want to feel welcomed in your community.

Edit: Two other things that can boost activity. One, set up a rewards program for pilots where they can earn badges for maybe flying all your routes to Asia or having 200 complete legs. Two, you can set a pilot of the year award or something where you can give away a payware prize(that obviously does cost some money). With these pilots can compete against each other and fly to earn all of the awards etc.

Regards,

Michael

No i totally understand what your saying, we are starting to establish a good line of staff members that are welcoming, we already have a personalized ACARS with everything you could think of in it. We have a free website hosting from my friends at TFDi design who also host the Teamspeak we use. I have thought about the pilot of the month but i don't want everyone fighting and talking about each other. I think that it would be cool but don't know how it would work out... Also i have another skin but i have issues and i can't code for my life so i can't really edit it. So if anyone wants to give me a hand it would be nice.

- I really appreciate everyone's positive feedback, i will take most of the things y'all said into consideration and possibly switch around a few things and make Hawaiian more active !

[MCSchwartz]

I have thought about the pilot of the month but i don't want everyone fighting and talking about each other.

From my experience this has never been an issue but yeah you don't ever know. Also I am glad you found some help from the previous posts and I wish you the best of luck!

I apologize for not knowing how to quote the exact post, however the following posts are from joeri.

not sure what you are trying to say with this Kacars is still in dev by Jeff he also has the custom version oof that one that can be fully developed at your own wantings,fsflightkeeper is a top program and still under dev i belive and with xacars they just started developing a new one. So they are all still under development.

I in no way meant to bash these developer. Quite honestly their work is very good and I have used their ACARS systems in the past. While kACARS can be customized it still really isn't what I would consider "private custom" for the fact that you can add a bunch of modules however overall it is the same deal and many VA's use a custom kACARS(or the free one). Pilots want a unique experience and in my opinion the same acars others have is not unique. I do agree though that your custom logo and colors can add a personal touch.

then the pfrase create you own custom system

I have to give anyone involved with phpvms development credit. It is truly a brilliant development giving your average guy/gal the chance of creating a great VA. After saying this though it would be my recommendation to eventually move away to phpvms to develop a more personalized system that you can do anything you want with. Now before anyone says phpvms is just a base and can be taken anywhere...after you manipulate phpvms to that anywhere extent it really isn't phpvms but rather a custom system. Also most VA's on phpvms don't manipulate it much.

why are you here on the forums then ,just for joy? or do u use the system. and iff so maby you can do what you suggest "develop your own system"

1. Yes, I do enjoy visiting these forums

2. I have used the phpvms system with different VA's I have been a pilot at(or staff in a couple cases)

3. Don't worry about the last part: the VA I am a staff member at has moved from phpvms to a new custom system.

you are talking about no bashing on the forum but now you took a shot at 3 acars developers and 1 va system developer so thats 4 in 1 post

I never meant to take a shot at anyone so I apologize if it came off as such. As I said above I respect the 4 developers. My post simply says I recommend moving to a custom system in order to provide pilots with a unique, different experience. I am not advocating moving from phpvms and the ACARS systems due to a dislike of them.

I hope I could clear things up.

I do apologize if it seems I have brought the post off topic. If anyone feels this way I would be happy to remove the bottom half of my post which replies to previous comments. Just send me a PM

Regards,

Michael

[vader21]

Also i have another skin but i have issues and i can't code for my life so i can't really edit it. So if anyone wants to give me a hand it would be nice.

I would be able to help you sir I will make free themes for phpvms the first one coming in a few weeks on my main website, and on the forum as well. For custom themes it will be very very very cheap! under $5

[-Nick Tyson-]

Joeri, do you understand what it means to take someones thread over?

People are stating their opinions. No need to criticize them.

Anyways, I'm starting to find that people have a hard problem keeping a line between being realistic and being a VA. If you look a Fusion Airways for example, its hard to tell if its a real airline or a VA. Even when I was a pilot for them I had this problem. Thus the airline is going into the ground because of it.

You need to pick. Be realistic, follow Hawaiian ops, keep pilots updated on the real airlines changes and encourage a team speak so they can all interact with each other.

[vader21]

Joeri, do you understand what it means to take someones thread over?

People are stating their opinions. No need to criticize them.

Anyways, I'm starting to find that people have a hard problem keeping a line between being realistic and being a VA. If you look a Fusion Airways for example, its hard to tell if its a real airline or a VA. Even when I was a pilot for them I had this problem. Thus the airline is going into the ground because of it.

You need to pick. Be realistic, follow Hawaiian ops, keep pilots updated on the real airlines changes and encourage a team speak so they can all interact with each other.

Couldn't agree with you more, For example if you start " American Virtual Airlines " by having the virtual in the name states that your simulating the real thing, and when you simulate something it's getting as close as possible to the real thing. Yet again what you guys do is up to you i wouldn't like to start criticizing.

[HawaiianAirVirtual]

I would be able to help you sir I will make free themes for phpvms the first one coming in a few weeks on my main website, and on the forum as well. For custom themes it will be very very very cheap! under $5

So you are going to make custom skins for 5$?

[vader21]

So you are going to make custom skins for 5$?

Yes sir, as well as free themes, custom themes will be very cheap! Full details coming soon.

[vader21]

I hope that's something affordable.