Attention vZBW C1/Center controllers:
vZBW Directive 02042015/1 has been released and is in effect as of February 4th, 2015. This directive is in regards to "Descend Via" usage within the Boston ARTCC. It is applicable for the following Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs):
KBOS: OOSHN, QUABN, ROBUC
KMHT: ROZZE
KPWM: SCOGS, CDOGG
KBED/KBVY/KLWM: ZELKA
More information can be found on the forum.
The controllers of the Boston, New York and Washington Virtual Air Route Traffic Control Centers are partnering up Friday, January 16th, 2015 at 2345Z for a one of a kind Friday Night Ops. We'll be lighting up the Northeastern United States, renowned for it's busy airline commuter and business service, and bringing service to three of the major metropolitan airports of the area: Boston (KBOS), New York-La Guardia (KLGA) and Washington-National (KDCA). We welcome all pilots and aircraft to come and join us for this chance to fly with ATC service in one of the most busy and congested air spaces in the country!
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to announce that Camden Bruno (BN) has accepted the role of Events Coordinator here at ZBW. Camden's work with our current roster updates and his work on the most recent Cross The Pond planning make him an excellent choice to take over in this position.
I expect BN to hit the ground running and pick up the events that are already in planning phase and make up some good creations of his own. As has been said of recent promotions, great things are coming and we are all looking forward to what you can do.
So, please join me in congratulating BN on his new position. I just want to tell you good luck, we're all counting on you.
Francis Dube (DB)
ZBW Air Traffic Manager
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The Virtual Boston ARTCC is now accepting applications for the position of Events Coordinator.
More information can be found here.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to announce the promotion of one of our own, Matthew Miller (MR) to Deputy Air Traffic Manager. MR has been a great training staff member and has most recently been the Events Coordinator. MR has excelled at both of these positions and will make a great DATM with his knowledge of our facility and his energy/attitude. I'll go all cliche on you and say it seems like yesterday that I was receiving PM's on VRC from ZID_MM_OBS when I was working LEB_TWR about how cool he thought it was I was staffing it.
So join me in congratulating MR on his new promotion, there are great things ahead!
Francis Dube (DB)
ZBW Air Traffic Manager
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Team Boston,
I am honored and excited to announce that I have been appointed as Boston ARTCC's Air Traffic Manager.
Obviously watching Don Desfosse and Rich Bonneau excel in this position before me have been great examples of what it takes to make this facility great. I feel that we have a strong core of controllers and staff members that are ready and able to step up continue the tradition that is vZBW. As DO has said many times "many hands make light work" and recently there have been many hands in getting facilities, website design, and facility documentation updated and modernized.
Our goals and vision are going to continue to be based in growth, retention, excellence, and... wait for it... FUN! We are at our best when we randomly staff 6-8 positions on a Tuesday night with no planning, and it usually starts with just one person staffing up and the rest just come pouring in.
The future is bright here at ZBW, and I am happy to serve for all of you and do my part to make this one hell of a place to keep virtual tin separated!
Francis Dube
Air Traffic Manager
Boston ARTCC
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Be sure to give us a like/follow on Facebook and Twitter to stay in the loop regarding events, procedures, and more!
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ATTENTION ALL vZBW PILOTS:
PDCs (Pre-Departure Clearances) are now in use at ALB, BOS, BDL, and PVD.
Be aware that PDCs will only be utilized when deemed necessary by the controller, for example, in situations such as high workload. However, if pilots wish to receive your clearance via PDC at one of these airports, they may make that request to the appropriate controller.
Pilots are not required to readback any portion of their PDC unless they have any questions or concerns.
However, pilots are required to call in with the current ATIS code as well as their assigned transponder code. See example below:
"Boston Ground, JetBlue seventeen eighty-six ready for taxi with information Alpha, squawking 1301."
Feel free to email [email protected] with any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions regarding these new PDC procedures.
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New procedures are in effect within ZBW as of 13 November 2014. ZBW controllers will accomodate both the old RNAV arrivals as well as the new ones for some transition period. Pilots should identfy the RNAV arrival they are planning to fly in their flight plan. Radar vector arrival procedures are also still available and in effect for those pilots unable to fly RNAV arrivals.
KBOS:
The KRANN3 RNAV arrival has been removed and replaced by the ROBUC1 RNAV arrival. In addition, the OOSHN and QUABN STARs have been updated with major changes to the crossing restrictions. They are now the QUABN3 and the OOSHN3. Lastly, the SCUPP4 arrival has been removed.
KPVD:
Arrival updated to WIPOR3. Additionally, some small changes to the airport diagram.
KSYR:
Airport Diagram update, terminal construction.
KBTV:
Burlington Clearance/Delivery created, frequency added to charts.
KBED/KBVY/KLWM:
ZELKA1 RNAV arrival created.
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Congratulations to one of our controllers at vZBW ARTCC, Erik Partridge (PG), for catching two more errors on updates of the RNAV arrivals into KPWM and KBOS. In his honor the FAA has issued these NOTAMs:
!FDC 4/1894 PWM CHART PORTLAND INTL JETPORT, PORTLAND, ME. SCOGS TWO ARRIVAL (RNAV) (SCOGS.SCOGS2) ... CORRECT WAYPOINT NAME: CHANGE SPELLING OF ARRAR TO ARARR. 1410231211-PERM
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FDC 4/3693 (A6096/14) - CHART GENERAL EDWARD LAWRENCE LOGAN INTL, BOSTON, MA.
QUABN THREE ARRIVAL (RNAV) (QUABN.QUABN3) ...
CORRECT PLANVIEW: CHANGE MSTIK TO READ MISTK. 13 NOV 16:00 2014 UNTIL PERM.
CREATED: 13 NOV 16:00 2014
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VATSIM has real-world impacts everyday!
ATTENTION ALL PILOTS:
The Cross the Pond 2014 Eastbound Pilot Briefing for pilots departing from Boston Logan Intl Airport (KBOS) is now available and is attached to this post in the vZBW forum. It can also be accessed on the Cross the Pond website under the pilot area.
Don't be afraid to contact us with any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions. Most importantly, see you on the 25th!
"Polar Vortex?" "Frost Bite?" Yes, It's that time of year again to welcome old man winter. Both Boston and Moncton would like to welcome you with warm hands... and Air Traffic Control. The Moncton FIR, and Boston ARTCC are proud to present the Moncton - Boston Crossfire. Enjoy the sights of Northern New England and Eastern Canada. Starting at 2300z all the way to 0400z on October 10th, you too can fly from Boston to Halifax, and vise versa with full ATC coverage. We look forward to seeing you there!
Attention ZBW Controllers (and TS3 visitors):
Please update your settings to reflect the host as "bostonartcc.net" instead of "ts3.bostonartcc.net". Due to what appears to be local DNS caching issues, the old ts3 subdomain will no longer respond.
Please note that all email addresses are the same post-migration, however you may also elect to contact staff members through the roster.
Student Controllers
Please use the training center to request training sessions. This will provide a direct link for staff members to more easily monitor and manage training sessions.
It's that time of year again! On Saturday, September 20th, join the Boston ARTCC for its annual, Escape to the Cape, featuring the airports of Cape Cod and Southern New England. This event takes place in beautiful Cape Cod just as spring begins to make its way across the Northeast. this is the chance to fly into one of the most popular seasonal destinations in the United States. So, bring your favorite GA aircraft or jet and come discover one of the most beautiful scenes in the northeast! Who knows, you might want to stay!
Gents,
I am pleased to announce that Camden Bruno (BN, or BO if I had let that set of initials slide) has accepted the role of Events Coordinator here at ZBW. Camden's work with our current roster updates and his work on the most recent Cross The Pond planning make him an excellent choice to take over in this position.
I expect BN to hit the ground running and pick up the events that are already in planning phase and make up some good creations of his own. As h...
OPEN POSITION POSTING
ZBW AIR ROUTE TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER
EVENTS COORDINATOR (EC)
The EC:
* Reports to the ARTCC's Deputy Air Traffic Manager and the divisional Events Director (VATUSA5)
* Maintains an online presence on the VATSIM network.
* Functions as VATUSA staff member and attends periodic meetings to report on ARTCC activities and to stay abreast of VATUSA issues and policies.
* Coordinates with divisional and neighboring ARTCC’s for event su...
Gentlemen (and DA),
I would like to announce the promotion of one of our own, Matthew Miller (MR) to DATM. God only knows the things that have happened in that office over the last 22 months but we know it is now in the able hands of our resident de-icing master. Dont worry, our facilities staff will be moving out the liquor cabinet (I'm looking at you PG) and cleaning out whatever that green blob is that has been growing in the corner.
In all seriousness, MR h...
Team Boston,
I am honored and excited to announce that I have been appointed as Boston ARTCC's Air Traffic Manager.
Obviously watching Don Desfosse and Rich Bonneau excel in this position before me have been great examples of what it takes to make this facility great. I feel that we have a strong core of controllers and staff members that are ready and able to step up continue the tradition that is vZBW. As DO has said many times "many hands make light work"...
For the first time in over a decade of ZBW history, I'm very proud to be able to say:
ZBW's new website will be deployed tonight (Sept 26) at approximately 0300Z/2300L.
Downtime of the main site is expected to be minimal. The forum may be down for up to 2 hours to ensure no loss of data while migrations are run.
Congratulations Team ZBW! We've been selected as one of the departure airports for this year's Cross the Pond Eastbound! The event will be held on October 25th, so clear your calendars now! We'll need all hands on deck for this premier VATSIM event!
https://forums.vatsim.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=65957
ZBW TraconsThis is a graphic from VRC which roughly shows the ZBW Tracon boundaries..
ZBW welcomes a new Facilities Engineer
*drum roll please*
...
Hear Ye, Hear Ye! The Boston ARTCC is nearby announcing the promotion of Erik Partridge (PG) as our newestfrustrated sector file developerFacilities Engineer. Erik has been climbing the ranks as a controller and a mentor pretty steadily and is still looking for more. Please join me in congratulating PG on his promotion, we are expecting great things.
Please note our last FE, the fabled FY, left quite a mess in the office...Memorial Day 2014
Team, let us take a moment to reflect on why this, in the USA, is a holiday weekend. For many, this is a weekend of joy and celebrating the freedoms we have with our families and loved ones. Please do not ever forget about those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to guarantee our freedoms and the happiness we enjoy.
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans -- the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) -- established D...ZBW's newest Webmaster
The Boston ARTCC is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Dugan (DA) as our newest Webmaster / Data Services Manager. Mike is a skilled developer who has been instrumental in the recent relocation of our website and associated data to a new server. We have big plans for our web presence and some back-end tools and DA is eager to begin the task list!
DA is replacing Kevin Moody (KK), who has been our Webmaster for the past three years. I'd like to personall...