It is that time of month again. Time to recognize the vZOA Top 5 Controllers for April 2015!!!

1. Nick Navarro               79:39
2. Nicolas Stevens           41:08
3. Clyde Barney               28:60
4. Matthew Chicoine      27:44
5. Chris Leiplet                23:17

Nick Navarro raking up the hours again this month. Nick is a controlling monster. Nicolas returning to the top 5 along with Chris. A couple of new names with Clyde and Matthew hitting the upper controlling hours this month. Keep up the great work all of you. Keep controlling and having fun. Great job everyone!!! See you on the Scopes!!!

AIRAC 1505 has been rolled out and brought us several new arrivals, SOP changes, and a new sector file. The NORCAL Metroplex program is now complete with the addition of the DYAMD#, EMZOH#, OAKES#, RAZRR# and SUUTR# arrivals. All of these arrivals have been added to the ZOA Sector file which was also released yesterday. The new sector file includes an updated SFO Ground Map, updated airac, SID and STAR maps, and more.

Please read these following forum post for more information on SOP changes and AIRAC 1505.

AIRAC 1505 Post
SOP Changes Post

Held to honor one of our previous controllers who has moved on to a better place.
Alex Bower was a member of ZOA several years ago. He passed away on January 31, 2007 at his home in San Francisco. The son of an American Airlines pilot, he earned his pilot’s license and flew frequently until an injury permanently grounded him from flying solo. But nothing could ground his love for aviation. He was a long time member of VATSIM and ZOA, where he would fly into SFO every night from Tahiti as AAL1028. Alex also loved yachting and cycling, and everyone that knew him would say he was a fantastic person and a great friend.

In memory of Alex, we will be featuring the place he called home – San Francisco, and well as nearby San Carlos. Please join us to honor a special person.

Controllers: Sign up here.

Staffing ZOA TRACONS every other Thursday from 5-8PM Pacific (00:00-03:00z)
This is the second to last TRACON Thursday of the season. Come in to cool down on your Thursday evening and enjoy the complexity of the Norcal TRACON airspace.

Controllers: Full info in the forums located here.

Staffing all ZOA and ZLA airports in a “real-ops” type event from 00:00-04:00z (5-9PM PT)
The return of California Screamin’ is here! Join ZOA and ZLA as they host an event that will knock your socks off, California Screamin’! Since its inception in 2001, CalScream is considered to be one of VATSIM’s oldest and largest events. This year, ZLA and ZOA are proud to present California Screamin’ XV, the latest addition to the series.

Pilots: Please click here to book your flight.
Controllers: Please visit the forums here to secure a position.

We did it, we won the Iron Mic on NCT Combined no less! Congrats to everybody involved!

I would like to recognize the vZOA Top 5 Controllers for March 2015!

1. Nick Navarro                   84:48 Hours
2. Chris Leipelt                    65:02 Hours
3. Ryan Parry                       57:47 Hours
4. Justin Gray                       51:21 Hours
5. Srinath Nandakumar     29:25 Hours

Wow that is some controlling hours right there. The top four people put in about 260 man hours into controlling last month. That is a lot of controlling right there. And look at the TA up in the top 5 this month, a new name to the list. And again some returning names with Nick making a consecutive 4th month showing.  Keep up lighting up those scopes.

Staffing ZOA TRACONS every other Thursday from 5-8 PM Pacific.
The next one of the season is on Thursday. Experience the complexity of ZOA’s TRACON network to cool off on your Thursday evening. Controllers: check this out.

Staffing KSFO, KOAK, and KSJC on March 29th 2015 from 23:45-04:00z (4:45-9PM Pacific)
Have a blast in the San Francisco Bay Area as we strive to fully staff up our 3 major airports KSFO, KSJC, and KOAK. The California sun will be waiting. Controllers, more information here.

Controllers,

ZOA_1503 is now available for download. This update included updated FIXES, VORS, NDBS and airports. No actual structure changes are present. This can be found in the downloads section of our website.

Thanks!