WELCOME TO THE NEWSROOM - Full update monthly,

Important News as and when it occurs.

This Full Update 01/09/00.

UK Direct only has a couple of vacancies for pilots - be quick!

G-UKRA Leaves Douglas behind and heads out over the Irish Sea.

Wot ? No Pictures ? (well OK just a couple..)

After last months News I received some valid comments about the time it was taking for certain News images to load. So this month I am reducing the number of pics for that reason. Is this a better idea? Did you like the screenshots ? Do you care ? Do I care !!!???Yes I do .

Caribbean Direct Manager stands down.

Paul Gulliver.

To anyone who has been visiting CDA and noticed a lack of Management since it's popular inception in the Spring, General Manager Mark Kidd has received a letter of resignation from Paul 'Gully' Gulliver who has given up this post and moved on to pastures new as he has been unable to find time to devote to CDA. However, he has seemed to find time to become involved with British European (formally JEA) v.a. and is the Director of Online flying for British Airways Virtual .Whilst this comment may seem judgemental I would like to add that any contribution to help run our v.a. benefits us all, however brief.(ed.)

We at UK Direct management wish him well and thank him sincerely for the hard work that he put in and will no doubt meet up with him in the virtual skies online sometime.

More on Caribbean Direct later....

We are NOT amused...

Following a recent email from James UKD186 regarding the registration letters of Dornier 328 "Queen Victoria" G-DFUK the Civil Aviation Authority have confirmed that they will not be allowing that particular combination of letters. They have also officially commented on the suggestion by Dave Finney for G-SPOT. Whilst looking for this communique in Marks office the other day his secretary confidently replied that Mark couldn't place it's whereabouts but would fax it to me the moment he put his finger on it ! The mind boggles.....

Thanks Gary.

Garys remarkable Channel Islands Scenery is now 1 year old and as the next stage of project nears completion he has very kindly given the registration file to remove the brick walls forever to all UK Direct pilots. Some have written to thank Gary for this gesture but I'm sure we are all appreciative of his effort and talent, so a big thank you to you Gary !

Please remember that this file has been given to YOU free but UK2000 is NOT Freeware. So don't give it away to anyone else - It's worth every penny and Gary should be able to make some money even if it only covers his expenses on the next part !

Please note that Gary will very shortly be offering his latest part of UK2000 "South West" for downloading and registering. Having been fortunate to be a beta tester I can only say that this scenery will be a 'Must Have' for any PC pilot.

Finally, isn't the new HQ excellent !

Congratulations !

UK Direct would like to say well done to two of our virtual pilots in gaining their real world PPL qualifications. These magnificent men are Mike John (104) and long standing colleague Jose Miguel who wrote to us in very good English with his news but appologised for his poor English. I can tell you personally Jose that it's far harder understanding emails from certain UK Direct managers who seem to use a system of abbrieviations known only to them and refer to farmyard dwellers with a certain intimacy/fondness.......

Fleet Roster and Flight Changes.

Dave Finney, hindered by Mark and Ade, has almost finished the fleet roster. This should mean that overlapping flights and short turnarounds are to be a thing of the past as will conflicts at gates and holding points. Better connections should be possible and the opening of slots between flights will allow new flights to be inserted.

Ade has been working on a timetable program that when finished will allow pilots to print out all the flights to and from each hub and destination. Each individual aircraft can therefore have it's own daily schedule printed out so you can sign on in the morning and fly the entire days flights.

Pilots are therefore requested to regularly check flight times before embarking on a flight to ensure that the reported flight times are correct and that our airline is running efficiently ( so the passengers will want to fly with us again !)

Operations News.

After a quiet start the Jersey Hub flights are proving popular. The DHC6 'Twin Otter' has been well received and with the arrival of Gary's South West scenery there will be an interesting variety of airports to flitter in and out of ! Who knows ? instead of the Isles of Scilly Skybus passing over my house I might see the UK Direct Skybus ! Any virtual pilot who has visited St Marys will know that you don't get a second chance to get the approach right to land on the money AND stop ON the runway. Just try it with a nice steady SW wind blowing.

Pilots flying long-haul, and in particular to the Southern Hemisphere (does that include the Isle of Wight ? ed.) are advised to provide off blocks/on blocks and/or take-off/landing times in the mail which accompanies the PIREP. This will help the logbook program if it gets confused about time-zones ! Fuel data would also be a bonus as we have all seen how often 64,000kg gets charged to us for short hops !

The flight planning department is being plagued by requests for route suggestions and fleet aircraft recommendations. Nothing wrong with that ! after all it's YOUR v.a. , however there are basic rules that we ask you to follow regarding suggestions - 1 per pilot per month etc..to try and keep a realistic lid on things. Any suggestion has to be investigated for viability and suitability and it takes a member of management their time to process it. No problem with that either - that's why we volunteered to help run our v.a. But what really amazes us is that the people having all of the brainwaves and bright ideas are the least active members of the airline - one recent batch of requests for flights was from a pilot who hasn't logged any hours for months !!!!!!!!!!!!!!One pilot had a good idea for a route, it was processed, FS Nav flight plan made, scenery found and recommended, screenshots for the flightplan page taken, allocated a flight number and advertised as a new flight for all ! Strangely enough the pilot who had this longing to see this flight become a possibility has never even flown this flight to date - nearly a year after his suggestion ! Need I say more ?

Roberto - please contact Mark.

I have had a cryptic message that Roberto is coming to Telford, England in October and would like to meet up with as many UKD members as possible. If you have any more information Roberto then please contact Mark or myself and we'll pass it on to any interested pilots.

Shares News.

Shareholders in UK Direct will probably be very pleased with the steady rise in virtual value of their investment ! Mark has informed me that detailed accounts will be made available to all shareholders who have more than 50 shares and hold on to them for more than 1 month. Final year figures should be ready at the end of January (2001) after all of the December PIREPS have been processed and the books allowed to simmer gently.

CDA in Safe Hands.

Just a small picture...

Following the resignation of Paul Gulliver pilots might like to know that it's business as usual at CDA. In fact manager par excellence Dave Finney has been looking at the timetable and will be giving it the once over to make some more efficient timetabling. By the time you read this he'll have probably finished it and be halfway through his third Shreaded Wheat ! (apologies to our non UK pilots for that reference).All of the CDA pages are still available and Paul has offered his help with any hand over issues. I have been investigating a different air file which seems to give a more realistic STOL capability. Has anyone else tried to land at Codrington ! Well you can actually get down AND stop before you reach the beach using this air file !

Round The World Pilots are back !

Sandy (but of course !) did a lightening fast circumnavigation, leaving on the 6th August and arriving back on the 9th. This must be one of the fastest trips ever by any pilot ! He was in constant touch with UKD Ops throughout. Mark had asked him to bring back a sheep for Dave Finney from New Zealand (why would he want a sheep Mark? ed.) but strangely it wasn't on the aircraft on arrival back at Manston. No sooner had he landed then Dave Clover was settling into the sheep-skin pilots seat cover remarking that it was a welcome addition to the cockpit and that it wasn't there the last time he flew the 747F ! and wasn't that an empty jar of mint sauce in the rubbish bag with all of the pot noodle cartons ?

Scenery News.

The Scenery department Manager has been doing some exhaustive research (allegedly) and seems to be taking his work very seriously indeed. After all, why would anybody travel all the way to Turkey in August and spend two weeks away from his desk ?

and Finally...

The Few.

As Newsroom manager I get to spend time looking for items of general interest. I have spent time recently visiting the RAF's Battle of Britain 60th anniversary web pages after following a link from Avsim. The daily diary of events for each day gives a harrowing insight into just what was going on in the skies above Britain and the tallies for aircraft shot down for both sides. Take time to look around and imagine .....

From AVSIM News:

Re-live The Battle of Britain

Posted: Monday, August 21, 2000 - 21:37
AVWeb reminds us that 60 years ago this summer the Royal Air Force stood alone against the superior numbers of Germany's Luftwaffe in one of history's greatest air battles -- the Battle of Britain. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain (July 10-October 31, 1940), the Royal Air Force has constructed a Web site for military history buffs. The site offers the complete Fighter Command Operational Diaries, published in full for the first time and placed online day-by-day over the actual period of the battle. Additional content includes overviews of all the major aircraft involved, and information on commanders, units and stations. To immerse yourself in aviation flying history, go to The Battle of Britain History Site.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/bobhome.html

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