About VATSIM

Virtual Air Traffic Flight Simulation Network (VATSIM) is a world-wide network simulating realistic air traffic environment for flight simulator users. VATSIM members can participate in the network's activities as pilots and as air traffic controllers.

In its pursuit of creating the most realistic ATC environment, VATSIM is divided to regions and divisions. Each division is responsible for its airspace. The division trains controllers, provides aeronautical data, coordinates events and conducts all activities in its virtual airspace.

About VATIL

VATSIM Israel (VATIL) is the Israeli division of VATSIM. VATIL's role and purpose is to supply the Israeli FIR with virtual ATC services and to train new and veteran controllers for the variety of ATC positions in the Israeli FIR.

However, the VATIL community and staff are doing more than just that. Besides the name VATIL controllers have in the VATSIM community for their controlling skills, VATIL is a pionner in the virtual flight world, maintaining active cooperations and liasons with real-life aviation and ATC organizations.

VATIL has an active cooperation with El Al, Israel's major airline, in which VATIL members join in on real pilot training sessions, while the pilots in training use VATSIMs virtual network for practice before attending real simulators.

VATIL and Rashat, the Israeli Airport Authority which is in charge of the national ATC services, conduct a liason where VATIL members are allowed to visit real-life control towers and learn from the pros themselves how the job is done. The peak of this cooperation is the fact that an experienced virtual ATC can go on to join a real ATC training course to become a real air traffic controller.

VATIL also cooperates with Shirgal-Wings, a top Israeli flight school, which allows VATIL members to receive quality training material and lessons from the school, allowing the students to pass real-life theoratical flight tests and taking them one step further towards a real pilot license.

Back in the virtual world, twice a year, VATIL opens a unique real-world control room session in which all ATC services in Israel are handled from a central physical location and all the controllers get together and feel what it is like to actually pass aircraft from one to another.

VATIL is constantly pushing the boundries of virtual flight, making virtual - the new reality.