As the poll for FG Festival Spring Festival 2016 comes close

[KL-666]

Although the festival has been in South America, the Andes is very interesting and completely different from the lowlands of Brazil and Argentina. There are many high altitude challenging larger airports. Unfortunately there is only one with buildings. The Whole area from Colombia to Bolivia is interesting. But i think you'll find the most larger airports (with least distance between them) in the northern half. Think of Medellin, Bogota, Pasto, Quito and some more in between.

Kind regards, Vincent

[IAHM-COL]

Thanks KL666
That suggestion touches home.
I add it to the list

IH-COL

[legoboyvdlp]

Although the festival has been in South America, the Andes is very interesting and completely different from the lowlands of Brazil and Argentina. There are many high altitude challenging larger airports. Unfortunately there is only one with buildings. The Whole area from Colombia to Bolivia is interesting. But i think you'll find the most larger airports (with least distance between them) in the northern half. Think of Medellin, Bogota, Pasto, Quito and some more in between.

Kind regards, Vincent

Not only Colombia... Venezuela too.
Think Merida, then you have Maiquetia, as well as other airports.

[legoboyvdlp]

Say UK2015...
Not assigning or anything, but just if all available help, possible positions.
No, you don't do it, just imagining to myself what positions could be filled

EGAA- IH-COL
Shannon Ctrl - Kiwi34 - all Ireland not incl north
London control - Omega
EGPH - JWOCKY
EGKK - ACI
Scottish Ctrl - elgaton - scot + north ireland
EIDW - simbambim
EGCC - SkyBoat
EGAD- me

[IAHM-COL]

Lots of controllers
Most of the people you are listing there are typically piloting, instead.
EGAA? Not me

[legoboyvdlp]

Lots of controllers
Most of the people you are listing there are typically piloting, instead.
EGAA? Not me

Sure, just imagining
I myself will only fly.

[jwocky]

As another point for thought here:

As of yet, South America had one festival, Europe already two. Therefore I advocate Africa, Asia and North-America, just to balance it out a bit. Which makes the idea of Fall in Japan (kind fo an operation cherry-blossom, isn't it?) and N-America reasonable to me.

[simbambim]

4) The decision is not about Airports, but areas, thou. Example, if the poll decides to choose for lets say the US SouthWest, where KLAS, KLAX, KPHX and other airports are clearly developed, as Lydiot suggests, any participant can choose where to serve.

If we want to get the most out of ATC, I do think we have to plan the airports more carefully.
It is more advantageous to fly two flights of 200 nm (possibly on different routes) while being controlled 100% of the time (taking into account the radar range is 100 nm) and having two take-offs and landings and thus maximum interaction with the ATC than to fly one flight of 400 nm and be controlled only the first 100 and the last 100 nm, spending half of the flight time or about an hour en-route doing nothing. This is what happened in this Festival. We ended up basically with two controlled airports: one on the easternmost, the other one on the westernmost edge of the area 440 nm apart and the middle was empty. (Samedan was more for GA; Innsbruck was scheduled for the first day, too, but did the ATC ever show up? I didn't see it controlled, though I might have missed it.) And some ATCs applied in the last minute and were prevented by technical problems (OR map server).

[jwocky]

@simbambim: I think, that calls for two main routes, one 100% controlled, the other for the usual chit chat flights and a playground area somewhere to the side for other parts of the festival that this time got lost (like some acrobatics). One of the implicit ideas this time was, that LOWI would replace the stunt flying because landing there is a stunt on its own. But then, I had the most entertaining moment late at night with Ray, Mark, Sandi, SP, and the rest of this nightwol bunch at LOWI, despite coming in with both engines dead as glider in a Bf-110. I did the landing, as intended on the grass next to the runway after 12 nm gliding in, I only used the brakes to hard in the end and flipped her on the nose. So the formula for the festival appears to me as

- 1 controlled main route
- 1 partially controlled route with chit chat gap in between the endpoints
- 1 crazy area, just for the fun of it.

[simbambim]

jwocky, the "chit-chat" flights don't need planning ahead. It's as people agree on the spot (as you did in LOWI). Or they can be planned as well (in a separate topic?) or just announced.
I remember last year there were concerns raised about too much ATC, but they seem to be gone now? Which makes sense because uncontrolled flying is available everywhere.