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St. Louis, March 10, 2002 TWALive Trans World Virtual Airways encourages you to visit a wonderful TWA tribute site, TWAlive. Created by Mr. Nicholas Boyd in May 2001, TWAlive contains a wealth of information, including old TWA press releases, print articles, TWA trivia, a growing media gallery, and much, much more! Thank you Mr. Boyd, for creating a tribute site to an airline who has touched so many lives, and made us all proud for more than 75 years!
St. Louis, February 13, 2002 Pilot of the Year - 2001 Trans World Virtual Airways is proud to announce that Mr. Hank Belz, of the St. Louis Hub, is TWVA's Pilot Of The Year for 2001! Hank's dedication to our airline has earned him top honors among our pilots and management staff. Congratulations, Hank, on a job well done! Read the official hub announcement HERE
Los Angeles, January 19, 2002 LAX Opens for Business Trans World Virtual Airways celebrated the grand opening of its newest hub city, Los Angeles, California with an inaugural fly-in open to all TWVA crewmembers, on Saturday, January 19, 2002. The LAX hub also began accepting new pilots and transfers! New pilots can visit our pilot application page, and current crewmembers who would like to relocate can fill out a transfer request to move to LAX.
St. Louis, January 10, 2002 New Station Managers Important company updates: JFK HUB The New York based pilots have a new Station Manager! Marci Dunn has graciously offered her time to the pilots of JFK, and is in the process of updating the hub site. Please do all you can to help her make this transition as smooth as possible. As the CEO of this operation, I want to extend my most sincere apologies to the pilots of the JFK hub, as I take full responsibility for all staff operations. It has been nearly 60 days since your last roster update, and, due to personal commitments, my time to respond and react has been limited. Hopefully, we are on the road to full recovery in this area. LAX HUB Trans World Virtual Airways is preparing it's new hub city at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for grand opening scheduled for Saturday, January 19, 2002. Jim Dalgleish, formerly of the St. Louis hub will be the LAX Station Manager. We are currently accepting transfer requests for pilots desiring to relocate to Los Angeles. The opening will be celebrated in grand style with a TWVA sponsored fly-in! Please fill out the sign up form so we can get an idea of who will attend.
St. Louis, January 1, 2002 HAPPY NEW YEAR! The staff of Trans World Virtual Airways would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! We have many challenges to overcome in 2002. Because this operation has become so enormous and complex, I have been forced to suspend all new pilot hiring for the foreseeable future. It has become a huge task just keeping up with the daily operations, what with personal commitments and the like.   TWVA is in the process of opening a new hub city at Los Angeles International Airport to better serve the Western United States. Details of our new European hub at Paris, Charles De Gaulle, which has been a work in progress for some time, will be released in the coming weeks. Look for a Spring 2002 introduction into the intra-European market.   FS2002 checkrides could take a toll on our email systems. The new sim's video files are averaging more than 3.0MB in size. When you compare it to around 100KB for a FS98 / FS2000 file, you can see where the problem lies. We may need to re-think the way we do FS2002 checkrides. Thanks for your patience all. I know that with the cold weather of winter, this is the busiest time of the year for us flight sim addicts to be in the virtual skies. I want everyone to know that I am doing all I can to continue making TWVA a fun and rewarding place to fly.
St. Louis, December 21, 2001 Company Updates JFK HUB: Captain Mike Wiesenhart has informed me that he has been quite sick recently, and his illness has prevented him from updating the JFK hub site since the end of November. Mike has been slowly recovering and should have the JFK hub back up to speed shortly. New York pilots; keep records of all of your flight time in case there are any further problems. PROMOTIONS: All pilot promotion requests have been processed and evaluated. Pilots with extensive flight time will be allowed to skip certain steps for promotion, but only for this one time. Due to the site being down for an extended time, this exception has been made. All pilots eligible for this exception have been notified by email. Check the training page for the promotion list. CERTIFICATES: TWVA pilots who have sucessfully passed their promotion examinations will have their certificates printed and posted just as quickly as possible. Keep checking the Main Pilot Roster to check the status of your certificate. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
St. Louis, November 25, 2001 VATSIM NOTAM TWVA corporate office has received an important message from the operators of VATSIM, TWVA's official air traffic services network. "We have a serious problem at VATSIM. Today I had to remove 15 pilots who were connected and flying long haul flights. The problem was, none of them were at the controls..."   Harv Stein - VATSIM   TWVA pilots; when connected to the VATSIM network, be sure that you are at the controls of your flight, especially when on a long-haul trip. VATSIM's bandwidth is donated, free of charge, and is limited in capacity. In order to keep this valuable service free, we all need to use the network responsibly. TWVA pilots should plan their long hauls appropriately, and fly the bulk of the trip offline if necessary.
St. Louis, November 15, 2001 Wake Turbulence Awareness Trans World Virtual Airways has issued a ''Wake Turbulence Awareness'' NOTAM for all TWVA crewmembers. In response to the recent loss of an American Airlines Airbus A300-600, TWVA crews are to be extra vigilant when departing behind all aircraft, especially large and ''HEAVY'' types. WHAT IS WAKE TURBULENCE? Aircraft in flight create swirling masses of air behind them (in their wake) which are called trailing vortices or wake vortices. They can resemble a pair of horizontal tornadoes which appear to originate at each wing tip and extend back behind the aircraft. Initially they may extend as nearly straight lines but eventually become very wavy and three dimensional, as instabilities develop when the vortices interact with turbulence in the atmosphere. The lifetime of a vortex may vary from tens of seconds to a few minutes depending the size of the aircraft that generated it and the state of the atmosphere. Wind speeds near the center of the vortex may approach 100 meters/sec initially for a strong vortex and may be a small fraction of that for an older vortex. VORTEX STRENGTH The strength of the vortex is governed by the weight, speed and shape of the wing of the generating aircraft. However, as the basic factor is weight, the vortex strength increases proportionately. The greatest vortex strength occurs when the generating aircraft is HEAVY - CLEAN - SLOW.
St. Louis, October 22, 2001 New J.F.K. Station Manager Trans World Virtual Airways is pleased to announce the promotion of Captain Mike Wiesenhart to the position of Station Manager, JFK. Due to personal commitments, Erik Santini had recently requested the position be filled as soon as possible. First Officer Santini was appointed New York Staion Manager on February 25, 2001, and has done an outstanding job, not only as station manager, but as a visible representative of TWVA on the VATSIM (formerly SATCO) network. We thank him for his service to our airline.    Let's all welcome Captain Wiesenhart to New York, and have patience as he gets the station back up to speed.
St. Louis, October 13, 2001 Squawk Restriction Trans World Virtual Airways is placing an immediate and indefinite ban on the use of transponder squawk code 7500, Special Emergency - Air Piracy (Hijack). In light of the events of September 11, TWVA feels that it would be in extremely poor taste to simulate a hijack situation at any time while conducting operations on any virtual air traffic network.    Code 7500 will (should) never be assigned by ATC at any time. TWVA flight crews will NOT accept a squawk code of 7500 as it will trigger the special emergency indicator in all radar ATC facilities.
St. Louis, October 8, 2001 Fly-In Invite Trans World Virtual Airways' IVAO registered pilots have been invited to attend weekly fly-ins hosted by Delta Virtual Airline. In a letter to the TWVA offices, Tony Dalman, CEO of Delta Virtual, outlined the operations and procedures that his pilots are encouraged to use for these events. While VATSIM is the official Air Traffic Control Network of TWVA, there may be some TWVA crewmembers who may prefer the IVAO. TWVA always wants pilots to fly online for the most realistic flight sim experience. Read Delta Virtual's Fly-In Summary
St. Louis, September 2, 2001 300th Pilot Application! Trans World Virtual Airways has just processed it's 300th pilot application since beginning operations in January, 2000. Despite slower growth during the summer months, simulation enthusiasts continue to enjoy flying with TWVA and helping us become a more rewarding virtual airline experience. Thanks to all!
St. Louis, July 25, 2001 New Check Airman. Trans World Virtual Airways is proud to announce the appointment of Mr. Mark Dust (TWVA144) to the position of CHECK AIRMAN. Mr. Dust is a real world pilot, and a very active member of TWVA. All promotions requiring check rides will be professionally evaluated by the Check Airman, and all applicable pilot certificates will carry his signature. My thanks to the many applicants who applied for this position.
St. Louis, May 28, 2001 TWVAExpress Accepts Delivery of ATR-42-500 aircraft. Trans World Virtual Airways Express has just accepted delivery of FS2000 only, ATR-42-500 aircraft courtesy of JFK Express pilot Brett Young, and the file's creator, Jan Visser. The ATR-42 has already been incorporated into TWVA's flight schedules and is listed as 'ATR' in the equipment listing (AT7 is ATR-72 equipment).  Read about ATR features!  ATR-42-500 Factory Brochure!
New York, May 16, 2001 New Express Services Begin Trans World Virtual Airways new alliance agreement with AirFlorida VA begins service today as Trans World Virtual Airways Express continues its expansion into south Florida and the Bahamas. All schedules have been posted and a handful are Regional Jet routes as promised. All Express flight crews with the required ratings are invited to fly these newest routes.
New York, May 1, 2001 AirFlorida VA becomes newest Alliance Partner Trans World Virtual Airways has just completed code-share negoitations with AirFlorida Virtual Airlines of Miami, Florida U.S.A. This third code-share alliance strengthens TWVA's route stucture in southern Florida, Caribbean and Bahamas. The alliance agreement will be effective May 16, 2001, and Trans World Virtual Airways Express pilots will be invited to fly these routes as TWVAExpress service using TWVAExpress callsigns and equipment. There is a mix of Turboprop and Regional Jet service that is sure to satisfy nearly all pilots wishing to fly these routes. Look for more details to be announced before service begins on May 16, 2001.
New York, April 18, 2001 TWVA Added To VASM Trans World Virtual Airways ( VASM-TWVA) began trading at the newly opened Virtual Airline Stock Market yesterday in response to the company's need to secure additional funding during our recent expansion efforts. One hundred thousand shares were available at the Initial Public Offering (IPO), and were priced at V$25.00 (virtual dollars) each. By 18 April at 2345 UTC, there had been 11,730 shares sold, contributing to TWVA's current stock value of V$2,729,000. All TWVA employees are encouraged to join the Virtual Airline Stock Market, and build a successful, diverse virtual portfolio.
New York, March 30, 2001 New Site Opens! After much time and effort, I am extremely pleased to introduce a new look at our new address, FLY-TWVA.COM. Trans World Virtual Airways was originally created to emulate the operations of Trans World Airlines, a U.S. based real world air carrier. TWA has been a financially troubled airline for many years. Recently, TWA was forced to declare bankruptcy for the third time. This has proven to be the ''third strike'' for the company, as long time rival American Airlines has agreed to purchase Trans World, and extinguish the TWA nameplate; currently the oldest in United States commercial aviation. This has forced us here at TWVA to make some changes to our operation. Look around and see if you like what we've done. New flight schedules, flight planning materials, training, we're growing bigger every day!
New York, February 25, 2001 New JFK Hub Manager Trans World Virtual Airways is proud to announce the appointment of JFK First Officer, Erik Santini, to the position of Hub Commander - JFK. All New York based flight crews will report their flight time on the new JFK Hub website's Pilot Report Form.  Mr. Santini has been with TWVA since March 26, 2000 and has consistently represented this VA in a positive, professional manner. Additionally, nearly all Erik's flights are conducted on the SATNET system.  Congratulations again to our new Station Manager!
St. Louis, January 10, 2001 New STL Hub Manager Trans World Virtual Airways is proud to announce the appointment of Captain Sean Pritchett, of the TWVA Safety Office, to the head of the company's St. Louis hub. Pilots assigned to the STL hub will PIREP their flights from the newly created hub website. Captain Pritchett will continue to act as senior safety officer in addition to his duties as STL Hub Captain. Congratulations Sean!
St. Louis, December 23, 2000 AFTERMATH The TWVA STL fly-in was a success. Although the turnout was lower than expected, there was great enthusiasm between the four participants on the ramp in an overcast Oklahoma City. The flight had no working ATC in the Fort Worth airspace, so a blanket clearance to enter KC airspace, including squawk codes, was issued by Mr. Joe Case of Kansas City ARTCC (SATCO). Mr. Case, our Center controller for the Fly-In, is also a member of TWVA and a real world Air Traffic Controller! Shortly after the group departed OKC at approximately 1930 hours CST, we lost an aircraft due to computer lock-up. (Just one of those annoyances that always seem to happen at just the wrong time.) After hand-off to Mr. Rich Will (another TWVA member), working STL_V_APP, the group leader, TWA001, had a FS98 meltdown and was disconnected. "I probably screwed up Rich's precision sequencing to runway 12L when I magically reappeared about only 2 miles in front of TWA060, a company 757 operated by Eric Page", said Jim Burns Jr., TWVA President and CEO. "Sorry guys!" Meanwhile, Mark Dust, TWA144, reconnected in SGF to meet up with the flight in STL. The weather in STL was right at minimums, but it is believed that all aircraft arrived safely. Erik Santini (TWA031) then joined TWA023 (Sean Pritchett) and TWA060 (Eric Page) for the outbound flight to Chicago, O'Hare. Hope all went well up to the windy city! Many thanks to all who made this a success! Sean Pritchett - TWA023 Eric Page - TWA060 Erik Santini - TWA031 Mark Dust - TWA144 Steve Kline - KCARTCC Asst. Chief Joe Case - KC_V_CTR Rich Will - STL_V_APP Alan Jump - STL_V_TWR Richard Steckel - STL_V_GND Another Fly-In is in the works!
New York, December 8, 2000 Training Department Open! Trans World Virtual Airways is pround to announce the opening of the Training Office to pilots requesting promotions. Some parts of the training area are still being developed. Please be patient while we are under construction. Until completion, pilots requesting proficiency training can do so via the contact links in the NOTAMS area of this page. Tell us what area you would like to concentrate on and we will do our best to set up a training program for you. Congratulations to Kurt Kalbfleisch and John Daniels. As the first two pilots to be enrolled in the new promotion program, they have both passed their exams with flying colors. Kurt tested for Regional Jet First Officer and John took the Express First Officer exam. Great job guys!
New York, December 1, 2000 B717 Upgrades Flight Computer Certified The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) have certified the Boeing 717-200's first major upgrade to the airplane's flight control computer and flight management system. Both regulatory agencies certified the changes on Oct. 20, 2000, after a rigorous 12-month follow-on program at the Boeing Long Beach Division. Initial certification of the short-range twinjet occurred in September 1999. "The 717 has gained an outstanding reputation for offering one of the most advanced flight decks in the Boeing fleet." said Terry Beezhold, director of the 717 Forward Cabin Integration Team. "The upgrade we have certified will help make the aircraft even better, including boosting its dispatch reliability, which has recently exceeded the program goal." All functions originally envisioned for the airplane's Flight Management and Autoflight systems now have been certified. The updated Flight Management System (FMS) now includes Global Positioning System capability, fuel predictions, and vertical guidance. These features provide optimal fuel burn and automatic control to a vertical path. The vertical path is constructed using airplane performance data stored in the onboard computers. The FMS also calculates take-off Vspeeds -- the airspeed at which airplanes rotate or lift off the ground -- eliminating the need for the flight crew to review charts and manually enter the information. A data link function has been added to enable digital flight planning communications between the airplane and ground air traffic control and airline operational control. Autoflight System updates include a reactive windshear function to help flight crews detect and escape this potentially hazardous condition. A Category lllb autoland capability, allowing an airplane to land when visibility is extremely limited, is also available. AirTran Airways, the launch customer, began 717-passenger service in October 1999. Other current operators include Aerolineas Baleares, Impulse Airlines, Olympic Aviation, and Trans World Airlines. SOURCE: Boeing Company
New York, November 25, 2000 Hiring Freeze In Effect Trans World Virtual Airways announces today that a hiring freeze is in effect until further notice. With the exception of the Safety Office, this airline has been a "one man show". Until we get actively participating Hub Captains, it will not be possible to effectively operate this virtual airline to the best of it's ability. The more pilots we get, the more time is spent just updating pilot records. Approximately 20-30 pilot reports need to be processed every 4 to 7 days (both hubs combined). This is very time consuming. We would like to concentrate more on training and promotions, flight planning and online events, alliance negotiations and news stories. With the need to process all of the pilot reports and applications, these other areas have been neglected. If you love this hobby, and feel you can help this airline with your creativity, donate a small amount of your time and have fun building a website. Apply for a Hub Captain position today! More job announcements will be posted on or after December 1st. Join the team!
St. Louis (AP) November 15, 2000 TWA, America West Enter Pact Trans World Airlines and America West Airlines have entered into a pact that will give passengers access to 145 cities in the United States and abroad. The agreement is known as a code share. It allows one carrier to book seats on the other's flights, thus expanding the domestic and international reach of both carriers. TWA will be able to book passengers on flights to 84 America West destinations. Thirty-three of those destinations are new to the TWA route map, including leisure destinations like Aspen and Telluride, Colo., and Acapulco and Guadalajara, Mexico. (This news article is for informational purposes only, as these cities will not be made available for flights by TWVA pilots.)
New York November 7, 2000 A Buyer For TWA? Trans World Airlines stock rose 52 percent today, a day after Global Airlines Corp. announced a $298 million cash and stock tender offer for TWA.  Global, a privately held company with no airline operations, said on Monday November 6, that it offered to buy up to 100 percent of all outstanding TWA stock.  Global said TWA's board of directors has until Nov. 12 to respond to the purchase offer.  If the deal goes through, Global will assume all assets and debt from TWA and TWA would become a wholly owned subsidiary.  Reuters Financial News
St. Louis, October 19, 2000 TWA Route Changes Trans World Airlines has eliminated service to Lisbon, Portugal and Milan, Italy, from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, while establishing service between Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico as part of its ongoing effort to restructure routes. Other changes made October 5th included adding a daily flight from St. Louis to Frankfurt, Germany and an increase in the number of daily flights from St. Louis to New York's LaGuardia Airport and New Jersey's Newark Airport. The last flights to Lisbon and Milan from JFK will be made in January.
New York, October 10, 2000 Changes and Updates New Pilot Probation Dates Many pilots sign up and never fly even one flight. Effective immediately, each new pilot will be issued a probation date. Probation will be 30 days from date of hire. If no PIREP is filed before the probation date, that pilot will be subject to termination. Probation dates are shown on hub rosters. Second Officer Rank Removed With the retirement of the 727 by TWA, there does not appear to be a need for the "Second Officer" rank currently in use. The Second Officer's position was that of "Flight Engineer" on 3-person flight decks common on many older types, including the L1011 and Boeing 727. All current Second Officers will be promoted to First Officer. STL TWVAExpress Flight Blocks Posted Now available from the Shedules page of the TWVAExpress website, the St. Louis Hub flight blocks have been posted. (JFK Coming Soon) These are only preliminary block schedules and are subject to future change. PIREP only the block number when filing. TWVA Safety Score The Safety Office has reported an overall safety score of 99.57%. Visit our safety office regularly as important safety information will be posted for reference. Excellent work gentlemen!
St. Louis, September 30, 2000 TWA Retires The 727 Trans World Airlines operated it's last and final Boeing 727 service on September 30, 2000. Trans World's Boeing 727 service began on June 1, 1964 with -100 series aircraft and was soon followed with deliveries of -200 series 727s beginning in late 1967. The TWA flight between New Orleans, LA. and St. Louis, MO. marked the end of more than three decades of service for the venerable tri-jet.  Manufactured from February, 1964 to August, 1984, more than 1830 examples were built, the vast majority the -200 series stretched version with 1245 sold.  The 727 has been a very popular, and well loved workhorse. It's three person flight deck, high fuel consumption, and the struggle to meet Stage-III noise requirements is taking it's toll on the second most popular airliner ever built. It is sad to see her go. She will be sorely missed.
St. Louis, September 25, 2000 Safety Office Opens Trans World Virtual Airways becomes a lot more safety conscious today as we announce the opening of the new safety office. Captain Sean Pritchett of the St. Louis Hub is officially in charge of all safety related items involving TWVA pilots and aircraft. Pilots are encouraged to make use of the new Accident / Incident Report Form located in the safety office website.
New York, September 8, 2000 New Alliance! Trans World Virtual Airways is proud to announce it's new alliance partner Virtual Hawaiian Airlines. The Hawaiian Island based carrier operates a small fleet of DC-9-50, DC-10-30 and B717-200 aircraft. The recently acquired Boeing 717-200 series aircraft were aquired to begin replacing Hawaiian's ageing DC-9 fleet. Among its Hawaiian inter-island operations, Virtual Hawaiian Airlines also serves Pago Pago, American Samoa, and, Papeete, Tahiti. Continental U.S. routes include; Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. Visit Virtual Hawaiian Airlines!
New York, September 3, 2000 Nearly 100 Active Pilots! It has been such a pleasure coming back to the TWVA offices! I am happy to report the addition of 14 new pilots to our roster. WOW! Nearly 100 active pilots in our little VA. Our crewmembers come from all age groups, backgrounds, and parts of the globe. Some of the countries now represented in our ranks are; The United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain, Malaysia, Australia, Venezuela, Israel, Puerto Rico, and of course, the United States.  I am also happy to introduce a slightly different look, and, a new feature here at TWVA. I know that the look of this website seems to change often, but changes keep the website fresh and constantly improving.  The new feature added to this page is the "Roster Hours Last Updated" information box located on the top right of this page in the NOTAMS menu. I have put this on the front page to perhaps save pilots some time. Instead of having to navigate all the way to the HUB pages to find out if the site's been updated, you'll need to look no farther than here! I am working on scripting which will allow for automatic updates, but until then...it's all "manual labor".  I would also like to thank all the pilots who take the time to add comments to their PIREPs. I enjoy reading about the various experiences you have when flying for us here at TWVA. Keep them coming, and, keep up the great work! -Jim
St. Louis, August 10, 2000 LAX-DCA Nonstop Service to begin September 10! Trans World Airlines Inc. has obtained rights from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to operate nonstop service between Washington Reagan International Airport (DCA) and Los Angeles International Airport in California (LAX). Effective September 10th, TWA will offer this new non-stop service leaving Los Angeles at 8:30 a.m. and arriving Reagan National at 4:16 p.m. Westbound service will depart DCA at 5:30 p.m. and will arrive LAX at 7:57 p.m. These flights will be operated with Boeing 757 aircraft.
New York, July 27, 2000 TWVAExpress Online! The long awaited arrival of Trans World Virtual Airways Express is here!   I'm sure there will be some bugs to be worked out, so please help me find any problems, missing or incorrect links etc. Existing TWVA pilots will be "Grandfathered" into their current rank or higher. The new ranking system will apply only to new hires. All current TWVA crewmembers will be given the opportunity to bid for the assignment they want. If you have been inactive for more than 60 days, check the roster page for your name. If you have been removed, you will need to re-apply.
July 1, 2000 Happy 75th Anniversary, TWA! This July 13, Trans World Airlines celebrates 75 years of commercial air travel.  Established in 1925, as Western Air Express, the airline operated Ford Tri-Motors between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California.  In 1929, Western Air Express merged with Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT), better known as 'The Lindbergh Line', and formed Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA).  TWA has had some very famous names associated with it over the years. Jack Frye, who motivated Donald Douglas to produce the DC-1 and DC-2, became president of TWA in December, 1934 at age 30. Howard Hughes first invested in TWA in 1939, took controlling interest in the company in 1940, and began work with Lockheed on a new airliner that would eventually become the Constellation. TWA adopted the slogan 'Trans World Airline' in 1945 with the delivery of the first Model 049. In 1946, Howard Hughes personally piloted the first Los Angeles-New York flight, which carried a number of Hollywood celebrities. In February 1946, TWA began service to Paris from New York, with service to other European cities and Cairo, Egypt a month later. In 1950 TWA formally changed its name to 'Trans World Airlines'.  TWA entered the jet age in March, 1959 when it began Boeing 707 service between San Francisco and New York. In 1970, TWA was the first U.S. domestic carrier to operate the new Boeing 747.  TWA has had its share of turbulent times. Poor management, economic recession and increased competition took their toll on TWA in the 80s and early 90s. A leveraged buyout by Carl Ichan and two Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases caused low morale and many layoffs. (I personally was affected in March 1991 and was furloughed for 14 months)  TWA is doing much better today. With a new outlook and even newer airplanes, TWA is poised to become a very sucessful airline. Much like it was during the days of 'The Lindbergh Line'.  Best of luck TWA, and, Happy 75th Anniversary!
June 6, 2000 Training Officer Position Filled Trans World Virtual Airways is proud to announce the appointment of Captain Jake Chills as the head of the new Training Department. Captain Chills, comes to us from EasternAirLink VA and is also a S-3 Air Traffic Controller within the SATCO network. The new Training Department will be working with all pilots once the renovations of the main site are complete and the Training Department's website is operational. I personally, would like to thank Jake for his interest in our Virtual Airline and I look forward to working with him to create a more realistic atmosphere for our crewmembers.
June 6, 2000 Temporary Hiring Freeze in Effect Trans World Virtual Airways has announced on June 1, 2000, that a temporary hiring freeze will be in effect until the merger of Trans World Virtual Airways Express is complete. The target completion date is June 30, 2000. New pilot applications require a substantial amount of time to process and fully integrate into the system. This hiring freeze will, therefore, speed up the renovation of the airline, finally allowing us to offer our pilots even more choices than before. For the same reason, the pilot logbook pages have been taken offline in order to expedite the renovation process. New logbooks will be created and all prior flight times will be retained. Thank you for your patience during these changes. We feel they will be well worth the temporary inconveniences.
May 29, 2000 TWVA To Hold Weekly Online Events CANCELLED Begining Wednesday, May 31, 2000, Trans World Virtual Airways would like to begin offering three weekly scheduled online sessions for members who might like to see more "company" traffic when flying online with SquawkBox. TWVA pilots would sign on to a SATCO server with SquawkBox and fly to or from the host city within a specific time period. ProController users will also be encouraged to sign on as Air Traffic Controllers to provide radar services and assist participating pilots. With this combination of TWVA pilots and ATC, pilots new to SquawkBox could receive added assistance during those first nerveracking online flights. As a SquawkBox pilot, Pro- Controller Air Traffic Controller, and TWVA crewmember, I enjoy seeing other TWVA aircraft when I fly online. Unfortunately, this does not happen very often. Below is the proposed TWVA online schedule: Tentative Schedule Mondays -New York (JFK-LGA-EWR) - 0000Z to 0400Z Wednesdays -Select TWVA city - 0000Z to 0400Z Sundays -St. Louis (KSTL) - 0000Z to 0400Z All Times Zulu (EDT-4) This schedule mirrors SATUSA's weekly sponsored events guaranteeing lots of air traffic in each active region. Although TWVA has many pilots who are SquawkBox certified, response to online events has been very disappointing. I'm hoping that regularly scheduled events encourage TWVA crewmembers to fly online for the most realistic flight sim experience.
May 19, 2000 TWVAExpress In Our Future? In January of 2000, Trans World Virtual Airways began operating as the only Virtual Airline modeled after Trans World Airlines Inc., a real-life U.S. based airline. TWVA quickly started receiving feedback about the creation of a "sister" Virtual Airline to operate as TWVA's commuter service out of our St. Louis and New York hubs. In fact, TWVA was in negotiations with a prospective Virtual Airline to be operated as a TWExpress carrier when that VA was forced to shut down due to legal reasons. Thanks to one of our new pilots, We are again reminded of this missing element from our operation. The availability of commuter aircraft types as well as the flexibility offered to pilots desiring shorter average flight segments make this a justifiable addition to the Trans World Virtual Airways family. The addition of a TWVAExpress would require a complete restructuring of existing crewmember promotion schedules, rankings and assignments. This transformation would come slowly, and in stages, but may be what we need to provide our pilots with the most options this Virtual Airline has had since it's inception. TWVA is asking all of it's employees for their opinions regarding this possible expansion of our Virtual Airline's operations.
May 9, 2000 TWVA Joins Virtual Aviation Stock Exchange 2000   Trans World Virtual Airways is proud to announce its entry onto the newly reopened Virtual Aviation Stock Exchange 2000! The TWVA IPO (Initial Public Offering) was opened with 3000 shares on May 9, 2000, and the VASX has indicated that Trans World Virtual Airways will be listed on the exchange under the ticker symbol TWVA within the week. Shortly after posting on the exchange, a banner showing our current stock price will be displayed on this page. Please support our virtual airline by adding TWVA stock to your virtual portfolio.
May 5, 2000 St. Louis Rams Boeing 727 Delivered to TWVA   Trans World Virtual Airways has obtained a Boeing 727-231 painted in St. Louis Rams NFL football team colors for use with Flight Simulator 98 and 2000. We are now pleased to announce delivery of this aircraft as flight testing has been completed and the aircraft has been accepted by TWVA for distribution to our members. This aircraft, registered as N64347, was built in 1979 and is manufacturer's serial number 21634. The three Pratt and Whitney JT8D-9 engines power the 142,000 lb. aircraft to a maximum cruise speed of .80 mach at a service ceiling of 37,000 feet (FL370). The aircraft file for download was created by Sérgio Ricardo, and, after being un-zipped, is a self-extracting .exe file making it a quick and easy installation.   Aircraft performance data and technical information is included with the file.
April 18, 2000 Boeing Co. 717 Fleet Grounded By Electrical Gremlin The FAA issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) over the weekend affecting the entire fleet of Boeing 717-200s. This model entered service last October, and 11 are operating in the United States. Two planes operated by AirTran recently suffered an intermittent loss of altitude data on the captain's Primary Flight Display (PFD), the first officer's PFD, and the Integrated Standby Instrument System (ISIS) altitude display. Both flights continued to their destination without incident. The good news is that the interim fix takes only a few hours, and all planes have been returned to service. The AD requires that wires be coiled and stowed between the glareshield control panel and the ISIS, and requires a revision to the abnormal procedures section of the Airplane Flight Manual.
April 12, 2000 NEW Air Traffic Control Network for FS2000 St. Louis based Captain, Ryan Hellenthal (TWVA005), has found a new multiplayer ATC network for FS2000 users. Here's what Capt. Hellenthal has to say about NavAidATC: "I have been using navaid ATC- web address is www.hyperhwy.com/navaid. It is a voice ATC program that has been set up by controller enthusiasts and for serious pilots. It is voice atc and they are very experienced. Right now, they have atc set up at JFK,SDF,MCO,MIA,ORD,and a couple of other places.. I was going to see if I could get qualified to do ATC, I would start up a STL operations base. They also do something that is neat, they offer virtual airlines to establish gate postions at these airports, and then they establish a map on the web site showing the pilots where they are supposed to park for their va's. it can be printed out as well. Check it out and tell me what you think. I think it's biggest advantage is they have all the ground, vor, ils maps for all the airports in their system.. They also have ground control to help pilots from gate to taxiways, etc.. " Thanks Ryan! TWVA Crewmembers with FS2000 are invited to try the services of NavAidATC. Please give us a "PIREP" regarding the quality of this new service.
April 8, 2000 Screenshot Page added to TWVA Website. It's here guys! Send me your screenshots, and I'll display them for all to see. Click here to go to the screenshots page.
March 25, 2000 Boeing 717 Enters Service. Last month, TWA received the first of fifteen 717-200 aircraft it has ordered from Boeing to replace 10 ageing B727s and 29 DC-9 models. Service with the type began on March 2, from St. Louis to Dallas / Fort Worth (STL-DFW) and St. Louis to Minneapolis / St. Paul (STL-MSP). Until 717s are available for download, TWVA pilots will fly those routes with the MD-83. The 717 is a newer variant of the MD-83 originally designated as the MD-95. Boeing changed the name to the 717 after purchasing McDonnell Douglas Corp. in 1997.
March 25, 2000 Legal Ruling From TWA Attorney. "Mr. Burns, I have had an opportunity to discuss your issue with our management and we have determined that it is not in our mutual interest to approve the use of any trademarks that are owned or controlled by Trans World Airlines, Inc., or that are confusingly similar to any of our trademarks. While I can understand and appreciate the enthusiasm that your club members have for this form of entertainment, we must insist that your site be administered in a manner such that any possible inference that your site is operated, controlled, endorsed, approved or sanctioned by our airline is avoided. In our opinion, this requires the elimination of any designs or names that are the same as, or confusingly similar to, our trademarks or service marks. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me." Respectfully yours, Susan G. Triptow Managing Attorney
March 18, 2000 Improved TWVA Aircraft Available. With the generous assistance of our own Keith Lovell (TWVA008), I am arranging for an improved selection of aircraft models to be dowloaded from the Hanger/Downloads page. We will link directly to the Project Freeware Group's website to download the files as I could not get permission to upload directly to our site. They have an excellent selection of aircraft including the "Wings Of Pride" MD-83, and a very nice L1011-1 in Old Globe colors. Thanks again to Mr. Lovell for the FS2000 screen-shots, (page coming soon) and this Project Freeware Group information. Project Freeware Website
March 10, 2000 Alliance with EgyptAir VA CANCELLED. EgyptAir VA has cancelled our code-share agreement in order to participate in another Virtual Airline Alliance. I wish we could have been given some notice regarding these changes, but wish them well in their future endeavors.
March 10, 2000 Legal Issues with TWA We are still awaiting word from Trans World Airlines' legal department as to the status of any Trademark Infringements. If in fact we are in violation, all disputed material will be promptly removed. We operate strictly for entertainment purposes and do not desire to have any legal problems.
March 8, 2000 RETRO Aircraft finally here! Go to the Hangar / Downloads page to access the RETRO Aircraft. Models include: Lockheed 1049 Constellation, Convair 880, Boeing 707, Boeing 747-100, Boeing 747-200, and the Lockheed 1011 TriStar. No Schedule for RETRO flights, just fly any and every Sunday for full flight time credit, and PiREP on the RETRO section of the PiREP page.
EVENTS
St. Louis, January 19, 2002 LAX Inaugural Fly-In Help celebrate both TWVA's 2nd anniversary and the grand opening of our newest hub city at Los Angeles California on Saturday, January 19, 2002. See the sign up page for the fly-in details.
St. Louis, November 9, 2001 Flood Lambert Fly-In TWVA's St. Louis Hub is calling for ALL pilots to join in on the next TWVA Fly-in. Scheduled for this Friday, November 9, this all jet event is open to all TWVA pilots regardless of type rating!   Sign up here to get in on the action!   Remember, this all jet, no type rating restrictions event is this Friday, November 9, 2001 from 7-9pm Central Standard Time (0100-0300 UTC). Join in everyone!
St. Louis, September 4, 2001 HOT-LANTA Fly-In The Controllers of the ATLANTA ARTCC are inviting your Virtual Airline to join us in the VATSIM HOT-LANTA FLYIN. This flyin is expected to be huge!! Not only will Atlanta Intl (KATL) be fully staffed, but there will also be controllers in all positions at Birmingham Intl(KBHM) and Charlotte Douglas Intl(KCLT). This event will take place on Saturday, October 6th..6pm-11pm-EST. This event promises to be as real as it gets on VATSIM. Come on out and feel the heat of the HOT-LANTA FLY-IN. Please sign up on the HOT-LANTA FLY-IN Page at http://www.atlartcc.f2s.com/hotlanta.htm. Thanks, Illinoius Christian Events Coordinator ATL ARTCC
St. Louis, July 2, 2001 TWVA Fly-In #2. The second Trans World Virtual Airways fly-in is only days away. Combining operations at both of our hub cities, St. Louis, Missouri and J.F. Kennedy in New York, TWVA pilots are encouraged to fly real life flights into and out of these airports. Professional air traffic controllers working within the SATCO environment, will be generously provided by the Kansas City and New York Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Registration forms, located at the hub sites, will help coordinators determine attendance. Pilots are still invited to attend even without a reservation.
February 25, 2001 Nor'easter Fly-in Trans World Virtual Airways has been invited to attend the Nor'easter Fly-In! The Fly-In, hosted by the Boston, Washington D.C. and New York ATRCCs, will be held on Sunday February 25th, 2001 from 1900 to 0100 zulu (2 to 8pm EST). Remember, Sunday is RETRO day here at TWVA! Pilots wishing to participate in the Nor'easter Fly-In will be able to fly any aircraft in the TWVA inventory to any destination worldwide! New York area Fly-Ins always provide lots of traffic and extrememly professional controllers. Let's get signed up and show our company colors! Click on http://nyartcc.org/neflyin/ for reservations and details.