In August 2015, Boston Virtual ATC and VATSIM's ZBW ARTCC came together to form Boston Virtual ARTCC. Involving over 100 air traffic controllers and 3,500 member pilots, the merger represented a historic moment in the flight simulation world. This article, written by the newly-formed Boston Virtual ARTCC, discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with the merger, and explores how other communities might consider something similar.

If you are interested in the community, please visit www.bvartcc.com for more information. To contact the author to learn more about the merger or discuss how your organization might achieve something similar, email evanr@bvartcc.com.

Since Boston Virtual ATC helped found FlightSimCon in 2013, the annual aviation and flight simulation conference has been one of the most popular events members participated in. However, at FlightSimCon 2015, there was a decidedly different feeling amongst members. As excited as we were to be seeing -- and in some cases, meeting for the first time -- each other, there was a muted sense of trepidation. The community was on the verge of making one of the biggest decisions we would ever have to: whether or not to become part of the international online flying network VATSIM.

"The first half of 2015 was a challenging time for FSX multiplayer communities like Boston Virtual ATC," says Evan Reiter, a member of the original Boston Virtual ATC leadership team and now Training Administrator at Boston Virtual ARTCC. "Recent releases of Prepar3D and FSX: Steam Edition were making it more and more difficult to support an aviation community on the boxed version of FSX alone. It became obvious to the community that something dramatic would have to happen."

Since it was founded in 2006, Boston Virtual ATC operated an FSX-only multiplayer network of pilots and air traffic controllers focused in the northeast corner of the United States. Using a patchwork set of volunteer-developed programs, the community was able to offer an intensely realistic ATC experience for members for many years. However, the community had always been limited to supporting connections only from FSX, leaving out the increasing number of enthusiasts on P3D or FSX: Steam Edition.

To help BVA support cross-platform connectivity and improve the technology available to controllers, administrators asked the community to discuss two expansion options in June of 2015.

"While the discussion was accelerated as a result of a few unplanned catalyzing factors, we as a team had been researching options for almost a year. The community began the discussion of options more than 7 months after I first approached VATSIM with this idea," says Reiter.

"Initially, the concept of a merger with VATSIM seemed unthinkable to us," according to Jamsheed Lovelace, an air traffic controller with Boston Virtual ATC, and a real-world pilot for Cape Air. "I had previously tried areas of VATSIM with mixed experiences as both a pilot and controller. The worldwide coverage was cool, but a lot of us saw VATSIM as this over-sized organization that was inefficient, unfriendly, and full of procedural flaws in its attempts to simulate real-world aviation."

But as the community grew more familiar with VATSIM, that perspective started to change. "As great as it might have been to rival VATSIM or other groups, monetarily it didn't make any sense," continues Jamsheed. "Initially, a possible merger with VATSIM seemed like 'the best of a bad situation'. But as we got to meet some of the representatives of ZBW [the group we would merge with], it seemed like a much more responsible, comfortable, and realistic option."

Over the next few weeks, the conversation at Boston Virtual ATC continued during a series of member-wide meetings and an extremely active forum conversation. Tom Guerrette, one of the pilot-focused administrators at Boston Virtual ATC, was proud of the way the community came together to make the decision: "As an administration, we knew we couldn't make this decision for the community. The community had to decide it for us."

Meanwhile, the staff and controllers at VATSIM's ZBW ARTCC were generally excited about the potential the merger had to offer. ZBW, consisting of just controllers, was a much smaller, but extremely tight-knit group. While there was fear that the much larger Boston Virtual ATC might threaten the unique atmosphere at ZBW, there was also considerable excitement about the potential for bringing the general aviation, community-oriented group of pilots from Boston Virtual ATC into the world of airliner traffic on VATSIM.

Just like Boston Virtual ATC, the leadership of ZBW discussed the issue at length internally and on the community's forums. Meetings and discussions were held with existing controllers. In the end, both groups made the decision that the merger represented the collective best interest.

On July 13, 2015, a joint announcement was made that VATSIM's Boston ARTCC and Boston Virtual ATC were coming together to form one organization of pilots and air traffic controllers called Boston Virtual ARTCC. For most members of Boston Virtual ATC, the announcement was no surprise: "From the discussions, it was very obvious the right decision was the merger. While a vote was held, it was mostly symbolic. We came together as a community, we had the discussions, we did our homework, and we'd made the choice. The vote formalized that, but I don't think the result surprised anyone," says Jonathan Asher, a pilot and Boston Virtual ATC member.

With the decision-making complete and an initial announcement made, the most challenging part of any merger -- the integration -- began. "We did the initial communication, had the discussions, and got the vision right," says Evan Reiter. "From that point forward, we needed to figure out how to bring together two leadership teams, two sets of policies, two training programs, two web sites, two TeamSpeak servers -- two communities."

The effort began with the creation of Project Vector. "Branding the implementation was a key step for us," says Matthew Miller, Deputy Air Traffic Manager at ZBW and now Boston Virtual ARTCC. "The common ATC term 'Vector' fit perfectly with our goal of merging two great organizations into one. Using this term helped remind everyone that we were working toward something new and exciting for all to enjoy." A web site, logo, and even separate section of the forums were all created with the Project Vector branding. And a team comprised of representation from both original communities -- dubbed the Project Vector Team -- was established to lead the merger.

"A key first step for us was to combine the two TeamSpeak servers," explains Camden Bruno, a member of the Project Vector Team. We knew that for weeks or even months we would be flying and controlling in different servers. Still, having all of the members in one place, effectively being forced to interact, really helped in the early stages of building the new community. It also meant that our team meetings were taking place in a visible place, and made our administration more accessible to community members."

In regular meetings, the combined Project Vector Team collaboratively worked through hundreds of decisions, all the while communicating openly with the community through emails, meetings, and forum updates. "Initially, the focus was on culture," says Camden. "We were trying to be as detailed as possible because little things had huge impacts. At ZBW, we referred to each other using our controller's operating initials (mine are BN). At BVA, they used first names. Today, we tend to call each other by name, but use initials when we're specifically online for ATC, or training."

Evan Reiter explains how language was key. "We were very specific about how any of us communicated with the community, whether it was a one-on-one meeting or a post on the forums. We would work hard not to say things like 'us' or 'them', and would refer to controllers as 'FSX controllers' instead of saying 'legacy Boston Virtual ATC members'."

The team also made use of its varied skill sets. The webmasters from both communities worked together on combining the forums from each organization, and on creating and deploying a merged web site. Training staff members from both communities came together to edit, review, and re-write more than 300 pages of air traffic control procedures.

"Arguably the most challenging part of Project Vector was the formation of new ATC procedures," writes Erik Partridge, an ATC Mentor and member of the ATC sub-committee. "Both organizations had approached ATC from a different angle. While the end result was a set of more complete procedures, getting there represented tremendous work. We spent many, many hours going line by line to ensure everything was the best it could be."

As the procedures began to be finalized, controller training began. While controllers from Boston Virtual ATC were already familiar with ATC concepts, the tools available at VATSIM were substantially better than they had in the past. Controllers would spend between 5-10 hours each familiarizing themselves with the new technology. "The merger itself was tough in the beginning," says Jamsheed, who recently certified on Center, the highest available certification. "It took time to learn how to use the new Air Traffic Control radar and software, and adjusting to the small differences in the newly revised Standard Operating Procedures took constant work after years of being used to previous procedures. However, the support of the administration and training departments from both organizations was incredible and made the merger and re-certification process feel seamless."

Initially, it was an overwhelming experience for controllers: "I remember thinking, wow, I have no idea what I'm doing," says Nate Oines, a Tower controller. "Initially, it was extremely overwhelming. I remember talking about how difficult everything seemed to be. Then, after a while, things started to seem more familiar, and the original training started to kick in again."

Evan Reiter continued: "When I first started training on the new system, I remember saying to people 'this is a horrible feeling, it's going to take forever to feel comfortable again'. A few weeks later, I was training controllers, and hearing almost those exact words from them. It was very uncomfortable for the first few days. But as we collectively progressed up the learning curve, we got to see just how much better this new technology is for our members and pilots."

The Project Vector Team also worked with existing ZBW controllers. While these controllers were already proficient with the technology, there were some changes to procedures and practices. The Project Vector Team held meetings, released draft documents, collected feedback, and created quick-reference guides highlighting key changes.

While controllers were being 'checked out' and certified at VATSIM, a separate team focused on the pilot side of the community. The community of pilots needed to be trained on how to set up their simulators for the new environment. An interactive, online guide was produced with step-by-step instructions, video guides were distributed on YouTube, and live sessions were held in the community's TeamSpeak server to answer questions. BVA also set up a complete 'model matching' solution for members, helping to make the transition to the VATSIM environment as seamless as possible, even for those who are new to online flying.

Throughout Project Vector, both communities continued their daily operations, with regular ATC and pilot presences in two places. "I was incredibly proud of the fact that both Boston Virtual ATC and ZBW were able to continue providing ATC on an almost-daily basis despite Project Vector efforts," says Reiter. "Even more exciting was the fact that many members had started flying 'cross-community', wanting to get ahead of the official announcement and try things out for themselves."

On August 15, 2015, all of Boston Virtual ARTCC's flight and ATC operations began taking place on VATSIM. A week later, on August 23, the community held its first event as one organization. But, Evan says, there was still much to be done. "We got ourselves to the point where we could operate together. But that was maybe 50% of the way there. Some of the biggest questions -- such as who would be on the staff and how we were going to actually run the community -- were still being discussed."

It wasn't until two months later -- and almost exactly a year after the first conversation with VATSIM -- that Project Vector came to an end. As of October 2, 2015, a new administration team now oversees the organization's controllers and pilots, who operate and work as one. This is a novel concept at VATSIM, where most ATC organizations consist of air traffic controllers only.

"Whether in a real or virtual setting, pilots and air traffic controllers have to work together to provide efficient and safe airspace," says Partridge, "The end result of that fusion of knowledge is tremendous, and I think has proven, and will continue to prove to serve all the pilots in our community and in our airspace well."

The unique nature of this integrated community is not lost on Camden Bruno, an ATC Instructor and one of the key players of the Project Vector Team: "The ZBW and BVA merger has resulted in nothing but success. It has provided both controllers and pilots on the VATSIM network with a common place to meet as a community and has enabled the two groups of individuals to come together as one, something that is not commonly seen in the real-world or virtual."

One of the biggest success factors in the merger was the support Project Vector had from leadership at VATSIM and the VATUSA division. The effort began with a discussion with Justin Friedland, VP of Marketing and member of VATSIM's Board of Governors. His support was the catalyst for the project, and proved to be the first of several levels of leadership -- from the top of VATSIM down to the local level -- to champion the project.

Don Desfosse, Division Director at VATUSA, also played a large role in the merger: "By all accounts, combining forces to create the Boston Virtual ARTCC has been a resounding success. VATSIM has welcomed hundreds of new pilots and/or controllers, and the Boston airspace presence on VATSIM has more than doubled since the merger, with a highly-improved variety of aviation operations in the airspace for everyone to see and enjoy."

"Culture is the most significant and crucial piece of any merger of organizations," continued Don. "I was thrilled to see that, nearly-instantly, the two communities were able to come together and become great friends centered on a common interest. This was put to a true stress test recently during VATSIM's largest, flagship event - Cross the Pond. And the flawless execution that resulted was noted, not only by BVA, but by VATSIM as a whole. I could not be more thrilled at this resounding success for the Boston community, for VATUSA, and for VATSIM."

It took much more than just the Project Vector Team to make this merger happen. By sharing feedback and input or volunteering to contribute to the efforts, the involvement of members from across the community made the merger possible. "The pilot and ATC talent in the BVA and Virtual Boston ARTCC groups is unmatched," says Dave Pascoe, Founder/Owner of LiveATC.net and BVA air traffic controller. "Merging these two groups brings that talent together to provide tremendous benefit to the virtual flight/ATC community. I'm proud to have been a member of ZBW since 2002 and look forward to the bright future."

Ross Carlson, developer of vPilot, vSTARS, and several other VATSIM applications, is also a controller with BVA: "From a regular member's perspective, it seemed like it went pretty smoothly, and the net result has been a marked increase in our presence online, as well as an increase in event activity."

Across the aviation industry, there is an attitude that the learning should never stop. That same mentality drives the administration of Boston Virtual ARTCC. While the merger may be over, projects are ongoing. The community hopes to begin development of a new web site, improve model matching for members, and continue to grow the pilot side of the organization through events like FlightSimCon in the coming years.

"Before I got into the aviation industry, I worked at a Big 4 management consulting firm," says Evan Reiter. "This effort on Project Vector was representative of anything I have seen in a real-world, professional merger of organizations. Yes, we've lost a few close friends along the way. Yes, there are things that we'll miss about the FSX multiplayer world. And oh yes, there were lots of things that could have been done differently. Still, collectively, we are so much more today than we were a year ago, and in fact at any other point in our history."

Boston Virtual ARTCC encourages other communities that may be thinking of something similar not to shy away from the challenge. "This could absolutely be done again," Evan says. "It's becoming less and less realistic to think that communities can survive on one platform alone. And given the support and welcoming nature we've seen from VATSIM, there is no reason not to consider this platform, especially if your group is ATC-oriented. We would be more than happy to share the key success factors and other lessons learned from the merger with others who may be considering something similar."

"Today, Boston Virtual ARTCC has become closer to what we wanted Boston Virtual ATC to be," says Jamsheed, who has been a part of the organization since 2006. "While we may not be our own individual element anymore, the merger has kept the same spirit from the former Boston Virtual ATC organization. We are doing now exactly what we did before, but now we can share our qualities and values with thousands more enthusiasts in a more inclusive and bigger way."

"The pilots know that they can count on Boston for consistent activity as well as realistic, quality air traffic control," Camden Bruno concludes. "Our extraordinary documentation, structured training programs, and outstanding administration and staff teams provide all pilots with a one-of-a-kind experience that can only be found here at BVA."

About Boston Virtual ARTCC (BVA)

Boston Virtual ARTCC is an integrated community of pilots and air traffic controllers operating on the VATSIM network. For pilots, BVA provides a unique learning-oriented environment of like-minded aviation enthusiasts in which you can immerse. BVA offers an exceptional library of learning online and live training materials to help pilots exercise their 'license to learn'. For aspiring virtual air traffic controllers, the community offers some of the best and most realistic ATC training available online. Once certified, BVA controllers handle a realistic mix of general aviation and airliner traffic within 165,000 square miles of airspace in the U.S. Northeast.

www.bvartcc.com

About VATSIM

VATSIM is the Virtual Air Traffic Simulation network, connecting people from around the world flying online or acting as virtual Air Traffic Controllers. This completely free network allows aviation enthusiasts the ultimate as-real-as-it-gets experience. Air Traffic Control (ATC) is available in our communities throughout the world, operating as close as possible to the real-life procedures and utilising real-life weather, airport and route data. On VATSIM you can join people on the other side of the planet to fly and control, with nothing more than a home computer.

www.vatsim.net