International Virtual Aviation Organisation

IVAO VZW or International Virtual Aviation Organisation VZW,^[3] is a free-of-charge online flight-simulation network.^[4] Following free registration users can connect to the IVAO Network (IVAN) either as a virtual air traffic controller or as a virtual pilot and engage and interact with each other in a massively multiplayer environment utilising real-world aviation procedures, phraseology and techniques.^[5]

Overview

IVAO, with more than 168,800 registered members as of January 2015 (25,600 of which active in the last three months),^[2] is one of the two largest online flight simulation networks that allow users to act either as a virtual pilot or ATC.^[6] IVAO relies solely on software developed by its own staff of volunteers. Air Traffic Controllers can connect to the IVAO network using IVAO's radar client, IvAc, that emulates the interface of a modern, real-world air traffic control radar scope. Pilots can connect using their flight simulator and the built-in pilot client, IvAp. All pilots and ATC thereby interact on a dedicated, one-world server environment that tries to simulate world-wide air traffic on an "as real as it gets" basis. While the greatest part of IVAO's active membership is based on Europe, VATSIM's membership mainly focuses around North America & UK.

IVAO logs all flight and controlling hours and offers its members to obtain virtual pilot and ATC ranks by undergoing training and passing theoretical and practical exams based around real-world aviation regulations and procedures. A fully integrated VA system offers Virtual Airlines the ability to operate on the IVAO Network even with fictional airline callsigns and liveries. Events and regular gatherings are organized on a daily basis. With approximately 8000 connections per day and an average weekday peak between 600 and 900 simultaneous connections, IVAO reached its current simultaneous connection record during the annual "Crowded Skies" event on December 13, 2014, with 2,530 members flying or controlling at the same time.^[7]

History

The first steps for setting up flight simulation in a massively-multiplayer online environment were taken with the creation of SquawkBox and ProController in the mid-1990s. These two programs were connected to FSD, a simple flight simulator multiplayer server, which allowed to evolve from a one-to-one (one ATC and one plane) environment to a many-to-many environment.

Using these programs, SATCO (now VATSIM) was the first large network to create an online air traffic simulation environment. On December 16, 1998 IVAO was founded when a group of people left SATCO to form a new network after management conflicts developed within the organization.^[8] In late 2005, another management conflict, this time within the IVAO organization, led to another split. The incumbent president of IVAO continued with IVAO.org, while other members of management continued the organization under IVAO.aero.^[9] In 2007 IVAO officially registered as a non-profit organization under Belgian law.^[10]

IVAO also took part in Flight SimCon 2013, held in Hartford, Connecticut.^[11]

Active Divisions

As per January 2014, IVAO has 57 active divisions of the country from all over the world

ID	Country	Status	Registered Members	Active Members
DZ	Algeria	Active	757	182
AR	Argentina	Active	1630	248
AW	Aruba	Active	176	28
AU	Australia	Active	802	91
AT	Austria	Active	1567	273
BY	Belarus	Active	171	30
BE	Belgium	Active	2810	414
BR	Brazil	Active	20423	2993
BG	Bulgaria	Active (Under construction)	323	65
CA	Canada	Active	1822	152
CL	Chile	Active	659	89
CN	China	Active (Under construction)	1854	80
CO	Colombia	Active	4934	1010
CZ	Czech Republic	Active	1992	276
DK	Denmark	Active	240	51
DO	Dominican Republic	Active	377	86
EG	Egypt	Active	618	129
FI	Finland	Active	618	78
FR	France	Active	16895	2863
PF	French Polynesia	Active	372	88
DE	Germany	Active	16243	2411
GR	Greece	Active	1178	221
HK	Hong Kong	Active	178	84
HU	Hungary	Active	1158	190
IN	India	Active	412	79
ID	Indonesia	Active	3615	739
IR	Iran	Active	1036	212
IL	Israel	Active	954	140
IT	Italy	Active	10902	2147
KW	Kuwait	Active	209	55
MT	Malta	Active	248	52
MX	Mexico	Active	3467	431
MA	Morocco	Active	431	90
NL	Netherlands	Active	4446	871
AN	Netherlands Antilles	Active	289	63
NC	New Caledonia	Active	151	36
XN	Nordic Region	Active (Multi-country Division)	1469	249
PL	Poland	Active	634	104
PT	Portugal	Active	1904	439
RO	Romania	Active	446	80
RU	Russia	Active	3411	678
SA	Saudi Arabia	Active	662	150
SN	Senegal	Active	188	41
SK	Slovakia	Active	1013	147
SI	Slovenia	Active	284	59
ZA	South Africa	Active	757	96
ES	Spain	Active	12926	2184
SU	Sudan	Active	156	45
SE	Sweden	Active	271	88
CH	Switzerland	Active	1873	344
SY	Syria	Active	177	85
TH	Thailand	Active	1322	213
TN	Tunisia	Active	471	110
TR	Turkey	Active	3667	602
UA	Ukraine	Active	562	86
AE	United Arab Emirates	Active	225	64
GB	United Kingdom and Ireland	Active (Multi-country Division)	3597	603
US	United States	Active	4265	427
VE	Venezuela	Active	2357	356

References

External links

• Official website