Passengers of SL

[laben Core]

Greetings!

Flight sims have long provided decades of enjoyment for virtual pilots. From the venerable Microsoft Flight Simulator to niche software featuring specific types of aircraft; many countless nights have been poured into these hobbies. But what these programs have always lacked was the capacity to shuttle real human passengers; something for which a virtual world like Second Life is uniquely positioned. 

As we all know, Second Life boasts a very active vehicle transport industry; from sailing ships to racing cars. In terms of user experience and sheer challenge however, the aviation sector has no equal. 

As a pilot, you have the thrill of directly affecting the outcome of the trip through your navigational abilities – server conditions permitting, of course. Passengers, on the other hand, have the freedom of surveying the churning landscape before them without having to concern themselves with the details of flight operation. 

For years, freelance pilots and even dedicated airlines have sprung up to meet the needs of passengers wishing to charter flights in Second Life. The pilots who fly are as diverse as their aircraft of choice. Some offer grand tours throughout the grid in luxurious private jets while others employ non-traditional means of transport such as heavy lift helicopters and aerobatic prop planes. Most pilots and airlines are exclusively based in areas accessible to the mainland which include the Blake Sea, Nautilus and China Sea with the Blake Sea being by far the most popular. The many airports and landing strips dotting the world map serve as the primary departure and destination points; although anywhere is accessible for helicopters and fixed wing aircraft with floats. http://slairportguide.com/ provides a listing of the nearly 80 or so airports found throughout SL.

Traditionally, airline kiosks in airport sims were the primary means by which flights could be booked and once in awhile, a lone pilot may take his or her friends out for a flight. Sometimes, a flight will be offered as a notice in one of the aviation groups but these were rare as they are generally unwelcome by group moderators. As a result, you had to contact people on an individual basis or depend on your kiosk’s location having sufficient exposure. Strangely enough, no global forum on which to facilitate passenger/pilot interaction was available and so finding passengers or even just becoming one involved considerable effort. 

To address this need and help connect pilots with passengers, “The Passengers of SL” group was formed. In this group, pilots can announce departure times and destinations in group chat. Notices that provide basic information about services can also be sent (but no flight announcements please). Likewise, passengers are welcome to make request flights. While such information would be regarded as spam in other aviation groups – this one is made specifically for real time updates so everyone can keep abreast of everyone else’s status. Fees to ride as a passenger in the vast majority of cases are virtually non-existent save for any tips for the pilot(s) if a passenger is feeling generous. With a rapidly expanding membership of over 500 users, it is not common for a dozen flights to be announced on a daily basis.

The group exerts no control over how pilots and airlines choose to operate nor are there any specific requirements or ranks. It is simply a platform to enable pilots and their passenger clientele to communicate with each other. 

The group is open enrollment with three main generic roles: passenger, charter pilot and airline pilot. The default is set to passenger (everyone role) - pilots can personally notify CadencePulse resident to be reclassified to either of the two other roles or, if she is unavailable, myself, Laben Core. 

The Passengers of SL group is fairly well known within the aviation community but has little exposure outside of it. As such, everyone, be they aviation enthusiasts or not, will be warmly welcomed. 

Lastly, for land owners who would like to help promote the group, full perm group joiners are available to place and modify as you wish. Simply send me an IM if you’d like a copy. Your support is greatly appreciated!

To more easily locate the group, simply paste the follow text in local chat and click on the resulting link: secondlife:///app/group/14cc8a34-8df1-5c5f-fb4c-bfed7debbfc9/about

Any questions or comments? Feel free to IM me. 

Thanks for reading and happy flying!

Laben Core.

[Hoshi Kenin]

There is only oneslight snag with this: in SL we can all fly.

[Parrish Ashbourne]

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Hoshi Kenin wrote:

There is only oneslight snag with this: in SL we can all fly.

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But you can't type and fly at the same time, which is why taking a train or airplane with friends when some one else is driving can be fun for sight seeing.  Sky diving would be an other good time to have some one else flying the plane. 

 

[Perrie Juran]

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Parrish Ashbourne wrote:

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Hoshi Kenin wrote:

There is only oneslight snag with this: in SL we can all fly.

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But you can't type and fly at the same time, which is why taking a train or airplane with friends when some one else is driving can be fun for sight seeing.  Sky diving would be an other good time to have some one else flying the plane. 

 

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Hoshi's comment does miss the "role play" aspect of flying on a plane.

I do like skydiving also.  What I wish is that we could see the ground from 4,000 meters up.

[Coby Foden]

Indeed. Even though we can fly and teleport, sometimes it's cool to go to a destination by some vehicle. Once I and my friend went to a wedding reception by sailboat crossing some ten regions. When the reception was over we hopped back into our boat and sailed away.

 

[CheriColette]

Yes ...that sounds like fun a fun way to arrive at a wedding.

Also I wonder Laben if any of your pilots are available for flight instruction?

I never got the hang of flying.

[laben Core]

Hi CheriColette,

I can certainly recommend a flight instructor if you wish. Feel free to send me an IM in-world.

Just to clarify, the charter and airline pilots in the group all operate independently. I have no control over how they manage their affairs so in effect, they are not my pilots. I simply provide a facility for pilots and passengers to communicate with each other

[CaptainJack Grauman]

There used to be airplane rides available at Abbotts Airport, and to get a flight you clicked on the plane as it flew in to land.

 

[Aislin Ceawlin]

Don't feel bad...I'm a private pilot in RL and can't fly an SL plane to save my life....lol!

[CheriColette]

That does make me feel better Aislin  

[CaptainJack Grauman]

As I wrote before, people can fly, unaided or with anything from a jetpack to a large airplane or spacecraft; but where to fly it?

Flying leads to the matters of (1) sky junk, (2) security orbs with zero time before they eject the intruder.

(1) There needs to be a purge against sky junk. It should be easy for Linden to write a computer program which looks through the object lists in all sim servers and lists all objects that extend over such-and-such a height.

(2) In the real world, very high transmission masts and suchlike have warning lights on. Correspondingly, in SL there should be an ability to see all sky objects nearer than (say) 10 kilometers as warning symbols on the screen :: this would be distinct from the ordinary visibility limit.

(3) There needs to a be a limit to how high a security orb can operate, partcularly zero-time-limit security orbs. A few times on a long high-level flight over land I was suddenly ejected to the area called Mauve. I do not see how I can see or hear anything sensitive or personal from 500 or 1000 meters overhead.