Greenbrier Virtual Aviation

Greenbrier Virtual Aviation (GVA) is a high end charter service providing luxury service to those members of the flying public who demand the best in service and convenience. Since a substantial amount of service costs are underwritten by The Greenbrier Resort, White Sulphur Springs WV, and a somewhat smaller amount of underwriting is provided by The Homestead Resort, Hot Springs VA, most flights will depart and/or terminate at Lewisburg WV (KLWB) or Hot Springs VA (KHSP), where passengers may be quickly and easily transported by limousine directly to the respective resorts. Passengers are then returned to the airport of their choice at the end of their stay at either the Greenbrier or The Homestead. Flights are scheduled at the desire of the chartering party and, provided the destination air field is properly equipped, are flown regardless of time or weather. Remember, Greenbrier Virtual Aviation provides personal aerial limousine service direct to your destination. Greenbrier Virtual Aviation provides service to the 48 contiguous United States and those Canadian Provinces that border the 48 states. Charter service is also provided to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands. Flights originate at an airport convenient to the chartering party. No service is provided to Mexico, Central, or South America.

Members of the GVA community can also participate in the Virtual World Rescue system. Flying for this service is restricted to those members of Greenbrier Virtual Aviation who have completed the basic membership training period. There are no aircraft size or type limitations when flying for this service. Visit the page for details.

GVA's fleet consists of modern single and twin engine piston and turboprop aircraft and small corporate jets like the Cessna Citation and the Lear Jet. No large jets or propeller aircraft are offered. GVA also maintains an extensive fleet of antique and nostalgia type aircraft. A small fleet of DC-3 aircraft is also maintained and GVA offers tours and nostalgia flights for chartering groups. The DC-3's are maintained in antique Piedmont Airlines livery. Member pilots are therefore free to choose almost any aircraft they prefer to fly from their personal collections. Remember, if your personal favorite has a passenger capacity of no more than 6-8 plus crew, it qualifies for use by GVA. The only exceptions allowed are the Piedmont DC-3's. Only flight hours in the above mentioned aircraft types and sizes will be accredited to the individual pilot's flight log.

All member pilots must meet the following monthly flight requirements in order to remain certified and active: Two flights per month must be flown. One of those flights must either originate or terminate at KLWB Lewisburg WV or KHSP Hot Springs VA. The opposite termination point is at the discretion of the pilot in command. Any pilot who, without good cause, fails to report flight hours for two or more consecutive months will be terminated and removed from the GVA roster and will need to apply for new membership.

New hires must observe the following qualification procedures:

1. Pilots are not required to qualify for all classes of aircraft. However, pilots should note that flight hours will only be recorded for those aircraft classes for which pilots are qualified.
2. Flight hours 1-5 must be in single engine aircraft.
3. Pilots must complete 5 hours of training time in piston engine twins before advancing to turboprop aircraft, regardless of how many hours they have logged in lower class aircraft.
4. Pilots must complete 5 hours of training time in turboprop twins before advancing to business class jets, regardless of how many hours of time they have logged in lower class aircraft.
5. Two qualifying flights must be successfully completed during the first 30 days of membership in Greenbrier Virtual Aviation.
6. During the first 10 hours of the qualification period one flight must originate or terminate at KLWB and one flight must originate or terminate at KHSP.

All prospective pilots are urged to visit the GVA FAQS page before submitting a member application.

Well congratulations!! You made it this far and are still with us. Perhaps you now want to join the fun. Signing up for GVA is a little different from most VA's because we are operating out of a blog, rather than a web site. Here's how to do it: Go to http://www.google.com and sign up for an account (you DO NOT need to sign up for your own blog, regardless of what Google says!). It's free and semi-easy and you might even already have one. Then contact me, Dan George, at contact GVA (dgva001@gmail.com) In the subject line of your message place the words "member app" (quotes not necessary). Since GVA is a closed blog (only members can post to the blog) expect to receive a membership confirmation via your e-mail, usually within a day or less. You will also receive several invitations to join the GVA blog pages. As explained on the FAQS page be sure to accept all the invitations. That's it!! After you are signed up you can edit your personal profile at your dashboard, write posts, publish screenshots, and start an active flying career with Greenbrier Virtual Aviation.

Because Greenbrier Virtual Aviation is operated from a blog, rather than a web site, our flight reporting is handled a little differently than other VA's. We use the Google Documents and Spreadsheets program for our reporting. After you sign up and are accepted into GVA, you will receive a link to Docs and Spreadsheets. Save the link to your Bookmarks (Firefox) or Favorites (IE) list. This link will lead to your personal flight report (FR) form. Instructions for filling out the FR are included on the FR sheet. You will only be able to edit your personal FR.

Greenbrier Virtual Aviation is not associated with, and receives no support from, any flight simulation dealer, wholesale or retail. However, GVA recommends the following add-ons for your personal aircraft and flight simulation programming: Active Sky 6.5 (or current release), or other high quality weather generation program. RealityXP WX 500 weather radar, GNS 530, and Sandel ST 3400 TAWS.

Our main requirement is that your flights be realistic. GVA is flying wealthy clients to and from the Greenbrier and The Homestead resorts for various reasons: [Examples] 1. Connecting them with flights to larger International Airports. [KLWB (KHSP)-KIAD (Dulles)] 2. Taking them directly to their next destination. [KLWB (KHSP)-KSGJ (Saint Augustine)] 3. Transporting them to and from one day tourist destinations. [KLWB (KHSP)-KCHO (Charlottesville to see Monticello)] 4. Other. GVA also will fly business clients where ever they would like to go and then on to other destinations . This allows GVA pilots to fly wherever they wish in the 48 contiguous states and adjacent Canadian Provinces. We ask that you choose a logical aircraft for your mission. The day trips (number 3 above) are ideal choices to build time in singles before moving on the twins and turboprops. Planes without restroom facilities may only fly trips of less than two hours duration. Remember, we are trying to please demanding clients and to make them as comfortable as possible. Keep in mind that in GA aircraft the number of seats available is very optimistic. If you have a full fuel load, forget filling the last two seats. When flying larger aircraft on longer trips make sure the fridge and liquor cabinet is well stocked. We recommend that when planning your trip that you use the "Airways" rather than "Direct" or "VOR to VOR" as this will vector you around restricted airspace. Finally, have fun. GVA is a great way to fly the General Aviation aircraft we all love on trips from our own imagination. Half the fun is thinking up a good reason to fly from here to there.

Please use the Comments and Discussion Forum for all GVA postings and commentary.