I must say that in the first week of live testing we went to 5 pilots, so I don’t think it is a bad concept.
Answers are published as the CEO wrote them, spelling included.
About the CEO
Can you tell us a bit about yourself? For example; how old you are, what your background with flying in general is and what brought you to creating your own Virtual Airline.
My name is Rick Winkelman, 35 years old, and working in the aviation for the last 14 years now for the Royal Netherlands Airforce. As a kid I allways wanted to fly but never had the change to fly for a major airline. So I started using Flight Simulator to fill the gap.
As I learned more and more I wanted to start my own VA due to the fact there where not many good dutch V.A’s available.
How it started
When did you start your Virtual Airline?
I started the building of DutchWings in late 2018 and started live testing in September 2019.
Success
Do you consider your Virtual Airline successful?
As we are a very young virtual airline, I think it is hard to tell, We do try our best to get the most out of this and we are trying to offer as much as possible in a realistic way.
I must say that in the first week of live testing we went to 5 pilots, so I don’t think it is a bad concept.
Best moment
What is your most interesting experience with your Virtual Airline, what has happened that makes you think so?
I think the complete way our crew center works, Booking a flight and start the planning progress, which will lead in receiving a full Operational Flightplan, the option to file your flightplan online and download your flightplan for import into your favorite addon.
Hard times
Did you have any bad experiences with your Virtual Airline?
Well, Not direct bad experiences, cause every v.a. has its own strength. but let’s say that there was not a v.a. that fits my personal wishes.
Pilots coming and going
What do you think of your Virtual Airline’s flow of new and leaving VA pilots? Is there something you do to attract more pilots? And why do you think some pilots leave your Virtual Airline?
As stated before, we are not official open, so I can’t say anything about the flow of new or leaving pilots. What I can say is that I think a Virtual Airline may be created by one person, but Keeps existing by the input of the complete crew list, therefore I allways try to implement the wishes of the crew.
Fleet and liveries
What types of planes does your Virtual Airline use and do you have all the custom liveries available for your VA?
We use different types of aircraft with all being equipped with a custom livery. We use the following aircraft:
- Airbus A320
- Airbus A321
- Airbus A333
- Boeing 737
- Boeing 738
- Boeing 773
- Boeing 78X
- DH8D
- E145
And a few loose planes for using in the charter section such as old-timers to helicopters
Online networks
Does your VA fly on a network? If so, what do you think about it? Do you feel it supplements the general flying experience, what do you think of the network in general and is it required for your pilots to fly on this network?
We are trying to support Both of the IVAO and VATSIM network, at this moment all of our pilots are flying on the VATSIM network. We only encourage users to fly online but it is not a given rule to fly online.
Flight tracking
Do you use any flight tracking software? If so, which one, and are you happy about the service it provides? Would you like to improve it for example?
We use two different systems, the most used tracking device is the well-known SmartCARS and the other one is a system for log your flight when flying online, this will check the booked flight number against the VID given inside the database and start logging without the use of a different software.
Developer offers
Do you make use of the offers some developers / distributors have for Virtual Airlines? Do you think these developers / distributors have good offers? And does it fit your Virtual Airline policy?
Well, We cant do everything ourselves, therefore we make use of quality produced items for our website, Every item that is used is completely modified to suit our website the best.
Website
Does your Virtual Airline have a custom made internet web page or do you use, for example, PHPVMS and equivalents? Are you happy about your VA’s web page?
Yes, We use phpvms but completely modified by ourselves, there is almost nothing on the site from which you can tell it is phpvms, so yes, we are happy with our site.
The year ahead
And lastly, what are your expectations for your Virtual Airline in the coming twelve months?
We have set a goal for ourselves to be a registered airline at VATSIM an IVAO and to be grown large enough to even Are possible to reach that goal. But most important is, to have as much fun the upcoming 12 months as we have now.
The original questionnaire
This is the questionnaire as Rick Winkelman sent it to us, in PDF.
