Guidelines of Catfish Air:

The number 1 rule of Catfish Air:  Have fun and enjoy yourself!

In order for the hobby of flight simulation flying to remain fun and enjoyable for everyone, we were forced to develop a few guidelines you should try to follow.

1.0 Membership
1.1 In order to apply for a membership at Catfish Air, you should already have an account on the IVAO or VATSIM network.  A basic knowledge of online flying is helpful but not a necessity.  We can train pilots no matter their level of expertise.
1.2 The general rules of these networks (see 1.1) take effect when you fly for Catfish Air.
1.3 A membership can be made when you are at least 16 years of age or older.
1.4 If a Catfish Air pilot abuses the guidelines of the above mentioned networks (see 1.1), your account at Catfish Air may be suspended without notice.  This is to keep the virtual skies friendly and professional as well as following the rules of those networks.
1.5  Membership could be terminated if the pilot does not fly at least 1 (one) flight in 90 days.  This 90 day period starts on either the date of joining or the date of the last flight.  In either case, the membership suspension is automatic and can only be undone if the pilot contacts the administrator or hub manager to communicate his or her intentions.

2.0 Pilots
2.1 NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED, any training requests can be made via the website and our training manager.
2.2 You should have knowledge of English and understand some of the communication and flight concepts used in aviation.  This includes SIDs, STARs, and Jetways versus Victor Airways.  This also includes how to read an airport chart.
2.3 To stay active as a Catfish Air pilot, you have to fly a flight at least 1 flight in 90 days. This is to ensure the pilot roster is not choked with inactive pilots who join for no reason.
2.4 When you do not follow the guidline in 2.3 you status will automatically become "inactive".  From then on you have 1 week to comply with the guideline 2.3. In the case of the non-compliance with this guideline, your account will be deleted without notice.
2.5 Pilots who first join should fly at least 1 flight within the first 20 days of joining.  The account will be deleted if this requirement is not met.  This is also to ensure the pilot roster is not choked with inactive pilots who join for no reason.
2.6 Pilots who are unable to fly the required 1 flight in 90 days or the initial 1 flight 20 days after joining should contact the staff at some point in order to communicate their intentions.  If the pilot contacts the staff, their account can be frozen and re-activated upon his or her return.                                                              
2.7 Sandbagging (logging onto the VATSIM or IVAO networks while doing nothing) is not allowed.  Pilots who log in to these networks must be actively flying because the system will automatically not log your hours if it detects you standing still for more than a specified amount of time.

2.8 Pilots may use their own personally owned aircraft to fly with Catfish Air.  If you own an aircraft you like to fly and do not see it in the Catfish Hangar, let the staff know so we can add it. Also contact the staff with some of your favorite routes and we will add them too.  Catfish Air's motto when it comes to aircraft is: "If you have it, we have it too!"  So if you don't see your favorite aircraft in our list, do not fret.  We will add it so you can be a Catfish too!
2.9 Pilots may claim a maximum of 150 total transfer hours from other VAs (virtual airlines).
2.10 Pilots may file a maximum of 5 offline flight hours per month.  This is to ensure that Catfish Air is maintaining a presence on either of the two networks described in 1.1 and 3.5.
2.11  In order to qualify for ribbons and awards, pilots must fulfill all requirements of that award.  Awards are now fully automated and the pilot must meet all the criteria in order for the system to bestow the award.
2.12  Catfish Air pilots should feel free to email the administrator or his or her hub manager at any time for any reason.  All questions, concerns, or comments will be addressed in a timely manner.

3.0 Schedules
3.1 At all times you have to log in with your CFA call sign (CFAXXXX) and your callsign for ATC is "Catfish" XXXX (your idendifying numbers). The CFA flight logger tracks your flight time using your CFA prefix, not logging into VATSIM or IVAO with the proper call sign will not allow your flight to be tracked. 
3.2 When you do not want to use the Catfish Air schedules you can use the Book a Flight page to create your own flight.
3.3 The adhoc flights you book may be scheduled to and from anywhere.  These flights can also include VFR flights or pattern practice flights at any airport in the world.  Training flights can also be logged this way and DO count towards pilot total hours. Keep in mind that the system will not track flights of less than 10 miles distance or fewer than 5 minutes long.
3.4 Flights which are carried out through the book flight page must be flown online at one of the networks defined at rule 1.1 and 3.5.
3.5 All flights must be flown online on either the VATSIM or IVAO network.
3.6 The Catfish Air "tour" module allows pilots the opportunity to fly strings of flights for awards and ribbons.  Once a pilot starts one of these tours, he or she must finish it in order to collect the ribbon. 

4.0 Forum
4.0 Once you have registered at Catfish Air you should sign up at the forum. We recommend the use of the forum as some valuable information is exchanged there.
4.1 In the forum, you must use your first and last name.  Registrations will be denied if the user does not use his or her full first and last name.
4.3 The use of forum signatures is allowed (see also rule 4.4).  No vulgar, racist, or obscene material may be used as a forum signature.  If the signature violates this guideline, it will be removed without notice.
4.4 Advertising of products or web pages is not permitted in the forums. Anyone violating this guideline will be banned. Only with express permission from the Catfish Air staff will any exceptions be made.
4.6 Vulgar language, insults, berating, etc. does not belong in our forum. When abusing this guideline you can be suspended or banned for violation.

5.0 Staff
5.1 Hub Managers are responsible for welcoming, integrating, and introducing all new pilots to Catfish Air.  This includes an initial welcome email, explaining how the site works, where to find help for issues, and introducing pilots to the TeamSpeak server and some of the other pilots.  Hub managers should make new pilots feel like they are part of the family.  Hub managers are also responsible for assigning flights.
5.2 Route Managers are responsible for ensuring all routes flown by Catfish Air have the proper SIDs, STARs, and altitudes associated with them.  The routing manager may also create tours which Catfish Air pilots can fly in order to earn awards. All tours must be approved by the administrator before being activated.
5.3 Training managers are responsible for creating training modules, scheduling one on one training time with pilots, and administering testing to interested pilots.  Training managers are free to train whatever pilots request training on unless the requested training session is outside of the knowledge of the trainer.
5.4 Hub managers, Training Managers, and Route Managers will have the ability to add news content.  Staff should ensure all words are spelled correctly and the grammar is correct before posting. This will ensure a professional and intelligent image of Catfish Air and the staff.
5.5 Catfish Air staff will also have the ability to email all pilots in the roster.  These emails should never be sent without the expressed consent of the CFA administrator or the acting CFA administrator.  Any blanket email sent out should be deemed absolutely necessary by at least two staff members and should be brief and professional.  An example of a good blanket email is to announce a CFA event.
5.6 In order to be eligible for Catfish Air staff, staff members should fly at least 10 hours per month unless agreed upon by the staff member and the CFA administrator. 

The staff reserves the right to make exceptions to these rules at any time for any legitimate reason.