For this Community Spotlight Virtual Sky sat down with David Alonso Zimbatu from Spain, an aviation enthusiast for over ten years who joined IVAO about at the end of 2024. Outside his IVAO career he is busy with his studies and outside of his work-life he spends his time designing sceneries, liveries and addons for all kind of games including but not limited to MSFS.
So David, how did you become an IVAO member and what attracted you to IVAO?
"I started on IVAO around October 2024. I discovered it through Monoloko's YouTube videos. After learning about it, I explored the platform, which opened up a whole new world for me in flight simulation. What attracted me most to IVAO was its intuitive and well-structured interface, as well as its well-organised ranking system, which always motivates you to improve.
What roles or contributions have you had in IVAO?
"At IVAO I started as an ATC (Air Traffic Controller). After about 3 months I bought a PC with which I started flying on the network.
Outside IVAO I am currently staff at two virtual airlines on the network, Deputy Director of QUANTUM JET VA and flight validator at HORIZON VA. I am also or have been at several virtual airlines such as Iberia, Flyant or Iberoair"
What are you best memories on IVAO so far?
"My best moments on IVAO—I like this question, so I'll divide it into my best moments as an ATC officer and my best moments as a pilot.
As an ATC officer, the best moments are undoubtedly the events. Almost all ATC sectors are covered, and the coordination is usually very professional and meticulously planned, creating an incredible simulation experience.
Now, the best moments as a pilot, without a doubt, are the VFR flights. In my case, they're usually LEPA-LEAL flights. Stepping outside my comfort zone, which for me involves commercial airliners, is quite rewarding, especially when there's ATC service. It's satisfying to go from flying an A380 at Mach 0.85 to flying a Cessna 172 at barely 100 knots. These moments are really enjoyable online, as they're different and entertaining."
"As an ATC officer, the best moments are undoubtedly the events. Almost all ATC sectors are covered, and the coordination is usually very professional and meticulously planned, creating an incredible simulation experience."
What is your most memorable moment on IVAO?
"My most memorable moment on IVAO was undoubtedly on a flight to London for the IniBuilds A350 inauguration event. On final approach, due to the large amount of traffic, I was ordered to continue visually to a parallel runway in the middle of the ILS path. It was something I had never done before, which was quite amusing. Luckily, it worked out well ;)"
Speaking of challenges, what are the most challenging moments in your IVAO journey?
"The most challenging moments, without a doubt, is always the same: when you're controlling an airport and you have traffic saturation, you give a critical order to an aircraft and it makes a mistake, forcing you to think in a matter of seconds and make a decision that avoids a conflict. That's the most challenging thing as a controller."
What do you think about IVAO as a community and network?
"Regarding the IVAO community, there's nothing negative to say; it's an exceptional community that creates a very positive simulation environment, all thanks to the members for following the rules and the staff for ensuring compliance."
How do you support IVAO and is there anything you do to help make it better?
"How do I consider my contribution to IVAO? Well, this is something I do personally. It's not mandatory, but I believe it's my way of contributing to the network. What I do is monitor the network. When I see traffic that has just joined and is a bit lost, I often send a message inviting them to help me get started when I finish my monitoring session. I've done this with several users; in fact, I even created a server specifically for this purpose, which had over 30 users. On that server, we helped newcomers learn the ropes and even created mini-events to help them adapt to IVAO."
Speaking of newcomers, what advice would you give to new IVAO members?
"The best advice I think I can give to new users is this: before connecting to the network, study all the procedures and documentation available on the IVAO website to have a minimum level of knowledge and thus facilitate the work of the controllers and improve the experience for all users. Also, another personal piece of advice: never stop learning from IVAO; always try to complete more and more. As I say, it's never enough!"
"The best advice I think I can give to new users is this: before connecting to the network, study all the procedures and documentation available on the IVAO website to have a minimum level of knowledgeand thus facilitate the work of the controllers and improve the experience for all users"
What keeps you motivated on IVAO and what are you future goals in your IVAO career?
"My motivation and future goals on IVAO is to obtain the highest rank and knowledge possible, help as many people as possible, and one day become IVAO (HQ) staff to help as many people as possible enjoy this world that unites us so much: flight simulation."
What is your favourite aircraft and/or ATC position and why?
"Without a doubt, my favorite aircraft is the Airbus A320 due to its good range and well-automated systems.
For ATC positions it's Madrid Barajas Tower and Ground because I love complex airports and I have a special connection with Madrid Barajas because it is in the city I grew up in."
To conclude this interview what would you like to say to the rest of the IVAO community?
"The best advice I can give to this wonderful community is this: pursue your dreams, no matter the cost. As they say here in Spain, every effort has its reward."
From Virtual Sky we would like to thank David for taking the time to sit down and chat with us about his IVAO career, experiences and goals for the future.
Plan your flight to Madrid Barajas (LEMD) to have a chance to enjoy the wonderful ATC services from David.