This lesson will provide you with some pieces of information about how to work as an approach controller, considering the fact that you already know how to use the Pro Controller software (if not, you'd better see THIS before).

1 - MATERIAL :

Basically you need :

- charts of the airfield (real or made for simulation purposes only).

- the proper sector file for Pro Controller.

Here is what to do, step by step :

(1) Remember you have to log with the ICAO 4-letter identifier (LFPG_APP, KJFK_APP...). See L5-Identifiers for details.

(2) Set your Pro Controller COM on the frequency indicated into the database for approach control (even if otherwise indicated on your charts - the database is the reference for all IVAO simmers).

(3) If you already have a sector file, disregard this. If not, a sector can be created with the IVAO sector file creator system which can be accessed directly from the database page showing your airfield details.

(4) Mmmm, the problem is that it is quite uncomfortable to work on an airfield which you don't know the details of. It is better to choose one you have charts for. If you can't find what you need on internet, you may ask some outdated charts at the following locations :

- control towers (or their Aeronautical Information Service office).

- airlines desks.

- aeroclubs, pilots offices.

Their charts publications are regularly updated and old charts are ususally...    ...trashed. It could be interesting to be their trash, sometimes ;-))

2 - COORDINATION :

When online, check if the other controllers are connected too, particularly the TWR and CTR controllers because they are those you will mainly work with :

a) Normal situation - Active TWR controller on your airfield and active CTR in the area :

On departure, you will get departing traffics from the TWR (usually before 2000 ft AGL) and transfer them to the CTR or to an adjacent APP for short flights (at coordinated handoff points and/or levels).

Don't forget that before all this, you will be requested the IFR departure clearances from the GND (or from the TWR if no GND is active) as shown in L5-Coordination (see §4.2 and §6.1).

On arrival, you will get arriving traffics from the CTR or from an adjacent APP (at coordinated handoff points and/or levels) and transfer them to the TWR (when aircraft established on ILS or in sight of the airdrome).

Note : sometimes, a single centralized approach is working for several airfields. In such a case, you'd better have charts for all the airfields involved. For those where a TWR controller is active, consider the case as the present normal situation. For those where no TWR controller is active, consider that as the specific case 1 below.

b) Specific case 1 - No active GND/TWR controller on your airfield :

On departure, the pilot will directly contact you for the IFR departure clearance and certainly for taxiing instructions and take-off clearance. This increases the workload but there is no coordination (because no GND/TWR controller is active on that field). However, you can't deal with GND nor TWR traffics accurately with an APP Pro Controller sector. So leave the pilot starting engines and taxiing to the runway in use alone and at his/her own discretion. Just give the IFR departure clearance and take him/her under control when he/she is holding short of runway. Give the take-off clearance and provide APP control service.

Note : it may happen that a pilot contacts you for the departure clearance only. Then, he/she starts engines, taxies and takes off alone on UNICOM frequency (122.80) and contacts you after he/she is airborne, complying with the clearance you delivered before. According to your workload, it is up to you to do it that way or to deal with GND/TWR functions.

On arrival, vector the aircraft until established on the final course at about 10 NM inbound or until in sight of the airdrome and then, leave him/her continuing the flight alone (on UNICOM 122.80). 

Note : however, you may keep the traffic on APP frequency until it reaches the apron (according to your workload).

c) Specific case 2 :- No CTR controllers active :

On departure, switch the traffics to the UNICOM frequency 122.80.

On arrival, traffics are on UNICOM frequency (122.80) and should contact you before entering your APP area (pay attention to those traffics; if you see they fail to contact you, ask them to switch on your frequency by private message; if this still fails, try on GUARD 121.5).

d) Transits :  

You will deal with IFR and VFR flights transiting into your area of responsability, coming from an ATC and to be transferred to the next without any landing on your airfield (at coordinated handoff points and/or levels). If the previous and/or next ATCs are not active, the pilot will use the UNICOM frequency (122.80).

If the APP you are activating is located into an active IVAO division, don't forget to check the relevant website. You may find some details about coordination procedures indicated into local agreement letters. Also it is recommended that you contact the adjacent active controllers to make sure the points and levels you have to use with them for handoff procedures.

It is recommended that you open a chat window dedicated to the GND and TWR controllers, one more with the CTR controller(s) and another one for any other chat messages if needed.

Keep the GND/TWR and CTR chat windows free for your traffic coordinations only. See L5-Coordination for details.

3 - WHAT DOES THE JOB CONSIST OF :

Your job is to manage the traffic from 10 to 50 NM around the airfield (could be more sometimes). You will find the appropriate phraseology to be used into files L6-Phraseo1 and L6-Phraseo2.

Here are now some guidelines :

- Create your ATIS (see L1-ATIS). The main factor to choose the runway(s) in use is the wind. Aircraft take off and land with headwind. However, some other factors (pattern, geographic environment, noise abatment procedures...) may influence the choice of the runway(s) in use. Don't forget to match your ATIS with those of GND and TWR. Particularly, be sure you all indicate the same runway(s) in use.

Note : a pilot can request to use another runway than the one in use if he/she finds it is more convenient for him/her. Unless this causes troubles in the traffic, there is no reason to refuse such a request (of course, this has to be coordinated with you by TWR).

- The IFR departure clearance should at least be given while the aircraft is taxiing (unless you have a DEL position active, see L5-Clearances). An IFR flight can not take-off without a departure clearance; so your job is to give it to the GND (when requested) who will relay it to the pilot before he/she reaches the holding point. An IFR departure clearance at least includes :

=> SID (or route to be followed or first beacon after take-off) + FL (or altitude) + SQUAWKCODE (+ next freq).

- Remember you are the one responsible for delivering the IFR departure clearance (unless a DEP is active). The GND controller does not decide it, he/she relays YOUR clearance to the pilot. Why is it YOUR job and not the GND's job? Just because as an APP controller, you have an overview of the surrounding traffics and you know what is to come from the CTR within the next 10 or 15 minutes. Particularly you are the one who knows what is the best level to be given to a departing traffic in order to avoid any conflict with other APP traffics. The GND controller can't do that.

- Of course, you have to manage your own clearances. If you tell GND the departure clearance for the next aircraft is FL 60 direct to XXX VOR, be careful with assigning the same level to an arriving aircraft on the same VOR. You'd better have it descending to FL 70 first and see what the situation is when the departure is airborne. Then you can reassign new levels.

- To decide which order aircraft are going to take-off, the usual rule is : "first arrived, first served", that is to say : "first at holding point, first taking-off". However there is an exception if you are playing with departure slots (see L5-CTOT for details). You also may have to make some tactical choices (say, it is better to have a B737 to line up and depart before a C182 for instance, particularly if they are planned on the same route).

- See L6-Perf for some details about managing climbing and descending traffics.

- There are two ways of dealing with IFR approach traffics : procedural control or radar control. 

=> Procedural control (according to published procedures) :

- the pilots follow SIDs (or DPs), STARs and IAPs - instrument approach procedures - (particularly, arrivals are flown via IAF); the pilots are not given radar vectors, they follow the published routes (this means they are supposed to know them, in other words, they must have the proper charts). Some speed restrictions may be requested to the pilots.

- the controllers remain responsible for spacing between IFR traffics (usually 5 NM laterally and/or 1000 ft vertically); they assign levels and standard routes accordingly. 

- on departure, you just have to say "proceed standard departure XXXXXX, climb FL YY". The pilot knows the route (described on SID or DP chart) and the level. If not using a SID or DP, you may give instructions for an omnidirectional departurte (heading to be followed when airborne, or direct route to a specific point).

- on arrival, before the IAF, the pilot follows the STAR. When reaching the IAF, the pilot follows the indications corresponding to the instrument approach procedure she/he has been authorized to. Particularly, as soon as you say "cleared for ILS approach rwy XX", this means the pilot is authorized to perform the full ILS procedure. Do not expect her/him to ask for procedure turn or starting descent.

- sometimes, even with a speed regulation, it appears impossible to keep a safe distance between arriving traffics; this means some of them will have to remain into the holding pattern(s) before proceeding for the arrival procedure. See timed approaches below.

- Particular case : it happens sometimes that you loose the radar contact on all aircraft due to lag. Then of course, you can' t provide radar control but you can still deal with your traffic by using the procedural control. This is more complicated and difficicult, especially with a heavy traffic, but you can still control. Of course, you have to widely use the position reports (can be done only if using RW because in case of lag, you loose the text mode too).

=> Radar control (according to radar vectors) :

- the pilots are given radar vectors by the controllers who are again responsible for the same spacing as above. The lateral spacing may be reduced to 3 NM on final, or even 2 NM, according to local specifications. Some speed restrictions may be requested too here, particularly when aircraft are following each other at very short distances.

- this method is the one to be applied with pilots announcing they have no charts. This could also be applied with pilots who are supposed to fly accodring to a procedure and actually don't - in such a case, you may have to give radar vectors to bring the pilot back on the right trajectory or to guide him/her to the final leg.

- on arrival for an ILS final, the pilot follows the controller's headings until she/he reaches the localizer; as soon as the pilot reports "established on localizer" she/he takes the responsability of the heading to follow the ILS instructions shown onboard. The controller is not responsible for vectoring the aircraft anymore.

- when giving radar vectors for an ILS interception, give the interception heading within a maximum of 30° from the ILS heading (for example : if ILS hdg is 150, choose the interception hdg between 120 and 180).

- You may apply both methods (procedural and radar) simultaneously : some aircraft may be authorized to fly according SID / DP / STAR / IAP and some other may be given radar vectors; this is not a problem provided you ensure the proper spacing between each aircraft.

=> Speed regulation :

- If needed, you may "play" with the aircraft speed in order to regulate your traffic. For instance, if you have an Embraer 120 followed by an MD-11 on ILS, you may ask the E120 to keep 180 kt till outer marker and ask the MD-11 to reduce to minimum approach speed. Although, keep in mind that 220 kt is a very useful speed to be used on approach control because most aircraft (except general aviation) can fly at 220 kt without any problems, whatever they are turboprops, business jets or commercial jets. If you have several aircraft "in trail", it is more convenient for regulation to have them flying at the same speed. See L6-Perf for details.

=> Timed approaches :

- When you have several aircraft arriving within a very short period, you may have to ask some of them to remain into the holding pattern(s). And then, you may be requested an EAT (expected approach time), that is to say the time at which the pilot will be authorized to start the procedure from the IAF. See L6-EAT for details.

- A pilot can perform a visual approach or proceed direct to the final leg without overflying the IAF. See L6-Clearances for details.

- You have to deal with potential conflicts, particularly when an alert signal is appearing according to the criteria you entered in PC. It is recommended to choose 900 ft and 3 NM (if you choose 1000 ft, the system will alert you though you have the standard 1000 ft vertical spacing between your aircraft).

- In case of pilots executing a missed approach due to bad weather, you may have to arrange :

. vectors and/or handoff for an alternate airfield

. or holding to wait a weather improvement, according to aircraft endurance. 

Though the pilot can check the weather with the ACARS, it could be helpful to provide him/her with any relevant information about the expected diversion airfield and check the aircraft endurance.  

=> VFR traffics under approach control :

Most of the time, they will be considered as controlled flights, which doesn't mean you give them radar vectors. No, they fly according to visual fixes but have to request for a transit clearance into your area of responsibility. You may authorize a transit from A to B at 4500 ft, or authorize it along the XXX river at 1200 ft etc... Sometimes, VFR routes are published on charts, indicating which altitudes are to be used.

4 - PARTICULARITIES :

If you share the approach activities with a departure controller (usually on big airfields only), then DEP deals with departures and APP deals with arrivals only. Also, in coordination with APP, DEP is the one responsible for delivering the IFR departure clearance to the GND who will relay it to the pilot. See L6-DEP.

When no GND nor TWR position is active, the APP controller usually deals with the GND and TWR tasks. In such a case, this means you activate all GND, TWR and APP controls simultaneously but you keep your APP callsign, frequency and sector file. Details about how to work as a GND or a TWR controller can be found in L5-GND and L5-TWR. 

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