ATC-SIM is a browser-based air traffic control simulator. No plug-ins or additional software are required to play.
Objective
Controllers must route arriving and departing aircraft both safely and accurately.
Safe Separation Standards
Your job is to ensure that aircraft are separated by either of the following criteria:
Laterally — 3 miles
Vertically — 1,000 feet
Commands
All commands are in the format:
FlightID + Command + [Command String].
Takeoff
FlightID C 5
FlightID T
** Departing aircraft must first be assigned an altitude.
Landing
FlightID L [runway]
** Arrivals must be within 3,000 ft of ground level to accept
a landing clearance.
Clearances
FlightID C [command string]
Sample command strings:
3 digits = Set course to heading xxx.
1 or 2 digits = Cleared to altitude n x 1,000 ft.
OBK, DPA, ... = Set course to a VOR station.
Examples:
ANYID C 035 = Set course to 035 degrees
Will cause the airplane to turn to this heading.
Note that leading zeros are required.
ANYID C 3 = Cleared to 3,000 ft.
Will cause the airplane to climb or descend
until the required altitude is reached.
ANYID C 12 = Cleared to 12,000 ft.
ANYID C OBK = Cleared to OBK (Northbrook) VOR station
Will cause the airplane to set course to OBK.
ANYID C OBK C 3 S 200 = Chained multiple commands
ANYID L 27R = Cleared to intercept and land on runway 27R
Will cause the airplane to maintain present
heading until it intercepts the runway center
line, then follow the approach path to land.
Left and Right
Whereas aircraft will normally turn in the most efficient manner to reach their destination, you can also say:
ANYID C OBK L
ANYID C 040 R
etc., and the aircraft will turn right / left (clockwise/counter-clockwise), regardless of the location of the
beacon/fix or the compass direction.
Of course, the L/R suffix can always be omitted.
Expedite
Optionally, altitude clearances may be expedited by adding "X" or "EX" after the command string. This will cause the aircraft in question to climb or descend at twice its usual rate. (This does not apply to clearances given to aircraft that are still on the ground.) For example, ANYID C 14 EX will be understood to mean "climb/descend to 14,000 feet, expedite". It is considered poor form to overuse "expedite".
Limitations on landing clearances:
Landing clearances will only be accepted if the current heading of the airplane is within +/- 60 degrees of the runway centerline (for 27R / 27L, this is 270) and the current altitude is within 3,000 ft of ground level. Clearing an airplane for landing PASSED the runway center line (i.e. you cleared the airplane too late) may cause the pilot to fail to detect the approach glide-slope and continue on the interception heading. Clearing an airplane for landing from a heading which does not intercept the runway center line will cause the pilot to keep flying on this heading without ever detecting the approach glide-slope.
Speed
FlightID S [speed]
** Arrivals will automatically slow for landing.
Line Up and Wait
FlightID W
This command instructs departing planes to hold at the end of the runway and await further commands.
Accordingly, you can issue a "T" command to one aircraft, and once it begins rolling you can have a
second aircraft hold behind it, thus eliminating any delay for the second aircraft.
Note that it's not necessary to issue the "W" command before a "T" command; "W" exists only for your
convenience in busy situations.
** An identical LW command can also be used.
Hold
FlightID H [nav fix]
Airborne aircraft will circle the given navaid or waypoint.
Abort takeoff/landing
FlightID A
** Landing aircraft will only "go around" if they are not already
on the ground.
Progress Strips
Flight information such as Flight ID, heading, altitude, aircraft type, and destination are printed on progress strips.
Light blue indicates a departure. In this example, SWA113 is Southwest Airlines flight 113. It is currently holding at runway 12R and is at the field elevation of 618 feet MSL. This aircraft is a Boeing 737-700 and has requested clearance to fix FONTI.
"Buff" (pale yellow / light tan) indicates an arrival. AZA518 is Alitalia flight 518. It has been cleared to a heading of 261° degrees and an altitude of 2,000 feet. However, the down arrow indicates that it is descending (that is, the aircraft is still above 2,000 feet). The aircraft is a Boeing 767-300, and "Arrival" means that it has requested clearance to land.
** Clicking on progress strips will automatically enter the Flight ID into the command text box.
Flight Data Displays
Each "blip" on the radar screen will have a corresponding Flight Data Display that shows you the aircraft's real time altitude and speed. In this example, American Airlines flight 810 is descending through 3,200 feet, and is cruising at 240 knots.
** Clicking on flight data displays will automatically enter the Flight ID into the command text box.
Sample Departure
SWA113 C 19
Cleared to 19,000 feet.
SWA113 C FONTI (optional)
Cleared to nav fix FONTI immediately after takeoff.
SWA113 T
Cleared for takeoff.
Combined Departure Command
SWA113 C 19 C FONTI T
Sample Arrival
SWA113 C 2
Cleared to 2,000 feet.
SWA113 C 080
Cleared to compass heading 80° degrees.
SWA113 L 12R
Cleared to land on runway 12R.
Handoff
When a departing aircraft is within 1 mile of its requested nav fix, and if it is at least 4,000 feet above the surface, then it will be handed off automatically to the nearest enroute control center.
Messages
Every time you issue a command, a brief confirmation message will appear on the top of the command area.
Map Scale
To see scale mileage markers at the edge of the radar display, type SCALE. Type SCALE again to make the markers disappear.
** Yes, the runways have been deliberately enlarged to facilitate ease of play.
Performance Statistics
If at any time you want to see how well you're doing, type STATS to see a breakdown of your performance.
High Scores
When you are finished with the simulation, type QUIT or EXIT and your statistics will be entered into the high score table.
** This feature is available to registered users only.