WHO IS WHO?
At the airport everyone must know what to do - and what are their responsibilities:
- The Pilot - called by the name/code of the plane [Griplane] is responsible for the plane
- The Flight Controller - called by the code of the airport + TOWER [City TOWER], cares for the traffic at the airport
- The Approach Controller - called with the code of the airport + APPROACH [Metropolis APPROACH], cares for safe landing
Here you can find out more about the roles in aviation
THE PATTERN
When you start communication, you always stick to the same pattern:
|
READY TO FLY? LET'S GO!
GET PERMISSION TO START THE ENGINE
GRIPLANE PILOT |
CITY TOWER |
| City Tower, GriPlane, request start-up | |
| GriPlane, City Tower start-up approved. Report when ready to taxi. | |
|
Start-up approved, call you when ready to taxi, GriPlane. |
GETTING TO THE RUNWAY
GRIPLANE PILOT |
CITY TOWER |
| GriPlane, ready to taxi | |
| GriPlane, City Tower taxi to holding position runway 2-7 [via Alpha - you can tell the pilot which taxiway to take]. Report when ready for departure... | |
| Taxi to holding position runway 2-7 via Alpha, call you ready for departure, GriPlane City Tower, GriPlane, holding position runway 2-7, ready for departure |
|
| GriPlane, City Tower line up runway 2-7 and wait. | |
| Lining up runway 2-7, GriPlane |
STARTING, CLIMBING AND FLYING
GRIPLANE PILOT |
CITY TOWER |
| GriPlane, City Tower wind 2-6-0 degrees, 1-1 knots, runway 2-7, cleared for take-off. Report airborne. | |
|
Cleared for take-off, runway 2-7. Call you airborne, GriPlane. |
|
| City Tower, GriPlane, airborne. | |
| GriPlane, City Tower airborne at 5-10. Climb altitude 3000, report Zulu [remember the cool names for the letters? Zulu is used for Z which is one of the points on the flight route - you can plan the route in any other way] | |
| Climbing altitude 3000 feet, call you over at Zulu GriPlane | |
| City Tower, GriPlane, Zulu, 3000 feet. | |
| GriPlane, City Tower roger. Proceed to Sierra, report Sierra. [you got it right: Sierra is for S] Maintain 3000 feet. | |
| City Tower, GriPlane, Sierra, 3000 feet | |
| GriPlane, City Tower you are leaving my airspace. Control service terminated. Contact Metropolis Airport Information, have a safe flight. | |
| Thanks City Tower, roger. Contact Metropolis Airport Information, GriPlane |
Ok Pilot, you are flying, the skies are blue, the clouds have the silver lining. At some point though you need to get back to Earth. You do that at another airport, I guess, we will call it Metropolis. You are coming there through points: Delta, Charlie and Echo, and you get into the circuit - that's a "route" in the air that the planes follow in order to land safely.
FLYING INTO THE CONTROLLED ZONE OF THE AIRPORT, START OF DESCENDING
GRIPLANE PILOT |
METROPOLIS APPROACH |
| Metropolis Approach, GriPlane, 3 minutes before Delta, 3000 feet. | |
| GriPlane, Metropolis Approach maintain 3000 feet. Proceed via Delta - Charlie -Echo. Report Charlie. | |
| Maintaining 3000 feet. Proceeding via Delta - Charlie -Echo. Call you over Charlie, GriPlane | |
| Metropolis Approach, GriPlane, Charlie, 3000 feet. | |
| GriPlane, Metropolis Approach report Echo. Descend to circuit altitude. | |
| Descending to circuit altitude, call you over Echo, GriPlane | |
| Metropolis Approach, GriPlane, Echo, 1800 feet. |
CIRCUIT
GRIPLANE PILOT |
METROPOLIS APPROACH |
| GriPlane, Metropolis Approach join left-hand circuit for runway 2-7. Report on baseleg. | |
|
Joining left-hand circuit for runway 2-7, call you on baseleg, GriPlane |
|
| Left baseleg runway 2-7, GriPlane | |
| GriPlane, Metropolis Approach number 1. Report on final runway 2-7. | |
| Number 1. Call you on final 2-7, GriPlane | |
| Final, 2-7, GriPlane | |
| GriPlane, contact Metropolis Tower. | |
| Contact Metropolis Tower, GriPlane. |
LANDING
Did you know that the landing is the most challenging part of the flight? You need a high speed to fly (below which you can fall), but you need to slow down to touch the ground safely and than stop in a given area (the runway). A wind can make the landing more difficult, so the Tower will always give pilot information on the wind's direction (in degrees) and speed (in knots). Once the plane has landed - they inform the pilot how to exit the runway and which taxiway to use (taxiways are like the roads for planes at the airport, here you can find more information on Elements of the airport).
GRIPLANE PILOT |
METROPOLIS TOWER |
| Metropolis Tower, GriPlane final to runway 2-7. | |
| GriPlane, Metropolis Tower wind 2-5-0 degrees, 5 knots. Runway 2-7 cleared to land. | |
| Cleared to land, runway 2-7, GriPlane | |
| GriPlane, Metropolis Tower on the ground at 1-0-5. Vacate first to right. Taxiway Alpha. |
|
| Vacating to the right, taxiway Alpha, GriPlane | |
| Runway vacated via Alpha, request taxi for parking, GriPlane | |
| GriPlane, Metropolis Tower taxi to stand number 1 via Alpha, Bravo. | |
| Taxi to stand number 1 via Alpha, Bravo, GriPlane. |