RADAR CHAOS INSTRUCTIONS
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YOUR JOB
Guide arrivals and departures to their destinations while maintaining the required separation between all aircraft. Avoid terrain and restricted airspace.
CONTROL METHODS
There are three types of control that you can provide to aircraft in this application: direction, altitude and speed. These are implemented by clicking on an aircraft, which displays the control interface. Initially, when you 'mouse over' an airplane you will see a blue line, which indicates the aircraft's destination. Once you click, you will see the control interface.
An aircraft's direction (or 'heading') is controlled by simply dragging the white arrow to the desired direction. Altitude is assigned by 1000 foot increments, by tapping the up/down buttons. Speed is assigned by 10 knot increments, by tapping the fast/slow buttons. Assigned altitude and speed is displayed at the bottom of the control interface.
As a shortcut, you do not need to click 'submit', but simply 'mouse away' from the interface. The interface will close and all control assignments will then be applied to that aircraft.
HEADINGS
In the advanced levels you will see red lines with arrows. These are called standard arrival routes. Standard Arrival Routes (STARs) guide arrivals into a "downwind leg" (i.e. pointing away from the airport). This is great for you, the controller. You don't have to do much to get these pilots prepared for final approach. They fly themselves.
You can then peel them off the STAR when it is convenient to do so, by giving a heading towards the localizer. On departure, you can use headings to avoid other aircraft and guide them to their outbound waypoints.
ALTITUDE
Arrivals will enter your airspace typically between 7000 and 10000 feet, depending on where they are arriving from. Since jets are much faster than 'props' and will often overrun slower traffic ahead, jets are given to you at a higher altiitude. Bring all arrivals down to 3000 feet when safe to do so. This is the ideal altitude from which an arrival will commence their final approach.
In this application, departures will always exit at 10000 feet. This is not always easy to achieve, if a departure becomes 'stuck' beneath an arrival. Occasionally a heading will be required to safely climb an aircraft. Be sure to avoid areas of terrain. For example, an area marked '60' indicates the lowest altitude which aircraft can overfly it.
SPEED
Speed is usually the last type of control you will perform on an aircraft. Altitude and vectors are your primary control elements. Speed is something that you might use after you have put a 737 too close behind a slower DH8 on the localizer. In the real world of air traffic control, pilots must not exceed 250 knots below 10000 feet, and must not exceed 200 knots below 3000 feet when in the vicinity of an airport. In this application, your rule is to ensure that all aircraft are reduced to a speed of 200 knots or less, prior to intercepting the final approach localizer.
Initially, it is my recommendation that you do not select 'realistic speed' from the Options page. Should you choose 'realistic speed', an understanding of the 'indicated-airspeed-true-airspeed' relationship is helpful. You need to understand that in the real world (and in this simulation), with an increase in altitude, groundspeed becomes greater than the speed shown on the cockpit readout to the pilot. So if a you assign a pilot at 10,000 feet a speed of 210 knots, you will observe a groundspeed of about 250 knots. At sea level, there is no error. Simple concept, but it does require getting used to. For example, in this simulation you will notice that an aircraft at 3000 feet who has been assigned an airspeed of 200 knots will show 210 kts on the radar display (and if you select 'realistic tags' from the Options page, you will just see '21' which is short hand for 210 knots.
RESPONSE DELAY
When you tell a Boeing 737 to change heading, altitude or speed, it requires time for things to actually happen. This can be frustrating for the 'newbie' who knows nothing of air traffic control. After you give a pilot an instruction, expect to wait up to 15 seconds before you actually see a response to this. In particular, speed changes require time.
When a pilot is told to descend from 9000 feet down to 3000 feet, the pilot requires 5 seconds to reach forward and make the adjustment to the autopilot control interface. The aircraft then gently reduces engine power and lowers it's nose, which requires another 5 seconds. By the time you observe any change on the radar display, 15 seconds have gone by and you may be wondering if the pilot is even listening!
I recommend selecting 'realistic response delay' on the Options page. Without selecting this, these delays are unrealistically reduced, with the newbie in mind.
SEPARATION REQUIREMENTS
In the real world of air traffic control there are separation requirements that must exist between each and every aircraft. It is not simply enough for aircraft to 'miss each other'. There are two basic types of separation: lateral and vertical. If you have the necessary lateral separation, vertical separation is not needed, and visa verca.
LATERAL SEPARATION: In this application you must maintain a lateral distance of at least 3 miles between all aircraft, unless vertical separation exists.
VERTICAL SEPARATION: You must maintain a vertical distance of at least 1000 feet between all aircraft, unless lateral separation exists.
