General¶

This section contains:

General (i.e. non-location specific) procedures and instructions;
Guidance on the set up and use of controller software.

General Procedures¶

In future, general instructions, supplementary to core ATC documentation, will be published in this section. Until then, controllers shall continue to refer to the following additional forums:

Controllers must be familiar with the sections of key CAP documents relevant to the virtual environment:

Common Abbreviations¶

Many abbreviations on the site can be hovered over to show a tooltip that defines them - for example, vMATS.

However, there are some core ones we haven't highlighted everywhere:

Common Abbreviations (click to expand)

Abbreviation	Meaning
AC	Area Control
ADC	Aerodrome Control
AIR	Air Control (Tower)
APC	Approach Control
ATC	Air Traffic Control
FIN	Final Director (Approach)
GMC	Ground Movement Control
GMP	Ground Movement Planner
hPa	Hectopascal - unit of pressure
INT	Intermediate Director (Approach)
kHz	Kilohertz - unit of frequency
Kts	Knots - unit of speed
LAC / LTC	London (Area / Terminal) Control
MHz	Megahertz - unit of frequency
MPC	Manchester Prestwick Control
NM	Nautical Mile
PC	Prestwick (incl. Manchester TMA) Centre
ScAC	Scottish Area Control
TC	Terminal Control

Understanding "VATSIMisms"¶

At various points in this site, 'call-outs' have been added to help you, as a VATSIM controller, understand how and why real-world procedures might have been simplified, made redundant, or even more complex because of the nature of VATSIM.

VATSIMism

Useful information, explanations, or VATSIM-specific procedures will be contained in text boxes with the same format as this.

Interpretation of Words¶

To avoid any misunderstanding within our documentation, certain words are to be interpreted as having specific meanings when they are the operative words in an instruction.

Key Word	Meaning
‘shall’, ‘is to’, ‘are to’ and ‘must’	Compliance with the instruction or requirement by the controller/pilot is mandatory.
‘should’	It is strongly advisable that an instruction is carried out; it is recommended or discretionary. It is applied where the more positive ‘shall’ is unreasonable but nevertheless a controller would have to have good reason for not doing so.
‘may’	The instruction is permissive, optional, or alternative, e.g., ‘a controller may seek assistance…’ but would not if they did not need it.
‘will’	Provision of information or description, e.g., ‘pilots will file…’, is not an instruction to the controller.

Time References¶

All time references within this site are Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), or Zulu time, unless otherwise specified.

Daylight saving time is UTC plus 1 hour. The expression “summer period” indicates that part of the year in which “daylight saving time” is in force. The other part of the year is named the “winter period”. Times applicable during the “summer period” are given in brackets.

For example:

0800-1700 (0700-1600)

means between 0800 and 1700 in the winter period and between 0700 and 1600 in the summer period.