ANCHORAGE
ARTCC STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
Any
questions or amendments regarding this document please contact John
Van, ARTCC Chief
CONTENTS:
Section
I - Purpose
Section
III - Sector Boundaries & Duties
Section
IV - Frequencies
Section
V - Cruise Altitudes
Section
I - Purpose
The purpose of
these Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is to set out the rules
of the Anchorage ARTCC, and to explain the duties of the various
controller positions These will help to help prevent confusion and
to promote efficiency between controllers using Pro Controller.
Section
II - General Rules
All rules and regulations set forth by VATSIM & VATUSA are
automatically required to be adhered to; therefore, they will not be
specifically mentioned in these SOPs.
1. Rating
requirements - There is NO rating required to control within the
Anchorage ARTCC, except that only Senior Student and above may
control in a Center (CTR) position. Anyone with a valid CID,
familiarization with the area, and decent stress threshold is free
to log in and control. However, newcomers to the ARTCC will be
required to spend 4 hours at a 'ground' position (DEL, GND or TWR)
to familiarize themselves with the ARTCC procedures. You do NOT have
to be a controller on the roster of the Anchorage ARTCC. You should,
however, be familiar with the area - especially the primary airport,
Anchorage International (PANC). To be able to use voice you have to
be at least a Senior Student, and have passed the test to obtain a
voice endorsement.
2. Periods
between promotions
- A minimum of 30 days shall be maintained between promotions
or ratings advancements. Except that a minimum if 45 days will be
required between Controller & Senior Controller.
3. Testing
- All students & controllers must have taken the applicable
lessons on the VATUSA training site before being elegible for taking
the test for any position. (This includes the voice endorsement.)
Students and controllers should be prepared to take to over the
shoulder (OTS) practical test at ANY of the major airports in the
Anchorage airspace. At the time of the OTS test students &
controllers will be asked questions about the various procedures and
questions about the Anchorage airspace and the airfields. A student
taking the OTS voice test will be asked questions about the
abbreviations and the names of the VOR's in the airspace (eg. What
is the name of the JOH VOR.)
4. Callsign
- Please check the Who's Online stats page before signing on to
avoid "stepping on someone else's shoes." If a position
you desire to man is already taken you may log on as an observer to
see if any other positions need to be filled. You may also ask if
anyone needs relief from their current position, or ask if a current
controller would like to split their area into halves (ANC_E_CTR and
ANC_W_CTR). This should only be done if both parties agree, and is
only necessary if traffic load permits. Please see Section IV for
more information on suggested callsigns and their respective
frequencies.
4. OLA (Operation
Lag Awareness)
- Lag tends to be a noticeable problem on weekends and during
periods of high traffic count - especially during fly-ins! Please be
aware of the potential for lag, and handle any incurrence with lag
in professional manner. Certain precautions can be taken in case lag
does become a factor : Give pilots an intercept to final at least 15
miles out. Give pilots about a 20 or 30 degree intercept to final -
no more than 30 degrees! Give pilots an EFC time (expect further
clearance). Example : If a pilot is wanting FL350, but you can't yet
clear him all the way to FL350, you may say - "DAL230, c/m
FL290, expect FL350 in 20 minutes." Clear pilots to
land/t&g/option well before the OM! Pilots should be cleared to
land (or whatever) at least 10 miles out to reduce workload on the
pilot. If lag does appear, refrain from sending lots of pings, guard
and ATC messages, Wx requests, etc.. as this will only add to the
net congestion. Wait until the lag has dissipated, then resume as
necessary, and politely correct any errors the lag may have caused.
Section
III - Sector Boundaries and Duties
Clearance
Delivery - XXX_DEL
Clearance delivery is responsible for issuing IFR clearances for all
departing IFR aircraft. DEL should be the first ATC that a departing
pilots speaks with, so advise them of any expected delays,
significant weather, or other pertinent information. The following
should make up a clearance. The limit of the clearance, the intial
navigational fix, the initial altitude, the departure frequency and
the squawk code. When issuing clearances to aircraft landing at
aiports in the surrounding ARTCCs, please try and issue them in
accordance with the Letters of Agreement that we have with those
ARTCCs. DEL should maintain communication with GND.
Ground - XXX_GND Ground
control is responsible for the movement of all traffic on the
'ground' at the airport - except for the active runways. The
controller's duties include, but are not limited to the following:
issuing IFR clearances (if no DEL), taxiing aircraft to an
appropriate departure runway or terminal, communicating with tower,
and issuing weather information. NOTE - GND should taxi departing
aircraft to the hold short line of the departure runway, then
handoff the aircraft to tower. GND can NOT clear aircraft for
takeoff! Before handing to tower, GND should make sure all IFR
aircraft have received an IFR clearance! GND should maintain
communication with TWR and DEL.
Tower - XXX_TWR
Tower is responsible for all movement and activities on all active
runways. The controller's duties include, but are not limited to the
following: all of the responsibilities of GND (if ground is not
manned), clearing aircraft for takeoff, landing, t&g, stop and
go, low approach, or the option, and determining the active runway(s).
NOTE - TWR should clear aircraft to land well before the OM. TWR
should also handoff departing a/c to APP/DEP as soon as the aircraft
is airborne - even if the aircraft is remaining in the pattern! TWR
should maintain communication and coordinate with GND, DEP &
APP.
Departure - XXX
DEP Departure is responsible for separating and sequencing all
departing aircraft through an appropriate departure gate. Departure
'owns' the airspace up to 16,000' MSL. DEP shares the SAME airspace
with APP, and must maintain constant communication with APP!
Departing aircraft should be kept out of the path of arriving
aircraft. DEP should handoff to CTR before the aircraft reaches
16,000' or 40NM DME from the airport. NOTE - DEP cannot climb
aircraft above 16,000'! Aircraft that will be climbing to CTR
airspace should be handed off to CTR BEFORE they level off at16,000!
Then Center can continue their climb - without making the pilot
level off! Pilots will appreciate this effective method of climbing!
DEP should communicate and coordinate with TWR, APP, and CTR.
Approach - XXX
APP Approach is responsible for separating and sequencing all
arriving aircraft safely and efficiently. This is to assure that any
arriving aircraft will not conflict with any departing aircraft. The
approach airspace includes all airspace within 40NM of the airport
up to 16,000' MSL. APP shares the SAME airspace with DEP, and must
maintain constant communication with DEP! APP should vector IFR
airctaft to an appropriate approach to the active runway(s), and
sequence in VFR aircraft as well. On initial handoff from CTR, APP
should tell the pilot the current altimeter setting, and what runway
and approach he should expect. APP will also handle any aircraft
remaining in the traffic pattern to sequence them in with other
arrivals. NOTE - APP should clear IFR a/c for the appropriate
approach and then hand to tower! APP should NOT clear aircraft to
land if tower is manned. This handoff should occur at least 10 miles
from the airport. APP should take on all responsibilities of TWR if
TWR is not manned!! APP should communicate and coordinate with TWR,
DEP, and CTR.
Center - XXX_CTR
Anchorage Center is responsible for all other airspace and air
traffic within the Anchorage ARTCC boundaries. Their duties include,
but are not limited to the following : handling overflights or pass-thrus,
vectoring aircraft for initial approach into PANC, initiating
descents for arriving aircraft, providing APP and DEP services to
other airports in the ARTCC sector, issuing traffic and weather
advisories, provide ATC services and flight following to
participating VFR aircraft, coordinating with adjacent ARTCCs, and
assuming the responsibilites of ANC_APP if it is unmanned. CTR
airspace is all airspace that is not currently taken by APP. NOTE -
CTR should not descend arriving Anchorage aircraft below 17,000',
because 16,000 and below belongs to APP. CTR should handoff to APP
before a/c level off at 17,000 or before they reach 40NM DME from
the airport. (Only exception to this rule is when issuing crossing
restrictions for aircraft flying a STAR.) On initial contact with an
aircraft CTR should issue the current altimeter setting of the
pilot's destination airfield, and, if a pilot has filed for a STAR,
clear the aircraft for that arrival. Then the crossing restriction
should be issued. CTR should communicate and coordinate with APP and
DEP, as well as with the adjacent ARTCCs.
** If sector
dividing needs to occur due to intense volumes of traffic, the
boundaries, dividing lines, and handoff points need to be agreed
upon by both parties before hand and they need to be told to the
adjacent facilities for handoff procedures. **
Section
IV - Frequencies
Callsigns
and Frequencies Here
Section V -
Cruise Altitudes
IFR Below
FL290 and above 3000ft:
Heading
360-179 (East): cruise at odd thousands of feet such as 11,000,
15,000, etc...
Heading
180-359 (West): cruise even thousands of feet such as 12,000,
22,000, etc...
IFR At and above
FL290:
Heading 360-179
(East): cruise at FL290, FL330, FL370, FL410 and every 4,000ft after
that.
Heading 180-359
(West): cruise at FL310, FL350, FL390 and every 4,000ft after that.
VFR. Heading 360-179
(East):
Odd altitudes plus
500ft such as 5,500, 7,500, 9,500 etc.
Heading 180-359
(West): Even altitudes plus 500ft such as 8,500 10,500 12,500 etc.
NOTE: No VFR flights
are allowed in Class A airspace (18,000ft and above), so that the
highest VFR altitude that can be assigned is 17,500ft.
The following
graphic* illustrates the above text!

*Graphic provided by
VATUSA Training.
Amended
6/15/02
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