OBJECTIVES:
- What does Delivery do?
- What if Delivery is not online?
CLEARANCE DELIVERY (DEL)
Tasks
Make sure that the IFR flight plan is correct.
Thereafter, the flightplan departure clearance shall be given.
After the correct read-back, the pilot is transferred to the next available unit (either GND, TWR, APP or CTR, whom ever is the first available)
Note: At some airports DEL gives as well the start-up and/or push back clearance. Check the local rules!
General
The job of a clearance delivery controller is to provide departing aircraft with their IFR clearance. It is not something to be taken lightly.......
The smooth flow of all traffic depends on these clearances. If a flight plan clearance is not correct another controller down the line will have to amend it, and potentially distract the pilot from his flying. If the error would have been corrected before take-off, the pilot would have had all the time to amend his plan, and not have anything to worry about when in the air.
Flightplan clearance
In the real world, no IFR (or International VFR) flight is allowed to fly without a flightplan clearance. VFR flights are not required to file a flight plan (unless crossing an International FIR boundary), but may do so, if they wish. They are recommended to do so, when flying over large stretches of water or inhospitable areas. Local rules may differ in some countries!
On VATSIM,
all flights must always file a flightplan. If not, you may note a warning initiated by the system.
If at a (controlled) departure airfield there is no ATC available to issue an IFR clearance, the pilot may depart at his own discretion and proceeds as filed.
On VATSIM, it is also a must for VFR flights to file a flight plan, even if it only contains departure and destination fields and an altitude. That is called a simplified flight plan.
Don't forget to indicate some information about your intentions, like visual reference points for local cross country flights, or just "local circuit training", if you stay in the local circuit..
On VATSIM for a VFR flight normally a clearance will be delivered by the acting GND or TWR and not by DEL. Local rules may differ in some countries!
Verification of the flightplan
As said here above already, the job of a clearance delivery controller is an important one.
The main difficulty is to check the correctness of the flightplan itself.
The flightplan should indicate all items necessary to Air Traffic Control for all stages of the flight.
It should show what the planned intentions of the pilot are.
It shall indicate the callsign, type of aircraft and its speed, airfield of departure and destination, flightplan routing with the airways and finally the requested flight level.
For full details see the chapter on "Filing a Flight Plan".
Another Important check is on the Requested Flight Level (RFL). It has to be correct for the direction of flight in relation to the so-called semi-circular system (N-S or E-W) and RVSM. See chapter about "Flight Level and RVSM".
In an LoA you may find a.o. so-called “city pair” restrictions. e.g. in Europe flying between Frankfurt and Paris is limited to maximum FL245.
Finally be aware of a possible slot time allocation. For details see chapter on "Departure Slot Times - CTOT" (sorry, page not available for now)
Elements of a Flightplan Clearance
In the Chapter about Clearances it is explained what clearances should look like.
The flightplan clearance is made up of 5 parts, which can be identified as "CRAFT". It stands for:
Usually it will be the destination airport, but it may also be an intermediate fix, waypoint, NavAid or FIR boundary, where the aircraft then will be required to hold if not received earlier further clearance.
Usually "as filed", but additionally it may contain a
SID (Standard Instrument Departure), sometimes also called a DP (Departure Procedure), where these are defined for the airfield of departure or other route to start out on.
Could never be the final altitude (Requested Flight Level), but is usually something less than the Requested Flight Level (RFL) to start. Usually the Standard Instrument Departure (SID) contains a specific altitude, as published or defined on the departure chart.
The departure or approach controller's frequency if used. If no departure control is available, the controller will state so.
Note: Not always mentioned in the flightplan clearance, but local rules may differ.
The allocated transponder code or SSR code, other than 1200, 7600, or 7700 series codes.
Note: Although the departure runway is quite often indicated in the flightplan clearance, it is not a necessity. Normally it will be mentioned in the active ATIS. In addition, the pilot will receive this info as well with the taxi clearance from GND or TWR.
ATIS
The DEL controller has to make an ATIS which should carry the same basic information of that shown by the other ATC units for the same airfield. Always check this!!
For information in how to fill in the ATIS, see the Chapter about "ATIS".
At work
To start working as an DEL controller, you need to have some basic information available.
- Connect and log-in:
See the chapter about "Connection Instructions"
- Identifier:
The name of your position to correctly log in
See the chapter about "Identifiers"
- Frequency:
The correct radio frequency of your position to be selected in Euroscope.
- Coordination:
Advise your neighbouring position (GND, TWR or higher) that you are there and ready
See the chapter about "Coordinations"
- Phraseology:
Know what to say, how to say it and when to say it..
Study carefully the chapter about "Phraseology"
If DEL is not on line?
Within VATSIM, there is the following rule:
ATC will preferably take the highest available position in line with his rank and the existing FRA's.
Note: FRA stands for Facility Rating Assignment, which means that there may be limitations for manning a certain ATC position. If you don't meet these requirements, you cannot take that position.
This rule is based on the fact that within VATSIM each ATC position controls at all the lower positions, if they are not occupied.
e.g. if only TWR is active, he will provide, additionally to his own TWR control service, all the services of DEL and GND.
Similarly, the Area Controller (ACC, but in VATSIM CTR) will provide additionally all airfield services in his region, if these are not manned. That includes APP, TWR, GND and DEL for all airports in his area!
Note: When you log-in at an airport, make sure that you have checked which is the lowest available position.
In practise, quite often, it will be hardly possible to do all these positions by one person. Therefore, they may leave the responsability of start-up, push back and taxi to the discretion of the pilots. The phraseology used will sounds like: "Start up and push back at your discretion". "Taxi at your discretion holding point xx runway yy, qnh **** " ....... etc.
It is obvious that the pilots should have a sharp look out themselves now to avoid any conflicting traffic situation and apply all the rules as it should be.
In addition, play it fair and don't start racing to be number one at the holding.
For details in the case there is no ATC at all available at the airfield or area you have planned to fly, look up the Chapter about "UNICOM"