Heathrow RTS

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

PUBLISHED Wednesday, 02 November 2011

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

AMENDMENT HISTORY
Edition

Amendment

Amended Pages

Date

3.0

July 2010

4.0

Tracking requirement changed & RT examples

added

May 2011

4.1

Handover brief modified.

October 2011

4.2

Logon order defined.

2 / 12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

Section 1 Contents
Section 1

Contents.......................................................................................................................................... 3

Section 2

Handover Brief................................................................................................................................. 4

Section 3

Logon Order .................................................................................................................................... 4

3.1

APC - Director...................................................................................................................................... 4

3.2

AIR - Tower ......................................................................................................................................... 4

3.3

GMC - Ground Movement Control ........................................................................................................ 4

3.4

GMP - Ground Movement Planning ...................................................................................................... 4

Section 4

Ground Movement Planning (GMP) .................................................................................................. 5

4.1

Arrivals - Stand Allocation .................................................................................................................... 5

4.2

Departures - Clearance Delivery ........................................................................................................... 5

Section 5

Ground Movement Control (GMC) .................................................................................................... 6

5.1

Pushback in a Cul-de-Sac...................................................................................................................... 6

5.2

Pushback onto a Taxiway ..................................................................................................................... 6

5.3

Pushback on the Europier (stands 145-155)........................................................................................... 7

5.4

Taxiing - Departures............................................................................................................................. 7

5.5

Taxiing - Arrivals .................................................................................................................................. 8

Section 6

Air Control (AIR) ............................................................................................................................... 9

6.1

Arrivals ............................................................................................................................................... 9

6.2

Departures.......................................................................................................................................... 9

Section 7

General Guidance ............................................................................................................................ 9

Section 8

Radio Telephony - Heathrow Specific .............................................................................................. 10

8.1

IFR Clearances ................................................................................................................................... 10

8.2

Pushback........................................................................................................................................... 10

8.3

Taxi................................................................................................................................................... 11

8.4

Departure / Take-Off ......................................................................................................................... 11

8.5

Arrivals / Landing............................................................................................................................... 11

Section 9

Contact Us ..................................................................................................................................... 12

3 / 12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

Section 2 Handover Brief

This briefing method is to be used for ALL aerodrome positions. It is highly recommended that Approach use s this
brief, amended to contain the information relevant to that position. The brief should be kept short because of the
HSPs being utilised. The new controller should listen in for a few minutes before the briefing, and control is
officially handed over upon saying/hearing BOTH "your frequency" and "my f requency".

Format
1. INFO / LANDING RUNWAY
Confirm the current ATIS information and arrival ("down") runway, or state "easterlies".
e.g. "Information Alpha, Easterlies" or "Information Bravo, 27R down"

2. TRAFFIC
This part is vital. Talk through each item of traffic so that the new controller can update their scratchpads
and status' as they may be out-dated/missing if the new controller logged on after you entered
information.

Section 3 Logon Order

3.1 APC - Director
INTN (EGLL_N_APP) is the first APP position to log on. In order to log on as LLFIN (EGLL_F_APP), INTN must be
manned first. In order to log on as INTS (EGLL_S_APP), LLFIN must be manned first.

3.2 AIR - Tower

AIRS (EGLL_S_TWR) is the first AIR position to log on. In order to log on as AIRN (EGLL_N_TWR), at least 1 GMC
(Ground) position must be online.

3.3 GMC - Ground Movement Control

GMC2 (EGLL_2_GND) is the first GMC position to log on. In order for GMC3 (EGLL_3_GND) to log on, GMP
(EGLL_DEL) must be manned first. GMC1 (EGLL_1_GND) is the final GMC position to log on.
GMC2 Area of Responsibility (AoR) includes that of GMC2, GMC3 and GMC1 if both positions are offline.
GMC3 Area of Responsibility (AoR) includes that of GMC3 and GMC1 if GMC1 is offline.

3.4 GMP - Ground Movement Planning

GMP (EGLL_DEL) may log on at any time.

4 / 12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

Section 4 Ground Movement Planning (GMP)

4.1 Arrivals - Stand Allocation

Aircraft will appear in the "Arrival List" when they are within 10miles of the airfield on final approach. Make
sure you keep an eye on this list for aircraft that are not showing a stand. Watch for the last column, ID,
displaying as - -. This indicates that Approach has dropped the tag and the aircraft is with Tower.

Choose a free stand using the Crib Sheet. Click in the S/Pad column and type the stand number in, with an S
in front of it (eg. S513) then hit ENTER. The stand will display in the column to the left, Stand. You can also
use the INSERT key to enter this information in the same way.

IF a stand is not allocated after an aircraft lands, GMC will park the aircraft on a taxiway and come chasing
you for one, so keep this list up-to-date.

4.2 Departures - Clearance Delivery

When a new flight-plan arrives, go along the strip, left to right, checking the information as explained below:
Check that CTOT is clear or enter the correct CTOT if they are in use. Clear the CTOT by clicking on it and
then clicking the - - - at the end of the list that pops up. Enter a CTOT by clicking in the S/Pad and entering
the slot, with an S in front of it, just like you did for the arrivals stand number
Check the RT type and correct this once you know what type the aircraft is
Check the flight rules under the R column. It should show I. If it shows V (a common mistake by pilots on
VATSIM) click it and correct it in the flight plan dialog box
Check the cruise flight level is appropriate for the destination and/or direction of flight.
If the SID is showing correctly, just check it is appropriate for the destination. If it seems strange, click the I
under the R column to open the flight-plan dialog box again and check the route. It is likely that the pilot
has filed an invalid route.
If CHK is displayed in the SID column then the aircraft has filed via Compton and you have your departure
runway set to 09L or 09R. Click in the Heading column area and enter 220 or the agreed standard heading
from Approach.
Check that the temporary altitude shows as A60 or as appropriate. If it doesn't, right click it and it should
correct this. Otherwise, left click and set it manually. Check that a squawk code has been assigned. If it
hasn't, right click in the area and a new one will be assigned (you will see 0200 appear for a short period). If
this doesn't work, assign one manually in the usual way.

5 / 12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

When the aircraft calls for clearance, before issuing that clearance you MUST ensure you have obtained the
following:
Aircraft Type (check it against the Type column)
Stand Number (enter it into the S/Pad ONLY once they have given it to you. It is OK to enter the correct
stand number if the pilot gives the wrong one).
QNH read-back

Once a correct read-back of their clearance is received, tick the clearance received flag (a clear box to the left of the
cruise column). If the QNH changes or you change runways, go down the list and un-tick the clearance received
flags to remind you to get a new read-back of something before handing to GMC.

Section 5 Ground Movement Control (GMC)

5.1 Pushback in a Cul-de-Sac
Change the status column to show PUSH. This will automatically stamp the strip with an Actual Off Blocks Time in
the AOBT column. Tower uses these times to sequence their departures so only do it when you give the pushback
clearance.

In the scratchpad, completely replace the stand number with the letter of the taxiway for the cul-de-sac they are
pushing into. This tells you that this cul-de-sac is blocked to other aircraft.

5.2 Pushback onto a Taxiway

As for the cul-de-sac pushback, change the status column to PUSH.

push to face. So "stand 513, push and start approved, face south" would be entered in the scratchpad as 513.S.

6 / 12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

5.3 Pushback on the Europier (stands 145-155)

If GMC2 is split from GMC1 (or in a bandbox configuration that means the controller responsible for GMC 1 and
GMC2 is not the same person) then co-ordination must take place before pushing back from these stands. This is
done SILENTLY as explained below.

GMC1 enters //EURO// into the scratchpad but DOES NOT select PUSH in the status.

GMC2 will check that no taxiing aircraft will affect, then changes the status to PUSH.

GMC1 can then grant the push and re-enters the stand number and direction of push as for the pushback
onto a taxiway.

As GMC1 in control of these stands, when the aircraft calls for pushback, you will need to ask them to standby until
you have obtained this approval from GMC2. Make sure you never mention the word "push" or "pushback" when
telling the aircraft to standby or they might get confused.

5.4 Taxiing - Departures

It is your responsibility to remember the routing you give to aircraft. For this reason, you should utilise
intermediate holding points (and the usual GMC handoff points if you are band-boxed) so you can keep track of
movements. However, you are helped by recording the CLEARANCE LIMIT ONLY into the scratchpad. These
clearance limits are entered using a standard format, as explained below:

"Holding short of" is ALWAYS indicated by a /

"Airfield north/south side" is ALWAYS indicated by ".N" or ".S" when there is the potential for confusion.
This is the case when the aircraft is on taxiway ALPHA or BRAVO holding short of any taxiway which
connects to ALPHA and BRAVO on both the north and south side of the airport.

The taxiway that the aircraft is actually on is ONLY given IF the "holding short of" could be in more than one
place. So the holding points at the runway area (e.g. PLUTO, OSTER etc) do NOT need the taxiway the
aircraft is actually on, as there is only one possibility.

7 / 12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

Some examples

/PLUTO no current taxiway needed as it can only possibly be on ALPHA. This stands for "holding short of
PLUTO".

/E1 no current taxiway needed as it can only possibly be on ECHO. This stands for "holding short of E1".

A/H current taxiway required because it could be either on ALPHA or BRAVO. This stands for "on ALPHA
holding short of HOTEL".

A.N/E current taxiway and the side of the airfield required because it could otherwise be in 4 different
places (ALPHA north or south and BRAVO north or south). This stands for "on ALPHA north-side holding
short of ECHO".

B.S/D as above. This stands for "on BRAVO south-side holding short of DELTA".

/N5W no taxiway required as they are holding short of the runway, ready to cross. This stands for "holding
short of N5W".

27L used when an aircraft has been cleared to cross, showing that the runway is blocked. This stands for
"occupying 27L".

PROG... used when the aircraft is under progressive taxi instructions. This alerts the other GMC controllers
to an incoming aircraft that will increase their workload and informs GMP to slow-down your work-load
temporarily.

IMPORTANT - you must NEVER enter a scratchpad entry that is just an S or an H followed by just numbers or the
system will get confused and enter it into the Stand/Slot column, or into the system as a Heading.

5.5 Taxiing - Arrivals

As soon as you see an arrival aircraft on the SMR, double click the callsign to put the tag into arrivals mode. This will
change it from blue to orange and display the stand number that they need to go to underneath the callsign.
The AIR controller will enter into the arrivals list scratchpad any initial clearance they have given to the aircraft. If
you can clear the aircraft all the way to the stand then you can just clear the scratchpad. Otherwise you use it the
same as for departures to record CLEARANCE LIMITS ONLY.

8 / 12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

Section 6 Air Control (AIR)

6.1 Arrivals
There are no real procedures for you to follow but a few things can be watched for to assist the other controllers:

Watch for no stand being allocated a while after Approach dropped the tag. Chase GMP to input a stand in
case they have forgotten.

Give initial taxi clearances to keep the aircraft moving and record the CLEARANCE LIMIT ONLY in the
scratchpad for the GMC controller to see.

Remember DO NOT delay the handoff to GMC but also remember to keep the aircraft moving.

6.2 Departures
You update CLEARANCE LIMITS ONLY in the scratchpad in the same way as for GMC. Your specific procedures are
given below:

Keep an eye on the stream of aircraft approaching your runway holding area. Taking into account their
AOBT and trying to make the most efficient use of the runway in accordance with the Departure Separation
Table, set the aircraft's status' to DEPA in the order you will depart them. Doing this in advance may allow
GMC to help you by altering the aircraft's routing.

Use the Seq. number that appears as you set to DEPA to sequence the aircraft in your runway holding area.

When you clear an aircraft to enter the runway (EITHER just as a line up OR a takeoff) clear the CTOT
column (click the CTOT and click - - -) and then clear the scratchpad.

Section 7 General Guidance

You will need to become good at using BOTH the SMR and the STRIP BAYS to monitor the situation and
make decisions.

The STRIP BAY is your memory aid. Keep it updated. Make a transmission, then whilst listening to the readback check what changes need to be made to the strip. Usually a TRANSMISSION = STRIP CHANGE.

Make sure that you NEVER make a scratchpad entry that contains JUST an S or an H followed by ONLY
numbers. The system will allocate these entries to the Stand/CTOT or Heading columns incorrectly.

Aircraft that disconnect will lose most of their information so keep an eye on "re-connects".

9 / 12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

Section 8 Radio Telephony - Heathrow Specific

All RT used at Heathrow is to be of CAP493 standard with the exceptions listed below. The specific instances below
are designed as such to contain only relevant information in a condensed, short manner. Do take care not to rush
when transmitting to aircraft as this wastes time when pilots ask for you to say again.

8.1 IFR Clearances

4 items need to be passed in the pilot's initial call up:

Aircraft type, stand number, information received and QNH

If Pilot has called up with all 4 details:

"BAW123, cleared to Munich, DVR4G departure, Squawk 2204"
Otherwise:
"BAW123, cleared to Munich, DVR4G departure, Squawk 2204, QNH 1013mb*"
Once pilot has readback correctly:
"BAW123, readback correct"
or for the more inexperienced pilots:"BAW123, readback correct, report fully ready"

*mb is attached to ALL QNH's given

8.2 Pushback
"VIR146, push and start approved, face south"
For aircraft in a cul-de-sac stand:
"VIR146, push and start approved"

10 /
12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

8.3 Taxi
Format:

Taxi via (taxiway), hold at (holding point)

e.g.

"AFR1080, taxi via Sierra, hold SB1"

For longer taxi routings, use the 'left' and 'right' instructions to compliment the instruction:
"BAW14H, taxi via Link 51, left on Alpha, hold at LOMAN"
or
"AAL357, taxi left on Echo, left on Alpha, hold short of Foxtrot"

Remember to only use left and right instructions when there is a possible left or right turn. If you can only turn
left down a taxiway then don't say 'left'.

8.4 Departure / Take-Off

Please note the location of via and from in the following examples.
Line up instruction
"KLM1076, line up Runway 27L via SB1"
Takeoff Clearance
"EIN15D, from A3, Runway 27R, cleared for takeoff, surface wind 240 @ 9 kts"

8.5 Arrivals / Landing

Should you wish to cancel a landing clearance the following RT should be used as specified in CAP493 SI 2011/02.
"BIGJET 347, continue approach, cancel landing clearance (reason), acknowledge"

11 /
12

Heathrow Specific Procedures

Version 4.2

Taxi-In
After landing
"BAW45H, vacate left, taxi right onto Alpha, contact Ground on 121.7"

or if no handoff is required
"BAW46H, vacate left, taxi right onto Bravo, stand 537"

or if a longer taxi route is anticipated

"BAW46H, vacate left, first right onto Alpha"

"BAW46H, taxi via Echo, Golf, stand 327"

Section 9 Contact Us
If you have any questions, or spot an error with any of our documentation then please contact us heathrow@vatsim-uk.co.uk

12 /
12