Hi everyone, this feature request is primarily to increase the efficiency of radar controllers, especially in busy airspaces.
The request is as follows:
In the quick commands tab that appears when tapping on an aircraft, I think that the addition of speed commands would be beneficial. Currently, the only way to give a speed command is to tap on an aircraft, hit “other commands,” choose speed commands, and choose from many options in a menu that requires lots of scrolling and consumes a lot of time. Even though the most often used speeds will appear on the quick commands tab, the situation often changes during a session and may require new speed assignments to be used by the controller.
Below is how the menu would look and function (there are 2 pictures because they help explain my point better).
Upon tapping an aircraft, this would appear, now with an “assign speed” option:
Clicking on “assign speed” would bring up this menu:
Tapping on “maintain speed” would bring up the options currently seen in the normal menu ( < 250kts, > 250kts, and Mach) and then options to maintain a speed, not exceed it, or at least go a speed.
Why this addition would be helpful:
First, I think it would be easy to implement (but I don’t code, so maybe not). It takes commands that exist already and just adds them to a different menu.
More importantly, the request would make assigning speeds much simpler. This in turn assures that aircraft will be turned, descended, and intercepted efficiently and properly by the radar controller, as well making it easier and quicker to deconflict aircraft that have lost separation (which most often occurs on a Center frequency).
Additionally, the topic below goes into depth on why currently, it is sometimes nearly impossible to assign speeds in a busy airspace:
Finally, thanks to @AviationReports for the above topic and for spawning to help me get the two screenshots!