Due to the further addition of more real-world procedures into Infinite Flight for radar controllers (approach) to utilize, the strategies we made for ourselves over the years are becoming defunct. This is a post to remember one strategy, and for it to serve as an archive if it is needed in the future.
I created “The Door” approach method in 2018 as a standardized way to manage traffic at airports with a single runway. Its purpose is to keep all aircraft within 25 nautical miles (nm) of the airport, ensuring they remain close in case of fuel emergencies and allowing for the opportunity to transition aircraft to other legs as needed to minimize delays. This approach prioritizes practicality and efficiency over aesthetics and is designed to handle the heaviest levels of traffic, with a maximum delay of 45 minutes when 7-8nms of spacing is needed. The goal is to not have most aircraft fly the full approach, for that reason a 45 minute delay should be rare.
I don’t care how pretty it looks, it worked when many other things didn’t, it lowered my workload, and it’s consistent. We didn’t have any procedures in-app at the time of its creation and finding new methods to vector aircraft in a predictable environment was necessary. Vectoring aircraft was preferred by the majority of radar controllers because it is predictable.
At full capacity during high traffic, “The Door” has eight legs. However, you shouldn’t need to use all eight; they are there as a scalable option. As traffic increases, you add legs incrementally to maintain control and efficiency. You start with a simple downwind to base, then an S pattern on one side of the airport, then you continue to add legs until you form “The Door.”
The strategy ensures aircraft stay uniformly spaced and consistent, which is critical for maintaining order. It is important you constantly look for new opportunities to remove legs to reduce delays.
Key Setup Guidelines:
- Leg Placement and Measurements
- Measure 10nm from the end of the approach cone to place leg four, which parallels the final leg.
- Both downwind legs are also placed 10nm away from their corresponding upwind legs, while the downwind legs are positioned 12nm from the center of the airport.
- This uniform structure ensures easy management and predictability, even allowing brief moments to step away without losing control of the airspace. You could close your eyes and you would know where aircraft are or will be.
- Uniformity in Turns
- The turn from the upwind legs must align to ensure uniformity between the upwind and downwind legs. Draw a straight line between the two to check alignment—extending any one of the legs indicates misalignment and requires adjustment.
- This uniformity is essential for extending legs as needed to accommodate emergencies, slower aircraft, or spacing adjustments. Without it, the system risks becoming disorganized, taking planes further from the final approach or the airport, reducing overall efficiency, and increasing workload.
- Constant Monitoring
- Regularly check that legs two and six turn at the same point.
- Regularly look for ways to cut legs, putting aircraft on an angle, to help further reduce delays and to help speed up the removal of legs.
Aircraft should not fly the entire approach if at all possible, that is discouraged since natural gaps will occur. If there is a gap, fill it with an aircraft from another leg, create gaps to let them cut the line, don’t make them start from the beginning. Instead, it is designed to maximize efficiency and ensure smooth, predictable operations under any traffic load. However, it is vital to use this method only at airports with a single runway, as it is unnecessary and impractical for multi-runway operations.
By following these principles, “The Door” provides a scalable, reliable solution to handle even the most demanding traffic while reducing controller workload significantly due to it’s uniformity and predictability. It’s only limitation is terrain.
One person can control all of it themselves, without help, as shown in the examples below. If anything, it is easier to do it all yourself because you have to constantly look for ways to remove legs to reduce delays. I have used it myself on many occasions over the years. It served me well.