With the massive increase in pilots due to lockdowns and isolations, (My thoughts and prayers go to those severely affected) it is important to show some care towards ATC and other pilots. Below is a rundown of things you should be doing to show good airmanship.
Before you fly expert, I want you to ask yourself:
Am I in a rush?
Will I be able to maintain concentration until cruise?
If you answer no to either of these question, don’t fly expert.
Before takeoff
Spawning in and there’s someone at the gate
If you spawn in and someone else is at the gate, be the one that makes the change. Unless you’ve preflighted, got everything ready and re-spawning is not ideal, then it’s ok to stay and hope the other plane leaves.
Understanding and following ATIS
Make sure you follow and understand what ATIS means and what is expected from you as a pilot. What the ATIS commands mean to a pilot?
Taxi slowly at busy airports
Ensure you taxi at around 15kts-25kts to avoid close calls and quicker stopping time.
Give way to aircraft even when not told to
Do not try and cut aircraft off. If you are joining a main taxiway and there’s an aircraft coming down it at 25kts, don’t cut them off. Instead, wait let them pass or let someone give way to you or until ATC gives other instructions
Stay on ground frequency
Don’t change to tower until you’re at least 3rd in line for takeoff. This allows ATC to send give way commands, safe distancing and other commands not available on tower frequency
Join the line
Go join the takeoff line. Don’t try at cut it at a taxiway up ahead. Be courteous to those that have been waiting before you.
Departure
Check the map for takeoff spacing Do not start to check the map when given clearance
When given takeoff clearance, make sure you know how far the next arriving traffic is. If it’s close, act without delay. But if you don’t think the spacing is adequate, just send a ‘stand by’ and ‘I’m sorry’ to ATC, I’m sure they’ll understand. But don’t be continuously sending this.
Takeoff Spacing (cont.)
If departing with parallel traffic, maintain visual separation and turn away. Or if above or below 1000ft from traffic, you may turn towards them.
Maintaining separation
Always be ±1000ft from crossing traffic. So expedite or slow your climb when you are in line of catastrophe.
Frequency change vs Contact approach
If given Frequency change … DO NOT CONTACT APPROACH. They are too busy to handle departures. Just tune out and continue your flight and following #3 (maintain separation)
Cruise
Your cruising altitude
To avoid conflict during cruise follow this procedure: Cruising Altitudes
Descent & Approach
Begin to descend early
Everyone has their way of calculating when to descent. I follow how much longer I have of my flight. When I’m around 25min away, I start my descent.
Contact approach at a reasonable speed and altitude
You should be at FL180 or 18,000ft when you contact approach. To those jet pilots, slow the &#$% down!
State your intentions
Don’t send “with you”. Just say what you want. Trust me, it helps the approach controllers a lot.
Make up your mind
Choose your runway and approach method and stick to it. If ATC changes it, follow it, don’t request to change!
Inbound on the XXX
Has approach cleared you for: ILS, GPS or Visual? Tell tower, by calling inbound On The ILS/GPS/Visual. Only use that if approach has cleared you for it though!
After landing
Pay attention to exit runway commands
Exit runway, cross XX | Don’t contact ground until you’ve crossed the runway
Exit runway, hold short XX | Stay on tower frequency until cross runway is given
Exit runway | Don’t stay on tower frequency, contact ground when off the runway!
No exit runway command given? Just contact ground
Exit runway ASAP
If an off ramp is full of aircraft (possibly waiting to cross a runway), take the next exit!
Choosing a right gate
When parking, make sure your tail is not hanging out the “box” and blocking anyone.
Also follow #3 and #4 from Before takeoff
Thanks for having a read, and do hope that this has helped a little. It’s amazing to see so much traffic in the IF skies! Stay home, safe and well! That’s all from me :)
Absolutely amazing. Thank you! With the increase of unrealistic behavior in expert, something needed to be done, hopefully when people read this it might change their mind if they want to be part of the people bringing down that realism.
Thanks for this David! The pilot numbers during this time have really gone up meaning more traffic for us to deal with. This is a great reminder to everyone and will help us IFATC give you the best quality we can by following this.
Thank you sooooo much for this, I get so triggered when someone taxis past me on the parallel at 35kts just to be one ahead in the takeoff line, so annoying
Nice topic dude. I think this is what the community really needs
I personally think that the gate spawn issue should be resolved on a first come basis. If you find an a/c on your stand just log off and pick another gate ;)
great post, have bookedmarked as be good to point new pilots to this. Only one thing to add at the before take off section, or even add a new section of “before spawning”, is to add the importance of planning your flight. Specifically making a flight plan (FPLtoIF.com preferred choice) to include waypoints, fuel needed, flight levels as well as also to research the expected SIDs and STARs and to see how they are being flown in IF if IFATC is in position.
This is a great guide and every pilot on IF should look at this, even if you are a very experienced pilot, it’s just something to think about before going in to the simulator.
Good thread. With the increase of pilots having free time to get to Expert server I’ve started seeing a lot of stupid and carless mistakes made during FNF. Hopefully we can get everyone on the same page, because I don’t want expert to turn into traning 2.0.
Just want to give a friendly reminder to you all to keep a positive pilot Ettique with each other. I know who one of these members are but am keeping the user disclosed. The commercial airliner turned onto the TBM, giving the TBM nowhere to go (so the TBM was not at fault). This situation could’ve easily been avoided. Please keep a safe distance with all surrounding aircraft, keep at a relatively slow pace, and always be aware of your surroundings.
This was recently today at Auckland. Unbelievably during active ATC.
Also these aircraft were very laggy in game, hence the replay lag.
I esp love when a so-called pilot just pretends not see me and rolls right through me to get ahead of me. Adding insult to injury is when Tower clears him/her. I just tell myself ‘maybe Tower just wants him/her out of their airspace and says duces ✌🏻‘
It’s always great when you’re ATC and you spent time/effort to give good approach/pattern instructions, they butter the landing because you gave them ‘maintain current speed’ at the right moment, they exit runway, ask for taxi to parking, go a few metres and then don’t even take the time to pull into a gate 🙄