What the ATIS commands mean to a pilot?

Ground School Community Tutorials
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As a pilot, you should understand what the various ATIS remarks/commands mean and how you should respond as a pilot.

ATIS Remarks ATC Intention Actions as a Pilot
No Intersection Departures The ATC would like pilots to use the full length of the runway Proceed to hold short at the end of the runway
Intersection Departures OK ATC will allow pilots to take off from intersections If your plane does not require the full length, you may hold short at an intersection and ask for takeoff
No Pattern Work ATC is not accepting pattern work When requesting take off, please do not ask for “remaining in the pattern”
Flow Control ATC is going to control the departure rate Due to the departure rate, you may experience a delay on the ground
Long Taxi ATC may send departures to a runway that is not closest to the terminal Expect being sent to a runway that requires a longer than normal taxi time
Gate Hold ATC needs to freeze the ground for a brief period Ask for pushback and expect a “Hold Position” until the controller is ready
Rolling Departures ATC would like expedited departures When cleared, the pilot should enter the runway and begin the takoff roll without stopping
Flight Plan Required ATC would like aircraft to have a filed flight plan before taxing File a flight plan before requesting pushback
Straight Out Departures ATC would like planes to maintain runway heading until a safe distance away from the airport Fly runway heading for 8-10 NM before making your departure turn. Use the end of the cone as a guide before turning.
ATIS NOTAM ATC Intention Actions as a Pilot
Event in Progress An event is in progress An event is in progress. You may experience long wait times or depending on the event may not be allowed to participate
Size Restrictions in Place The airport is a smaller than normal taxiway and/or parking Think about the size of the aircraft you are in and the airport you are at. For example, a 747 at KASE
Severe Weather Extreme weather conditions have been reported Expect high winds/turbulence/low visibility
Low Visibility Low visibility has been reported Expect low visiblity
No Light Aircraft Light aircraft are not allowed in the airspace or at the airport. Light aircraft is defined as the XCub, C172, P38, SR22, and Spitfire. The reason behind this is due to the massive speed difference with other airplanes. Patterns in these aircraft should be performed at smaller airfields. Divert or respawn at a different airport.
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This is very very useful

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Great job!thanks Chris

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4

Great tutorial Chris

5

This clears up a couple of things i didn’t understand at first.
Great Tutorial Chris, Thanks!

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Ok I got them all now

7

Thanks for the info! :)

Here is my next flight lesson. :)

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Thanks for summarizing this topic.
Now it is easier to understand atis. :)

9

Appreciate for tutorial, that will be great if this topic could pin on the top of forum.

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Bookmarked it ! Thanks

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Great job Chris! Very useful. :)

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Good to know. Thank you.

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Wow! I didn’t know what Intersection Departures meant. I guess you learn something new everyday.

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Wow! Thanks! That’s very useful!

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Might want to change that to: “straight out departures”
Other than that, great tutorial

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Great tutorial Chris! I think this will help some of us that aren’t familiar with all the lingo.

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Great tutorial!
If you could pin this it would be great!

18

Suddenly the intersection departures announcement makes sense. Thanks Chris

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Thank you for explaining this topic further. The video was also good too.

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How ATIS can guess when is the event or it’s just big amount of random planes?

How about to create topic “Requesting an EVENT NOTAM in active airport” ?
Like people will reserve time for their event and contact IFATC group

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