Our ATC staffing is now organised, and you can expect some support from Gander Oceanic as well, courtesy of our friends in Canada
Icelandic staffing will consist of...
- BIRD_CTR > Covering Iceland and the Faroe Islands top down, and Central Greenland above FL195.
- BIKF_APP > Covering Keflavik (BIKF) and Reykjavik (BIRK) airports top down.
- BIKF_TWR > Covering Keflavik (BIKF) aerodrome and surface movement ops.
We will endeavour to extend coverage as long as possible after the official closing time of 04:00z, but as in the previous update, don't count on it
We'll also be online during the American evenings in the two days leading up to the event so watch out for BIRD_CTR on
Vattastic. These would be good times to practice flights in/out of Iceland. Make sure you have the
Guide to Iceland handy. We will also be making announcements in the Vattastic shoutbox before/during the event. Our ATC bookings can be seen on the homepage of the
VATSIM Scandinavia website.
UpdateIn the final update, we take a look at arrival procedures. This applies to both Keflavik and Reykjavik arrivals, as the two airports are covered by the same APP position.
Step 1 - You are inbound to Iceland from Europe or North America. When nearing Icelandic airspace (i.e. over western Norway, northern Scotland, north-eastern Canada or the western half of the North Atlantic), start preparing for your oceanic clearance. You will need to confirm your mach speed and flight level on first contact. You should also be prepared to accept directs to shorten your flight-planned route, so have your full route handy so that you know what ATC is giving you. For example, a common shortcut for someone flying 'VALDI G3 NASBU' would be 'VALDI direct ROSTI direct NASBU' or even 'VALDI direct NASBU'.
Step 2: Tune into BIRD_CTR's frequency when you come within 15-20 minutes of your entry point to the Reykjavik CTA. You can tell roughly where your entry is by comparing your route to
our sector map. Listen in for about 5 minutes to get a feel for the flow of transmissions... don't just butt in with your call. Remember, the one guy on BIRD_CTR is not only giving inbound oceanic clearances, but is also descending arrivals to Iceland's two busiest airports, climbing departures from those airports, and simultaneously controlling a dozen other airports top down across nearly 2 million sq km of airspace
Step 3: Make your request. You should call up stating callsign, FL, mach speed and your next inbound waypoint so we know where you are. For example, "Reykjavik Control, Delta 123, FL330, mach decimal 7-8, inbound 63N030W, request oceanic clearance." The most likely reply will be "Delta 123, Reykjavik Control, hello, standby."
Step 4: Wait. Patience is a virtue.
Step 5: Reykjavik will ask if you're ready to copy clearance. Once they get an affirm, the clearance will be read out in full e.g. "Delta 123, cleared to Keflavik via 63N030W, direct EMBLA, direct KEF. From 63N030W, maintain FL330, mach decimal 7-8, squawk 4401." All you need to do is read that back
in full (even if the route is just your flight-planned route). Then you'll get a "readback correct and identified."
Step 6: Cruise on in! There are no position reports because we have radar coverage, hence why we give a squawk code. At some time, you'll be given a descent FL100. All arrivals should reach FL100 before entering the Keflavik/Reykjavik TMA under BIKF_APP, because departures will be using the exact same routes in the opposite direction and climbing higher to avoid you.
Step 7: Contact BIKF_APP when asked to do so by BIRD_CTR. The standard call up for APP is "Delta 123, FL120, descending FL100, inbound NASBU." The reply would be "Delta 123, Keflavik Approach, identified. Continue descent 5000ft, QNH 1013, expect vectors ILS runway 02."
Step 8: Continue to follow the vectors given by APP. In Iceland, we vector all the way up to the ILS, and you'll be given a final turn to intercept the ILS within 35 degrees of runway heading. So please do not turn/intercept of your own accord until told "Cleared ILS approach runway 02, report established." The altitude for intercept at 8nm is 3000ft.
Step 8b: For the guys coming to Reykjavik (BIRK), there is only one ILS at runway 19. There is also a LOC approach at runway 13, and visual approaches for all other runways. New RNAV approaches are available on request, but are not standard procedure. If given a LOC approach, all you need to do is report established. For a visual approach, you need to report "runway in sight." After that, you'll be "cleared visual approach, runway 31," which you need to read back, before you get "winds 300 degrees at 9 knots, runway 31, cleared to land."
Step 9: Once established, you'll be handed off to BIKF_TWR for landing clearance, or given a landing clearance by BIKF_APP if landing at BIRK. On the ground, it's welcome to Iceland! At BIKF, stands are assigned at the international terminal for scheduled flights, East Apron for everything else. At BIRK you'll be given North Apron for scheduled flights, East Apron for everything else. There is no trouble using default scenery because the stands have not changed in years (although there is construction under way at the moment for a bigger BIKF terminal). Note that the taxiways at BIKF are labelled as segments so a normal taxi clearance becomes dreadfully long e.g. "Taxi to stand 3 via E1, 2, 3, 4 and N4, crossing runway 29 approved." Just so you don't get caught out unaware!
That's it for the last update! 9 easy steps to arrive in Iceland, and you've got comprehensive departure procedures from previous updates. If you'd like any additional info, it's all in the Guide to Iceland (and Greenland/Faroe Islands). Remember, we recommend that you confine your flights to 23-04:00z to make the most of our ATC... see the "I want to experience..." update above.
Catch us online in the lead up to the event, tell your friends about it and we'll see you this Friday 5th Feb!
