Assistance with separating traffic

[mdk2015]

Hi I am currently in the academy for Enroute. I am just wondering if anyone knows if there is something on the web that can assist with separating aircraft. I am looking for a program that I can practice this on at home if possible to identify if aircraft will be in conflict.

If anyone could be of assistance would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

[tyketto]

Hi I am currently in the academy for Enroute. I am just wondering if anyone knows if there is something on the web that can assist with separating aircraft. I am looking for a program that I can practice this on at home if possible to identify if aircraft will be in conflict.

If anyone could be of assistance would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Before answering your question, think about the following questions back at you:

If the traffic you have under your control isn't separated by the time they are in your control, you already have a problem, and that problem existed prior to you (via another Enroute controller, or at the TRACON) level. The source of the separation problem would exist there, so as the enroute controller, why would you accept the handoff of an aircraft if it isn't in a situation that isn't under control?

Additionally, since part of the problem you are looking for is situation dependent (for example, the issue coming from the previous controller, versus an aircraft departing IFR off from an uncontrolled, Class G field which you are making room for them in your flow), you're talking about creating the loss of separation versus inheriting the loss of separation from another controller. For the latter, I refer back again to the above regarding why would you accept the handoff to begin with.

For the former, you have 3 options: vertical, horizontal, or speed.

• Vertical: climb one of the aircrafts in conflict and/or descend the other until the immediate situation is resolved, then figure out how you're going to resolve it further before handing them off to another controller.
• Horizontal: vector one off their current heading to accommodate for the other, then again, figure out how you're going to resolve the situation further down the road before handing them off.
• Speed. Both horizontal an vertical are going to require speed to create the in-trail separation you are needing. One will need to be slowed to create the separation needed. Depending on how congested your flow is (I'm assuming they'd be on an airway or a SID that is joining an airway), you'll need to reduce the speed of the other aircrafts in your control to create the spacing needed for the separation. When that is done and you've fit them in, you're set.
  

But if anything, if you're getting traffic that isn't separated to begin with, you need to question the controller giving you that aircraft and refuse the handoff. you shouldn't be receiving a situation like that to begin with. Yes, it may happen from time to time, and ATC has the training to resolve it, but you shouldn't be getting set up to have an operational error (read: set up for failure) from the start.

BL.

[mdk2015]

Thank you for your very detailed response. I greatly appreciate this and will note everything down that you have said.

Apologies my question is not clear - we are early stages and just performing DTI in a procedural environment - class G. We are yet to learn separation parameters like what you have mentioned.

So I was hoping to get more practice with this before we start actually separating aircraft.

Thanks again

[tyketto]

Thank you for your very detailed response. I greatly appreciate this and will note everything down that you have said.

Apologies my question is not clear - we are early stages and just performing DTI in a procedural environment - class G. We are yet to learn separation parameters like what you have mentioned.

So I was hoping to get more practice with this before we start actually separating aircraft.

Thanks again

Got it. This now helps with the situation you're in, as it now tells me that you would be in control of the aircraft from departure all the way up.

For this, you'll need to brush up on IFR departures from uncontrolled fields. This will include proper flight plan filing, protecting the airspace around the airport for the IFR departure, etc. Sections 4-3-1 through 4-3-10 and 5-3-1 through 5-3-9 of the .65 will come in handy. From there (and again, this is my opinion, so any training you get in OKC will either reinforce this or completely trump it), I will assume that that has been done, the pilot is under your control, and either a SID was filed and being flown to a fix that joins an airway, or a vector was given to that fix that joins an airway.

Again, you're dealing with the same options: horizontal, separation, vertical separation or lateral separation (speed). Keep in mind that they all may be needed and depend on eachother. 5-5-1 through 5-7-4 handles this as well, so it is the matter of putting it all together when you need it that is important. I'll give this in 3 different situations:

Pilot A is already on the airway at a given flight level; for this instance, I'll say eastbound at FL310. Pilot B has departed the uncontrolled field and is under your control, climbing to join the same airway as Pilot A.

• If Pilot B's final altitude is under Pilot A's current altitude: Nothing really needs to be done here. As long as the separation standards are met for dRVSM, you're fine here. You can have pilots on the same airway at different altitudes. So you can have Pilot A at FL310, Pilot B at FL270, and Pilot C at FL360, all on the same airway, with Pilots A and B flying eastbound and Pilot C flying westbound. They could even converge on the same fix at the same time and no loss of separation would occur.
• If Pilot B's final altitude is the same as Pilot A's current altitude: Here is where it gets interesting, and for this situation, I'll assume that both pilots are flying at the same airspeed. Again, you can apply horizontal separation here simply by following 5-6-2, and vector Pilot A off the airway for spacing. This will allow you to get Pilot B onto the airway, but you will need to decide which aircraft you are going to put in front. Once you decide that, 5-7-1.4.f comes into play (You'll be dealing with Mach for the speed instead of KIAS above FL240), where you can either speed up the first pilot or slow the 2nd pilot down, or a combination of both. 5-2-7.a and if unable, 5-7-2.b will be required (to speed up the leading pilot), along with 5-7-2.c.2 (to keep the in-trail pilot slower) to create your separation. Once that separation is achieved, you can vector the leading pilot back onto the airway.
  
  Additionally, you can create this space prior to Pilot B reaching his final altitude (which again, is Pilot A's altitude) with the speed adjustment.
• If Pilot B's final altitude is above Pilot A's current altitude: A lot of the same could be done here. You could vector Pilot A off the airway for the duration of Pilot B's climb through Pilot A's altitude, and when clear, vector Pilot A back onto the airway, or use speed to create the hole in your flow to allow Pilot B to climb through Pilot A's altitude. The vector would be easier in this case, because then you would't have to worry about adjusting the speed of other pilots further back down the line.

As far as practice for this, the only thing I could really suggest is to hit up one of the networks that uses real world procedures as close as possible. That would be either VATSIM or PilotEdge. Both have more than well qualified controllers (some real world controllers came from those networks) and have both pilots and controllers available to create the situation for which you wish to practice.

BL.
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