Air Traffic Control Handbook
Introduction
Air Traffic Control (ATC) is an Imperial Navy service that monitors, directs and manages every starship in Imperial airspace. Its instructions are mandatory for every pilot. ATC keeps the airspace secure and orderly by controlling when ships leave the hangars, where they fly and when they land.
ATC runs through the pilot system in game. Pilots call the tower from the ATC window (!atc, or the ATC console in the hangar), the tower answers in the same window, and the radio (/atc) carries the spoken calls.
Procedures of ATC
Contact ATC before take-off, before landing and whenever you declare an emergency. A ship parked in a hangar bay is held on the deck until the tower clears it, so it cannot launch without a departure clearance. Every request, clearance, take-off, landing and infraction is written to the flight log.
Each request carries your identity (callsign, or rank and name), your ship code, which the system reads from the ship you sit in, and your ATC code, which states the purpose of the flight.
Take-off Procedures
In the ATC window choose Departure, pick your ATC code (for example A-10 for a patrol) and press Transmit. The tower approves with a bay and a route, denies with a reason, or tells you to standby. Your ship is released the moment you are cleared. A departure clearance lasts two and a half minutes: leave the bay in that time or request again. Leaving a bay without clearance is an infraction.
Over the radio, a departure call uses one of these formats:
ATC answers by granting or denying the departure and giving the departure route into Imperial airspace.
Landing Procedures
Request landing before you enter the approach of a hangar. Choose Landing and your ATC code in the ATC window. The tower assigns a bay and reserves it for you. Land inside the bay marker at low speed to complete the landing. Flying into an approach without a landing clearance is logged as an infraction after twelve seconds.
Over the radio, a landing call uses one of these formats:
ATC answers with approval or denial and, if approved, the assigned hangar and landing bay.
Emergencies
Press Emergency (E-99) in the ATC window. The request is approved at once, goes ahead of every other request, alerts the tower and is announced on the ATC channel. An emergency lets you land at the nearest bay without waiting. Use it for heavy damage or a lost wingman; a false emergency is an infraction.
Ship Codes
ATC Codes
Priority order: the tower answers E-99 first, then T-1, T-10, T-20, T-30, T-80, A-30, A-60, T-50, T-40, A-10 and T-100. Requests with the same code are answered in the order they arrive.
Tower Duty
Navy Warrant Officers and above may take the tower. When no Warrant Officer or officer is online, NCOs (Petty Officer and above) may. Open the ATC window and choose Assume Duty. The controller holds the tower until they log off, resign or are relieved by a superior; a superior can also reassign the tower from the same window.
While someone holds the tower, requests and emergencies go to the controller only. When nobody holds it, every Navy member online receives them and may answer. Automated ATC answers only when no Navy member is online.
Callsigns and Squadrons
Every pilot sets a callsign in the pilot panel (!pilot). A callsign is 2 to 16 characters and unique, and it is used on the radio and the boards in place of rank and name. Navy personnel may found a squadron (!squad). The squadron leader invites and removes pilots, chooses the squadron colour and numbers the callsigns (Wraith 1, Wraith 2 and so on).
Radio channels: /atc for the tower and all pilots, /sq for your squadron, /tac for everyone in a cockpit.
Ships, Licences and Upgrades
A pilot's first ship is free, any tier 1 ship of their choice. Further ships are bought in the pilot panel with credits and need a Navy rank. Pilot licences per ship code are recorded on the Pilot License sheet of the Imperial Navy Database. Components, paints, laser and engine colours and crew are unlocked in the pilot panel, and each pilot keeps three saved loadouts per ship.
Hangar Service
Any Navy member may crew a service pad. Park the ship beside the pad, get the pilot out and choose Repair, Rearm or Full Service. The owner pays the fee and the Navy pays the crew member a share. Damage carries from one flight to the next, and a destroyed ship returns with a third of its hull until it is repaired.
Infractions and the Flight Log
The tower logs requests, clearances, take-offs, landings and infractions. The infractions are leaving a bay without clearance, entering an approach without clearance and a false emergency. Infractions count on the pilot's record in the pilot panel, and the Navy chain of command decides what follows.
Introduction
Air Traffic Control (ATC) is an Imperial Navy service that monitors, directs and manages every starship in Imperial airspace. Its instructions are mandatory for every pilot. ATC keeps the airspace secure and orderly by controlling when ships leave the hangars, where they fly and when they land.
ATC runs through the pilot system in game. Pilots call the tower from the ATC window (!atc, or the ATC console in the hangar), the tower answers in the same window, and the radio (/atc) carries the spoken calls.
Procedures of ATC
Contact ATC before take-off, before landing and whenever you declare an emergency. A ship parked in a hangar bay is held on the deck until the tower clears it, so it cannot launch without a departure clearance. Every request, clearance, take-off, landing and infraction is written to the flight log.
Each request carries your identity (callsign, or rank and name), your ship code, which the system reads from the ship you sit in, and your ATC code, which states the purpose of the flight.
Take-off Procedures
In the ATC window choose Departure, pick your ATC code (for example A-10 for a patrol) and press Transmit. The tower approves with a bay and a route, denies with a reason, or tells you to standby. Your ship is released the moment you are cleared. A departure clearance lasts two and a half minutes: leave the bay in that time or request again. Leaving a bay without clearance is an infraction.
Over the radio, a departure call uses one of these formats:
- /atc This is [RANK] [NAME] requesting departure from [LOCATION/BAY] with [SHIP-CODE] for [ATC-CODE]
- /atc This is [CALLSIGN] requesting departure from [LOCATION/BAY] with [SHIP-CODE] for [ATC-CODE]
- /atc This is [SQUADRON] requesting departure from [LOCATION/BAY] with [SHIP-CODE] for [ATC-CODE]
ATC answers by granting or denying the departure and giving the departure route into Imperial airspace.
Landing Procedures
Request landing before you enter the approach of a hangar. Choose Landing and your ATC code in the ATC window. The tower assigns a bay and reserves it for you. Land inside the bay marker at low speed to complete the landing. Flying into an approach without a landing clearance is logged as an infraction after twelve seconds.
Over the radio, a landing call uses one of these formats:
- /atc This is [RANK] [NAME] requesting to land with [SHIP-CODE] from [ATC-CODE]
- /atc This is [CALLSIGN] requesting to land with [SHIP-CODE] from [ATC-CODE]
- /atc This is [SQUADRON] requesting to land with [SHIP-CODE] from [ATC-CODE]
ATC answers with approval or denial and, if approved, the assigned hangar and landing bay.
Emergencies
Press Emergency (E-99) in the ATC window. The request is approved at once, goes ahead of every other request, alerts the tower and is announced on the ATC channel. An emergency lets you land at the nearest bay without waiting. Use it for heavy damage or a lost wingman; a false emergency is an infraction.
Ship Codes
| Code | Starship | Ship Type |
|---|---|---|
| :-: | :-: | :-: |
| S-SC4 | S-SC4 Bloodmark | Scout (Squadron Lead) |
| S-13 | S-13 Sting | Scout |
| S-12 | S-12 Blackbolt | Scout |
| F-T6 | F-T6 Rycer | Strike Fighter |
| F-T2 | F-T2 Quell | Strike Fighter |
| FT-3C | FT-3C Imperium | Strike Fighter |
| GSS-4Y | GSS-4Y Jurgoran | Gunship |
| GSS-3 | GSS-3 Mangler | Gunship |
| GSS-5C | GSS-5C Dustmaker | Gunship |
| B-4D | B-4D Legion | Bomber |
| B-5 | B-5 Decimus | Bomber |
| M-7 | M-7 Razorwire | Bomber |
| B28 | B28 Extinction-class bomber | Bomber |
| ICA-X | ICA-X Tormentor | Infiltrator |
| ICA-2B | ICA-2B Frostburn | Infiltrator |
| ICA-3A | ICA-3A Sable Claw | Infiltrator |
| MK-VI | Mark VI Supremacy | Interceptor |
| MK-VII | Mk. VII Advanced Interceptor | Interceptor |
| STF | Imperial Stealth Fighter | Interceptor |
| TZ-24 | TZ-24 Gladiator | MP/II Ship |
| IAS | Imperial Assault Shuttle | Transport |
| IMT | Imperial Military Transport | Transport |
| K-52 | K-52 Demolisher | Transport |
| D29 | Dragonfly Dropship | Transport |
| Fury | Fury-class Imperial interceptor | Sith Order |
ATC Codes
| Code | Meaning | Description |
|---|---|---|
| :-: | :-: | :-: |
| A-10 | Patrol | Patrolling Imperial Airspace |
| A-30 | Combat | Engaging hostiles |
| T-40 | Transport | Transportation of Sith Empire |
| T-30 | Transport | Transporting a Sith Master+ |
| T-20 | Transport | Transporting Imperial High Command |
| T-10 | Transport | Transporting Dark Council |
| T-1 | Transport | Transporting the Emperor |
| T-50 | Escort | Escorting a transport ship |
| A-60 | Interception | Intercepting an allied/hostile ship |
| T-100 | Training | Training within your aircraft |
| T-80 | VIP | Transporting/Escorting a VIP |
| E-99 | Emergency | Declaring an Emergency |
Priority order: the tower answers E-99 first, then T-1, T-10, T-20, T-30, T-80, A-30, A-60, T-50, T-40, A-10 and T-100. Requests with the same code are answered in the order they arrive.
Tower Duty
Navy Warrant Officers and above may take the tower. When no Warrant Officer or officer is online, NCOs (Petty Officer and above) may. Open the ATC window and choose Assume Duty. The controller holds the tower until they log off, resign or are relieved by a superior; a superior can also reassign the tower from the same window.
While someone holds the tower, requests and emergencies go to the controller only. When nobody holds it, every Navy member online receives them and may answer. Automated ATC answers only when no Navy member is online.
Callsigns and Squadrons
Every pilot sets a callsign in the pilot panel (!pilot). A callsign is 2 to 16 characters and unique, and it is used on the radio and the boards in place of rank and name. Navy personnel may found a squadron (!squad). The squadron leader invites and removes pilots, chooses the squadron colour and numbers the callsigns (Wraith 1, Wraith 2 and so on).
Radio channels: /atc for the tower and all pilots, /sq for your squadron, /tac for everyone in a cockpit.
Ships, Licences and Upgrades
A pilot's first ship is free, any tier 1 ship of their choice. Further ships are bought in the pilot panel with credits and need a Navy rank. Pilot licences per ship code are recorded on the Pilot License sheet of the Imperial Navy Database. Components, paints, laser and engine colours and crew are unlocked in the pilot panel, and each pilot keeps three saved loadouts per ship.
Hangar Service
Any Navy member may crew a service pad. Park the ship beside the pad, get the pilot out and choose Repair, Rearm or Full Service. The owner pays the fee and the Navy pays the crew member a share. Damage carries from one flight to the next, and a destroyed ship returns with a third of its hull until it is repaired.
Infractions and the Flight Log
The tower logs requests, clearances, take-offs, landings and infractions. The infractions are leaving a bay without clearance, entering an approach without clearance and a false emergency. Infractions count on the pilot's record in the pilot panel, and the Navy chain of command decides what follows.