EDFE - Frankfurt-Egelsbach

General

Frankfurt-Egelsbach is an uncontrolled airport. It is situated right in the middle of the Frankfurt TMA, one of Germany's busiest airspaces, and has highly complex procedures due to the mix in aircraft performances and high traffic volumes. On VATSIM, however, traffic loads are generally very light.
If you are not yet familiar with AFIS procedures, we strongly recommend you inform yourself prior to flying at Frankfurt-Egelsbach as the concept is probably quite different from what you are used to here on VATSIM.

Topdown procedures

Approach and Center stations do not provide top down services for uncontrolled airfields in Germany.

IFR procedures

Frankfurt-Egelsbach has no IFR procedures and can only be flown at under VFR. When planning an IFR flight to or from Frankfurt-Egelsbach, you must be familiar with Y- and Z-flightplans as well as the corresponding procedures.

For approved routings when planning to cancel/pick up IFR within the Frankfurt TMA, please refer to this document.
Additionally, IFR traffic intending to fly a long final during expected 26 operations should file [...] PEKIG VFR DCT ASBAB.

Authorized aircraft

Fixed wing aircraft are approved up to 20t MTOM, helicopters are approved up to 5.7t MTOM.
Gliders, balloons, blimps, and airships are not permitted within the Egelsbach ATZ.

Please make sure you fly an appropriate aircraft as bigger aircraft might cause a lot of inconvenience to other users.

Egelsbach Radio may restrict the number of aircraft within the ATZ and thus deny any aircraft permission for entry into the ATZ or departure as well as traffic circuits if traffic levels become too high.

Parking position

Single engine piston aircraft usually use parking area 2.
Turboprops, jets, and multi engine piston aircraft usually use parking area 1.
The Hesse state police helicopter squadron is stationed on the Western helicopter parking area.
Commercial helicopters use the Eastern helicopter parking area.

Charts

You can find current VFR charts for Frankfurt-Egelsbach in the AIP VFR.
For a better overview over the airspace structure around Frankfurt-Egelsbach, we recommend openflightmaps.

Sceneries

Departure

Startup

All aircraft at Frankfurt-Egelsbach that have filed a Z flight plan have to request startup clearance from Egelsbach Apron. Egelsbach Apron will have to get a startup release from Langen Radar to ensure workload allows for an IFR pickup as soon as possible after departure. This startup release can also be simulated when only Langen Radar is online by calling the responsible topdown controller for the area in which you plan to do your IFR pickup directly for a startup release and will help reduce the likelihood that ATC is too busy for an IFR pickup.

Taxi

Despite there being a separate apron frequency for aircraft taxiing on Frankfurt-Egelsbach's apron, this is also only an information frequency. Pilots shall obtain departure information from and report their intentions to Egelsbach Apron, but will not receive taxi clearances and are instead required to coordinate with other taxiing traffic on the frequency of Egelsbach Apron.

Remain on Egelsbach Apron until reaching the holding point, then switch to Egelsbach Radio (you will not receive a handoff).

Takeoff

Since Frankfurt-Egelsbach is uncontrolled, the Flugleiter won't issue a takeoff clearance. Instead, takeoffs are conducted on the pilot's discretion.
However, during 26 operations, all high performance aircraft (jets, turboprops, and all other aircraft with performance category B or higher) need to be given a departure release. Egelsbach Radio will acquire this release from Frankfurt Tower to ensure there won't be any potential conflict with departures out of Frankfurt/Main's runway 18 when the Frankfurt-Egelsbach outbound misses the early left turn after departure.

We ask all pilots departing runway 26 in high performance aircraft to request a departure release from Frankfurt Tower (or whichever station is currently covering it topdown) when Egelsbach Radio is not staffed.

During night time, only the hard surface runway is available for takeoffs by all aircraft.

Departure route

There are mandatory routings for all aircraft leaving the Frankfurt-Egelsbach ATZ. These routings depend on aircraft type and runway in use. Deviations are only possible with explicit approval by Egelsbach Radio.

All pilots are reminded to stay clear of Frankfurt class D and C airspace.

Runway	Aircraft type	Waypoint	Route description
08	high performance (jets, turboprops, and all aircraft with performance category B or higher)	Y	leave the ATZ straight ahead via Y
	low performance	E	leave the ATZ straight ahead via E
		K	fly straight ahead until past the town of Egelsbach, then turn right to leave the ATZ via K
26	high performance (jets, turboprops, and all aircraft with performance category B or higher)	D	fly straight ahead until highway A5, then turn left to continue along highway A5 to leave the ATZ via D the Frankfurt CTR begins almost directly West of highway A5, so pilots shall make sure to avoid overshooting
	low performance	D
		T	join the right downwind, then fly straight ahead to leave the ATZ via T

Arrival

Initial contact

Unlike most other airfields, Frankfurt-Egelsbach requires inbound aircraft to contact Egelsbach Radio no later than 10 minutes before arriving at the intended reporting point.

Egelsbach Radio will assign inbound aircraft one of the group squawks 4440, 4441, 4442, or 4443.

Night arrivals

During night time, high performance aircraft (jets, turboprops, and all aircraft with performance category B or higher) may only approach the airport when ground visibility is 5km or higher. Egelsbach Radio has the final say in whether visibility is good enough for such an aircraft to approach.

Arrival route

There are mandatory routings for all aircraft entering the Egelsbach ATZ. These routings depend on aircraft type and runway in use. Deviations are only possible with explicit approval by Egelsbach Radio.

All pilots are reminded to stay clear of Frankfurt class D and C airspace.

Runway	Aircraft type	Waypoint	Route description
08	high performance (jets, turboprops, and all aircraft with performance category B or higher)	D	enter the ATZ via D along highway A5 on an extended right base, then turn right to join final the Frankfurt CTR begins almost directly West of highway A5, so pilots shall make sure to stay close to the road, ideally remaining East of it
	low performance	D
		T	enter the ATZ via T to join the traffic circuit on the downwind the Frankfurt CTR begins almost directly West of highway A5, so pilots shall make sure to avoid overshooting
26	high performance (jets, turboprops, and all aircraft with performance category B or higher)	Y	enter the ATZ via Y for a straight-in final
	low performance	E	enter the ATZ via E for a straight-in final
		K	enter the ATZ via K on an extended base, then turn left to join final

In case of a go around during 26 operations, pilots are reminded that the Frankfurt CTR begins almost directly West of highway A5, so they shall make sure to avoid overshooting.

The real world airport operator of Frankfurt-Egelsbach has published a video briefing on the high performance arrival routes that you may find helpful if you are not already familiar with the airport.

Cloud breaking procedure

When weather conditions don't allow for a descend below the MVA under VFR, pilots on a Y flight plan may request an ILS approach to the Southern runway at Frankfurt/Main to cancel IFR on the procedure and turn South along highway A5 to leave the Frankfurt/Main CTR and enter the Frankfurt-Egelsbach ATZ via reporting point L.

Keep in mind that - depending on the traffic situation at Frankfurt/Main and/or Frankfurt-Egelsbach - this procedure may not be immediately available.

Landing

Egelsbach Radio will provide neither sequencing nor separation. It is your responsibility as the pilot to coordinate with other traffic on frequency. IFR has no priority over VFR.

You will not receive an a landing clearance as the airport is uncontrolled. Instead, landings are conducted on the pilot's discretion.

During night time, only the hard surface runway is available for landings by all aircraft.

Taxi

Despite there being a separate apron frequency for aircraft taxiing on Frankfurt-Egelsbach's apron, this is also only an information frequency. Pilots will not receive taxi clearances and are instead required to coordinate with other taxiing traffic on the frequency of Egelsbach Apron.

After vacating, all aircraft have to switch to Egelsbach Apron (you will not receive a handoff).

Traffic circuit

Egelsbach Radio may deny traffic circuit operations depending on the current traffic situation.

North circuit

The Northern circuit is the primarily used circuit for all traffic circuit operations. All training and/or practice circuits will generally take place here. The circuit altitude is 1300ft. Strict adherence to the published circuit is mandatory.

South circuit

The Southern circuit is only available as a contingency, especially for aircraft with a vastly different performance than the other aircraft currently in the circuit. It may only be used with explicit approval by Egelsbach Radio. The circuit altitude is 1300ft. Strict adherence to the published circuit is mandatory.

Airspace

ATZ/TMZ/RMZ

The Frankfurt-Egelsbach ATZ is also a TMZ and an RMZ. This means that all aircraft within the Frankfurt-Egelsbach ATZ are required to operate their transponder on an assigned squawk or - if no squawk has been assigned - the VFR standard squawk and to be in contact with Egelsbach Radio.

Reporting points

There are six reporting points around the Frankfurt-Egelsbach ATZ. All but one of them are non-compulsory reporting points which only have to be reported when instructed to do so by Egelsbach Radio; the compulsory reporting point always has to be reported.

Reporting point	Location	Remark
D	highway intersection A5/A67/A672	--
E	town of Eppertshausen	--
K	Schleftheimer Wiesen clearing	--
L	highway/motorway intersection A5/B486	compulsory reporting point shared with Frankfurt/Main CTR use of L can be restricted and has to be coordinated by both Frankfurt Tower and Egelsbach Radio - pilots should plan to not use this reporting point
T	town of Waldacker	--
Y	East end of town of Rödermark	--