EDLN - Mönchengladbach
General
Before you fly...
Welcome to Mönchengladbach! This small airport primarily hosts private jets, business charters, and other general aviation aircraft. It is not big enough for airliner traffic except for some small regional turboprop aircraft.
Although the airport has a simple layout and low traffic levels on VATSIM, you should still prepare yourself thoroughly to keep it fun for everyone and avoid mistakes which might lead to delays for yourself and other users.
If you are new to VATSIM, Mönchengladbach can be a great airport to get used to more complex airspaces once you have gotten a bit more comfortable with flying on the network. It rarely gets very busy, so making smaller mistakes will usually not have a negative impact on anybody else's experience on the network, at least on the ground; but the airport's location within the Köln/Düsseldorf TMA, Germany's most complex airspace, as well as its CTR's border with the Düsseldorf CTR leave little room for navigational errors or altitude busts. Additionally, when flying IFR, you may experience busier frequencies during departure and arrival and should already be experienced enough to be comfortable with these frequencies.
ATIS
Mönchengladbach's ATIS is broadcast from the Mönchengladbach VOR in the real world. Due to limitations with VATSIM's audio system, implementing such VOR-hosted ATISes is currently not possible. Thus, the fictional frequency 121.815 is used on VATSIM instead of the one you will find on your charts.
Parking position
Please make sure you choose an appropriate stand for your aircraft type.
Most business jets and turboprops park on the main apron in front of the Tower or on the commercial apron in the Southwest.
Smaller general aviation aircraft will usually park inside or in front of the hangars.
Maintenance flights will often park North of the runway.
Mönchengladbach is not equipped to handle A380 aircraft. To maintain realism and prevent inconveniences for controllers and other pilots, we ask pilots to choose a different airport when flying the A380.
Non-movement area
Mönchengladbach is one of the very rare airports in Germany which have non-movement areas on its apron. Only taxiways A, B, C, D, and F as well as the main apron in front of the Tower are controlled. Pilots are allowed to taxi without clearance in the non-movement area, e.g. to taxi from the hangar to the run-up area. However, before initiating movement toward the movement area and before entering the movement area, you are still required to acquire a taxi clearance from ATC.
When you receive a taxi clearance into the movement area while you are in the non-movement area, you are expected to reach the first cleared taxiway on the shortest way possible; likewise when cleared to a parking position in the non-movement area, you are expected to take the shortest path between the last cleared taxiway and your parking position.
only areas on the runway side of the red line are controlled
Handoffs
When instructed to contact another controller, do so as soon as possible. This will avoid you having to stop moving or level off. Please do not hold your position to switch the frequency, keep moving on the ground!
Be aware that some frequencies in use might not be shown in the controller list of your pilot client, so it is important that you listen carefully to what ATC says.
Auto-handoff
Mönchengladbach utilizes an auto-handoff procedure for IFR departures where Tower will not hand off outbounds to the approach controller. As the airborne frequency changes depending on the operating direction and staffed positions at Düsseldorf, it will always be given to you by the Ground controller during your enroute clearance; should the frequency change again before you depart, ATC will advise you of the updated airborne frequency.
Contact the airborne frequency immediately when airborne unless explicitly told to remain on Tower frequency.
Charts & Scenery
Charts
You can find current IFR charts for Mönchengladbach on chartfox (requires VATSIM login).
You can find current VFR charts for Mönchengladbach in the AIP VFR.
For a better overview over the airspace structure around Mönchengladbach, we recommend openflightmaps.
Airport Scenery
| Sim |
Freeware |
Payware |
| MSFS |
flightsim.to | -- |
| X-Plane 11 |
X-Plane Default Scenery |
-- |
| Prepare3D V4/V5 |
-- |
-- |
Departing Traffic
We ask all pilots to also read the General section with information relevant to all pilots.
Preparation
A thorough preparation is important for any flight. We ask you to conduct a thorough briefing to avoid delays and keep it fun for everyone.
Route planning
You can find valid routes for many destinations in the AeroNav Global Route Database.
When planning a route via SimBrief, please use routes with the Eurocontrol icon, as those will generally be valid.
When filing an invalid flight plan, you will usually have to file a completely new flight plan before ATC can issue your enroute clearance.
SID assignment
If there is no SID leading to the first waypoint of your flight plan, please check which AIRAC you are using - if your AIRAC cycle is too outdated, it might take some time until the controllers can coordinate a solution for you. Please also make sure you are complying with the following restrictions that exist for some of these waypoints.
| Waypoint |
Restrictions |
| GMH |
only for flights with requested max. FL140 |
| KUMIK |
only for flights with requested min. FL150 |
| SONEB |
only for flights with with requested min. FL140 and via RKN or TENLI |
Enroute Clearance
Clearance requests in Germany are very short. Please avoid unnecessarily long clearance requests to reduce frequency congestion.
Pilot: Mönchengladbach Ground, Brilliant 1009, stand A3, request enroute clearance, information M.
Datalink Clearance (DCL)
Mönchengladbach also offers electronic datalink clearances (also known as PDC or Pre-Departure Clearance) on VATSIM using the Hoppie ACARS system. The station code is EDLN. If your aircraft does not have a direct integration of the Hoppie system, you can also use easyCPDLC.
Requesting clearance electronically is preferred over voice clearances as it reduces frequency congestion thus avoiding delays. Because of this, we ask all pilots able to use the Hoppie ACARS system to do so.
Startup
Startup approval is the "go" from the controller's side to start your engines. It is also an assurance that you will be cleared to start moving within the next 20 minutes.
Pushback
Pushback is not required as all stands at Mönchengladbach are taxi-out positions.
Taxi
While Mönchengladbach's layout is relatively simple, it is still important to conduct a thorough briefing of expected taxi routes as well as correct taxiing. To avoid delays for yourself and other users, start taxiing as soon as possible after receiving your taxi clearance and request taxi in a timely manner after your pushback.
If you are unsure about your taxi instructions, hold position and inform ATC immediately.
Takeoff
Mönchengladbach has only one runway which needs to be used for both departures and arrivals. While there is usually not too much other traffic, it is still important to begin your takeoff roll as soon as you receive your clearance and be prepared for immediate takeoff clearances, especially because Mönchengladbach procedures conflict with Düsseldorf procedures and there may only be a small gap to accommodate your departure. If you take too long, ATC might have to cancel your takeoff clearance and issue a go around for an arriving aircraft.
Auto-handoff
Mönchengladbach utilizes an auto-handoff procedure for IFR departures where Tower will not hand off outbounds to the approach controller. As the airborne frequency changes depending on the operating direction and staffed positions at Düsseldorf, it will always be given to you by the Tower controller.
Contact the airborne frequency immediately when airborne unless explicitly told to remain on Tower frequency.
Arriving Traffic
We ask all pilots to also read the General section with information relevant to all pilots.
Arrival
STAR assignment
You can usually expect not to fly your entire STAR and instead to get radar vectors.
Descent planning
To avoid having to fly unnecessarily long finals, pilots should plan to cross the following waypoints at the following altitudes. Remember that all altitude changes require an explicit clearance by ATC.
- ARPEG: FL250
- EKSAK: FL260
- RASVO: FL200
- TEBRO: FL170
- NVO: FL70
Approach
Approach procedures
The approach into Mönchengladbach will usually be an ILS approach.
Speeds
Pilots should plan the following speeds. Keep in mind that ATC instructions always take precedent.
- Descent phase: 250 - 300 KIAS
- Base: 220 KIAS
- Turn to final: 180 - 200 KIAS
There is no restriction for maximum 250 KIAS below FL100 as the Köln/Düsseldorf TMA, which covers Mönchengladbach, is class C.
You need to follow all speed instructions precisely until they are cancelled by ATC to ensure separation. If you need to slow down earlier for any reason, advise ATC immediately, so they can issue an appropriate instruction.
Taxi
While Mönchengladbach's layout is relatively simple, it is still important to conduct a thorough briefing of expected taxi routes as well as correct taxiing. To avoid delays for yourself and other users, start taxiing as soon as possible after receiving your taxi clearance.
If you are unsure about your taxi instructions, hold position and inform ATC immediately.
VFR Traffic
We ask all pilots to also read the General section with information relevant to all pilots.
Mönchengladbach’s airspace and general traffic levels make the airport very friendly to VFR traffic in the real world. As this is similar on VATSIM, controllers will usually be able to accommodate VFR requests. However, pilots should keep the airport's location within the Köln/Düsseldorf TMA, Germany's most complex airspace, as well as its direct border to the Düsseldorf CTR in mind.
Airspace Structure
CTR
The Mönchengladbach CTR has a top altitude of 2000 ft MSL, about 1800 ft AGL. Please pay close attention to setting the correct QNH and your altitude to avoid inadvertently entering airspace C above.
The following mandatory reporting points exist around the airport:
| Reporting point |
Use |
Location |
| G |
Entry/Exit from/to the S | industrial district Giesenkirchen-Nord |
| K1 |
Entry/Exit from/to the N on K route |
quarry lake Kempen |
| K2 |
Entry/Exit from/to the N on K route |
roundabout NW of St. Tönis |
| M |
Entry/Exit from/to the NE | DHL distribution center Krefeld |
| R |
Entry from the SW |
highway A61 exit Wickrath |
| W |
Entry/Exit from/to the W |
highway intersection A52/A61 |
Keep in mind that ATC might instruct you to use a different reporting point than the one you requested, if necessary.
Departure & Arrival
The maximum altitude for all departures and arrivals is 2000 ft AMSL.
Traffic circuit
Mönchengladbach has a recommended (albeit not mandatory) traffic circuit in the North and in the South. Pilots should follow these circuits whenever no contrary instruction has been given by ATC. More information can be found on the airport's website. The Northern circuit is at an altitude of 1200ft AMSL, the Southern circuit is at an altitude of 1100ft AMSL.
