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leading to the first waypoint of your flight plan, please check which AIRAC you are using - if your AIRAC cycle is too outdated, it might take some time until the controllers can coordinate a solution for you. There are no restrictions on the usability of the different SIDs.

Enroute Clearance

Clearance requests in Germany are very short. Please avoid unnecessarily long clearance requests to reduce frequency congestion.

Pilot: Lahr Tower, Avanti Air 130H, request enroute clearance.

As Lahr has no ATIS, ATC will give you some basic weather information together with your enroute clearance. If you require a full weather report, it has to be specifically requested.

Pilot: Lahr Tower, Avanti Air 130H, request enroute clearance and weather information.

Datalink Clearance (DCL)

Lahr also offers electronic datalink clearances (also known as PDC or Pre-Departure Clearance) on VATSIM using the Hoppie ACARS system. The station code is EDTL. 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. It can be requested and approved together with pushback.

Pushback

Pushback is not required as all stands at Lahr are taxi-out positions.

Taxi

While Lahr'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.

Takeoff

Lahr 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. If you take too long, ATC might have to cancel your takeoff clearance and issue a go around for an arriving aircraft.

Auto-handoff

Lahr utilizes an auto-handoff procedure for IFR departures where Tower will not hand off outbounds to the approach controller. The current airborne frequency will always be given by the Tower controller.

Contact the airborne frequency immediately when airborne unless explicitly told to remain on Tower frequency.