ETHN - Niederstetten Airbase
Overview
Niederstetten is a Bundeswehr base in Niederstetten with mixed military and civilian use. The airport was built during World War II as a temporary field and abandoned after the end of the war; however, when the post-war Luftwaffe was formed, the rudimentary infrastructure was built out to a permanent airfield which was improved even further in recent years, including a runway extension. While traffic consists primarily of helicopters of the Transporthubschrauberregiment 30, including multiple SAR helicopters, the airport is also used by civilian general and business aviation traffic.
As Niederstetten is a military airport, charts can't be found in the normal AIP. They are accessible through the MIL AIP, GEMIL FLIP VAD, and CENOR FLIP in the milais.
Niederstetten is an unrestricted airport. The Tower position can be staffed by all controllers with an S2 rating or higher. The radar position can be staffed by all controllers with an S3 rating or higher. However, controllers should closely familiarize themselves with military procedures before staffing the airport.
Niederstetten ATC Stations
| Station |
Station ID |
Login |
Frequency |
Remarks |
Endorsement |
| Tower |
THNT |
ETHN_TWR |
134.205 |
military station |
unrestricted: no course |
| Arrival |
THNA |
ETHN_APP |
127.190 |
military station |
unrestricted: no course |
All stations at Niederstetten use the callsign "Stetten", e.g. "Stetten Radar".
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Tower
Stetten Tower is responsible for all movements at the airport and within the CTR as well as all enroute and startup clearances.
General
Enroute clearances
All enroute clearances must be coordinated with Stetten Radar. The clearance will be given by Stetten Radar to be relayed to the pilot by Stetten Tower. Usually, pilots are first given their startup and taxi clearance and the enroute clearance is coordinated while the aircraft is on its way to the runway to be given at the holding point shortly before departure. If Stetten Radar is offline, the enroute clearance has to be coordinated with the appropriate civilian radar controller.
Further information on clearances to be given can be found in the ETHN Approach SOP.
Civilian apron
Civilian traffic may move without taxi clearance on the civilian apron in the North. These aircraft only need taxi clearance from the fence onward.
IFR traffic
All IFR traffic shall use the hard surface runway. The grass lanes and the helipad are only available for VFR helicopter traffic.
Departures
A departure release for all IFR departures shall be obtained from Stetten Radar.
Departures shall be handed off to Stetten Radar as soon as possible.
Arrivals
For IFR arrivals on a PAR approach, a landing clearance shall be relayed to Stetten Radar.
VFR traffic
Grass lanes
The grass lanes are only available for VFR helicopter emergency landings.
Reporting points
There are seven reporting points around the Niederstetten CTR, all of which except for two are mandatory reporting points.
| Reporting point |
Location |
Remark |
| November 1 |
wind turbines Northeast of Queckbronn | -- |
| November 2 |
East of Ebertsbronn village | non-compulsory reporting point |
| Whiskey 1 |
wind turbine West of Rot village | -- |
| Whiskey 2 |
power lines over B290 | non-compulsory reporting point |
| Echo |
Schön village | -- |
| Hotel |
Leuzendorf airfield | -- |
| Sierra |
forest between B290 and Schrozberg | -- |
Approach
Stetten Radar is responsible for all airborne traffic within the Stetten approach sector as well as coordinating all enroute clearances for IFR departures out of Niederstetten airport.
Stetten Radar shall always inform the controllers of EDGG sectors Dinkelsbühl, König, and Stuttgart as well as EDMM sector Franken when opening and closing the position.
Airspace
The airspace controlled by Stetten Radar is class E which is lowered to 1000ft AGL in the majority of the area of responsibility with small sections of class E lowered to 1700ft AGL in the North and Southeast.
Niederstetten departure procedures
Enroute clearances
Enroute clearances must always be coordinated with all concerned adjacent sectors. Exact routings to the first fix in the flight plan must be adapted to the individual traffic situation but usually a DCT to the first waypoint is the best solution. The initial climb shall always be at least 3500ft and should not exceed 5000ft. Initial flight levels beyond the upper boundary of the Stetten Radar sector must be coordinated with all concerned sectors. All IFR departures shall use the applicable OID for the departure runway.
The enroute clearance will be requested by Stetten Tower and has to be communicated to Stetten Tower once it has been coordinated. Stetten Tower will then relay the clearance to the pilot.
Departure release
During 06 operations, Nörvenich Radar shall obtain a further departure release from DKA before granting a departure release to Nörvenich Tower. If possible, Nörvenich Radar should also instruct Nörvenich Tower to hand off departures directly to DKA.
Transfer to civilian ATC
Handoffs for departures shall always be coordinated individually (preferably while coordinating the enroute clearance) and then take place as agreed, but usually a handoff at the sector border is the best solution.
Niederstetten arrival procedures
Transfer from civilian ATC
Handoffs for arrivals shall always be coordinated individually and then take place as agreed. Stetten Radar should, whenever possible, approach civilian ATC with a proposal for the handoff ahead of time, but usually a DCT to the respective IAF (07 operations: NIBKO, 25 operations: TIMLO) at 5000ft with a full release is the best solution.
Approach
Niederstetten has an RNP approach to both runways as well as an ILS approach to runway 25.
During 25 operations, the ILS approach should be used primarily; however, there is also a PAR approach available for both runways.
Since Stetten Precision is currently not implemented on VATSIM, PAR approaches can only be conducted if traffic levels permit - if necessary, Stetten Radar can coordinate with civilian ATC to keep other inbound traffic outside of the airspace while a PAR approach is taking place; whether this is possible, however, depends on the current workload of civilian ATC.
Giebelstadt departure procedures
Enroute clearances
Pilots shall always be cleared on the applicable SID to their first waypoint depending on the runway in use. The initial climb is always 5000ft via SID.
The enroute clearance will be requested by Giebelstadt Information who will in turn relay the clearance to the pilot.
Transfer to civilian ATC
Departures shall be handed off to Langen Radar as soon as possible to enable a continuous climb.
Giebelstadt arrival procedures
Transfer from civilian ATC
Handoffs for arrivals shall always be coordinated individually and then take place as agreed. Stetten Radar should, whenever possible, approach civilian ATC with a proposal for the handoff ahead of time, but usually a DCT to COSJE at 5000ft or the lowest available flight level is the best solution.