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Tower

Büchel 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 Büchel Radar. The clearance will be given by Büchel Radar to be relayed to the pilot by Büchel 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 Büchel 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 ETSB Approach SOP.

Approaches to Spangdahlem (ETAD)

Traffic approaching runway 22 at Spangdahlem Airbase will cross through the Southwestern corner of the Büchel CTR. These crossings are automatically released and Büchel Tower shall ensure separation to these aircraft and, if necessary, inform Spangdahlem GCA of any conflicting traffic.

IFR traffic

Departures

A departure release for all IFR departures shall be obtained from Büchel Radar.

Departures shall be handed off to Büchel Radar as soon as possible.

Arrivals

For IFR arrivals on a PAR approach, a landing clearance shall be relayed to Büchel Radar.

VFR traffic

Break direction

Overhead breaks shall only take place toward the East.

Circuit

Circuit operations shall primarily take place toward the East. Jet circuits are not permitted toward the West.

Reporting points

There are seven reporting points around the Büchel CTR, all of which are mandatory reporting points.

Reporting point
Location
Remark
November
radio mast Hochkelberg --
Entry North
radio mast Hellersberg for military traffic during 21 operations only
Entry East
rest stop Elztal for military traffic during 21 operations only
Entry South
bridge Hochmoselbrücke for military traffic during 03 operations only
Entry West
Holzmaar lake for military traffic during 03 operations only
Initial 03
solar farm West of Hontheim for military traffic during 03 operations only
Initial 21
town of Masburg for military traffic during 21 operations only