ATIS

ATIS Overview

In the real world an ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) is developed for most towered airports to provide pilots with the latest weather along with active runway information. Upon initial contact with either Approach or Local control, a pilot would tell the controller that they had the ATIS information by using the phonetic letter associated with that ATIS report.

Every controller in the Washington ARTCC, regardless of position, is REQUIRED to have a text ATIS at a minimum.

Upon logging into the network, the controller MUST verify that the ATIS corresponds to the position being staffed at the moment. Please note that this is a very common oversight even among experienced controllers.

ATIS "Don'ts"

• DO NOT exceed four lines of up to 64 characters each in length, plus the voice channel switching or network information either automatically inserted by the ATC software or manually entered by the controller.
• DO NOT use the @ symbol, type the word “at”
• DO NOT insert the “.” in the altimeter, enter it as you would say it
• DO NOT cut and paste parts of the METAR for your airport, and put it in the ATIS.
• DO NOT use any alias that produces the raw METAR. This includes $METAR($arr), $METAR($dep) and others. You MUST spell out all information in your ATIS. Pilots have access to ACARS and can get the METAR, putting the METAR in the ATIS does not help anybody and violates VATSIM policy.

Following VATSIM policy, the following information is NOT allowed in a controller's ATIS:

• Controller's name and/or rating
• Controller's frequency
• Raw METAR data that has not been decoded (see above)

Voice ATIS

For controllers using the Virtual Radar Client (VRC) the software allows the creation of a Voice ATIS. Click here for more information on how to set up a Voice ATIS.

Clearance (DEL), Ground (GND) and Local (TWR) Positions

Full ATIS Required Components

Component	VRC (fill into "Controller Information Template)	ASRC (manually type into ATIS box)
Voice IP statement	N/A	$mypvtrw
Position RADIO NAME	$radioname
ATIS Information Code	Information %id% (automatically set through ATISMaker if used)	Information PHONETIC LETTER...
Runways in Use	%runways% (enter and select runways on "Landing" and "Departing" lists)	Landing and Departing Runways...
Winds	Winds $wind(%icao%)	Winds $wind(ICAO code)
Altimeter	Altimeter $altim(%icao%)	Altimeter $altim(ICAO code)

The ATIS code for all the local positions MUST BE THE SAME. It is the Local (TWR) controller’s job to inform the Ground and Clearance controller’s when the ATIS is updated.

Local ATIS Examples

The following table shows examples of how to build text ATIS using the two approved radar client software packages (Bold letter represents start of a new line):

Pos	Example	VRC Alias Example	ASRC Alias Example
DEL	Rw.liveatc.net/RDU_2C Raleigh Clearance Delivery Raleigh Durham Information BRAVO Winds 220 at 8, altimeter 2992 Landing and Departing runways 23R and 23L	$radioname %icao% Information %id% Winds $wind(%icao%), Altimeter altim(%icao%) %runways%	$mypvtrw $radioname Raleigh Durham Information BRAVO Winds $wind(KRDU), altimeter $altim(KRDU) Landing and Departing runways 23R and 23L
GND	Rw.liveatc.net/RDU_2G Raleigh Ground Raleigh Durham Information BRAVO Winds 220 at 8, altimeter 2992 Landing and Departing runways 23R and 23L	$radioname %icao% Information %id% Winds $wind(%icao%), Altimeter altim(%icao%) %runways%	$mypvtrw $radioname Raleigh Durham Information BRAVO Winds $wind(KRDU), altimeter $altim(KRDU) Landing and Departing runways 23R and 23L
TWR	Rw.liveatc.net/RDU_2T Raleigh Tower Raleigh Durham Information BRAVO Winds 220 at 8, altimeter 2992 Landing and Departing runways 23R and 23L	$radioname %icao% Information %id% Winds $wind(%icao%), Altimeter altim(%icao%) %runways%	$mypvtrw $radioname Raleigh Durham Information BRAVO Winds $wind(KRDU), altimeter $altim(KRDU) Landing and Departing runways 23R and 23L

 

Approach (APP) and Departure (DEP) Positions

Only put the following into your ATIS:

• Voice IP (ASRC only)
• Position RADIO NAME
• Airports you are serving (Required by ZDC)
• Type of approach and arrival runway(s) – for Approach controllers ONLY (optional)
• Departure and/or Arrival runway(s) - if no DEL, GND or TWR online (optional)
• Logoff time (optional)

Departure/Approach ATIS example

The following table shows examples of how to build DEP/APP text ATIS using the two approved radar client software packages:

Position	Example	VRC Alias Example	VRC Alias Example
DEP	Rw.liveatc.net/RDU_2S Raleigh Departure	$radioname	$mypvtrw $radioname
APP	Rw.liveatc.net/RDU_2E Raleigh Approach	$radioname	$mypvtrw $radioname

 

Enroute or Center (CTR) Positions

Put the following information into your ATIS:

• Voice IP
• Position RADIO NAME
• Logoff time (optional)

Enroute/Center ATIS example

The following table shows examples of how to build CTR text ATIS using the two approved radar client software packages:

Position	Example	VRC Alias Example	VRC Alias Example
CTR	Rw.liveatc.net/ZDC_23 Washington Center	$radioname	$mypvtrw $radioname

 

Setting up ATIS on your Radar Client

For detailed information on how to set up your text ATIS in the two major VATSIM radar clients, see the following links:

VRC (Virtual Radar Client)

ASRC (Advanced Simulated Radar Client)