LOWI Primer

About this Document

THIS DOCUMENT STILL AWAITS CHECK AND VERIFICATION. PLEASE HANDLE INFORMATION WITH CARE.

This document is intended as training and reference material for controlling Innsbruck Airport (LOWI). It covers the stations LOWI_TWR and LOWI_APP. This page is work in progress. Currently the TWR section is in progress. Stay tuned for APP. If you are controller: Feel free to discuss and edit.

If you are a Pilot: The page LOWI for pilots is a better source for you, with more info on flying airplanes and less on controlling.

General

Location

Innsbruck is one of the most thrilling airports to fly from and to, for various reasons:

• It is deeply in the Inn valley, surrounded by mountains as high as 8000ft (to the north) and >10000ft (to the south and West). This means that approach is particularly long, and flying is limited to a narrow corridor.
• The runway is somehow not in line with the valley, so approach and takeoff is not straight-in-or-out. Instead, the last part of approach and the first part of departure is visual only.
• LOWI has peculiar wind conditions - "Föhn". This is a very strong and gusty southerly wind. Under these conditions, aircraft usually perform a "special Föhn" departure and arrival to avoid vomiting passengers and heart attacks. At VATSIM, these conditions cannot be simulated, but some local pilots love to fly it.
• The runway has no complete adjacent taxiways for entering and exiting - Departing (and sometimes arriving) aircraft need to backtrack on either side, which takes time and makes Tower controlling a real thrill.
• X-Plane 9 has LOWI as (nice) standard scenery, which provokes many X-Plane newbies to try out their skills here - thrilling experience for controllers, to be polite.

Airspaces around LOWI

As Innsbruck is deeply buried in "the canyon",

• CTR (for TWR) reaches up to A9000ft (mark: actual altitude, not FL). If no higher ATC is available, then Innsbruck Tower controls up to A11000ft).
• Also, TWR takes care of three adjacent SRA: Innsbruck I (west), Innsbruck II (east) and Innsbruck III (south). TWR competence reaches from SRA bottom (6000ft for Innsbruck 1, 8500ft for Innsbruck II, 7000ft for Innsbruck III, but at least 1000ft GND in all 3 cases) to 9000ft - above is APP. VFR route points are mandatory reporting points (full triangle, except Golf) and TWR shall be contacted 3 min before reaching the initial entry point (M1, N1, W1, Brenner), even if those points being located outside the CTR.
• APP airspace (Area Tirol) reaches up to FL165. The airspace above is delegated to EDMM.

Airport

(see the aerodrome chart, which is [here].)

X-Plane Screenshot of LOWI

Apron

• The far eastern part is for General Aviation (GAC East).
• The middle part of the apron is for larger birds.
• Local General Aviation is at the very Western part in front of Hangars I, II and III.
• In the western part is a "cutout" in the grass. On earlier charts, this was marked as helipad. Some choppers still use it - clarifiaction ("heliport in front of hangar II") is recommended Otherwise Copters are parked like planes (depending on size) at the main apron.
• Rescure and police helicopters operate from the "Flugrettungszentrum" (ICAO: LOJO), which is south of hangar III and the engine run stand. Local pilots pronounce it "Lojo" and don't spell it. LOJO is not part of any standard package. Giannis MSFS add on scenery has it, and X-Plane has it too.
• Apron, hangar and LOJO is not under TWR control. Therefore, you treat it as any space within CTR. you tell QNH, wind and "takeoff/landing at own discretion", as long as they don't interfere with runway or taxis.
• The Apron has no predefined "stands" in real life. In real life, aircraft are handed off to the follow-me car. As there is no car at VATSIM, "taxi to stand of your choice" is best, maybe added by "in the western part of the apron" - for some mysterious reason many aircraft tend to log on in front of the tower in the eastern part.

Holding points

• A on the taxiway A towards rwy 08
• B1 (facing east before turning into B) and B2 (facing west, before turning into B). They are not shown on the VACC charts and not included in FS or X-Plane standard scenery, but included inGiannis LOWI scenery for MSFS. Don't expect pilots to find it. "Holding point B" works perfectly.
• L holding point is relevant for the GAC parking.

Runway and around

• Runways 08 and 26 both have turnpads. Some pilots report "runway vacated" when standing on it, so be aware.
• North of the runway is taxiway Y which is grass and for light aircraft and gliders only. Some pilots think it smart to use it if they miss taxiway A to vacate, or the adjacent "Schleppweg" (glider tow track) with 767's and are a bit surprised.
• About 1,5nm final rwy 26 is the rooftop helipad of the hospital (LOIU). This is not part of the MSFS or X-Plane standard scenery. If the helipad is occupied, inform arriving aircraft about a "floating" heli: "traffic information: stationary helicopter at the hospital helipad at 1.5nm final".

Runway configurations

Be aware that a few factors restrict runway configurations, mainly: position in the valley and pilots' ability.

• Easiest config is outbound 08 / inbound 26. (Almost) all pilots can handle this. But this is an opposite configuration. In this case, taxi is via A, and backtrack is only granted as long as arriving traffic is above RTT. Always instruct maximum rate of climb.

• Best high traffic situation is 26 only. Departing aircraft taxi via B and circle (with max rate of climb) and reach AB with 6000ft or more. With this, vertical separation is guaranteed and you can get aircraft in and out fast. Bear in mind that you need at least 5nm arriving distance in case a landing aircraft overshoots A. You need at least 7nm arriving distance to get an aircraft off the ground (backtrack and takeoff).

• Föhn config is 08 only. Arriving aircraft must be able to circle. You need at least 10nm arriving distance to bring an aircraft out. High traffic trick: Best procedure is to issue backtrack 08 early, and at the moment the arriving aircraft is turning left at AB for circling, takeoff clearance is given (and the next arrival must be 10nm before AB to provide vertical separation.

VFR Traffic

LOWI VFR routes old and new

(see the VFR chart, which is - hooray! free for us to publish now: it's here). Important: There are new routes as of March 8th, 2012. Expect pilots turn up with charts of either generation, so we recommend: Try the new charts right away and see if the pilot knows what you mean. If he doesn't, the following changes apply:

• M1 is the old E1
• old E2 is omitted
• M2 is old L2
• M3 is old L3
• old A is omitted
• The eastern arrival route (new: M1-M2-M3) is old: E1-L2-L3.
• Approaching from F, the old arrival route L (L1-L2-L3) is now F-M2-M3, but beware: F-M2 is close to the LOC DME east, as VFR pilots need to climb to 7500ft.
• West: G and I are new, so you might avoid it.

See the following graph for explanation. Sorry, due to copyright issues, no VFR chart can be published - it is (c) Eurocontrol. The sketch should be to scale.

Radio Communication Failure for VFR

Caution: RCF procedures are not at the VATSIM charts - expect pilots to do what they want (you might tell the pilot via pm what he/she can or should do). In real life for VFR, the following rules apply:

• If RCF occurs before CTR entry clearance, then the pilot has to divert to an airport in uncontrolled airspace.
• If RCF occurs after CTR entry clearance, then the pilot follows this clearance and lands. ([reference]. If the clearance is until holdings, then in real life aircraft continue to a predetermined position near the airport (north or south) and await light signals (or, in fact: they call in by phone). As this is not possible at VATSIM, expect unexpected results and be prepared :-)

IFR Traffic

Approach

Innsbruck has two standard directions to fly in, but "standard" is relative: They are not straight-in and you have to land visually on rwy08 or rwy26 (either approach):

LOC DME East approach: This approach is most popular, but many pilots don't read the charts and surprise both themselves and controllers: It has a glideslope, so many aircraft think it is an ILS and discover their mistake some 100ft over ground that the runway is 5° offset and they need to land visually - funny manoevers happen.

Special LOC DME East approach is the same as the "normal" LOC DME East, but has a lower decision heigt. The special approach is granted on pilot's request, and as the pilot has to monitor decision height, controllers can grant it and ignore the rest.

LOC DME West approach: A challenge! It is for cloud-breaking purpose only and does not lead to any RWY straight. A steep descent from KTI NDB over the airport to AB Locator at 5000ft, where a tight (visual) right turn leads them into the position of either continuing towards RWY26 or RWY08. Pilots who don't read charts think that this approach directly leads to RWY 08. Some dive for it when they have runway in sight and end up with 300kt on short final. This approach has no glideslope (hence LOC). Go-around is more or less a straight climb-out to RTT NDB. Caution: LOC DME West is not part of standard FS2002 and 2004 (but included in X-Plane 9). It is recommended (to APP) to check in advance, if the pilot is able to do this. Some pilots use the back course of LOC DME east with smashing mountainous results. This approach is challenging to anyone doing it for the first time. Descent is steep and you need to be at 160kt for the right turn - in fact, you almost need to prepare your aircraft for landing (flaps, gear, speed 160kt) above KTI. If APP wants to be polite, he/she tells them and sends them into the KTI holding until speed is down.

In real life, many pilots request "visual" before KTI, when they see the Inn valley is clear of fog or clouds and proceeding visually to RWY in use (yes, this may also include a downwind for RWY 26)As ATC, you can clear this on pilots request if it fits you.

Special LOC DME West approach has been omitted by july 2011. Use standard LOC DME West approach.

RNAV 0.3 (RNP) arrival: This approach is very rare and on pilot request only (as aircraft have to be equipped with GPS with 0.3nm accuracy). The approach is very similar to Special LOC DME East approach. This approach leads into rwy 26 only. Go-around is different - a RNAV turn in the upper Inn valley and return to RTT NDB.

Visual Landing

All approaches meet at AB NDB. From there, there are two ways to the runway (see [visual approach chart]:

• rwy26: For east approach, this is almost straight-in. For DME west approach, a steep right hand circle into final.
• rwy08 For DME east approach, aircraft turn left towards INN and then circle right onto final. Aircraft almost need landing speed to turn. For DME west appraoch, aircraft turn right hard (landing speed!) over AB, fly left downwind as DME east approach and then turn right into final.

Caution: It is TWR's responsibility to merge traffic arriving at AB NDB!

How to clear approaching aircraft to land

Approach is long, and many things happen in the meantime. Therefore, we recommend step-by-step clearances:

1. Clear all approaching aircraft with "report AB NDB". This is where all approaches meet and where pilots have to continue visually at the latest.
2. For rwy26, clear to land, if possible (or issue "expect late clearance").
3. For circling approaches (DME west and DME east->rwy08) clear "visual circling rwy 08, report turning into final", and then clear to land.

This step-by-step clearance helps to stay flexible if the situation changes. You could clear to land at fist contact at 13.000ft, but the plane would still be flying for several minutes before touchdown and you might have forgot, who has a landing clearance and who not.

One example with two aircraft: LHA123 is just after RTT for LOC DME East approach, and LHA456 at KTI for LOC DME West approach. As LHA123 from the east is lower (RTT is 9500ft) and nearer (15 DME AB) than LOC DME west (FL130 and 18-20 DME AB), it will be first in:

LHA123: Innsbruck TWR, gutn Tach, LHA123 LOC DME East established.
TWR: LHA123, servus. Contintue, Wind 230° 4kt, runway in use 26, report AB NDB.
LHA123: will report AB, LHA123.

Next is LHA456, who has to slow down (as 3-5nm is not enough separation). Anyway, for LOC DME West approach aircraft should prepare their aircraft at KTI for landing: Speed down, flaps down, and they might need speedbrakes up. It is a good precaution to tell this to pilots: West approach is steep and many aircraft get too fast and are in too early. The only way out would be a go-around to RTT. Caution if you order speed down: There might be an aircraft behind - yu might need to check with APP.

LHA456: Innsbruck TWR, hallo, LHA456 LOC DME West established FL130.
TWR: LHA456, servus, continue, wind 230°4kt, runway in use 26, reduce to landing speed, report AB NDB.
LHA456: Reducing to landing speed, will report AB, LHA456.

Now LHA123 is near AB and sees the runway. He gets and clearance to land, plus traffic info, as the other acft is roughly 5-7nm away, head-on and above:

LHA123: LHA123, AB, runway in sight.
TWR: LHA123, traffic info: Approaching company airline on LOC DME West at 12 o'clock, 7000ft. Wind 230°4kt, rwy26 cleared to land.
LHA123: Traffic in sight, rwy26 cleared to land, LHA123.

As LHA123 is away from AB, LHA456 gets clearance further on into final, plus traffic info, and after reporting final, clearance to land. If there is no traffic around, TWR could clear him to land at once (Strictly speaking, both aircraft could meet at AB, as LOC DME West approach should be about 700ft higher. But it's close and you will have problems with lateral separation at final anyway. If you produced such a problem, you could order LHA456 circling 08 at landing speed and hope that LHA123 vacates quickly). Most likely, LHA123 is still busy vacating the runway, so landing clearance is not possible yet:

TWR: LHA456, approaching company acft on LOC DME west 6000ft at your 12 o'clock position. After AB continue visual circling rwy26, report final.
LHA456: Wilco, traffic in sight, LHA456.
LHA456: LHA456 on final 26, runway in sight.
TWR: LHA456, wind 230°4kt, rwy26 cleared to land.

Tricky conflict situations

Arriving/departing too close

Sometimes, aircraft come too close to each other, departing from 08 and arriving LOC DME East (mostly because aircraft climb out fast-and-low). What can you do?

• You can give the arriving aircraft go-around, but this could make it even worse as flight paths may cross.

• You can order the departing aircraft visual climbout down the valley with max altitude well below the glidepath. Expect some funny reactions to change a MD81 to visual.

• Most elegant solution: Separate both aircraft visually. To do this, ask the landing aircraft if he is able to perform visual landing left of the localizer. If yes, then clear him visual approach left side of the localizer and give traffic information. Then, clear the departing aircraft visual climbout left side of the valley and give traffic information. It may be a scary moment if two A320 pass in mid-air in the narrow valley, but it is legal.

It could sound like this, assume that DLH1 is departing and AUA2 is arriving:

LOWI_TWR: AUA 2, are you able for visual approach left of the localizer?
AUA2: Affirm able for visual approach left.
LOWI_TWR: AUA, cleared for visual approach left of the localizer, traffic information: departing A320 at your 1 o'clock position, passing right, confirm in sight.
AUA2: visual approach, traffic in sight, AUA2.
LOWI_TWR: Lufthansa 1, cleared visual departure left side of the valley, traffic information: arriving B737 passing right, confirm in sight.
DLH2: visual departure left side, traffic in sight, DLH2.

Departing aircraft are too slow lining up

Sometimes, departing aircraft are too slow lining up and backtracking for takeoff. This will result in arriving aircraft on an occupied runway. What can you do with an approaching aircraft?

• You instruct departing aircraft to hold position and instruct arriving traffic to go around. But go-around in LOWI is very long and time-consuming: Aircraft have to climb all the way to RTT and back.
• Most elegant solution: If the pilot is able for visual manoever, you can offer him to circle visually and re-enter final. Once the aircraft is on downwind, quickly push departing aircraft out. That could sound like this:

LOWI_TWR: DLH1, hold position, say again: hold position, acknowledge.
DLH1: Holding position, DLH1.
LOWI_TWR: AUA2, go-around, say again: go around, or alternatively visual left traffic pattern at 3500ft or above, report ready for base turn over AB, report intentions.
AUA2: Circling left, 3500ft or above, will report ready for base, AUA2.
(after AUA2 is away over the airport:)
LOWI_TWR: DLH1, cleared for immediate takeoff, expedite.

This manoever also works with 26-only and 08-only, just the other way around.

Bear in mind: These are really tricky manoevers and you need experienced pilots to do it.

Go-arounds

• Go-around rwy 26 is a steep left turn and climbout to RTT.
• Go-around rwy 08 is a straight climbout to RTT.
• Go-around of RNAV 0.3 RNP arrival rwy26 is along waypoints into the upper Inn valley where the aircraft does a steep left turn and returns the approach path to RTT - Nobody flies this.

Go-arounds go all the way back to RTT - that takes a lot of time and could mess up the next arriving aircraft. If there are other landing aircraft on LOC DME East, max rate of climb is necessary. Some pilots don't do this and must be reminded.

To smart pilots, you can offer a visual circuit, leading them back to final via AB, see the section above.

Departure

All departures are cleared FL160. When things are busy, you might need to decide on short notice if a pilot flies out 08 or 26, as some can only arrive 26 (and departing need to take 26 for spacing), and some can only depart 08 (and vice versa). Controllers' delight are pilots who are able to change SID and approach at short notice. Controllers' headache are the others - in doubt, they have to wait on ground.

Standard departure routes

• RWY 08->RTT: RTT2J, OBEDI2J, RASTA3J, UNKEN1J, KOGOL2J all have the same pattern: out to RTT, following an OEJ in- and outbound radial.
• RWY 26->RTT: RTT2H, OBEDI2H, RASTA3H, UNKEN1H, KOGOL2H have a common pattern: Visual left circle and then joining the route to RTT.

Higher climb departure routes

• RWY 08->ADILO: ADILO1J has a steep right turn after OEJ and needs a double climb rate than the "standard" SID via RTT. As precaution, TWR should check with the pilot if able.

• RWY 26->ADILO: ADILO1H has the visual circle left and a steep right turn after OEJ and needs a higher climb rate than the "standard" SID via RTT.

Special performance departure

• RWY 08 special performance: KPT1Z and RTT1Z have higher rates of climb - pilots have to confirm. RTT1Z is good if you have arriving traffic - it would be safely underneath.

RNAV 0.3 departure

• RWY26 RNAV 0.3: Only for equipped aircraft. This route flies up the Inn valley along waypoints, turns around and flies back to WI001=RTT. In practice, aircraft fly this route with max rate of climb until clear of peaks and then a direct routing - the rest of the route is backup if anything goes wrong. On pilot's request only.

Visual

1. RWY 26 visual: Aircraft fly up the Inn valley until clear of peaks and then directly to their next waypoint. On pilot's request only. In real life, Air Berlin requests this to show the Zugspitze to passengers.

Common mistakes by pilots

• To RTT, many pilots tend to depart fast-and-low instead of slow-and-high. If you have arriving traffic at LOC DME East, then remind pilots (2, 3 times) of a max rate of climb.

• On rwy26 departures, some pilots turn right instead of left, flying nose-on into the Martinswand; the reason is that the left turn is slightly more than 180° and many autopilots (like the x-plane standard AP) turn the shorter side. In reality, a pilot with activated autopilot at that stage ends in a coffin or in jail. It is a good idea to confirm "visual departure" (see 3), as vectoring usually worsens the situation.

• Some pilots do not understand that ADILO1H has a left turn towards OEJ and a right turn towards INN and end up with visual climbout.

Föhn procedures

"Föhn" procedures are at pilot's request. Rarely used at VATSIM, as simulators can't simulate the strong and gusty southerly wind. Local pilots like to do it for fun, so you should know it. Föhn operations lead to rwy08only and are visual only (with Föhn, view is excellent). Arrivals descend along the northern ridge between 8000 and 5000ft, were turbulence is least. North of the city, aircraft cross the city for a right hand base for rwy08 and a steep descent to pattern altitude. Base and final 08 are standard. Departures drift to the northern slope, where pilots climb in the least turbulent air.

Spacing

The best thrill of the Innsbruck TWR controller is spacing. As Innsbruck has few and narrow approaches and backtracks on runways, spacing is well beyond other airports. As a rule of thumb, the following spacings are "conservative guesses" - you will most likely be on the safe side If you have the balls (and pilots can fly), you can shorten ist on your own risk :-)

• arriving before arriving (same runway): 7nm (reason: you may need backtrack, if aircraft overshoot the exit). You could shorten to 3-4nm, if the aircraft is able for a short landing without backtrack (issue go-around when the first aircraft overshoots the exit).

• departing before arriving (same runway): 7nm (reason: you need backtrack of departing aircraft). Make sure the pilot is at the holding point and ready to roll before issuing lineup clearances - 10 seconds make a difference. You can shorten to 4nm, if departing aircraft is able for intersection takeoff.

• departing 26 before arriving rwy08: Arriving acft should be before AB NDB when departing aircraft takes off, and departing aircraft should have maximum rate of climb (they turn head-on, and departing aircraft should have 700ft more altitude!). Exception: If departure 26 is visual climb-out or RTT1X (departing aircraft flies up the valley and won't turn left).

• departing 08 before arriving 26: Arriving acft should have D18 OEV (=just reported LOC DME established), departing aircraft should have maximum rate of climb.

• departing 08 before arriving 08: For takeoff clearance, Arriving aircraft should be after AB NDB turning into downwind or before D18 OEV to avoid conflict.

• arriving 26 before arriving 08: As the east-08 flies a visual circle, 5nm will fit.

• arriving 08 before arriving 26: Well, if you really want to smash two aircraft in the middle of the runway.

• Merging West and East approach: Both approaches meet at AB NDB, with West at 5000ft and East at 4460ft. This is neither enough vertical nor horizontal separation. Consider merging traffic with enough (7nm) horizontal separation over AB NDB. You could shorten this to 3nm separation, if the first plane ist LOC DME East and you clear him into 26 and the second ist LOC DME west and you clear him circling 08. You must be very fit if the LOC DME West aircraft does a last-second-go-around: The planes will meet head-on, and you have to separate them visually (both to their left) in seconds.

Do not hesitate to give speed orders, if necessary and if it does not mess up arrival sequence.

Reduced runway separation

None, as the risk is too high that an arriving aircraft overshoots the exit and needs a backtrack while the next aircraft lands and might do the same.

Radio Communication Failures for IFR

In real life, there are no predefined RCF procedures for Innsbruck for a good reason: In a narrow valley with lots of VFR and IFR traffic, this could have dangerous consequences if a big bird flies around without contact. There are company-specific rules negotiated between airline and Austrocontrol. As a rule-of-thumb, expect:

• With RCF before approach clearance and handover to TWR: divert to a different airport.
• RCF after approach clearance and handover to TWR: land - TWR should clear the way.

There are no published RCF procedures on VATSIM charts, so expect pilots do what they want and expect the unexpected - most probably they will fly the approach they have been cleared or (if there was no clearance yet) they have filed (KTI or RTT). Most appropriate behaviour of controllers would be to clear the way.

Handoff

Handoff TWR->APP

Handoff from TWR to APP is best, whenever departing aircraft are conflict-free. It makes sense to have conflicting aircraft on the same frequency. Consider the example of an arriving LOC DME East (with APP) and a departing rwy08. They fly head-on. Either TWR gives the aircraft to APP (and APP monitors the possible conflict), or TWR waits for APP to receive the arriving aircraft (and TWR clears the conflict). Teamspeak is very handy at that situation.

Handoff is somehow tricky, if not all stations are online, because there are delegations. The hierarchy for handoffs is as follows:

Departure

• LOWI_TWR -> LOWI_APP -> LOVV_CTR

If no LOWI_APP and no LOVV_CTR is online, then there is a "gap" until München FIR is responsible.

for KOGOL2H: LOWI_TWR -> UNICOM, at FL160 contact EDMM_C_CTR->EDMM_K_CTR, ->EDMM_R_CTR
for KPT1Z: LOWI_TWR -> UNICOM, at FL160 contact EDMM_K_CTR, ->EDMM_R_CTR
for all other SID: -> UNICOM

Frequencies:

EDMM_C_CTR (Chiemsee): 133.67
EDMM_K_CTR (Kempten): 124.05
EDMM_R_CTR (Roding): 132.55

Arrivals

If no LOWI_APP and no LOVV_CTR is present, then aircraft are cleared by München FIR:

TULSI arrivals are cleared at FL150 until TULSI, further released for descent at FL130 (they fly to RTT).
DCT ALGOI arrivals are cleared FL180, further released for descent to FL150 (they fly KTI).

The point to pick pilots up for LOWW_TWR is when established on the LOCs. If they call earlier (which they regularly do), then tell them to continue at their discretion and call back when established:

LOWI_TWR: Leipzig Air 123, Innsbruck Tower, you are still outside my airspace, continue at your discretion and report when established on the localizer.

(you can be nice and add: "for your information: this means leaving RTT at 10.000ft with heading 210 ....")

(This section reflects the LoA Wien FIR-München FIR Version 2.0.)

Handoff to APP->TWR

whenever LOC is established.

APP issues

...still to come! Who is licensed as APP controller to fill this gap?

Coordination APP-TWR

Coordination with TWR in Innsbruck is more important than on any other airport in Austria, because runway decision is tower (and might change on short notice), but has major consequences for arrival spacing. So you should do the following:

• TWR needs to tell APP default arrival runway so that APP can adjust spacing.
• APP needs to ask for exceptions (if pilots request the other runway and the like)
• TWR needs to tell all exceptions (other than default departure runway, visual climbouts etc.)
• It is a good idea that APP tells TWR if west approaches come in.

A good help is if the two stations listen to the other's radio (Euroscope: Listen to frequency, and hardware setup: output line 2 to a different speaker), then most coordination problems never occur.