Charlotte LIVE 2017 Join the Atlanta ARTCC as we staff up Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC! adfprcejlors
Overview Charlotte is a major Class Bravo airport; for pilots this generally means an extremely busy airspace with complex procedures that are constantly updating. For controllers it s about increased separation and expediting traffic flows. As a result, good operations are a sense of teamwork between pilots and controllers. Controllers are expecting pilots to have charts, be ready for instructions, turn right/left when they re told to, etc. Pilots are looking for an uneventful and on-time arrival into CLT. As a result, it is of the utmost importance that you are fully focused when you fly into ZTL Airspace, and are doing your best so that you, as well as all the other aircraft in the skies will land safely and on time. Scenery The default FS9/FSX/P3D/FSW scenery library is from 2006 and since then there have been many changes to the Charlotte airport, both physically and in terms of procedures. Please take the time to update your scenery, either with payware from the likes of ImagineSim, The New FSDREAMTEAM Charlotte, or through the X-Plane Store, for you X-Plane users; or use freeware from AVSIM or FlightSim.net. Major changes, such as the addition of Runway 18R/36L, and the associated taxi-ways. Below are a few suggested links to updating scenery; FSX/P3D/FSW Free https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/15805/fsx-afcad-file-for-kclt/ FSX/P3D/FSW Free https://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?dlid=194182&catid=fsxscen FSX/P3D Payware BEST (#1 in our Opinion) https://www.fsdreamteam.com/products_kclt.html FSX/P3D Payware (#2 in our Opinion) http://www.imaginesim.com/kclt01.htm FSX/P3D Payware (#3 in our Opinion) http://www.blueprintsimulations.com/blueprint_kclt.html X-Plane Free - https://goo.gl/luuzrf X-Plane Free - https://gateway.x-plane.com/scenery/page/kclt NOTE: If you have outdated scenery, please indicate so in the remarks section of your flightplan so controllers can plan around it. We are aware of the differences and want to make your experience in Charlotte as smooth as possible.
The Ramp Every flight begins at the gate. Charlotte is set up with a mixture of old and new terminals with ramps/aprons in between. American Airlines has a particularly strong presence at Charlotte, but many other airlines fly, both domestic, cargo and international. Below is a diagram of the airport and its ramps; The white circles at the edges of the ramps are known as Spots. Many have these reporting points, where a pilot is able to reference their position when they call ground. In Charlotte, each Spot is a number and possibly a number followed by a letter. If ramp is online, once you tell him/her you are ready for taxi, the ramp controller will tell you to taxi to a particular spot and to call ground from there. In ALL versions of the payware scenery available for FSX/P3D, the Spots are Marked. An example ramp dialogue is below;
AAL1234: Charlotte Ramp good evening, American 1234 gate A12 with info D request pushback CLT_RAMP: American 1234 Charlotte Ramp good evening, push approved, push tail south AAL1234: Push approved, tail south -then once AAL1234 is ready for taxi- AAL1234: Ready for taxi, AAL1234 CLT_RAMP: American 1234, Straight Ahead Spot 8, then contact ground point (9) niner AAL1234: Straight Ahead Spot 8 and ground.9, cya! Similarly, arriving aircraft are expected to call ramp once they want permission to enter the ramp and further taxi to their gate. When you first contact ground after arriving, tell the ground controller which ramp you are going to. Once you are off of the taxiway and approaching the ramp, contact the ramp controller and tell him where you are, what spot and what gate you re going to. He will clear you into the ramp in similar fashion as going out of the ramp. Gate Selection Below are a list of appropriate gates and terminals for different airlines, as well as accompanying pictures;
Charlotte has a East and West Cargo ramp, easily identifiable on Jeppesen or FAA Airport Diagrams. West Cargo FedEx Express UPS Airlines World Airways Omni Air International DHL East Cargo Air France Cargo Atlas Air Cargo Cathay Pacific China Cargo Airlines EVA Air Lufthansa Cargo Polar Air Cargo Singapore Airlines WorldCargo Asiana Cargo British Airways World Cargo China Airlines Cargolux Korean Air Cargo MasAir Cargo Qatar Airways Cargo Swiss
Departures Charlotte has a series of Area Navigation (RNAV) departures for Turbojet IFR aircraft. If you re flying one, please make sure you have an up to date AIRAC cycle (AIRAC 1706 is the latest and will remain the latest in effect during Charlotte Live!) as these procedures have been recently overhauled (as late as AIRAC 1701) by the FAA. Once you receive your IFR clearance please do NOT start asking controllers which runway to expect. There will be an ATIS for KCLT present, which will list runways for departure, depending on configuration. If you receive a pre-departure clearance, it will likely also say which runway to expect, although ATC may change assigned runway at any time. Please remember that if Ramp is online, you ll need to contact Ramp for pushback prior to contacting ground. If ramp is offline, you will need to push at your discretion and call ground control at the correct side of the ramp. If you are flying a prop, you can expect the HUG3 departure, radar vectors out of the arrival path, and on course. If you are a non-rnav jet you can expect one of the non- RNAV departure procedures. For all jets the initial altitude is 8,000, and it is very important that you maintain that unless advised. You might underfly arrivals who are at 9,000, and no one wants you to hit them. Props maintain 4,000, all will get higher from Charlotte Departure Control.
Arrivals Similar to departure procedures, arrivals are usually on the newer RNAV procedures, while there are older non-rnav s that are less common. There are several RNAV STARS into CLT that utilize the descend via features that may be initialized by the initial Atlanta Center Enroute controller. When a controller tells you to descend via they will include a runway transition and you will have to meet the published speed and altitude restrictions for that transition. Phraseology; ATL_CTR: DAL1234 descend via the CHSLY2 arrival runway Charlotte Landing South, CLT Altimeter 30.06 DAL1234: Descend via the CHSLY 2 arrival Charlotte Landing South. Altimeter 30.06 You may be told to maintain a certain speed until the Final Approach Fix (FAF) or to contact tower OVER the FAF, so have a chart handy so you can be prepared. The FAF can be identified by the X on the vertical profile;
Charlotte will be using ILS or VISUAL approaches, but we won t know until the actual event, so be prepared and have charts ready. If you are unable something or have a request, speak up on initial contact with Charlotte Approach. Better for you to request a visual right away than wait until you ve been cleared an ILS approach to tell control you don t know how to fly an ILS approach. Preferred Routing If you file a flight plan with an ATC preferred route it will greatly reduce your time waiting for clearance. Flightaware.com & simbrief.com are our preferred source of routes. In the flight plan dialog box, enter your departure and arrival airport, and then select Routes to see the available routing options. You can also find all the departure and arrival procedures on flightaware.com and it is highly recommended you review the charts before you file your flight plan. skyvector.com is another good source of routes if you don t find what you need on flightaware or simbrief. Below is a list of preferred routes to/from some popular airports. Departure to Arrival from ATL BOBZY2 TNSLY LEAVI WINNG1 PHIIL2 PHIIL CNTLR JONZE1 BHM ESTRR2 IPTAY CHOPZ ATL VUZ BHM6 BESTT JONZE1 BOS BARMY2 RDU THHMP MAAXY OOD J42 PATSS4 PATSS NELIE CMK J75 GVE LYH RBV J222 JFK ROBUC2 CHSLY2 DCA KILNS2 AUDII WAVES CAPSS2 SCRAM3 LYH CHSLY2 DTW HUGO ROBAY BKW GEMNI4 ROD FLM TAFTT PARQR2 IAD KILNS2 AUDII DORRN CAVLR3 SCRAM3 LYH CHSLY2 JFK BARMY2 TYI ORF J121 SIE CAMRN4 RBV J230 COPES J75 GVE LYH CHSLY2 LGA BARMY2 RDU J55 HPW J191 PXT KORRY3 BIGGY J75 GVE LYH MAJIC1 MCO ICONS2 BLDWN SAV J103 OMN CWRLD4 MCCOY SAV STOCR1 MIA ICONS2 BLDWN SAV J103 OMN HILEY6 HEDLY2 HEDLY J53 CRG J51 SAV STOCR1 ORD JOJJO2 DOOGE Q63 HEVAN MZZ VEECK3 EARND ELANR EMMLY ERECO IIU SKYWA FILPZ2
VFR VFR traffic is always welcome during an Atlanta Center FNO as long as flight conditions are favorable. Closed traffic and practice approaches will be approved case by case as traffic demands allow. Be prepared to taxi to RWY 18R/36L, which is less busy. Concord Tower will also be open and all pattern work is encouraged to go to KJQF. Conclusion We hope you enjoy your time in and out of Charlotte, and that this briefing was useful to you. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated, as it tells our controllers how they performed and gives us something to build off of for future events. To leave feedback visit www.atlantacenter.net/pilot-center and click on Leave Feedback! Blue skies!