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Ground

An IVAO XA Division’s Handbook for the Ground Controller

This document is not intended to be used for real world aviation and is for flight simulation purposes

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Table of Contents Forward 3

Introduction to the Position 4

Purpose 4

Setting Up 4

ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) 5

Restrictions 5

Operational Procedures 6

VFR 7

Sequencing 7

Finding the best route 7

Ramp Control 10

Phraseology 11

United States 11

VFR (US) 12

Canada 12

VFR (Canada) 13

Important Reminders 13

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This handbook is created and distributed by the IVAO North America Region Division, known as

IVAO XA, a division of the International Virtual Aviation Organization, an NPO based in

Belgium. Ownership of this handbook is by the IVAO VZW organization and contents contained

therein are subject to change at any given notice by the appropriate parties of the IVAO XA

division. The contents contained therein are also approved prior to public distribution by the

digital signatures below.

Disclaimer: all images in this handbook are in the public use domain. All content contained is

intended for usage on the IVAO network in a virtual aviation simulation environment and is

not allowed to be used for real world aviation use whatsoever.

Signed: XA Division Training Department, ATC Operations Department, and Division HQ Initial Release: June 2018 Revision 1: September 2018 (Added Bahamas)

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Ground (GND) controllers provide movement control, ensure the safety of vehicles, and

aircraft. It is an essential position to provide maximum efficiency for all taxiway movements

and aircraft entering and exiting the ramp.

Purpose Ground control will be contacted by aircraft departing when ready for taxi to the runway or a

reposition to another parking spot on the airport. Arrivals will contact ground when off of the

runway away from tower controlled areas (usually between close parallel runways) for taxi to

their parking spot. Ground does not provide pushback clearances unless the pushback will

bring an aircraft onto an active taxiway. When clearance delivery is closed or if not available

at the airport, the ground controller will handle clearance delivery duties as described in the

DEL handbook.

Setting Up As with the clearance delivery handbook, you can view the ground charts in the same manner

and obtain the frequency and callsign accordingly. On IVAC1, there won’t be a need to set up

PVD as the airport should all be within range of your scope. Be sure to go to set up auto-

handoffs though, as there is no reason why GND would have to reject a handoff.

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Note: On IVAC, we simulate “pushing a flight strip” with the ASSUME-TRANSFER tool

(handoffs). In the real world, the DEL GND and TWR are sitting next to each other and either

pass their flight strips over by hand or digitally.

ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) Remember in the first box, enter ATC Position: Miami Ground, in the full radio callsign

format, not KMIA_GND.

Per XA Order 1001 Section 6-2-4b, remarks shall be left blank in the ATIS for ground positions

in the XA division. A controller may elect to write “Controlling movement areas only” in the

“Remarks” section if necessary.

Restrictions Ground cannot provide any Tower services while logged on using XXXX_GND. For example, a

GND controller cannot issue a take off clearance. A GND controller is also prohibited from

assigning a runway unless the pilot requests for a runway in use and the TWR has relayed this

information in a briefing or by the ATIS. If Tower is offline, GND can suggest a runway in use

per SOP.

Ground can control any functions of a Delivery position when not online per IVAOs ‘top down’

procedure.

If an airport does not have any published GND position or frequency on the charts per the

instructions listed above, then GND is not authorized at that airport on our network as well.

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Each airport may have their own special procedures, this section will cover a standard on how

to control the Ground Position. The following is the same operational procedures for both the

US and Canada. We’ll discuss slight differences later in this document.

Phraseology is probably the most challenging part of this position as clearance in the US are

structured in a specific and certain order. Ground is very self-explanatory, but the hardest

part of any ground position is coordination and memorization of certain taxi routes.

First, determine where the aircraft is going (destination), and then how they will get there.

Each taxiway has a letter associated with it that is read in the phonetic alphabet. (A = ALFA,

B = BRAVO, etc.). Some taxiways might have a number associated with it such as A1, M4, N17,

these should be said individually like “November One Seven” but some controllers casually say

“November Seventeen”.

If the taxi route will pass over a runway, you should give a hold short or crossing clearances at

the end of the taxi clearance. Tower will give you authorization to cross in either “blanket

clearances” or “individual clearances”. A blanket clearance is “you are authorized to cross all

aircraft over runway 13L, but ask me prior for crossing permission for 13R”. If Tower is

offline, you should use your discretion giving crossing instructions (make sure an aircraft isn’t

on final or taking off when issuing a crossing instruction on your own)

If there are multiple aircraft taxiing, you can advise instructions based on that aircraft’s

movement:

- Follow the American Boeing 737 on M, hold short runway 13L

- Give way to Air Canada A320 from right to left, runway 13R taxi via M hold short 13L

Rotary Winged aircraft or helicopters often request hover taxi, and departure from ramps etc.

If a helicopter does request departure from their current location you shall not issue them a

instructions, but transfer the aircraft over to tower or advisory if tower is offline. For Hover,

and Air taxi clearances you will replace the word ‘taxi’ with the appropriate term (hover taxi,

Air taxi), and complete the instructions.

Multiple Airports have certain procedures, taxi routes, and equipment in use. As a controller

it is your responsibility to keep these procedures in use at all times using SOPs and

documentation available on our website. For example if an ASDE-X is in use you must ensure

all aircraft are operating their transponder with altitude reporting mode on, (most class Bravo

airports have them)

The only difference between American and Canadian procedures for ground is the order of

the instruction. If the altimeter is already given in the ATIS, then the order is “Destination,

Taxi instructions, Hold short/Crossing instructions”. In Canada, whether or not the aircraft

has the altimeter setting, it is always stated after the destination. So in Canada,

“Destination, Altimeter, Wind (optional), taxi via (instructions), hold short/crossing

instructions).

rOeps erational Procedures

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VFR This is where the US and Canada have some differences. In the US at class D airports, VFR will

simply call for taxi instructions with intentions. They will remain on squawk 1200, and as GND

you will simply just give a taxi instruction as you normally would. The same applies for

handoffs from class C or B. If you are running clearance delivery as a ground controller,

remember to separate your transmissions depending on the role you are performing –

meaning, give the class B or class C VFR instruction first, after the readback, then you can say

“advise me ready for taxi” or if they already asked for taxi clearance, this is the time you can

give the taxi instruction. For arrivals, a simple “Taxi to parking/ramp via ALFA” is sufficient,

the same as you would taxi an IFR arrival.

In Canada, all VFR flying in controlled airspace under ATC should have a squawk code. The

squawk code will come right after the altimeter in the taxi clearance, so: “..altimeter 2992,

wind 050 at 6, squawk 6330, runway 07 taxi via A M, contact tower when holding short on

118.1”.

Remember, in Canada runways with single digits have a “zero” before it, so runway 05

instead of runway 5. In the US, the 0 is omitted.

As described above, helicopters are going to request “hover, air, or ground” taxi, so just add

that word before the word “taxi”.

Sequencing In order to help your tower controller out, remember to sequence the order of your aircraft

when you have multiple aircraft ready to taxi to the runway. Is it a good idea to put to east

bound departures as number 1 and number 2 and keep a westbound departure as number 3?

Stagger them, east, west, east, etc. so the traffic flow after takeoff is efficient, otherwise

tower will have to delay a takeoff clearance.

Also consider wake turbulence avoidance. If multiple aircraft are ready to taxi at the same

time, try to get the medium and light aircraft out first before the heavies, as aircraft

departing after a heavy will have to wait a longer time to takeoff and will hold up your

departures.

Finding the best route We want to provide the quickest and efficient taxi instruction possible, of course respecting

any local procedures such as one way taxi instructions.

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In this example, AAL1351 calls ready for taxi. The quickest way to bring him or her to runway

18L is via J and B, so that is your route.

“American 1351, Orlando Ground, runway 18L, taxi via JULIET, BRAVO”

If he or she was going to 18R, a runway is in the way, it would sound like:

“American 1351, Orlando Ground, runway 18R, taxi via JULIET BRAVO, hold short runway 18L”

As the aircraft taxis, open a private message with KMCO_TWR (or APP/CTR if TWR offline),

and ask “AAL1351 cross 18L?”, if he or she approves, say

“American 1351, cross runway 18L”.

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If on TS3 for voice coordination, say “Tower, Ground”, wait for a response, “American 1351

on B to 18R, request clearance to cross 18L”, wait for a response, end the coordination with

your initials “roger, RG”.

Then upon crossing the runway, “Contact Orlando Tower on 118.3, good day”.

You can also use the term, “Monitor tower, good day”, that means the aircraft will switch

frequencies to tower and wait for tower to call him or her.

Some airports, like CYQX, will require you to clear the aircraft on the runway to taxi, with

pre-coordination from Tower of course. (Remember, the Tower owns the runways, always

coordinate with the tower when online).

In this example, if runway 21 is in use, you would say “Air Canada 211, Gander Ground,

runway 21, altimeter 2992, wind 070 at 14 gust 21, taxi via E, runway 13, hold short of

runway 21”.

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If runway 03 or 31 are in use, which require a backtrack, this must be cleared by tower, so a

simple “Runway 03, altimeter 2992, taxi via A, hold short runway 03, contact tower when

holding short and ready for departure”. If tower is not online, then “Tower is offline, switch

to Unicom 122.8”.

Ramp Control Remember, the non-movement areas, such as the ramps, FBO parking areas, terminal, cargo

ramps, etc. are not controlled by ground. Therefore, no pushback or startup instructions are

given if it is contained in the ramp area.

We have ramp control available at certain specified airports and those procedures can be

found in associated documents for the ramp control position.

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So putting it all together, this is how an example frequency exchange would go with the flight

strip we’ve been using as an example, shown again below:

United States and Bahamas

RPA4441 Miami Ground, Brickyard 4441, request taxi runway niner

KMIA_GND Brickyard 4441, Miami Ground, Runway niner, taxi via Sierra, cross runway tree-zero, altimeter two-niner-eight-niner.

RPA4441 Runway niner, taxi via Sierra, cross runway tree-zero, altimeter two- niner-eight-niner, Brickyard 4411.

KMIA_GND

(If readback incorrectly Ground will repeat the taxi instructions.)

If Tower, Approach, and/or Center are online, make sure you know who is handling the Tower

Position for landing and takeoffs. In this next example, let’s say tower is online.

In the USA handoffs to tower are not required to be given by the controller, pilots can switch

to the frequency by themselves once on the taxiway and moving. Most pilots do not

understand or know of this, because of this you should use the following phraseology:

KMIA_GND

Brickyard 4441, monitor Miami Tower 118.300.

Notice how in the above example the phrase ‘Monitor’ is used instead of ‘Contact’ this

implies that the aircraft shall tune to the frequency of the controller, however not speak or

attempt to contact the controller.

For arriving traffic:

AAL322 Miami Ground, American 322, off at N7 request taxi to terminal, parking concourse D

KMIA_GND

American 322, Miami Ground, welcome to Miami, taxi to the ramp via NOVEMBER WHISKEY

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VFR (US) Handoffs from DEL for class B and C airports

N9800E Miami Ground, Cessna 9800E, at the GAC, ready for taxi

KBCT_GND Cessna 9800E, Miami Ground, runway 8L taxi via K

N9800E 8L via KILO, 00E

For the initial call at a class D airport

N325AR Boca Raton Ground, Skyhawk 325AR, at Atlantic Aviation (FBO), request taxi to the active for traffic pattern

KBCT_GND Skyhawk 325AR, Boca Raton Ground, runway 5, taxi via PAPA, information A current altimeter 2992

VFR (Bahamas) Aircraft departing Freeport or Nassau will obtain a squawk code with their taxi clearance. In the real world, VFR aircraft will file a flight plan on their FBO so the Tower/Ground will already know their destination and that they are VFR.

C6-GAB Nassau Ground, GAB, at Odyssey, ready for taxi

MYNN_GND GAB, Nassau Ground, taxi runway 14 via H, squawk 3055

C6-GAB 14 via H, 3055, GAB

Canada

ROU1646 Toronto Ground, Rouge 1646, request taxi

CYYZ_GND

Rouge 1646, Toronto Ground, runway Two-Four-Right, altimeter two- niner-niner-one, taxi via Alpha, Delta, hold short runway two-four right.

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ROU1646 Rouge 1646, Toronto Ground, runway Two-Four-Right, altimeter two- niner-niner-one, taxi via Alpha, Delta, hold short runway two-four right.

If Ground, Tower, Approach, and/or Centre are online, make sure you know who is handling

the Tower/LC instructions. In this next example, let’s say Tower is online.

CYYZ_GND Rouge 1646, contact tower on 118.35 holding short (this can be given in the initial taxi clearance if no other runway crossing instructions need to be given and if the aircraft is number 1 with no potential ground conflicts)

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For arriving traffic:

ACA32 Toronto ground, Air Canada 32, off at ROMEO, request taxi to apron

KMIA_GND

Air Canada 32, Toronto Ground, welcome to Toronto, taxi to the apron via ROMEO ALFA ALFA-KILO (AK)

VFR (Canada) For all aircraft not departing CYYZ (seel DEL handbook for CYYZ)

CGFXR Gander Ground, Cessna CGFXR, request taxi to the active for traffic pattern

CYQX_GND CGFXR, Gander Ground, squawk 6330, runway 03, altimeter 2992, taxi via A, hold short runway 03

Important Reminders

- Say POINT in the US, say DECIMAL in Canada (One two two POINT eight, or One two

two DECIMAL eight)

- Say the full callsign for VFR on initial contact (N321AM), and then change to the last 3

digits on the second and following calls (1AM)

- For tail numbers, say individual numbers (November Three Two One Alfa Mike, not

Three thirty two Alfa Mike)

- In the US, all callsigns are grouped by pairs of two, (AAL321 = Three twenty one, 3355

= thirty three fifty five, 12 = twelve). In Canada, you can use either or, usually it’s

how the aircraft calls themselves upon initial contact.

- Make sure to view Aerodrome/Airport charts, and procedures for you’re airport before

logging on.

- Remember to keep in mind taxiway Aircraft restrictions, closed Twys, and more.

- Always coordinate with your clearance controller, and LC to verify runways in use.

- Some airports may replace certain taxiway names with a non-standard variant of the

letter for example : At KATL airport taxiway ‘D’ is referred to as Dixie.

- Confirm that if an ASDE-X is in use that the aircraft have their transponder on mode C.

- When no clearance controller is online you will assume Clearance responsibilities.