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vNAAATS V2 - user manual

1. How it all fits together

vNAAATS has three parts that share one set of flight data:

• The Flight Data Display (FDD) - a web page at vnaaats.com/fdd. This is where you work. It lists every oceanic flight as a strip and lets you change flight data, track and transfer aircraft, send messages and run CPDLC.
• The EuroScope plugin (VatsimNAAATS.dll) - shows the same aircraft on your radar and in EuroScope's flight plan windows, and carries out what you ask for on the FDD (track, untrack, transfer, SELCAL, contact me).
• The vNAAATS server - keeps everything in step, so every controller sees the same level, Mach, track, SELCAL and notes within a few seconds.

The FDD is your main screen. Almost everything can be done from it, and most of what you do in EuroScope can also be done there. Keep EuroScope connected to VATSIM as your oceanic position with the plugin loaded, and use the FDD in a browser window next to it. (EuroScope still does what only it can do: radar, your own tracking and the flight plan windows.)

2. Starting a session

1. Start EuroScope, connect to VATSIM as your oceanic position (for example CZQO_CTR) and check the vNAAATS plugin is loaded.
2. Open vnaaats.com/fdd in your browser.
3. Sign in with the login you were given and choose your position (CZQO_CTR, EGGX_CTR and so on). The position is what other controllers see on "last changed" and "tracked by".

Use it as an app: on Windows, install FDD for Windows from the download page: it opens the display in its own window, looks after your plugin, airline list and font, and opens EuroScope, VACS and your audio client for you. Or, in Chrome or Edge, open the FDD and click the install icon at the right end of the address bar (or the three-dot menu, then Install vNAAATS FDD / Apps). It then opens in its own window with its own icon, which suits a second monitor. It is still the same website, so updates arrive automatically.

Nothing is shown until you have signed in and chosen a position. This protects the data of pilots and controllers: the page stays covered, and the server sends no flight data, until a position has been chosen. There is no view-only mode. Use change to pick another position (the page is covered again until you do) and sign out when you finish. If your sign-in runs out while you work, the sign-in screen returns.

Keep EuroScope connected while you work: the plugin asks the server every 2 seconds whether you have asked for something (track, transfer, SELCAL and so on), and does nothing if EuroScope is offline.

3. The Flight Data Display screen

• Left (the big panel): the filter bar, the controls bar, the natTrak PENDING and CLEARED boxes, and below them the flight strips.
• Right, top: the Flight Plan panel for the selected aircraft.
• Right, middle: natTrak information.
• Right, bottom: the Tracks panel (today's NATs).
• Pop-ups: the aircraft menu (click a callsign), the CPDLC drawer, and the position reports table.

4. The top bars and filters

Filter bar (top)

• ALL TK / RR - all tracks, random routings. The selected one is yellow. Default resets the filters.
• TRKD only the flights you are tracking at your position, EB / WB eastbound / westbound, RR random routings only, TANGO Shanwick Tango routes only. With nothing ticked you see everything. Boxes in different groups narrow each other (TRKD + WB = your westbound flights); within a group either counts (EB + WB = both directions, RR + TANGO = both kinds). Hover over each box for its description.
• The two boxes on the right are the Zulu clock and the TMI (the day number of the NAT track message).

Header (top row and second row)

• Position menu - click your position to change position, hand over to a relief controller, or sign out.
• VACS headphones - flashes red with the caller's name when VACS has an incoming call. See the VACS call alert section below.
• Search or add - one box. Type part of a callsign or a fix name to filter the list (Enter jumps to the first match). To bring a flight that is on VATSIM onto the display, type its full callsign and press Add; use it for a flight that did not appear by itself or to bring back one you hid. If it is not found, a yellow message tells you.
• Hidden (n) - shown once you have hidden a strip. Pick a callsign from the list to unhide it.
• Show - entry -60 / exit +15 min (the default) shows a flight from 60 minutes before its oceanic entry estimate until 15 minutes after its exit estimate, so the list stays short. Flights that have been handed off, or are past their exit point, stay for those 15 minutes faded. If you are signed in as a Gander (CZQO_) or Shanwick (EGGX_) position you also see the other OCA's flights that are 30 minutes or less from 30W; flights that have crossed 30W to the neighbour stay 15 minutes, faded. All flights shows everything. "n hidden" counts the flights the time window is keeping off the list. Flights with no times, the selected flight, CPDLC-connected flights, pending natTrak requests and flights tracked by an oceanic controller always show.
• Group - by track, by entry fix, by flight level (highest first), or by direction (westbound, then eastbound), with the number of aircraft under each heading.
• Sort - newest first, entry ETA, callsign, level or last changed.
• CPDLC button - opens the CPDLC drawer. It shows how many aircraft are connected, an envelope with the unread count, and flashes "new logon" when a pilot has just logged on. See section 9.
• n shown - how many strips are listed.
• Auto RCL - the RCL reminder (section 8). Shows Auto RCL: N waiting when flights need a reminder and it is waiting for the sending controller to say go. Click it to open the box.
• Settings - display options, plus a What's new button that re-opens the latest change notes (they also appear once after an update).
• Overdue (flashing clock) - Concorde or voice-report flights overdue a position report. See section 11.
• Warning triangle + number - how many flights currently have a warning on their strip.

VACS call alert

If you use VACS for voice, the FDD can flash a headphones button and show a pop-up when someone calls you, so you do not miss a call while looking at the strips. Press Accept in the pop-up to answer, or Dismiss to hide it (the call keeps ringing in VACS). It talks to VACS on your own computer only; nothing goes to our server. To set it up, open VACS (2.1.0 or newer), go to Advanced Settings, tick Enable remote control and set Listen addr. to 127.0.0.1:9600. FDD for Windows has it switched on already; in a browser click the headphones button to switch it on. If it says VACS offline, VACS is not running or remote control is off.

5. Flight strips and their symbols

Each flight is one strip, and strips are grouped under the track or entry fix. The group heading shows the track's fixes, and each strip shows its estimated time over every fix, lined up underneath. Click the callsign to open the aircraft menu and select the aircraft (it also becomes the selected aircraft in EuroScope when you use a command on it). It works the other way too: click an aircraft in EuroScope and its strip is outlined in yellow, scrolled into view and shown even if a filter, the search box, the time window or Hide would normally keep it off the list (needs plugin 1.5b18 or newer, and the same position on the FDD as in EuroScope).

A one-page icon key lists every symbol and colour, with a PDF to download or print.

Every strip shows: callsign, aircraft type, departure and arrival, assigned level, Mach (three digits, so Concorde shows M200), the track, the fix times, and symbols:

• [CALLSIGN] in brackets - the pilot is logged on to CPDLC with vNAAATS.
• * after the callsign - the aircraft is not AGCS-equipped (worked out from the PBN and remarks of the flight plan).
• Red * after the callsign - you sent the pilot the natTrak reminder (RCL REQ). It clears itself when the pilot requests clearance or an oceanic controller tracks the aircraft.
• Pencil - something on this strip was changed in the last 10 minutes. Hover to see who and when.
• Warning triangle - two aircraft are entering on the same track and level within 10 minutes of each other, or the level is not one of the track's flight levels. Hover for the reason.
• Headset icon - who the pilot is talking to, taken from the radio frequency they have tuned on VATSIM:
  • Bold green - an oceanic controller
  • Faded green - a domestic controller
  • Orange - UNICOM (122.800)
  • Red, crossed out - online but not on any controller or UNICOM
  Hover to see the callsign and frequency. If VATSIM has no radio information, it shows who is tracking the aircraft in EuroScope instead.
• Clipboard with a tick - the clearance was processed on natTrak (hover for the time).
• Flashing strip - a natTrak request is waiting, a CPDLC message or logon needs a look, or a Concorde or voice-report flight is overdue. Flashing can be turned off (see section 8).

Strips for flights tracked by an oceanic controller (CZQO, EGGX, NAT_FSS and so on) never disappear until the flight has been untracked for 15 minutes (shown faded once untracked). Flights whose pilot has left VATSIM are hidden unless they are selected, on CPDLC, or have a request pending. A filed NAT track such as HOIST NATF GOMUP is checked against today's tracks and replaced by that track's fixes between the filed entry and exit fix, so the strip sits under the right track. After you send Contact me the callsign cell turns yellow; if 20 minutes later nobody is tracking the flight and it is still in oceanic airspace it turns red, and it clears once an oceanic controller tracks it. If EuroScope crashes or you lose your connection, the plugin tracks your aircraft again about 20 seconds after you are back (within 5 minutes, never an aircraft another controller has taken, and not if someone with a different name has signed in on the FDD at your position). Put retrack=0 in vnaaats.cfg to turn this off. Waypoints are always shown as four digits (for example 52/50), whatever format the flight plan used.

6. The aircraft menu

Click a callsign. The heading shows the aircraft and the track it is on. The tabs along the top are, in order:

• Track - check or change the level, Mach and SELCAL, then Track aircraft (the button is on the left; the SELCAL test button sits under the SELCAL box). The plugin starts tracking the aircraft in EuroScope and the menu shows the result. If another controller is handing the aircraft to you, Track also accepts that handoff.
• Transfer - pick the controller to hand the aircraft to and press Transfer. Only stations from the CPDLC station list are offered. If none are online it says No adjacent ATC - Send to UNICOM (use the UNICOM button in the CPDLC drawer).
• Release Tag - releases the aircraft in EuroScope (you are asked to confirm).
• SELCAL - enter or change the 4-letter code and use Send to run a SELCAL check in EuroScope, Copy .selcal to paste it yourself, or Save code to store it on the flight. Letters allowed: A-H, J-M, P-S (a red warning names any that are not).
• CPDLC - opens the CPDLC drawer for this aircraft if the pilot is connected.
• Note - type a short note (up to 15 characters) and press Save note: the EuroScope scratchpad (also in the flight plan panel).
• Contact Me - Send runs EuroScope's contact-me command for the aircraft. Copy .contactme copies it.
• RCL REQ - the reminder asking the pilot to request oceanic clearance on natTrak (CPDLC clearance is not available). Send types the message into EuroScope for you, Copy copies it, I have sent it - mark with red * puts the red * on the strip and the radar tag, and Remove mark clears it.
• Hide - hides the strip for you only, in this browser, for 12 hours. Nobody else is affected and EuroScope and VATSIM are not touched. Bring it back from the Hidden list or with Add callsign.
• Position reports - Concorde, or any flight with Voice reports switched on. See section 11.
• Supervisor (red) - write a message to the supervisors, or press No Contact for the standard text, then Copy .wallop and paste it in EuroScope.

Track, untrack, transfer, SELCAL and contact me need you to be signed in with a position and EuroScope connected. Send buttons need autotype=1 in vnaaats.cfg (section 13); without it use the Copy buttons and paste the command into EuroScope's command line (click in it, Ctrl+V, Enter). EuroScope's contact-me and SELCAL commands work on the selected aircraft and take no callsign, so the plugin selects the aircraft for you before it types them.

7. The flight plan panel

Shows the flight you last clicked. The title shows its callsign (in brackets if it is on CPDLC). Boxes you can type in can be changed when you are signed in; the change is saved on the server, every other controller sees it within seconds, and your EuroScope flight plan window updates by itself.

• ACID, Type, Depart, Dest - read-only.
• Entry - the time at the oceanic entry fix. Edit it and all the other fix times move by the same amount.
• Datalink - green Logged on when the pilot is logged on to the vNAAATS CPDLC station, a faded red Not logged on otherwise.
• ATC - the callsign of the controller tracking the flight (green), or who the pilot is tuned to on VATSIM: oceanic (green), domestic (pale green), red UNICOM or red NONE.
• Level, Mach, Track - editable. A warning appears if the level is not one of the levels for the track. The display does not check separation between aircraft; that is the controller's job.
• Route (edit) - amend the route. Latitude/longitude fixes must be written as two numbers over two numbers (51/20). Forms such as 51N20W are refused with a red warning as you type. Fixes you keep keep their times; new fixes have none. This changes the FDD and server only, not the flight plan in EuroScope or on VATSIM.
• Note (up to 15 characters) - the EuroScope scratchpad. It shows under the tag in EuroScope, goes with the aircraft to the next controller, and anything typed in the scratchpad in EuroScope shows here. Letters, numbers, spaces and / . , + * - only. Clear it to remove the note.
• SELCAL - on the route row, editable.
• Position reports button - Concorde, or any flight with Voice reports switched on.
• Last change HHMMz by POSITION - who last changed level, Mach, track, SELCAL or the route.

If the panel says View only - sign in and pick a position to edit, nothing can be changed yet: sign in and choose a position.

8. natTrak requests and alerts

Pilots request their oceanic clearance on natTrak. The FDD shows the requests in two boxes under the controls bar:

• PENDING - needs action - callsign, NAT, entry fix, level, Mach and ETA. A new request flashes (box row and strip) and plays a sound. Click the row to open natTrak on that track's pending list. Open natTrak opens it in a small pop-up.
• CLEARED - clearances already issued, with the time. Clicking one selects that flight.

At the top of the CLEARED box, Visual turns the flashing and tab-title alert on or off, Audio turns the sound on or off, and Tone cycles through Ping, Chime and Beep (it plays a preview). Your choices are remembered in your browser.

Automatic RCL REQ reminder

Switched on by default. The server watches every flight and, when one has not asked for clearance on natTrak, sends it the same RCL REQ message as the aircraft menu button, without anyone clicking. A flight is sent the reminder when:

• its oceanic entry estimate is between 30 and 90 minutes away (or, if it has no times, it is within 200 nm of a fix on its route and still more than 30 minutes of flying from it). A request has to be in at least 30 minutes before the entry point (after that the pilot must use voice, and the flight is listed under "By voice" in the RCL panel), and a flight that has already passed its entry point (or been through oceanic airspace) does not need one, so neither is sent a reminder;
• it is online and moving, has no natTrak request, is not tracked by an oceanic controller, and has not been reminded already (by hand or automatically).

• It never reminds a flight that is already inside, or through, the oceanic area (between 53W and 15W, using its position and direction).
• It waits 5 minutes after an oceanic controller comes online before sending anything, and flights that are already in, or inside 30 minutes of, the oceanic area at that moment are marked as handled and never reminded. If nobody is online for 10 minutes the wait starts again.

The message is typed into EuroScope by one oceanic controller who is online with the plugin and autotype=1 (the first one alphabetically, if there are several). By default it asks first: when flights are due, a box appears on that controller's FDD listing each callsign with its estimated time and fix, and asks whether to send the reminders now. Choose Send now (do not switch windows until they finish), Later (asks again in 5 minutes) or Skip. They are then sent one at a time with the progress shown, and each strip gets the red * when its message has gone. The plugin checks EuroScope is still in front before every key, and stops (without sending) if you switch away. If a send fails it tries again after 5 minutes, up to three times. The ask-first behaviour and the on/off switch are in the Auto RCL settings, and are remembered.

Shanwick Tango routes

Flights filed on a Shanwick Tango route (T9, T290, T213, T13, T16) are listed together in one group, TANGO ROUTES (each strip shows its route and fixes), below the NAT tracks and above RANDOM, and in the Tracks drawer under Shanwick Tango routes. A route is recognised when the filed route names the airway and one of its fixes, or both of its fixes. T9 is southbound only (even levels FL300-400, LASNO to BEGAS); T290 is northbound only (odd levels FL290-410, ADVAT to GELPO); T9 and T290 are exempt from the CPDLC mandate. T213 (TAMEL, BERUX) goes both ways; T13 (NILAV to OMOKO) is northbound and T16 (OMOKO to GONAN) southbound; CPDLC is required on T213, T13 and T16 between FL290 and FL410, and T13 and T16 continue into Santa Maria airspace. A level that does not fit T9 or T290 shows the usual level warning. They need an oceanic clearance like any other flight. Northbound counts as EB and southbound as WB for the EB / WB filter. A Gander position does not list them unless it is tracking one.

9. CPDLC

Pilots connect to the vNAAATS CPDLC station and you talk to them from the CPDLC drawer, opened with the CPDLC button in the controls bar.

Signing in

Each controller signs in with their own Hoppie logon code. The code is typed into the drawer, kept in the server's memory only while you are signed in, and never saved. Your position sets the station (CZQO = CZQX, EGGX = EGGX, NAT_FSS = NATX). Use sign out of CPDLC when you leave. Restarting the server logs everyone out of CPDLC, so sign in again if that happens.

Force log out. If a station is stuck because someone left without signing out, use Force log out a CPDLC callsign... in the drawer. You type the callsign (for example CZQX), read the warnings, then type LOG OUT. The station is cleared at once, whoever is using it on this server is logged out of the Hoppie callsign and its aircraft lose their CPDLC connection, and nobody can sign in to that station for 3 minutes. Check with the other controller first.

Working with pilots

• Connected aircraft are listed at the top of the drawer. Click one to see the message thread.
• New logon: when a pilot logs on, the alert sound plays once, their callsign flashes in the drawer and on the strip, and the CPDLC button flashes "new logon". It stops when you look at that aircraft.
• New message: a sound plays, the button shows an envelope with the unread count, and the strip flashes until you open it.
• Replying: quick buttons unable, standby, roger; the reply... choices (Wilco/Unable, Affirm/Negative, Roger, None) set the response type; or write your own text and press Send.
• Standard messages... - the TopSky message list.
• Transfer - when you hand an aircraft that is on CPDLC to another controller, the pilot is sent CONTACT <station> ON <frequency> and is logged off when they answer WILCO or ROGER.
• UNICOM (asks you to confirm) - sends "THERE IS NO FURTHER ATC AVAILABLE. SERVICE TERMINATED. MONITOR ADVISORY ON 122.800", logs the pilot off when they answer WILCO or ROGER, and releases the tag in EuroScope.

You need a controller position to send messages. Aircraft on CPDLC show their callsign in brackets, and the flight plan panel shows CPDLC on.

10. Tracks panel

Bottom right. The heading shows the TMI. Westbound and eastbound tracks are listed with their validity time once on the heading (for example Westbound 1130-1900z). Each track is two lines: its name and fixes, then its flight levels. The same fixes appear as the column headings over the strips.

11. Position reports (Concorde and voice reports)

A Position reports button opens a table with every fix on the route and three times: Calc (calculated), Est and Actual. Type times as four digits, or press now to fill the current time. Reported times replace the calculated times on the strip. Concorde always has it.

Any other flight: Voice reports

Some aircraft cannot send automatic position reports (for example, one that is not ADS equipped) and report by voice instead. For those:

1. Click the callsign to open the aircraft menu.
2. Press Voice reports: off. It changes to Voice reports: ON and a Position reports button appears (also in the flight plan panel).
3. Type each report as the pilot gives it. Press now for the current time.

Good to know: it is for that one flight only, everyone on the display sees it, and it switches itself off after 18 hours. Switching it on or off clears the times typed so far, so only turn it off when you are done.

A flight with position reports flashes (strip, button and table row), and the top bar shows a red overdue count, when the next fix's time passed more than 3 minutes ago with no report.

12. What you see in EuroScope

• Aircraft icons on the radar point along the heading. Filled means cleared, outline means not cleared yet.
• [CALLSIGN] in brackets on the tag - the pilot is on CPDLC.
• * under the callsign - not AGCS equipped.
• Red * - the natTrak reminder was sent from the FDD.
• Note under the tag - the scratchpad. You can type it in EuroScope or on the FDD.
• Conflict alerts flash for aircraft that are too close. A one-level difference is allowed 200 ft of tolerance, so aircraft exactly one level apart do not flash.
• Flight plan window: the track, level, Mach and SELCAL boxes are the same data as the FDD. The Datalink box shows CPDLC ON or CPDLC OFF. The SELCAL box accepts four letters such as ASCM or AS-CM; clear it to go back to the code in the remarks. The FDD button in the menu bar opens the display.
• Clear / Unclear - tracking an aircraft no longer changes its transponder code. Pilots who log on to CPDLC are sent a message to squawk 2000 within 10 minutes of entering the OCA.
• Handoff - when you hand an aircraft that is on CPDLC to another controller (Co-ordination / Active Authorities > Transfer), the pilot is sent the contact message and logged off after WILCO/ROGER, as with the FDD Transfer.
• Updates: a pop-up appears when a newer plugin is available and opens the download page. Replace only the DLL and keep your vnaaats.cfg.

Anything you change in EuroScope shows on the FDD within seconds, and anything you change on the FDD appears in EuroScope in the same way.

13. Settings in vnaaats.cfg

A text file next to VatsimNAAATS.dll. Open it in Notepad, save, then restart EuroScope.

• server=https://vnaaats.com - the server (keep the https).
• key=... - your access key from the Gander Oceanic members page. Keep it private.
• autotype=1 - lets the FDD Send buttons type into EuroScope for you. The plugin brings EuroScope to the front, clears the command line and types one command at a time. With autotype=0, or if Windows refuses, the command is copied for you to paste instead and the menu tells you so.

14. A typical shift, step by step

1. Connect EuroScope to VATSIM as your position. Open the FDD, sign in and choose the same position.
2. Check the Tracks panel for today's NATs and the Show setting for the strips you want.
3. An aircraft approaching the oceanic boundary has not asked for clearance: open its menu and use RCL REQ > Send, then I have sent it - mark with red *.
4. The pilot requests clearance on natTrak: the PENDING box flashes and plays a sound. Click the row to open natTrak and issue the clearance. The flight moves to CLEARED.
5. Check level, Mach, track and SELCAL in the flight plan panel. Fix anything wrong; add a Note if you want one under the tag.
6. When the aircraft is yours: Track tab > Track aircraft (or accept the handoff the same way).
7. A pilot logs on to CPDLC: the sound plays, the callsign and button flash. Open the drawer, reply or send the standard messages you need.
8. Aircraft leaving your area: Transfer tab > pick the next controller. With no one online, use UNICOM in the CPDLC drawer.
9. A flight you do not want to see: Hide it. It only disappears for you, and comes back from the Hidden list.

15. Problems and questions

• The page looks old or a new feature is missing: hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows, Cmd+Shift+R on Mac). The header shows the display and server versions.
• "No data on remote": the server is not answering. Try again in a minute and tell the Gander Oceanic team if it stays.
• Track, transfer, SELCAL or contact me does nothing: check you are signed in with a position, EuroScope is connected as that position, and the plugin is loaded. The result (or the reason) is shown at the bottom of the aircraft menu.
• Send buttons only copy: autotype=1 is missing from vnaaats.cfg or Windows refused to let the plugin type. Use the Copy buttons.
• A flight is missing: it may be outside the time window (see Show), hidden by you (see Hidden), or filtered. Use Add callsign to bring it in.
• No sound: browsers only play sound after you have clicked somewhere on the page. Click once, and check Audio is ON in the natTrak box.
• Changes not saving: you have not chosen a position, or the key in vnaaats.cfg is missing or wrong.
• Reporting a bug: include the callsign, what you clicked, what you expected, what happened, the plugin version (first line of vNAAATS.log) and the log file. Report at GitHub issues or to the Gander Oceanic team.

Independent community project, not run or endorsed by VATSIM. Privacy and data handling.