INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Piarco Flight Information Region. Piarco is part of the Caribbean Division of the VATSIM network. We are pleased you have chosen to join our team of professionals. The following presentation is designed to introduce you to our local facility. It will among other things provide a structural breakdown of our facility and how it affects you as a new member of our facility. Piarco Training Administrator Piarco operates under ICAO standards. Local facility SOPs will govern our day to day operations. OVERVIEW VATCAR is made up of 6 Flight Information Regions(FIRs) and 1 Combined En Route Radar Approach Control(CERAP) facility. Each facility is managed by an Air Traffic Manager who reports directly to the Division Director. During your registration process you choose Piarco FIR as your home facility. Our facility training team is directly responsible for your progression from your current Observer(OBS) Rating to your Controller 1(C1) Rating. Operational Chain of Command: Air Traffic Manager: Bradley Fenty Deputy Air Traffic Manager: VACANT Training Administrator: Sammy Joshua Facility Engineer: VACANT Events Coordinator: VACANT Training Team: Instructors/Mentors VATSIM RATINGS In the previous slide we mentioned that you currently hold a rating of OBS. What exactly does that mean? In order to provide a standardized way of identifying a controller's responsibility VATSIM has established a rating system. The following slides will expand on the duties and responsibilities for each rating. OBS - Observer Rating S1 - Student One Rating S2 - Student Two Rating S3 - Student Three Rating C1 - Controller One Rating OBS - OBSERVER The OBS rating is automatically awarded to any person who registers to become an Air Traffic Controller on the VATSIM network. This rating allows you to connect to the network on any ATC client and monitor traffic communications on any active position in the network. You are NOT authorized to actively control or communicate with any aircraft directly. This is a watch and listen ONLY rating. S1 - STUDENT ONE After completing your initial training and successfully passing your S1 Over the Shoulder Exam (OTS), you will be endorsed as an S1 Student Controller. This rating will allow you to connect to authorized Clearance Delivery(DEL) and Ground (GND) positions within the lateral boundaries of your home facility. S1 Student Controllers have positive control of all aircraft on the movement side of an airport with the exception of the active runway(s). S1 Student Controllers are NOT authorized to control any aircraft in the air or to activate an ATIS frequency without the approval from above controller. S2 - STUDENT TWO After completing your initial training and successfully passing your S2 Over the Shoulder Exam (OTS), you will be endorsed as an S2 Student Controller. This rating will allow you to connect to authorized Local/Tower(TWR) positions within the lateral boundaries of your home facility. This is the first level were you will be introduced to the VATSIM top down controlling concept. S2 Student Controllers have positive control of all aircraft on the active runway(s). In Piarco, each tower has various but similar operations for local airspace ownership. Reference the facility SOPs for complete details. Together the TWR, GND & DEL controllers make up what is known as the Tower Cab. In Piarco all of these positions are non-radar positions. S3 - STUDENT THREE After completing your initial training and successfully passing your S3 Over the Shoulder Exam (OTS), you will be endorsed as an S3 Student Controller. This rating will allow you to connect to authorized Departure(DEP) and Approach(APP) positions within the lateral boundaries of your home facility. In Piarco, S3 Student Controllers have positive control of all aircraft within the Terminal Manoeuvering Area(TMA). These areas are commonly referred to as approach airspace and surround an Aerodrome control zone or local airport. For specific limitations be sure to reference the Standard Operating Procedures for each TMA. C1 - CONTROLLER ONE After completing your initial training and successfully passing your C1 Over the Shoulder Exam (OTS), you will be endorsed as a C1 Controller. This rating will allow you to connect to any authorized Center(CTR) positions within the lateral boundaries of your home facility. C1 Controllers provide En Route services to all aircraft within the lateral boundary of the FIR. CONCLUSION In this module you were introduced to the Piarco FIR. Additionally, you were introduced to the VATSIM ratings. You should now be able to describe the abilities and limitations of each VATSIM Rating, and what you are able and NOT able to do under each rating. Should you have any questions, we encourage you to contact a mentor or instructor for further assistance. This module was published by the Piarco training team. It is intended for the sole purpose of providing general knowledge & information to Air Traffic Control members of the Piarco FIR. No content found here, is intended for real world operations. VATSIM, VATCAR, and PIARCO are not responsible for any use of this content outside of its intended simulation purpose.
