Learn air traffic control
Guides, explainers and reference — everything behind the simulator.
Whether you are here to get better at the game or genuinely curious how the real system works, these guides cover the approach controller's world from first principles: the radar itself, the procedures aircraft fly, the phraseology on the radio and the career behind the headset. Every article is written in plain English and ties back to something you can try immediately in the free simulator.
ATC glossary
80+ air traffic control terms in plain English.
How approach radar control worksThe full beginner guide: the radar picture, separation, vectoring, levels, the ILS and handoffs.
How to become an air traffic controllerSelection aptitudes, the medical, ab initio training, ratings and what the job is really like.
How ATC radar worksPrimary echoes, SSR transponders, Mode S and ADS-B — where the dots on the scope come from.
The ILS approach explainedLocalizer and glideslope, categories and minima, and how controllers deliver aircraft to the beam.
SIDs and STARsThe published departure and arrival routes that connect runways to the airway system.
Runway numbers explainedWhy the same strip is 09 and 27, what L/C/R mean, renumbering, and how wind picks the runway.
Holding patterns explainedThe racetrack, stacks like Heathrow’s, expected approach times and the cost of waiting.
Phonetic alphabet & phraseologyAlfa to Zulu, “niner”, Roger vs Wilco — how pilots and controllers talk so nothing is misheard.
Squawk codes explained7700, 7600, 7500, VFR codes and “squawk ident” — the four digits behind every radar target.
Flight levels vs altitudeTransition altitude and level, QNH vs 1013 hPa, the semicircular rule and RVSM.
How to read a METARWind, visibility, cloud, QNH and trend — the aviation weather report decoded group by group.
What is a NOTAM?Closed runways, broken ILSs, cranes — how NOTAMs work and how to read one line by line.
Wake turbulence explainedWhy a Light needs 6 NM behind a Heavy — wake categories, separation and the A380.
Go-arounds explainedWhy pilots abort a landing, what happens next, and why it is one of the safest things a crew can do.
The Auto-ControllerThe simulator’s AI controller: how it predicts, sequences and separates traffic — and how to learn from it.
Free ATC simulators comparedATC Radar Simulator, openScope, ATC-SIM, Endless ATC, Vector Approach and VATSIM — what each does best and which to pick.
ATC aptitude testsFEAST, ATSA and DLR: what controller selection tests measure, and how to practise the skills behind them.
Airport code searchLook up any airport worldwide by ICAO code, IATA code, name or city.
NOTAM searchActive NOTAMs for any airport, with the raw teletype text and a plain-English reading.
Aviation weatherLive METAR, TAF and wind for any airport, on a tower-style display with runway wind components.
ICAO flight plan builderFill in, check, save, copy and print ICAO flight plans — every item from 7 to 19.
ATC card makerTurn a selfie into an air traffic controller card — headset on, radar behind you — and share it.
Flappy PilotA one-tap plane game: fly your airliner between the thunderstorms and the towers.
Runway MadnessBe the tower at nine busy little airports: take-offs, landings and runway crossings — no collisions. Weekly leaderboard.
Sky ChessChess against the computer with aircraft for pieces — a jumbo-jet king, a stealth-fighter queen — at three levels.
Sky JamDraw the flight paths: land every aircraft on the runway of its colour and never let two meet. Nine airports and a weekly leaderboard.
Airport SmashA physics puzzle game: launch five cartoon aircraft at the Ground Bots’ towers across 75 levels, plus a Daily Smash.
Build your own airportThe custom airport file format, with a sample download, JSON Schema and an AI prompt.
Then see the included airports — every one modelled from real data — and take the seat.
▶ Start the simulator