Requests
Ask an aircraft for its speed, heading, level or distance.
| Command | Short | Pad signs | Pad digits | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
report speed | rs | The aircraft reports its speed, in knots below FL250 and as a Mach number above | ||
report heading | rh | The aircraft reports its magnetic heading | ||
report level | rl | The aircraft reports its level, and the cleared level while climbing or descending | ||
report heading and level | rh rl | Heading and level in one answer | ||
confirm <ALT> | rl<ALT> | Level check: the aircraft affirms the level you name or says where it is | ||
report distance <FIX> | rd <FIX> | The aircraft reports its distance from a navaid or point |
A request asks the aircraft for something it knows and changes nothing about how it flies. The
answer comes back on the frequency you asked on, in the words a pilot would use, and it is read off
what the aircraft is actually doing rather than off what you last told it. That is the point of
asking. rs tells you the speed the aircraft is flying, not the speed you assigned.
The phrases follow ICAO. report speed, report heading and report distance are standard
phraseology, and so is confirm for a level check. report level is the question as the UK
manual phrases it; ICAO asks for the level together with the heading, which is report heading and level here, or rh rl typed short.
Speed is the indicated airspeed to the knot below FL250, "Speed 250 knots.", and the Mach number at or above it, "Mach 0.78." That is the level from which you assign speeds in Mach, so the answer comes in the unit you work in.
Heading is magnetic, the reference you give headings in, so an aircraft you have just turned onto 270 reports 270.
Level is to the nearest 100 ft. At or below the airport's transition altitude it is an altitude in feet, above it a flight level. An aircraft holding its level answers "Maintaining FL100.", one climbing or descending answers "Passing FL123 for FL080." with the level it is cleared to.
Confirm is the level check you make when the label and the level you expect disagree:
confirm 100, or rl100 short. The aircraft answers "Affirm, FL100." when it is within 300 ft of
that level (200 ft between FL290 and FL410) and otherwise "Negative" with where it actually is.
Distance is measured from the point you name, found the way dct finds it. From a VOR with
DME it is the DME reading, the slant range from the station, "26 miles DME from MAH.", and an
aircraft beyond the station's range says it does not receive it. From any other point it is the
GNSS distance.
Requests can share a line with a clearance, d080 rs for instance, and the answer follows the
readback. Like every other command they are refused while the simulation is paused.
Requests that the aircraft answers later, when something happens, such as "report established on the localiser", are not available yet.