Speed
Speed, the minimum and maximum forms, and the 250-knot limit below FL100.
| Command | Short | Pad signs | Pad digits | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
s <KT> | s<KT> | ,<KT> | Speed | |
smin <KT> | s<KT>+ | ,<KT>+ | No slower than | |
smax <KT> | s<KT>- | ,<KT>- | No faster than | |
cancel speed | cs | , | Release the restriction, the real "resume normal speed" |
Below FL100 the speed is capped at 250 knots. An aircraft arriving fast levels off at FL100,
slows, and continues down; you do not have to resolve it. An explicit s or smin above 250 is a
deliberate high-speed clearance and waives the cap. A smax does not, and neither does a speed set
when an aircraft was spawned. s 250 or cancel speed puts the cap back.
cancel speed also hands an aircraft on an approach back to its own deceleration. See
what an arrival does by itself.
A speed you give is clamped to what the aircraft may fly, which is the lowest of its maximum
operating speed, the limit of the flap setting it has out, and the limit for flying with the gear
down. The reply names the limit that stopped it, so a s 300 coming back as 250 is not the server
ignoring you.