¶ Introduction
This document describes how to properly configure your IVAO ATC Software Aurora according to your preferences for the version:
- Aurora version higher than 1.2.20b
- There are some features of the Aurora that are not explained in this document. For some advanced functions, please refer to our Advanced Aurora Functions document.
- Check our Frequently Asked Questions in case you have any problems.
- 3rd party development manual can be found here
¶ Installation
- Download Aurora from here
- Recommended: Install to default installation path
C:/Aurora - Run Aurora
¶ Quick Setup
- Right click anywhere on the screen and select PREF BAR.
- Recommended: Configure your PREF BAR as shown in the image above. White font indicates the type of nav data that is turned on.
- These settings may vary depending on your division sectorfiles presets.
- Each button's function is explained here.
¶ Sectorfiles
- Select PVD > SECTOR in the MENU BAR
- Select IVAO DOWNLOADS
- In the bottom right find field, enter the FIR or country name of the sectorfile.
- Click yes in the confirmation dialog.
- Verify that the auto-update is enabled (green). When an update is available aurora will automatically download it for you.
- The new sectorfile will now appear on the left side
- Click the folder icon to load it.
Tip: Sector screen will automatically close after loading sector files. If you wish to keep it open, use the pin on the top right.
¶ Main window
Aurora has three sections: title bar, nav bar, and the plan view display (PVD).
¶ Title Bar
- Aurora version
- Callsign, or last used profile (when offline)
- Login settings
- Connect / Disconnect
- Profile
- Changelog
- Fullscreen (covers taskbar)
- Minimize to tray icon
- Minimize to taskbar
- Fullscreen (windowed mode)
- Close
¶ Login / Logout
⚙️ The cog-wheel button will allow you to set your login settings.
🔽The dropdown icon opens a list of all possible ATC station that can be used.
Once you have a login selected you can click Save, then click Connect to go online.
Hide SUP/ADM rating: Used by supervisors or network admins to have rating hidden when connected.
Connect to Artifice: Used for Tower views. Read more here in the artifice manual.
Connect voice: Must be selected in order for pilots to join your frequency. A voice server will automatically selected based on the lowest latency. Clicking on the dropdown icon reveals a list of voice servers and their latency measured in miliseconds (ms).
The 3 voice servers are:
ts-1.eu-west-2.ivao.aero located in europe.
ts-1.ap-southeast-1.ivao.aero located in southeast asia.
ts-1.sa-east-1.ivao.aero located in brazil..
Hoppie: Used to enter CPDLC logon code. Read more about it here.
¶ VHF Window
Auto Zoom (Magnifying glass)
Zooms to or Selects Traffic transmitting on frequency.
- Grey : Off
- White : Place rings around traffic on the radar screen
- Green : Select the aircraft
- Amber : Zoom on the traffic
TX & RX
- TX : Transmitting
- RX : Receiving
- BL : Frequency blocked if 2 or more talk at the same time. Click on BL to disable Block Tone.
- CA: Channel Admin(Assigned to whoever created the frequency channel) CA can kick, mute or grant other CA access by right-clicking a user in the channel list.
Radar Icon 
- Used to reconnect voice server. Double-click to reconnect.
User Lists
| Observer | ATC |
|---|---|
 |
 |
When online as Observer, instead of the station frequency, you might see the Station Name.
This means that this station is outside of your range.
You can use the pushpin on the User List to separate it from the VHF Window.
¶ VHF Audio Settings
Located under PVD > Settings > VHF Radio
MIC Input: Select your microphone
Amplifier: Increases volume. Value is set in decibal and increases exponentially. We recommend to leave it at 0.0 and adjust your mic volume via the operating system.
Speaker output: Select your output device.
Intercom: Select your output device for ATC intercom calls
Push to transmit: set your push to talk keybind. Recommended for beginners are shift or control keybinds.
Equipment: Specify which radio type you wish to simulatoe for pilots hearing you.
Elevation: Simulate a higher antenna altitude.
Local test: Toggle on and press your push to talk to listen to your input device. A green bar should appear indicating the volume.
If you don't hear yourself and you don't see a green bar ➡️ Your input device is not working.
If you don't hear yourself but you see a green bar ➡️ Your output device is not working.
¶ Equipment Types
Each equipment has different filters so they sound different. You can try each one and choose the one you like the most, or browse through the list below and choose the real receiver used in the real world.
All receivers are used worldwide, below you can find the most popular uses.
GAREX
- GAREX is the receiver developed by the INDRA Company, most commonly used in Europe and some parts in Asia, South America and Africa.
- GAREX is commonly used in Ground and Area Control Centers, but this may change depending on country and airport.
- You can check out the Indra Navia Company Brochure for a list on installations.
- Source: Indra Navia Company Brochure 2017 pg. 10
General Dynamics
- General Dynamics is the receiver developed by NEXCOM, most commonly used in the United States.
JOTRON
- Jotron is the receiver developed by Jotron, the most popular receiver in the world.
- Jotron is commonly used in Tower and Approach Control, but this may change depending on the country and airport.
- Check out Jotron's website for a detailed list on airport installations.
PAE
- PAE is the receiver developed by Park Air, used worldwide in over 180 countries.
- PAE is commonly used in Tower and Approach control, but this may change depending on the country and airport.
¶ Nav Bar
This section is split into two seperate bars: Preferences and Menu.
- You may open/close these bars by using the right-click menu (bold when active):
¶ Menu Bar
- ATIS
- COM
- ATC
- TRAFFIC
- AIRPORTS
- PROFILE
- PVD
¶ ATIS
- Used to broadcast relevant airport or ATC facility information.
- Can be retrieved via Altitude pilot client (text or audio), webeye, or via Aurora ATC list.
- Only one ATIS is available for each aerodrome and the ATIS owner is determined by ATIS Priority. The sequence for an aerodrome is TWR > APP > GND > DEL. e.g if all four different ATC stations are online at an aerodrome, TWR will be responsible for the ATIS, if TWR closes, the ownership will transfer to APP.
- If there is more than one TWR are connected, the first connected will have priority.
- Approach positions have the option to leave/join the ATIS sequence.
ATIS Active: toggle ATIS on or off
ATIS letter: starts at A and updates automatically each time the ATIS info is changed or weather report updates.
STATIC: Set manual ATIS letter. Will not auto-update.
ATC Radio callisgn: Fetched from IVAO ATC database.
TMA ATIS: Terminal Maneuvering Area (TMA) can only be toggled by APP/DEP ATC. Used if multiple airports are serviced. Disables individual airport runway information.
ICAO airport code: Fetched from ATC callsign but can be changed. Used to get airport METAR.
Arrival runways: Enter runways seperated by spaces.
Departure runways: Enter runways seperated by spaces.
Transition Level: Can be toggled on/off. Value must be indicated in flight levels.
Transition Altitude: Can be toggled on/off. Value must be indicated in feet.
Remarks: Located at the bottom right. ATC can enter custom remarks.
Preview area: Located in the top right previews the entire ATIS information.
Cancel: Close ATIS window without saving.
Send: Save ATIS info.
Voice ATIS
- TWR/GND/DEL have the option to record airfield voice ATIS or use TTS. Read more here
¶ COM (Communications Box)
- Can be opened by toggling the COM button in the menu bar.
- It is recommended to keep it open at all times.
- Yellow flashing speech bubble indicates unread messages.
The COM Box may have up to eight tabs:
- The first tab is your MAIN frequency. You can change it by typing
//123.4anywhere in the com box. ATC frequencies are provided via sectorfiles upon position selection automatically. - The second and Third optional tab represent other frequencies that you can use to “monitor” text messages. For example, you can set UNICOM (122.800) or another ATC frequency. These additional frequencies can be set in PVD -> Settings -> COM window.
- D-LINK Telex/CPDLC communications.Only visible when online as ATC. Read more here.
- GUARD Guard frequency, 121.500. When a pilot changes his main frequency (COM1) to 121.500 and sends a text message, this message will be delivered to all near pilots, no matter the main frequency they have tuned, and to nearby online ATC. Avoid using this as much as possible. If you need to reach a pilot attempt it via private messages.
- ATC ATC chat only.
- BRDCST Broadcast messages. Supervisors/Admins can send messages to the whole network.
- MSG Server messages to you only.
- PRIVATE Private messages.
¶ ATC
When pressing the ATC button, it opens a new window, where we can see ATC or Observers online, near our station (based on Range and Center Point). Here, you have five (5) columns:
- Call, which is the Callsign
- Freq, which is the primary frequency of the station
- R, which means the ATC rating
- Name
- Options
- C : Controlling: if the ATC position is active, it will be white. If observer, it will be grey.
- T : Transfer List: if marked (white), this station will be available in your transfer list and the position's fill color, if present in the sector file, will be shown.
- M : for creating a chatbox
- A : to request ATIS of the station, as a private message
- CC : to change the fill color of position. If not visible It might not be included in your sectorfile.
On the title of the window, you can see the total number of connections being displayed. In this case (5).
You can use the filtering options to customize your ATC window.
When using the FIND box:
- If FILTER is selected, It will filter the ATC positions and only display those matching with your search.
- If FILTER is not selected, It will search for the exact phrase and highlight ATC positions matching your search.
- For example, if you wish to only see airport EHAM positions. Then, you should have the FILTER on and write EHAM to the find box. (left picture)
- Or, if you wish to highlight EHAM positions. Then, you should have the FILTER off and write EHAM to the find box. (right picture)
You can filter multiple stations by putting a space between.
- So writing AM BK EH will filter all positions for EHAM, EHBK and EHEH
- Multi Filter will not work when FILTER option is off. You can only search for exact phrases.
¶ TRAFFIC
In this window, we have a general/basic flight strip display with information regarding the selected aircraft.
The first column shows UGGG as the destination, I as IFR flight, then 2000 for the transponder code selected by the pilot.
The second column shows F390 as the final Flight Level (FL), MD11 H as aircraft type and category, M083 as speed, and UGSB as the alternate airport.
The third column shows CWC552 as the aircraft callsign, and Challenge Cargo as a reminder for the radio callsign, LGKR as the departing airport, and 2150 as the departure time.
The fourth column shows the Flight Plan (FPL) route, and underneath is the other info or remarks section (Item 18 of FPL).
In addition to the above description, at the bottom there is a row where ATC can write information into the aircraft TAG:
- WP as waypoint or text, with a maximum of XX characters.
- ALT as Altitude
- SPD as Speed
Writing information in any of these boxes, and then pressing the “tick” button or just hitting “enter” on the keyboard, will send the information. When pressing the “DEL” button, all information will be removed from the aircraft tag.
There is a SQK box, meaning Squawk (Transponder), where ATC can assign a transponder code, so when selecting a new aircraft, and hitting the REQ SSR button, the client will automatically assign a new transponder code, based on the last one used.
The PM Button will open a private chat tab in the COM window, to talk with the pilot in private.
The TRFC LIST button expands the TRAFFIC window and will display aircraft based on the buttons selected below: DEP for Departures, ARR for Arrivals, OVER for Overfly, and UNCO for uncontrolled (not assumed). All this will be based on what is selected in the AIRPORTS window.
On the Traffic Manager window, you can see three columns. Each representing DEP (Departure), ARR (Arrival) or OVER (Overfly) based on your controlled airports from the Airports Menu.
- For each window, you can use the U button on the right of each section to choose to display or not display Uncontrolled Traffics. Meaning assumed traffics.
If U button is Bold, this means Uncontrolled Traffic will be displayed.
- You can also activate/deactivate each column by pressing the respective button from above or separate them from the TRAFFIC MANAGER window by pressing S.DEP, S.ARR or S.OVER, each meaning Separate Departure, Arrival or Overfly windows.
¶ DEP COLUMN
DEP COLUMN is divided into 8 sub-parts being:
- CALL : Callsign and Aircraft Type, next to Aircraft Category
- DEP : Departure Airport and below departure time.
- ARR : Arrival Airport. This part is NOT VISIBLE when OUTBOUND (DEP) Traffic window is not separated from the Traffic Manager.
- WP/SPD : Assigned Waypoint and Speed.
- ALT/SSR : Assigned Altitude and SSR Code.
- Z : Zoom. Clicking the magnifier icon will zoom to the traffic.
- M : Private Message. Clicking the text box icon will create a chat window with the traffic.
- R : Route Visible. Clicking the eye icon will make the route of the traffic visible or invisible.
On the title of the OUTBOUND window you can see the total number of aircrafts being displayed.
In this case (6).
¶ ARR COLUMN
ARR COLUMN is divided to 8 sub parts being:
- CALL : Callsign and Aircraft Type, next to Aircraft Category
- DEP : Departure Airport. This part is NOT VISIBLE when INBOUND (ARR) Traffic window is not separated from the Traffic Manager.
- ARR : Arrival Airport and below estimated arrival time calculated by Aurora.
- WP/SPD : Assigned Waypoint and Speed.
- ALT/SSR : Assigned Altitude and SSR Code.
- Z : Zoom. Clicking the magnifier icon will zoom to the traffic.
- M : Private Message. Clicking the text box icon will create a chat window with the traffic.
- R : Route Visible. Clicking the eye icon will make the route of the traffic visible or invisible.
On the title of the INBOUND window you can see the total number of aircrafts being displayed.
In this case (6).
¶ OVER COLUMN
OVER COLUMN is divided to 8 sub parts being:
- CALL : Callsign and Aircraft Type, next to Aircraft Category
- DEP : Departure Airport.
- ARR : Arrival Airport and below estimated arrival time calculated by Aurora.
- WP/SPD : Assigned Waypoint and Speed.
- ALT/SSR : Assigned Altitude and SSR Code.
- Z : Zoom. Clicking the magnifier icon will zoom to the traffic.
- M : Private Message. Clicking the text box icon will create a chat window with the traffic.
- R : Route Visible. Clicking the eye icon will make the route of the traffic visible or invisible.
On the title of the OVERFLY window you can see the total number of aircrafts being displayed.
In this case (2).
¶ AIRPORTS
The window is split into two main columns, where the one on the left displays airports, based on sector file information. When an airport is selected in the list underneath, full METAR for that station (if available) will be displayed. In addition, for those stations with a valid METAR, QNH and wind information will be shown.
When controlling an airport, or more, first you must select that airport “as controlled” by clicking the funnel in the C column. You can select the “crossed runways” icon (R), to let the system choose the active runway automatically. The magnifying glass icon (Z) will focus the main radar screen over that airport. The V column is for toggling on the VFR waypoints for that airport and the M column for toggling the MRVA.
The right column is split into two sections. The top section refers to runways of the selected airport (on the left). RWY indicates Runway number, CRS indicates Runway course (magnetic). P shows advise on which runway should be selected for the active runway (automatically selected by the system), D is where you can set the departure runways and A to select the arrival runways.
On the bottom of the screen, you can see 5 buttons and a FIND box:
- You can use the FIND box to search for airports.
- CTRL ALL will select all airports controlled, on the C column.
- CTRL NONE will deselect all controlled airports, on the C column.
- CTRL FOUND will select the airport in the FIND box and select it as controlled, on the C column.
- GATES will display the gates of the airport and aircraft on the gates, you can assign gates to traffics by clicking the sign icon.
- HIDE UNCO will hide uncontrolled airports, so you will see only controlled airports.
-
Between the runways and arrival/departure procedures window, you will see 8 buttons:
- TRANS : Displays TRANSITION procedures when active, for the selected runway.
- HOLD : Displays HOLDING procedures when active, for the selected runway.
-
IAP : Displays INITIAL APPROACH procedures when active, for the selected runway.
-
FAP : Displays FINAL APPROACH procedures when active, for the selected runway.
-
GA : Displays GO AROUND procedures when active, for the selected runway.
- AUTO button activates automatic filtering for the active runways:
- When AUTO filtering is enabled;
- If the runway is selected for Departure, you will see:
-
SIDs
-
Departure Transitions, if you have TRANS button activated above.
-
If the runway is selected for Arrival, you will see:
-
STARs,
-
Arrival Transitions, if you have the TRANS button activated above.
-
Initial Approach Procedures (IAP), if you have the IAP button activated above.
-
Final Approach Procedures (FAP),if you have the FAP button activated above.
-
Go Around Procedures (GA), if you have the GA button activated above.
When assigning Gates to aircraft, you can remove any gate assignment by deselecting any aircraft that was selected and press the sign icon.
- T column, left of the Gate ID, shows the Type of Gate. L for Light, M for Medium, H for Heavy or S for Super
¶ PROFILE
Profiles are text files where different settings are saved, to make save setting everything again, the next time you log on. When pressing this menu option, a dropdown list with three (3) options is shown:
- Open, lets you select a profile.
- Save (Key Shortcut: F4), lets you save the current profile (the name of the profile will be the station callsign currently used).
- Supervisor (Key Shortcut: F3), opens the Supervisor module (Appendix to this document).
It’s important to note, that the system will not save the profile when exiting, so make sure to press F4 each time you make an important change (FIX selection, zoom, etc), so the profile will be saved.
¶ PVD
¶ SECTOR (F1)
Opens the Sector File window where you can download (right column), load (left column folder icon), delete (left column X icon) or enable/disable Auto Update of your desired Sector File.
Sector screen will automatically close after opening sector files. If you wish to keep it open, use the pushpin on the top right.
¶ COLORS (F5)
Opens the Color Scheme editor where you can define different colors, open and save profiles. Remember to press “APPLY” for changes to take effect.
¶ SOUNDS (F6)
Opens the Sound settings where you can choose your Output Device, mute/unmute sounds or decrease/increase volume of notifications. These sounds refer to the files in the Sounds folder, with specific filenames.
¶ SETTINGS (F7)
Here you can change the main settings, all of them are explained below.
¶ RADAR
- PSR Range (Horizontal) : Different intervals for each position: DEL = 0-10nm, GND = 0-10nm, TWR = 0-100nm, APP = 0-200nm, CTR = 0-1000nm, OBS = 0-300nm
- PSR Range (Vertical TOP) : 500ft-60000ft
- PSR Range (Vertical FLOOR) : -200ft-60000ft
- PSR Symbol : Symbol of Aircraft displayed when captured by the PSR
- Extrapolated track symbol:
- Traffic Refresh Rate : Minimum can be set differently for each position: DEL = 1 second, GND = 1 second, TWR = 0.5 seconds, APP = 0.5 seconds, CTR = 1 second, OBS = 1 second.
- Zoom Speed : 1x-20x
- Zoom Center : Yes/No
- Zoom Range : Yes/No
- On Screen STRIP : Left/RightNo/Yes
- SSR Range (Horizontal) : Limited for each position: DEL = 0-10nm, GND = 0-10nm, TWR = 0-100nm, APP = 0-200nm, CTR = 0-1000nm, OBS = 0-300nm
- SSR Range (Vertical TOP) : 500ft-60000ft
- SSR Range (Vertical FLOOR) : -200ft-60000ft
- SSR Symbol : Symbol of Aircraft displayed when captured by the SSR
- CPDLC Symbol :
- Traffic history dots : 0 sec-200 sec
- Traffic history space : 5 sec/10 sec
- Shrink : Yes/No (Older dots will get smaller each time)
- Range ring distance : 5 nm-50 nm
- Autohide route : Hides route of previously selected aircraft when selecting a new aircraft
- Ignore DUPE : Ignores “DUPE” situations
- Map Rotation : For Ground Radar, only available for Main Radar
¶
LABELS
- Label Type : Dynamic/Static
- Static Labels Editor : Check below for label editor
- Navdata labels Font/Size :
- Aircraft labels Font/Size :
- QDM labels Font/Size :
- UI Font/Size :
- Mouse AREA Range : refers to MA option in Preferences Bar, NAV preferences.
- Mouse AREA filter :
- Short FIX :
- Short TFC :
- State color :
- Background colored :
- Background color filled :
- OS Strip background filled :
- Lock type : Position of Aircraft Label; Distance, Position, Auto.
- Altitude ALERT :
- S-mode equipment on-ground :
- S-mode equipment airborne :
¶
COM
- Auto accept transfer : YES/NO
- Frequencies : 1 to 3
- Release message : All, None, No voice.
- Transfer message : All, None, No voice.
- Transfer Accept message : Yes/No
- Clear labels on Release : Yes/No
¶
VHF RADIO
- MIC input : Input Device for Voice Communications.
- Speaker Output : Output Device for Voice Communications.
- Elevation : Elevation of the Radio Station, sets automatically for airport positions.
- Push to Transmit : Set your preferred button for Push to Talk.
- Equipment : JOTRON, GAREX, General Dynamics, PAE. check Equipments
- Local Test : Test your voice.
¶
VECTOR
- T Intercept Distance :
- T Intercept Angle :
- T Base Leg Distance :
- Runway center line :
- Traffic vector speed :
- Time spaced vector :
- Space spaced vector :
- Traffic vectors only assumed :
¶
CONFLICT
- Equipped : Yes/No
- Ignore Conflicts Below :
- Vertical Separation :
- Horizontal Separation :
¶
SQK
- ADD SERIE :
- VFR :
- Randomize Multi Hits :
- SQK From IVAO Server :
¶
OTHER
- Mouse cursor :
- Mouse cursor visible :
- Overlay Mouse :
- Overlay Mouse Visible : Yes/No
- Speed Unit / Altitude Unit / FL Unit
- 3rd Part software access :
- Show Hint : displays purpose of buttons when mouse over
- Save profile on exit : Yes/No
- Focus combox :
- Traffic QDM Turn calculation :
- Traffic response time :
- Session recorder : Yes/No
- Popupmenu Transparency :
- Copy coordinates : Decimal/DMS (Degrees, minutes, seconds)
¶ Label Editor for Static Labels
To activate the label editor, go to PVD → SETTINGS → LABELS, choose label type from DYNAMIC (that is the standard label) to the STATIC that is the editable one. After that, to customize them, choose OPEN on Static Label Editor
Label editor:
On the label editor, there are three situations: NORMAL, ASSUMED and SELECTED. On each one, you have the options to activate all types of labels, such as:
- IDENT – Traffic callsign.
- SSR - active SSR (it will show the SSR code of the aircraft regardless of the identification state)
- SSR A – assigned SSR.
- DEST – FPL destination.
- AIRCR – Aircraft ICAO code.
- ID STATE – state around IDENT (regarding departure or arrival colorschemes).
- TEXT – free text area, to do any types of personal notes. The text written here will be transferred to the adjacent ATC when the traffic is transferred.
- UNIT – which ATC is the traffic with.
- COMP – company.
- RVSM – RVSM status.
- MSG – messages such as CA, IDENT, and others.
- VS Symbol – shows arrow of climbing and descending (symbol editable by editing profile)
- ALT – current traffic altitude.
- ALT A – cleared altitude.
- ALT C – FPL altitude.
- VS – vertical speed.
- SPD – current speed in GS.
- SPD A – assigned speed.
- WAKE – wake turbulence of the aircraft
- FRAME – STRIP boundaries. Activating it will show the boundaries.
- N.FREQ - display the selected next ATC frequency (will only work on assumed/selected states)
- XFL - stands for eXit Flight Level, which means the level at which you will transfer the traffic to the next ATC
You may change the label positions by moving with the mouse or with precision, by right-clicking on the label and moving it.
Regarding FRAME, there are some options
By that, you can edit the label boundaries as it says.
When having a traffic assumed, Def. Label will show these informations if active:
By that, you can name what will the labels be named
E.g. Instead of showing wpt, you can change to hdg for example, changing the name on the label itself and so on.
To allow dynamic moving on STATIC labelling and to make them be on the same line, use LINK. That will keep labels aligned. To do that, click on the first label that will be the reference label, then click on LINK and select the following labels that will be on their right. To unlink all labels, just click UNLINK and select the group of labels that were linked.
The same process works for GND, which represents the labels for ground traffic. To copy the currently selected type of label to all others (NORMAL, ASSUMED, OR SELECTED), for example, copy NORMAL to ASSUMED and SELECTED on AIR, click on Copy ALL. Same thing on GND
¶ Preferences Bar
This bar has four (4) main sections where you may also extend these sections by selecting these different buttons.
¶ INSET (CTRL + 1-8)
This button, when enabled (BOLD), lets you open up to 8 new radar windows, so for example when controlling a large area, with multiple airports, you can open an INSET and zoom to each airport. You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 1 to 8.
¶ PREF BAR IN INSET
- You can display/hide the PREF BAR by right-clicking inside the INSET screen.
- Pressing TFC will filter aircrafts that are shown in INSET to: ALL/AIR/GROUND/OFF
Inside an INSET window, you can select V.PR from the PREF BAR to use that window as vertical profile.
You can select DEFINE VERT. PROF. to define where the profile begins.
- Vertical Profile will display aircraft on different levels and show their path according to their assigned Flight Levels on the flight strip.
- On this screen, you can filter traffic that uses fixes/navaids and airways by pressing the NAV button.
- It is also possible to filter the traffic depending on Range and Altitude.
- Step is the distance between perpendicular lines.
¶ TRAFFIC (CTRL + T)
This button, when enabled (BOLD), lets you work with labels of aircraft, HALO radius, Range Rings distance and aircraft speed vectors.
- L+ = Moves the aircraft label away from the plane.
- L- = Moves the aircraft label towards the plane.
Also, you can move the aircraft labels using the “Mouse Wheel button” or holding SHIFT.
- H+ = Increase HALO
- H- = Decrease HALO
- R+ = Add Ring
- R- = Remove Ring
- 0 = Set Speedvector off.
- 1 = Set Speedvector to 1 minute.
- 2 = Set Speedvector to 2 minutes.
- 4 = Set Speedvector to 4 minutes.
- 8 = Set Speedvector to 8 minutes.
You can use the Spaced Traffic Vector function to have spaces, indicating 30 seconds, 1 minute or 2 minutes on the speedvector of Traffic.
This can be activated from PVD>SETTINGS>VECTOR>Traffic vector spaced, time spaced vector and space spaced vector.
- GTR = Show or Hide Ground Traffic. When GTR is disabled, if you press SHIFT + GTR, It will display assumed ground traffic.
¶ GEO (CTRL + G)
This button, when enabled (BOLD), lets you display or hide some information of the Sector File (radar screen content) like Airports, Runways, Buildings, etc.
By pressing SHIFT + GEO, if defined in your sectorfile, you can see a list of where you can enable/disable or change the color of certain things.
¶ CST (CTRL + SHIFT + C)
- Show or Hide Coast Line
¶ AP (CTRL + A)
- Show or Hide Airport names
¶ RWY
- Show or Hide Runways
¶ RWC
- Show or Hide Runway Approach Centerlines. (These lines only appear when you select active runways)
- When RWC is underlined, this means the actual centerline of the runway is turned ON.
¶ GTS (CTRL + SHIFT + D)
- Show or Hide Gates
¶ TXL
- Show or Hide Taxiway labels
¶ TXI
- Show or Hide Taxiways
¶ TXC
- Show or Hide Taxiway Centerlines
¶ STP
- Show or Hide Stop lines
¶ APR
- Show or Hide Aprons
¶ PIER
- Show or Hide Piers
¶ BLD
- Show or Hide Buildings
¶ DA (ALT + Q)
- Show or Hide Danger Areas
- Press SHIFT + DA to choose one by one.
¶ PA (ALT + W)
- Show or Hide Prohibited Areas
- Press SHIFT + PA to choose one by one.
¶ RA (ALT + E)
- Show or Hide Restricted Areas
- Press SHIFT + RA to choose one by one.
¶ WXR (Weather Radar)
The WXR button has 3 states:
WXR off (grey)
WXR on (white) → Shows precipitation.
SAT on (white) → Shows clouds
Shift + WXR → Open Weather overlay panel
To enable weather maps, select Set Overlay Area, hold shift and left-click drag a rectangle. Aurora will download overlay tiles to cover your selected area.
- Color theme: Select different overlay sources.
- Opacity: Adjust how transparent the overlay should be.
- Snow: taggle snow overlay
- SAT: Left click to switch to satellite cloude coverage mode.
- Max Zoom Level Visibility: Set zoom level where the overlay should not be shown.
¶ NAV (CTRL + N)
This button, when enabled (BOLD), lets you display or hide some information of the Sector File (radar screen content) related to Navigation, like VORs, FIXs, Frequencies, Airways, etc.
¶ VOR (CTRL + Q)
Show, Hide or Manage VORs. If you press the shift key and press the VOR button, a list with all the available VOR’s will be displayed, where you can enable or disable each one to be displayed, clicking on the “eye” icon. Also, you can enable or disable all by pressing the buttons at the bottom of the window.
¶ NDB (CTRL + W)
Show, Hide or Manage NDBs. If you press the shift key and press the NDB button, a list with all available NDBs will be displayed, where you can enable or disable each one to be displayed, clicking on the “eye” icon. Also, you can enable or disable all by pressing the buttons at the bottom of the window.
¶ FIX (CTRL + E)
Show, Hide or Manage FIXs. If you press the shift key and press the FIX button, a list with all available FIXs will be displayed, where you can enable or disable each one to be displayed, clicking on the “eye” icon. Also, you can enable or disable all by pressing the buttons at the bottom of the window.
You can use the buttons on the bottom to filter FIXES.
- TERM: Terminal Fixes
- ENR: Enroute Fixes
- BND: Boundary Fixes
¶ FRQ (CTRL + F)
- Show or Hide Frequencies next to VOR/NDB names.
¶ VFR (CTRL + V)
- Show or Hide VFR Waypoints.
¶ VFRR (CTRL + SHIFT + V)
- Show or Hide VFR Routes.
¶ MRV (CTRL + M)
- Show or Hide Minimum Radar Vectoring Altitudes.
- MRV's can also be enabled/disabled from Airports Menu.
¶ ACC
- Show or Hide ARTCC
- Press SHIFT + ACC to choose one by one.
¶ HS
- Show or Hide High Sectors
- Press SHIFT + HS to choose one by one.
¶ LS
- Show or Hide Low Sectors
- Press SHIFT + LS to choose one by one.
¶ H (CTRL + H)
- Show or Hide High Airways.
¶ L (CTRL + L)
- Show or Hide Low Airways.
¶ ATC (ALT + A)
- Show or Hide ATC Online.
¶ N (CTRL + S)
- Show or Hide Name labels for all objects.
¶ RR (CTRL + R)
- Show or Hide Range Rings.
- SHIFT + RR will bring up the range labels.
Range rings' and labels' colour can be edited via the COLORS (F5) menu:
¶ T (ALT + T)
- Show or Hide Vectoring Ts.
¶ MA (CTRL + X)
- Show NAVAID Labels only in the area of the mouse.
¶ CLR
- Clears Displayed Routes / SIDs / STARs
¶ S AR
- Show/Hide Special Areas which are implemented.
- To view the special areas, you must be connected to the network. After becoming online, make sure that S AR is white and you will see special areas on your radar if there are any.
- To view their details, press the S AR button while holding the “SHIFT” key from the keyboard.
- There, you can see their names, altitude restrictions, date/time restrictions, and their type (Danger/Prohibited/Restricted)
- On the radar, they can be seen with their names, labels or just as an area.
- Click to L/N on the right of the S AR to switch between viewing modes.
- Colors of the special areas can also be changed via Colors menu for each type (Danger/Prohibited/Restricted)
¶ NOTAMs
- To view the NOTAMs, open the Airports Menu from the Menu bar, and click the “eye icon” on the relevant row of the N column.
- Details of the NOTAM will appear in your MSG tab of the COM BOX.
¶ Session Recorder
Aurora allows ATC to record their session. You can enable/disable Session Recorder from PVD → Settings → Other. To learn more, please check Settings.
You can view your previous ATC/Observer sessions by pressing REPLAY on the Title Bar.
- First, click on the small arrow pointing down to select the session you want to view.
- Sessions names are stored in the following format:
YearMonthDayHourMinuteSecondse.g.20211020180422 - After selecting the session, press REPLAY and options will come up.
- From left to right:
- Day, month and year
- Play, pause and playback speed
- Time adjustment slider
- Zulu time which the playback is playing at
- On the radar screen the information you will see includes, but is not limited to:
- Aircrafts' locations
- Aircrafts' labels which you see during ATC/Observer sessions (Callsign, altitude, speed, ATC filled labels, etc.)
- Aircrafts' speed vectors and history dots
- After every adjustment in time slider, please wait up to 5 seconds for Aurora to refresh.
- Each session is recorded automatically once you disconnect or close the Aurora.
¶ Aircraft Context Menu
Assume
- Indicates taking control of an aircraft by you as ATC unit.
Transfer
- shows list of ATC to transfer aircraft to, set as Next Frequency, or make Bay requests.
- double-clicking an ATC will initiate the transfer.
- If other ATC has auto-accept enabled then the transfer will completed instantly
- If other ATC has manual-accept enabled ithen the tranfer is pending until accepted.
Release
- Release control and send aircraft to unicom frequency 122.8
- By default will also send a text message on primary frequency to pilot: "Switch to UNICOM 122.8, good day"
Force Act
- Sends an automated contact-me message to the pilot including your frequency.
Highlight
- Highlights the selected field for adjacent ATC to see.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| ALT | Current Altitude |
| ALT A | Assigned Altitude |
| ALT C | Assigned Cruising Altitude |
| SPD | Current Speed |
| SPD A | Assigned Speed |
| VS | Vertical Speed (Rate of climb/descend) |
| DEST | Destination |
| WP | Waypoint |
| AIRCR | Aircraft Type Designator |
QDM
- Creates a vector line to your mouse courser.
- 1st line = heading
- 2nd line = distance
- 3rd line = time
QDM can also be created by double-clicking an aircraft label or anywhere on your PVD.
A second double-click pins the QDM line.
A third double-click deletes the QDM.
Multi-QDM
- If enabled it allows to created multie QDM lines which can be edited by the QDM manager.
- Disabled Multi-QDM deletes all QDM lines.
Anchor
More info soon.
Set Centerpoint
- Sets the centerpoint for range rings (your ATC visibilty)
- Automatically set to the airport for DEL/GND/TWR/APP ATC
- CTR centerpoints have a default value specified in the .isc file.
Reset Centerpoint
- resets centerpoint.
Bay List
- Shows incoming strip bay requests.
DEFA TXT
- create custom text labels on your PVD screen.
Pref bar
- toggles preference bar
Menu bar
- toggles menu bar
Voice
- Toggles if aircraft is Text Only or has Voice capability.
- Toggling the VOICE button will turn the button label from white (voice+text) to grey (text only).
- The aircraft label will add a
-at the end of the callsign, visible to every ATC. - For example DFBRA- indicates the pilot is text only.
¶ Shortcuts
Currently Aurora has the following functional shortcuts:
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F1 : Open Sector Definition List
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F2 : Reset Zoom place to profile's saved zoom
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F3 : Supervisor module
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F4 : Save Profile
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F5 : Open Colorscheme editor
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F6 : Open Soundscheme editor
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F7 : Open Settings editor
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F8 : Show Flightplan window
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+ / - : Zoom in / out
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z : Assume/Release (selected label)
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q : Request SSR Code
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w : Add Waypoint (selected label)
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a : Add Altitude (selected label)
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s : Add Speed (selected label)
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t : Transfer (selected label)
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x : Send Text (selected label)
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TAB: View the route of the selected aircraft
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CTRL + I : INSET Bar
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CTRL + T : TRAFFIC Bar
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CTRL + G : GEO Bar
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CTRL + N : NAV Bar
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CTRL + Q : Show / Hide VOR's
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CTRL + W : Show / Hide NDB's
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CTRL + E : Show / Hide Fixes
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CTRL + F : Show / Hide Frequencies
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CTRL + V : Show / Hide VFR Fixes
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CTRL + SHIFT + V : Show / Hide VFR Route
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CTRL + M : Show / Hide MRVA
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CTRL + H : Show / Hide High Airway
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CTRL + L : Show / Hide Low Airway
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CTRL + S : Show / Hide All Labels
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CTRL + R : Show / Hide Range Rings
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CTRL + T : Show / Hide Vectoring T
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CTRL + X : Show / Hide Mouse Area
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CTRL + A : Show / Hide Aiports
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CTRL + SHIFT + C : Show / Hide Coastlines
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CTRL + SHIFT + D : Show / Hide Gates
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CTRL + C : Copy mouse coordinates
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ALT + A : Show / Hide ATC Online
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ALT + Q : Show / Hide Danger Areas
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ALT + W : Show / Hide Prohibited Areas
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ALT + E : Show / Hide Restricted Areas
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ALT + R : set SSR MAX TOP
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ALT + F : set SSR MIN FLOOR
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CTRL + 1 : Open INSET 1
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CTRL + SHIFT + 1: Open INSET 1 at Main Screen Zoom level
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CTRL + 2 : Open INSET 2
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CTRL + SHIFT + 2: Open INSET 2 at Main Screen Zoom level
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CTRL + 3 : Open INSET 3
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CTRL + SHIFT + 3: Open INSET 3 at Main Screen Zoom level
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CTRL + 4 : Open INSET 4
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CTRL + SHIFT + 4: Open INSET 4 at Main Screen Zoom level
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CTRL + 5 : Open INSET 5
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CTRL + SHIFT + 5: Open INSET 5 at Main Screen Zoom level
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CTRL + 6 : Open INSET 6
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CTRL + SHIFT + 6: Open INSET 6 at Main Screen Zoom level
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CTRL + 7 : Open INSET 7
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CTRL + SHIFT + 7: Open INSET 7 at Main Screen Zoom level
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CTRL + 8 : Open INSET 8
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CTRL + SHIFT + 8: Open INSET 8 at Main Screen Zoom level
¶ COMBOX Shortcuts
- .c : Find navaids and airports
- .t CALLSIGN : Find traffic
- .wx ICAO : Receive METAR
- .taf ICAO : Receive TAF
- .chat CALLSIGN : Open chat in PRIVATE tab
- .a CALLSIGN : Add to chat group
- .r CALLSIGN : Remove from chat group
¶ Authors
- VID 193103 - Creation
- VID 425236 - Update
- VID 150259 - Wiki integration
- VID 274235 - Edits and Updates
- VID 573229 - Reformatting and Updates
- VID 545587 - Updates
- VID 190881 - Updates