vNAAATS 2.0 puts the whole Atlantic in one window

The vNAAATS Flight Data Display now installs as an app, so Atlantic controllers can keep one live picture of their traffic open beside EuroScope with no browser tabs to juggle.

The display at vnaaats.com/fdd runs on the same server as the EuroScope plugin. When one controller changes a level, a Mach or a track, everyone else sees it within seconds.

What is vNAAATS?

vNAAATS is a free tool for controlling oceanic traffic on VATSIM. It has two parts that share one live data feed:

• The EuroScope plugin. It draws North Atlantic tracks and oceanic flight data in your radar client and puts the extra information you need on the tags.
• The Flight Data Display (FDD). This web display lists flights by track, shows clearances and flight plan details, and lets you track and hand off, work CPDLC and send natTrak reminders.

It is designed for Gander Oceanic and Shanwick controllers, and anyone else working the North Atlantic can use it too.

A short history

vNAAATS began as a EuroScope plugin written by Andrew Ogden for oceanic controllers on VATSIM. Over time its server stopped working and the project went quiet, leaving controllers without the tool.

With Andrew's permission, Gary Thomas, Divisional Lead of Gander Oceanic, took the project on as Version 2: "Modernised by Gary Thomas". It now has its own server and its own address at vnaaats.com, plus the web Flight Data Display, CPDLC, Concorde and Tango route support, and personal keys for certified controllers. Andrew confirmed that the project could carry on under Gary's name, and the original code remains open source on GitHub.

Install it once, open it in one click

Installing the display takes about ten seconds and gives you a window of its own.

• Self-contained. The app has its own window and icon, with no address bar or browser clutter.
• No more tab juggling. It stays apart from VATSIM Radar, charts, Discord and your CPDLC page, so you can't lose it or close it by accident.
• Ready when you are. Start it from your desktop, taskbar or home screen and it opens straight to the display.
• Built for a second monitor. Place it beside EuroScope and leave it there for the whole session.
• On tablets and phones too. The same app-style view works when you add it to your home screen.

To install, open vnaaats.com/fdd in Chrome or Edge and click the install icon in the address bar. On iPhone or iPad, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.

Every route on one list

NAT tracks, Concorde tracks, the new Shanwick Tango routes (T9, T290, T213, T13 and T16) and random routings are now grouped for you. Tango routes sit above random routings and below the NAT tracks, as controllers expect.

Filters let you narrow the list with a click: TRKD, EB, WB, RR or TANGO.

Traffic stays visible when you need it

Flights you have handed off, or that have passed their exit point, now stay on the display for 15 minutes, faded, so nothing disappears while you are still working it. Controllers signed in as Gander or Shanwick also see the neighbouring centre's traffic that is 30 minutes or less from 30W, which makes handoffs across the boundary much easier to anticipate.

Clearances, CPDLC and checks

• CPDLC in the browser. Log on with your own Hoppie code, send and answer messages, and use the new force log out if a station is stuck. A forced log out asks you to confirm first and locks that callsign for three minutes.
• natTrak tools. See clearance requests, send the RCL reminder yourself, or let Auto RCL do it. Auto RCL waits five minutes after a pilot appears and ignores aircraft already in, or about to enter, the OCA.
• Level checks. A yellow banner at the top of the Flight Plan panel warns you when a flight's level is not one of the levels for its track. Separation stays your judgement as a controller.
• Mach on the EuroScope tag. Once a flight is tracked and a Mach is entered, the tag shows it (for example M79) instead of ground speed.
• Clearer Flight Plan panel. Data link status now reads Logged on or Not logged on, and the panel fits without scrolling.

Get started

1. Download the plugin and sector pack from vnaaats.com/download.
2. Read the guide at vnaaats.com/guide.
3. Open vnaaats.com/fdd and install it as an app. Certified controllers can ask for a personal key to use the full controlling features.

Tell us what you think

Share your feedback in the Discord or email [email protected]. vNAAATS is maintained with the permission of its original author, Andrew Ogden.