Happy nav cycle day ZOA!
Today we are rolling out a completely revamped SOP for ZAK with many changes, mainly surrounding the use of ADS-C. The changelog is down below. Additionally, an update to CPS-001 has been pushed out, the primary change in this is the addition of a Disciplinary policy and procedure. The purpose of this is to provide a clear, consistent, and fair way to deal with any issues that may arise. Fortunately we do not have very many things come up here, so hopefully we will not have to put it to use very often. Other changes in CPS-001 are mainly typo corrections, clarifying language, etc.
ZAK Changelog
- Added assumptions about aircraft equipment (CPDLC + ADS-C for most planes)
- Aligned airspace delegation with real world (added Fukuoka & Vancouver shelves)
- Removed E/W split of OCA (only vatSys can be used to control entire OCA)
- Added transition altitude information
- Expand RVSM information
- Outline responsibilities of controller and radio operator
- Decouple radio frequencies from sectors
- Introduced ADS-C procedures
- Aligned position report requirements with chart supplement (removed speeds)
- Added weather deviation procedures section
- Added strategic lateral offsets section
- Removed specific altitudes for different time compression rates
- New controller information template
- Removed reference to inbound coordination as "oceanic clearance"
- Expanded & updated inbound/outbound coordination procedures
- Re-organized separation standards, included minima based on ADS-C/ADS-B
- Included track separation standards (for island airport departures)
- Included offshore/oceanic transition separation procedures
- Added sample phraseology section
- Updated sectorization and add sector descriptions