Hi all,

For a long time, we have wanted to provide our members with more tools that directly aid them in their day to day use of the network.
I'm pleased to confirm that today, we are releasing the UK Controller Plugin; a EuroScope plugin for use by controllers in the UK.

What Does It Do?

• Local and General Squawks: If the plugin detects certain conditions that suggest that an aircraft would normally receive a local squawk (e.g. VFR departure), it will assign a local squawk for the unit in question. If not, it'll assign a general squawk based on a set of rules imported from our squawks.vatsim.uk site and the UK Squawk Allocation plan - starting with specific rules regarding departure FIRs etc and working its way towards more general rules.
• Initial Altitude Assignment: Initial altitudes are assigned automatically when an aircraft on a recognized departure (including some non-airway routes: e.g. YANKEE at EGGW) files a flightplan.
• Prenote Reminders: If the plugin detects a push and start on an aircraft at an airfield you are responsible for, it can inform you that a pre-note is required, why it is required and which controller it needs to go to. This is all dynamic depending on which positions are online.
• Intention Codes: We've added all the popular intention codes, but also narrowed down some of the more specific ones (e.g. V1-V6).
• History Trails: History trails are fully customisable on a per-ASR basis with the option to hide them for aircraft outside of an altitude range (e.g. on the ground).
• Wake Categories: EuroScope shows ICAO wake categories by default, which are not as granular as the UK's. This feature adds the ability to display the correct UK wake category, where the aircraft type is recognised.
• Expected and Actual Off Block Times: These can be displayed in any of the EuroScope lists. The EOBT is calculated as estimated departure time - 15 minutes. The AOBT is set when the aircrafts ground status is changed to Push and Start.
• Countdown Timer: Useful for departure separation, the countdown timer is shared across all ASR's, so no matter what screen you are on, you'll always get the same time.
• Minimum Stack Levels: Minimum stack levels are displayed for the popular TMAs around the country. In the future we may look to expand this to display airfield-specific minimum stack  levels. Covered at the moment are:
  • London TMA
  • Manchester TMA
  • Scottish TMA
  • Channel Islands Control Zone
• Core Integration: Easily register your plugin install with Core so that we can develop more features in the future!
• Automated Updates: No need to update initial altitudes or squawk ranges! When it changes in an AIRAC, your plugin will automatically update too.
• Easy Configuration: Dot commands are a pain to remember! That is why we have put the most common configuration items into an easy to use settings area.
• Owned Airfields: The plugin knows who is responsible for each airfield, no matter who is logged on. This stops every plugin trying to allocate squawks at every airfield.
• Controlled Versions: If we update the plugin, you'll get a notification when you open up EuroScope. If we release a version that is broken, we can stop people using it all together.
• Open Source Code: Both the plugin and the API that powers it are open source on VATSIM UK's GitHub. Both of these codebases have significant automated test support (which will be a prerequisite of any new developments) which will allow us to be confident in everything we release. By making the project open-source, it will be possible for anyone to submit a new feature or bug fix to the codebase.

What Will It Do In The Future?

The beauty of open sourcing our code is it could do anything, but here are some things we are thinking of exploring. Note that not all of them may come to fruition or even be possible!

• Holding Manager: Something that would help you manage the stacks at airports, especially during busy events.
• Event Integration: For events like CTP and Real Ops, we'd love to be able to display slot-times in the plugin to help controllers.
• Mentoring Tracking: Track statistics and have them automatically sent to the training system and linked to a mentoring session.
• Prenotes Expanded: Perhaps we can find a way to automatically send prenotes directly to controllers that need them?

Who Made This Happen?

This entire project would not have been possible without @Andy Ford.
His time, dedication, enthusiasm and attention to detail has seen this project through from start to finish.
Andy has driven this plugin from idea to release and will continue to play an integral part in the coordination of its maintenance.
Oh, @Alex Toff did a bit of work on the backend too...

How Do I Use It?

Interested in trying it out?
Head over to https://www.vatsim.uk/ukcp and follow the instructions!
If you would like a more in-depth user guide, please click here.

IT DOES NOT WORK. IT IS BROKEN. FIX IT.

If you need help with something there are a couple of options;

• Make a post here on the forum to seek support from other members.
• Ask someone on Slack (you may find the #uk_controller_plugin channel useful).
• Contact the Web Services Team directly via the helpdesk.

I'm hopeful that this tool will prove useful to all of you that control within the UK!

Thanks,
Calum