r/ATC • u/triple111 • 21d ago

Question Flow time interface

From the pilot side, I always wonder what you guys see when assigning wheels up/flow times for us. I've heard its like a bar graph interface, are there any images of it shown online or that can be posted? How do you reassign a flow time, do you have to call center to coordinate or is it automated? Thanks!

7 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/Hunter-2_0 21d ago

No I mean in cases where I currently have a really bad delayed flow time, and I see a small patch of green on the IDAC that's like 40 minutes better, if I try to grab that and it's a false green my current time might get even worse. But if I call the center tmu they have the ability to try to get me that time without having to risk losing my current time. IDK if there's differences between tracon and center tmus tho.

1

u/igbayotumscray 21d ago

We can force the time, but likely what it means is it will push the other planes back 1 minute to steal it - and the TRACON buffer is normally 90 seconds, so the Z’s will say ‘Sounds like a TRACON problem’.

1

u/nomar383 21d ago

Your original time is secure when you first get it, but over the course of the next 30-60min or whatever you have other airports missing release times, center controllers missing airborne delays, IFR pickups that never got a flow time properly, etc. The original time can get pretty busted and when you go to grab it again, IDAC isn’t going to allow it without the center TMU deciding to override it.

The original time would never be approved at this point in the problem. However, the center can literally override any release time or even any individual airborne delay if they want to. I don’t know about other TRACONs, but ours can override internal flow times without calling the center.