Open TRACK LIST. Enter the visible callsign in Filter Callsign; use a distinctive part of the name if the full label includes a base prefix.
Compare the matching rows. Check Track No as well as Callsign so you do not choose another aircraft with a similar name.
Use the row’s > control to move the view to that aircraft. The locating marker helps you find it; this does not by itself confirm which contact an order will use.
Left-click the located contact on the scope. If AC Control opens, choose the Flight Info tab. Compare its callsign and track serial with the row you intended before reading TYPE or giving an order.
To find the callsign family below, search the name without the aircraft number: GAMECOCK finds GAMECOCK11. Looking up a family is separate from selecting a particular contact.
A label such as LUQ1 GAMECOCK11 has more than one part. This is a format example, not a promise that this exact aircraft will be in your session.
Part of the example
Meaning in the game
LU
The Leuchars base prefix. CY means Coningsby, LE means Leeming and LM means Lossiemouth. It does not give the aircraft’s current position.
Q1
A Q number allocated to that interceptor. It is separate from the track serial and squawk. Do not treat it as the number of aircraft in a flight.
GAMECOCK
The allocated callsign name. Use this part to search the directory.
11
The aircraft suffix within the allocated callsign. Keep the complete callsign when comparing aircraft; the suffix alone does not uniquely identify a track.
The game can show a base prefix without a Q number, for example LU GAMECOCK11. The Q form is used for a paired aircraft away from its base on a mission other than CAP. CAP means an air patrol. The base prefix alone is used in the other states. A Q prefix already allocated to a contact keeps its allocation, so it is not a live location report.
No matching callsign family. Try the name without its aircraft number or base prefix: GAMECOCK instead of LUQ1 GAMECOCK11. Check the full callsign in Flight Info and track number on the scope data block before giving an order.
A name can be allocated again in a later session or appear in more than one pool. A number after the name helps distinguish aircraft; do not use it as the track serial. Select the contact, compare the callsign with Flight Info, then use the appropriate aircraft controls. Base-pool membership is a reference clue, not proof of the aircraft’s present location or identity.
GADGET identifies the game’s Nimrod R1 callsign family. ALBERT is used for Hercules logistics and VORTEX for Chinook logistics. The AWACS allocation pool includes OVERLORD, MOONRAKER, SAURON and MAGIC 11–14. Confirm the aircraft in Flight Info before giving a task; the name does not replace its E or K identity or its type details.
Check the aircraft before choosing a task
These are examples of the game’s support callsigns. You do not need to have every example in your session.
Search this directory for the name without its aircraft number: GADGET finds the family. To find a live aircraft, use its full callsign in TRACK LIST, compare Track No and use the row’s > control to locate it.
Use these checks when the game is not asking you to click a target for an order. Left-click the intended track on the scope, outside the panels. If AC Control opens, choose Flight Info. Check the complete callsign and track serial, then read TYPE.
For more type details, choose Aircraft Data. If TYPE says Unknown, you have not confirmed the model. Match the aircraft to the examples below before following its task guide.
The digits distinguish a callsign from another in its family. They are not the track serial, squawk code, cargo quantity or number of aircraft. Keep the whole callsign when checking a live contact.
Does K mean the track is a Nimrod?
No. K is also used for other support aircraft, including tankers and transports. Compare the full callsign and TYPE; the letter alone does not confirm a Nimrod.
Can ALBERT or VORTEX refuel a fighter already flying?
Their SUP delivery moves supplies to an airfield. It does not transfer fuel to a fighter in the air. For that, use a tanker and the fighter’s REFUEL order.
The game can also use these names from its alternative fighter naming list in v0.8.16.0. The name alone does not tell you the aircraft’s base, position or identity.
PIRATE
SHADOW11
VIPER
FLASH
SIEGFRIED
BEANS
TOAST
WALLACE
GROMMETT
TARNISH
GUNFIGHTER
Search this directory with the name below. When selecting an aircraft in TRACK LIST, compare its complete displayed callsign and Track No, then check Flight Info before giving an order. Keep any numbers shown as part of that complete callsign.
Civilian helicopters can use a service name or an offshore flight name. The entries below describe Air Defender v0.8.16.0; compare the complete callsign with the selected aircraft’s Flight Info.
POLICE · HELIMED
The game uses POLICE and HELIMED names for Bo 105 and AS355 Twin Squirrel helicopter traffic. Compare TYPE in Flight Info to find which aircraft you are looking at.
COASTGUARD
COASTGUARD names are used for S-61-type helicopter traffic. The S-61N also flies offshore routes in the game, so not every S-61N has a COASTGUARD callsign.
BHL · BND · BIH · KLH
BHL, BND, BIH and KLH are callsign prefixes for helicopter flights to offshore installations. Keep the following digits and any final letter when comparing the complete name. These are separate from Track No, the squawk and the aircraft type.
The digits are part of the callsign, not the track number or a position report.
Open TRACK LIST and compare the full Callsign and Track No. Use > to locate the aircraft, then left-click that contact on the scope. In AC Control, open Flight Info and compare its callsign and track number before reading TYPE or checking its route.
A service name can differ from the registration
For service-named VFR helicopters, the game can keep POLICE, HELIMED or COASTGUARD as the flight name while giving the aircraft a separate G- registration. A registration used as a callsign and a service-name callsign are different cases. Search the full flight name in TRACK LIST; use a registration or Mode S address for a register check when available. A generated name does not promise a matching entry in the civilian register.
Real-world reading: current UK callsigns
Today, UK radiotelephony uses HELIMED for helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) flights and POLICE for police flights. Coastguard and search-and-rescue callsigns depend on the task. These current rules are separate from the game’s naming examples.
Airborne Warning and Control System: an aircraft carrying radar and control equipment. In this game, the E-3D Sentry provides the airborne radar picture.
A radio data link that shares information between systems. Air Defender uses it to bring the E-3D’s radar information into your picture; its control is labelled L11.
Civil Aviation Authority. This name is used in several countries. NZ CAA means New Zealand’s authority; UK CAA means the United Kingdom’s. Check which country the source names.
