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Introduction

Overview

Welcome to the Visual Flight Phraseology Manual, a practical and straightforward guide developed for those who fly or control VFR traffic at Vatsim Brasil.

While the Aeronautical Phraseology Manual covers instrument flight, this manual covers the other end of the operation: the one in which the pilot navigates by looking outside, reports their intentions, flies the traffic circuit and takes on a large part of the responsibility for their own separation.

Revision Date Description Reviewer
08/2026 07/08/2026 Manual created 930847

About this Manual

This manual was created in accordance with the topics listed in MCA 100-16 1 and MCA 100-21 2, official DECEA documents covering air traffic phraseology in Portuguese, English and Spanish, supported by ICA 100-12 3, which establishes the Rules of the Air.

It was written to be read from start to finish, in page order. Each chapter follows one phase of flight, and the communication examples always follow the same aircraft, from engine start at the departure apron to engine shutdown at the destination.

Communications are presented in Portuguese, English and Spanish, following the same standard as the Aeronautical Phraseology Manual.

Scope

The phraseology presented here covers a complete visual flight under normal conditions, including:

  • departure from a controlled aerodrome, with GROUND and TOWER;
  • transit through controlled airspace, with CONTROL;
  • en-route flight under the flight information service, with INFORMATION;
  • arrival at an uncontrolled aerodrome, with RADIO;
  • the standard traffic circuit and its most common variations;
  • specific routine situations, such as touch and go, go-around, orbit and spacing.

Emergency situations, communication failure and special operations are not part of this manual. In those cases, refer to the specific regulations.

Important

Content intended for the flight simulation environment. In real-world operations, always use the current official publications, the aerodrome charts and the AIS and ATS channels.

How to use this manual

  1. Read Visual Flight Concepts to understand what changes compared to instrument flight.
  2. Read Traffic Circuit to learn the geometry and the mandatory reports.
  3. Use Outbound Flight and Return Flight as a complete communications script.
  4. Refer to Specific Situations when something goes off-script.
  5. Keep the Quick Checklist at hand to review before connecting to the network.

Further reading

This manual ties in directly with the Aeronautical Phraseology Manual and the Traffic Circuit Manual. Whenever a subject is covered in more depth in another document, the link will be indicated.

Knowledge takes up no space

  1. MCA 100-16, Air Traffic Phraseology: establishes the air traffic phraseology standards, complementing the provisions of ICA 100-12, "Rules of the Air". ↩

  2. MCA 100-21, Air Traffic Phraseology in Spanish: establishes the air traffic phraseology standards in Spanish, complementing the provisions of ICA 100-12, "Rules of the Air". ↩

  3. ICA 100-12, Rules of the Air: establishes the rules applicable to aircraft operations in Brazilian airspace, including the conditions for visual flight. ↩