Vectorhold: ATC Simulator

Update guide

Version 2.0 (build 5)

This guide covers version 2.0. The current website catalog lists version 2.0. Check the App Store for availability on your device; the features below require version 2.0 or later.

Take the approach-control position in fictional airspace. Turn arrivals, assign altitude and speed, manage holds and approaches, and find space for departures while watching terrain and separation.

TWELVE SECTORS, ONE COMPLETE GAME Work through 216 authored sessions with 7,476 scripted movements, 44 fictional aircraft types and nine guided lessons. The sectors include coastal, valley, island and parallel-runway challenges. Terrain is based on NOAA ETOPO 2022 data; airports, aircraft and procedures are fictional. Separation, aircraft performance, fuel and delay are simplified game models, not operational aviation data.

PRACTICE WITH MORE SPACE Version 2.0 lets you choose any authored scenario for practice. Keep its original traffic spacing or spread the schedule to 1.5 or 2 times its length. Choose whether to include scripted emergencies, runway changes, weather cells and go-arounds. Aircraft speeds and the simulation's safety rules still apply. Practice does not change career stars, totals or unlocks.

REVIEW YOUR ACTUAL SESSION The session journal retains the latest 200 career and practice debriefs. Review completed movements, safety events, modelled fuel and delay, plus up to 20 recent radio messages. Share a text report through the system share sheet. Sessions you leave early are marked as partial and earn no career credit. Older saves retain their career totals without inventing missing session history.

KEEP A SEPARATE BACKUP Export career progress, stars, journal entries and preferences to a JSON file through Files. Inspect a backup before confirming restoration. Before restoring or resetting, the app retains the previous save locally and offers it for export. An unreadable save opens recovery tools instead of silently overwriting the original. Backups are limited to 5 MB.

READABLE CONTROLS Refreshed menus and debriefs support Dynamic Type. On iPhone, choose heading, altitude or speed controls for the selected aircraft; on larger layouts, the three groups can appear together. Radar readouts and action rows scroll when needed. Gameplay pauses when the app becomes inactive. Active flights are not restored after quitting the app; completed or deliberately ended sessions are saved in the journal.

Everything is included with one purchase: no ads, subscription, in-app purchases or account. Gameplay works offline. Exporting files, sharing reports and opening help links use the services you choose. This is an entertainment game, not flight training or a navigation tool. The features in this update guide require version 2.0; check the App Store for availability.

Guide updated 2026-10-31.