FE Overview
Facility Engineers (FEs) configure their facility's Landline setup: positions, channel grids, consolidation hierarchies, shout lines, and pages.
How FE Access Works
FE access is tied to your VATSIM CID — there are no passwords. You get access to a facility if any of the following is true:
- VATUSA FE role — VATUSA lists you with
role=FEfor that facility's code. - Whitelisted — a superadmin has added your CID to that facility's FE whitelist.
- Superadmin — superadmins have FE access to every facility.
Need access?
If you should be an FE but aren't, ask a superadmin to add your CID to the facility's whitelist, or verify that your VATUSA role is set correctly for the facility.
If you should be an FE but aren't, ask a superadmin to add your CID to the facility's whitelist, or verify that your VATUSA role is set correctly for the facility.
Opening the FE Panel
- Launch Landline and sign in through VATSIM on the splash screen.
- On the waiting screen, look for the gear icon in the bottom-right corner. It only appears if your CID has FE access to at least one facility.
- Click it. A facility picker lists every facility you can administer, tagged with how you got access (FE, Whitelisted, or Superadmin).
- Choose a facility to open the FE panel.
Exiting the FE Panel
The panel header has two buttons:
- Exit FE — closes the panel and returns to the waiting screen. You stay signed in, so you can jump back in without re-authenticating.
- Logout — fully signs you out of Landline.
Superadmins also get a Switch Facility dropdown in the header to jump to any other facility without exiting.
FE Panel Tabs
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Channels | Drag-and-drop channel grid editor with per-channel quick edit. |
| Positions | Create and edit ATC positions (callsign, names, parent, supervisor flag). |
| Consolidation | Parent/child routing — calls to an offline position walk up the chain. |
| Shout Lines | Cross-facility broadcast lines that auto-connect. |
| Pages | Rename, reorder, add, and remove grid pages. |
| Staff | List of CIDs allowed to generate training codes for this facility. |
| Facilities | Superadmin only. Create, edit, delete facilities and manage each facility's FE whitelist. |
| Superadmin | Superadmin only. Add or remove superadmin CIDs. |
Superadmin Capabilities
- FE access to every facility, regardless of whitelist or VATUSA role.
- Use the Switch Facility dropdown to move between facilities without signing out.
- Create, edit, and delete facilities via the Facilities tab.
- Manage each facility's FE whitelist.
- Promote or demote other superadmins via the Superadmin tab.
Deleting a facility is permanent
It removes every position, channel, and shout line tied to that facility. There is no undo.
It removes every position, channel, and shout line tied to that facility. There is no undo.
Common Workflows
Add a new position to the grid
- Open the Positions tab and click + New Position.
- Fill in callsign, display name, and short name; save.
- Open the Channels tab. The position appears in the Available Positions sidebar.
- Drag it onto a grid cell.
Set up consolidation
- Open the Consolidation tab.
- Drag positions under their parents to form the hierarchy.
- When a child position is offline, calls route to the parent automatically.
Create a shout line
- Open the Shout Lines tab and click + New Shout Line.
- Pick the target facility and (optionally) a specific position.
- Set the display name, color, and pages to show it on.
- Enable Bidirectional to auto-create a matching line at the target facility.
Next Steps
- Channel Grid Editor — arrange buttons and set ring types.
- Position Management — position fields and display overrides.
- Consolidation — parent/child call routing.
- Shout Lines — cross-facility coordination.
- Facility Management — superadmin tools and whitelists.