Using ATC
How to make the most of ATC in Flight Simulator
Changing Call Signs |
Choosing a Pilot Voice |
Using the Autotune Feature |
Tuning the Radios Manually |
Using the ATC Menu |
Disabling ATC |
Air Traffic Density |
Add-On ATC |
If you are a real-world pilot or if you already have knowledge
of the ATC system, you'll love using ATC in Flight Simulator. If you're new to
ATC, we've worked hard to make your introduction to the system fun and easy.
(You may also want to follow the ATC lesson in the Private Pilot section of Flying
Lessons). The main thing to keep in mind is that the interaction between
pilots and air traffic controllers is a kind of conversation; You'll either make
requests from controllers or respond to their instructions.
There are two aspects to learning ATC in Flight Simulator,
learning the ATC system and language, and learning the ATC menu. Learning
the system involves knowing who to talk to and what to expect from the ATC
controllers who are communicating with you (for more information,
see ATC Defined.) Learning ATC commands means
knowing how to send messages to ATC that are appropriate to your current flight.
The ATC menu displays the response choices available to you. To learn more, see Using
the ATC Menu.
Related Link: ATC Settings
When two people attempt to transmit a radio message at the same time on the same frequency, you hear an unpleasant squeal over the radio. In pilot parlance, this is known as getting "stepped on." Stepping on someone else's transmission in Flight Simulator means ATC won't hear your transmission. Time your transmissions so that you don't step on other pilots or controllers.
The next several pages explain how to choose the pilot voice you want to use, how to use the Autotune feature, how to tune radios manually, and other nuts and bolts of using ATC in Flight Simulator. Take your time, have fun and remember: as real as this feels, it's a simulator. No one will yell at you or take your pilot certificate away if you make a mistake, and ATC is there to help guide you.
In Flight Simulator, you can change the ATC name of your aircraft, thus changing the call sign used by the pilot and ATC. Changing the airline name in the ATC Name dialog box will not change the airline livery painted on the outside of the aircraft.
To change your aircraft's ATC name
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You can also change your aircraft tail number to any combination of numbers and letters. The pilot and controller use the entire tail number during initial contact. The tail number is abbreviated to the last three characters of the call sign in subsequent contacts. If you always want to hear a short call sign (for example, if you never want to hear the "November" in United States call signs), create a short tail number.
To change the tail number
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To change the airline name
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To change the flight number
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To enable the airline call sign
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Jumbo jets in the real world are often addressed as Heavy by ATC (such as, "World Travel 1123 Heavy...").
To hear the word "Heavy" included in the call sign
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When you select an item from the ATC menu, you'll see the text of the message on screen and hear the pilot voice—representing you—saying the phrase. Your messages to controllers are audible, unless you turn the pilot voice off (to learn how, see ATC Settings, as are controller messages to you and to other planes.
When one of your phrases is played, the message displays in orange text. Flight Simulator displays controller messages in green text.
You can choose from 10 different options for your pilot voice. If the Pilot Voice check box is not selected in the ATC Settings dialog box, you can't choose a pilot voice and you won't hear a voice when you send a message to ATC.
To choose a pilot voice
If you use the Autotune feature, Flight Simulator will switch radio frequencies for you automatically, freeing you to concentrate on flying the aircraft and navigating to your destination. When you select an item from the ATC menu to contact a new controller (for example, "Contact Approach"), the radio frequency changes to the new controller's frequency automatically.
When using the Autotune feature, you may not hear anything on the radio until you choose an item from the ATC menu, (unless you're already tuned to an active frequency), even if there are other aircraft talking to ATC. Flight Simulator will not autotune the radio until you initiate contact by choosing a message from the menu.
Pilots who want to do it all can bypass the Autotune feature by tuning the radios by hand each time a frequency change is required. (For more information, see Using the Radios.)
1-Standby frequency, 2-Standby flip/flop switch
New menu items appear in the ATC window when you tune the radio to a new frequency. If you want to see choices for messages to a tower controller, for example, you must first tune the radio to the tower frequency.
To tune a new frequency into a communication, navigation, or ADF radio
Note: This process also works for the NAV, ADF, and transponder radios by first pressing the N (N+2 for Nav 2), A, and T keys, respectively, or by using the mouse wheel.
The Audio Panel
Use the audio panel's Com 1, Com 2, or Both buttons to choose which radios you want to transmit on and listen to. To choose a radio to autotune, transmit, and receive on, click either the Com 1 or Com 2 button on the Audio panel. If you click the Both button, you will still be transmitting on the radio you had previously selected, but listening to both radios. This can be especially helpful on approach, since you don't want to tune away from the controller in order to hear ATIS (if you do, you'll miss traffic calls). You can also listen to the audio identifiers for the navigation radios by selecting their buttons on the audio panel as well. If you have controllers tuned in on both radios, and the Both button is lit on the audio panel, it will sound very busy and perhaps be difficult to understand.
Audio panel for the Cessnas.
The audio panel may look different in other aircraft.
To use the audio panel
When the green light on the button is lit, the audio channel for that radio is active. |
To listen to more than one radio at the same time
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To find a particular communication or navigation frequency
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Communicating with ATC in Flight Simulator mimics the way pilots and controllers communicate in the real world. For example, the pilot makes a request, followed by a response from the controller, or the controller gives an instruction, followed by a pilot acknowledgement.
The ATC menu is displayed within a transparent window that you can move and resize. The ATC menu lists the available commands specific to the current state of your flight. You can click items on the panel without moving the ATC menu. Some menus are layered so when you select an item a new menu list appears, and you have to make another selection before Flight Simulator will send the message to ATC. (See the example at the end of this section).
At nontowered airports, Flight Simulator directs your ATC messages to other pilots in the area—not a controller—so don't expect a response.
The menu does not always contain messages to transmit. When the menu contains messages to transmit, the top line in the menu will read, "Choose a message to transmit to agent name." When the menu contains no messages to transmit, the top line in the menu will read, "There are currently no messages to transmit to agent name."
To display or hide the ATC window
To select an item from the ATC menu
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The ATC menu overrides other commands of the simulator. For example, if you have something mapped to the 1 key, and the ATC menu is open, pressing 1 will select the first item in the ATC menu.
To return to a previous menu
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Selecting a landing airport presents a good example. The first menu may have the following selections:
If you select 2, the next menu would list all of the available landing airports nearby. After selecting an airport, the third menu would look something like this:
To move the ATC menu window
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To resize the ATC menu window
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If you don't initiate contact with ATC at the beginning of your flight, you can fly without any interaction with controllers. You may still hear transmissions to other aircraft if your radio is tuned to a local frequency. Turn off the avionics master switch if you don't want to hear local radio calls.
You can adjust how much traffic shares the sky with you.
To adjust the amount of air traffic
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If you're using an add-on air traffic control product, you can't turn off ATC. You can, however, choose not to interact with Flight Simulator's ATC, and ATC will, in effect, not be active. You can also reduce the volume of AI traffic generated in the simulator.