Weather in v2 and 'ATC interface'

[Guest]

In the Prepar3D subforum my attention was drawn to Pilot2ATC v2 (in a topic about another ATC addon). I have been reading the beta manual and watching some video's. Looks very promising. I already had a few answers to questions of mine but by now I think it's time to not spam the topic about that other addon anymore and start asking things right here. :wink:

 

First of all: I read in the manual that real time weather is used. Now I always use ANS and the historic weather option. I like the new automatic SID and START options but I suppose those depend on the current weather that is downloaded by Pilot2ATC. Does that mean I cannot use those options when I use ASN's historic weather?

 

Second question: I don't like panes and interfaces on my screen. I seem to understand it will be possible to only have the lower part on screen, so the part which you use to interact with ATC. I would like to set my radio's using the Flight1 GTN 750 and not the Pilot2ATC radiostack. I would also like to use the great looking 'say it' option because I can't use my actual voice for this. I was wondering if you can easily hide that 'ATC interface' when I don't need it. Right now I use default ATC and I disabled the automatic popup and ONLY open it if I have to press a button. I would like it if I could do sort of the same with Pilot2ATC.

 

Finally: I mainly fly VFR but do like to fly procedures anyway. I was wondering if you are going to create a video that shows how VFR works (with flight following but also what happens when you decide to use procedures anyway).

 

That's all so far!

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

Hi J.

Thanks for your interest in P2A.

We will not initially be able to use SIM or 3rd party weather input, that is true.  However, all you would have to do is determine which runway you will be using at the departure and arrival airports using ASN weather and then select the desired runway in P2A.  P2A will  then select the best SID, STAR and Approach for those runways.  Only takes a couple of extra clicks.

 

You can size and position the small window to keep it out of your way.  I hadn't planned on just showing the SayIt portion of that, but certainly will put it on the enhancements list, good idea.  You can control everything from the cockpit and P2A should pick it up.  So once you have your flight plan loaded and filed, you can minimize P2A completely and still interact verbally with ATC.

 

Yes, once the dust settles a little with the Beta, I hope to make lots of videos.  One thing I've done with V2 is takeoff VFR from an uncontrolled airport and headed over to one with a tower and requested an ILS.  Got cleared for it, with a vector to the IAF, and shot it to a touch and go, then returned.  All worked well. 

 

Thanks again,

Dave

[Guest]

Thanks for the quick reply, Dave! Good to hear about the solution for using historic weather. So P2A will look at the runway I select myself and the automatic procedure selection will still work. Looks like a really great feature! But... will the actual ATC during the flight also follow the chosen procedures...? Won't it look at the real time weather and decide another runway should be used? Apparently not. While this is good news for my situation it is less good news for whenever I want to use real weather because that would mean ATC won't change for instance a STAR, approach and runway in use whenever the weather commands it...? (Hope you are still following me here. )

 

Just showing the Say it portion would be great indeed! And your VFR example sounds very good too! If not awesome! Pity I will have to wait quite a while for v2 (don't feel like trying the v1 demo since v2 offers what I like, want and need) but I fully understand the choice to only let v1 users test the beta. Looking forward to the video's first then.

 

EDIT

While I am at it: can P2A v2 work the European way? So can ATC assign you a runway and STAR when you are getting near your destination depending on the weather? This works differently compared to the US where STARs aren't connected to a runway.

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

J,

ATC does look at the weather for STAR and Approach assignments.  However, if you configure P2A to Force Pilot Runway Selection, then you will get the runway you ask for.  This is good for practicing approaches with tailwinds, for example, or for forcing the runway to fit historic weather.

 

By the time Beta is done, this should all work perfectly.  You will be able to try it then.

 

The STAR will first be selected based on the Runway, even in the US.  ATC will try and give you the STAR associated with Runway/Approach you are going to use.

 

Dave

[Guest]

Force Pilot Runway Selection: sounds good. Looking forward to what's coming!

[mikced76 57]

I share the comments from you Jeroen, not only here but also from the long PF3 discussion I followed through. When reading your comments and concerns its exactly the things with ATC I find important  Regadring Pilot2ATC I dont care to see that window in flight (preferably not at all) 

 

I also fly VFR and VFR procedures are extremely important to me. The more dynamic ATC the better and many of the addons are way to static. I dont care for setting up everything like a script and follow along that script in flight. 

 

The best ATC addon in my opinion would allow me to do T&G or leave the area for a sightseeing flight and come back to the same airport by contacting the Tower at the CTR border, or leave the area and just contact whatever ATC unit I pass through on the way to my destination. 

 

Also AI is important. I dislike the adons that let you use your addon AI but it lets FS Control them and the ATC addon Control you. Bound to fail somewhere Not to talk to much about other anddons in this topic but VoxATC is rather good in that regard controlling not only you but also all the AI.

 

Mike

Mike

[dave2013 1,130]

J,

ATC does look at the weather for STAR and Approach assignments.  However, if you configure P2A to Force Pilot Runway Selection, then you will get the runway you ask for.  This is good for practicing approaches with tailwinds, for example, or for forcing the runway to fit historic weather.

 

By the time Beta is done, this should all work perfectly.  You will be able to try it then.

 

The STAR will first be selected based on the Runway, even in the US.  ATC will try and give you the STAR associated with Runway/Approach you are going to use.

 

Dave

Hi.  You stated earlier that your ATC program cannot use ASN weather, but here you say that ATC does look at the weather.  I'm not sure what you mean.

 

Does your program take into account the weather conditions at departure time and arrival time and automatically assign a departure runway and SID and a landing runway and STAR?  If yes, then I don't see why it can't use ASN weather.  Is your program getting its weather data from somewhere else?

 

If it can't use historical or live ASN weather, then this would be a showstopper for me unfortunately.

 

Thanks.

 

Dave

[Guest]

Hi.  You stated earlier that your ATC program cannot use ASN weather, but here you say that ATC does look at the weather.  I'm not sure what you mean.

 

Does your program take into account the weather conditions at departure time and arrival time and automatically assign a departure runway and SID and a landing runway and STAR?  If yes, then I don't see why it can't use ASN weather.  Is your program getting its weather data from somewhere else?

 

If it can't use historical or live ASN weather, then this would be a showstopper for me unfortunately.

 

Thanks.

 

Dave

 

From the v2 manual:

 

"The weather panel displays the most recent METAR and TAF (Terminal Area Forecast) for this airport, obtained from the NOAA site on the internet. This may vary from the information being given on ATIS in the SIM as it is pulled independently, directly from the web site whereas the ATIS information is provided according to the settings on your SIM."

 

You might want to read that manual: http://pilot2atc.com/Product/P2A_200%20User%20Guide.pdf

 

So P2A does read real time weather but it can't read ASN weather, simply because that option is not implemented. Maybe it will be in the future. You CAN use historical and live ASN weather but you will have to enable the Force Pilot Runway Selection option and pick the righ runways yourself: the P2A planner will then assign the correct procedures if you click on the right buttons yourself but from what I understand ATC won't give you the right procedures just like that: you have to use the P2A planner's option for that beforehand. (I am sure Dave will correct me if I am wrong.)

 

As it is now I think most of your wishes won't be fullfilled with P2A.

[dave2013 1,130]

From the v2 manual:

 

"The weather panel displays the most recent METAR and TAF (Terminal Area Forecast) for this airport, obtained from the NOAA site on the internet. This may vary from the information being given on ATIS in the SIM as it is pulled independently, directly from the web site whereas the ATIS information is provided according to the settings on your SIM."

 

You might want to read that manual: http://pilot2atc.com/Product/P2A_200%20User%20Guide.pdf

 

So P2A does read real time weather but it can't read ASN weather, simply because that option is not implemented. Maybe it will be in the future. You CAN use historical and live ASN weather but you will have to enable the Force Pilot Runway Selection option and pick the righ runways yourself: the P2A planner will then assign the correct procedures if you click on the right buttons yourself but from what I understand ATC won't give you the right procedures just like that: you have to use the P2A planner's option for that beforehand. (I am sure Dave will correct me if I am wrong.)

 

As it is now I think most of your wishes won't be fullfilled with P2A.

Thanks for that info, Jeroen.

 

Yeah, I definitely won't be buying this until it can read the actual weather currently active in FSX and assign runways and procedures based on that.  I'm surprised it doesn't do this now but instead downloads the live weather from NOAA.  It wouldn't be too hard to just communicate with FSX and read its weather data for the local station(s).

 

I already have to manually check the weather at departure and arrival times and decide which SID and STAR to use myself when using the FSX default ATC; then I just have to ignore it while flying the SID/STAR approach. I certainly don't want to have to do this with a payware ATC program.

 

Oh well, hopefully the developer will add this feature in the near future.

 

Dave

[vcarlo 529]

I may stand corrected, but I think that P2A will work fine with ASN,  IF you are flying with current REAL WORLD weather and NOT using historical data.   I use OPUS FSI for weather and the OPUS data comes from NOAA.    I guess if you want to fly with "historical" data from OPUS or ASN then you have to accept the data from P2A is not going to match your sim world winds, temps, etc etc

[dave2013 1,130]

I may stand corrected, but I think that P2A will work fine with ASN,  IF you are flying with current REAL WORLD weather and NOT using historical data.   I use OPUS FSI for weather and the OPUS data comes from NOAA.    I guess if you want to fly with "historical" data from OPUS or ASN then you have to accept the data from P2A is not going to match your sim world winds, temps, etc etc

An ATC program should use whatever the active weather is within FSX.  It shouldn't matter what the source of the weather data is.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Dave

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

Vincent, you are absolutely correct.  That is how P2A functions today.

It is on the longer term enhancement list to use SIM weather for just the purposes being discussed here.  It just will not be in the Beta of V2.

Mike,

You can take off VFR, do some touch and go's, head off to another airport, shoot an ILS approach under App Control/Tower control, head back and land at your home field.  All works in P2A.  Probably the only thing missing, because we don't have our own AI traffic yet, is other aircraft making CTAF calls and trying to kill you in the traffic pattern.

 

Dave