Hi guys,This is what I think a veeeery cool concept!, I might be wrong but what do you think???First of all I have to thank Douglas L. Thompson and Richard D. Thompson for puting up with my nagging about sending my RC3 CD to Mexico via snail mail, it got here in record time!, maybe the mexican mail has improved over the years I've been using express carriers, this post is NOT about RC3 but it did get me to think about this...I've been flying using RC3 for the last 2 days, I like the product very much, it's very solid, one of the things I enjoy the most is the ATC chatter. Today I was making a flight from Shelter Cove to Los Angeles (2+ hours) and the ATC chatter started to repeat itself, after all you can only pack so much audio in a CD!, and that's when it hit me!!!When I started to take flight lessons my school asked me to make their website, I found a very cool Real Audio & Video link that let's you hear in real time SOCAL APPROACH, I implemented this link in the website so the students can hear the real ATC and get used to it, so today I started my Real Audio & Video while flying and PRESTO!, I was listening to REAL ATC chatter in REAL TIME right in the area where I was actually flying!!!, I had some doubts about Real Audio & Video working with MSFS2002 at the same time but it worked like a charm!Now for the implications... in our endless and constant search for realism we might had overlooked something, there are a LOT of real time ATC audio links and most of them in Real Audio & Video, so...Who want's to make a program for MSFS2002 that let's you choose the real time ATC chatter you want to hear while flying using this Real Audio & Video links??? (I can't I'm way rusty in C++ and I already have enough deadlines as it is), today while flying into KLAX I faced some nasty weather, and it was WAY COOL to hear real pilots in real time report the same bad weather!!!, think about it!... we download and fly using real time weather, we use real life procedures and rules, why not listen to real time ATC chatter of the area you are flying into???, sure you can't interact but I think it's WAY BETTER that listening to some recorded and random audio files!, it's very nice to hear pilots name the same fixes and VORs that you are using, reporting the same weather and maybe going in real time to the place you are going, better yet you can still use any ATC program inside the sim (I was actually listening to the real ATC, using the default MSFS2002 ATC and using RC3 all at the same time!) and the bandwidth required for simple voice streaming is something a simple 36.6 modem can give you!What do you think???, best of luck!PS: My flight school's website is http://www.aerojl.com and the real time SOCAL APP link is http://www.lowapproach.com/socalapproach.ram

Alex,I agree with you about the realism of live ATC chatter. One of the great advantages of a broadband connection is that you can listen to a streaming broadcast, and download weather while flying FS2002.Your idea is great but it has limited potential for two reasons:(1) most people still dont have broadband (DSL, cable) connections.(2) While the ATC chatter is live, it will not be necessarily correct for your phase of flight.Another simmer and I have been working on compiling ATC chatter to use with FlightDeck Companion. It involves recording live ATC chatter and then editing the files according to Clearance Delivery, Ground, Tower, Approach, and TRACON facilities. We've had limited success with TRACON live streams; we could not find any TRACON facilities in the US with live streaming broadcasts.So far, we have edited hours of files for JFK, KORD, Phoenix Sky Harbor, and SOCAL so it's possible to do a cross country flight and have the appropriate chatter.We are focusing on the US right now since that's where we can find most of the streaming broadcasts. It would be nice if FlightDeck Companion had the capability to play MP3 files since they would be much smaller in size and easier to distribute than the 16 mhz mono WAV files we are currently compiling.Here are a couple of links to live ATC chatter:http://www.squawkident.com/livefeed.htmlhttp://www.atlascomm.net/faaflyer/live.htmlhttp://www.livedispatch.com/live_dispatch.htmIf you have any other links please let me know.I agree this is one area of simming that has been ignored. I've even used FlightDeck Companion in conjunction with VATSIM to fill in the gaps in sounds/ambience when I'm not communicating directly with VATSIM controllers.

I guess while the chatter is cool-I find it distracting if you actually listen to it and it doesn't relate to where you are, who you are talking to, and what phase of flight you are in. In real flying-a change of controller always gets my attention-since the live recorded waves usually have a different controller every chatter is a little disturbing, and again-often what the chatter relates too is not appropriate. In the real flying environment am always listening to other pilots to learn about the situation-so again with cannned waves if what they are reporting or saying doesn't make sense to the simulated situation I find it disturbing.Since I have installed mytraffic, and have my atc turned up 100%,with the fs atc (I have rc3 too) I have nearly constant chatter of appropriatly named aircraft abounding the sky asking to land at nearby airports, recieving instructions, and being called out as traffic by the controller I am talking to in the phase of flight I am in.At least for me, I still find that more realistic than recorded voices of real flights that may have nothing to do with what is going on-but that of course is my opinion.If ever all the atc facilities broadcast on the internet, this would be the ultimate idea-but I don't know if that ever is going to happen.http://members.telocity.com/~geof43/Geofdog3.gif

I was wondering when you might release som ATC chatter files for FDC...I can't seem to find anything except for Dallas and New York.Ozchat in Australia does not suit my flight environment... Sal

Check out http://www.landings.com/_landings/pages/live-atc.html you can find real time ATC chatter here for:Abilene, TX, USA [KABI] Bankstown, NSW, Australia [YSBK] Battle Creek, MI, USA [KBTL] Calgary, AB, Canada [CYYC] Denver Centennial Airport, CO, USA [KAPA] Chicago O'Hare, IL, USA [KORD] Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX, USA [KDFW] Madison, WI, USA [KMSN] Miami, FL, USA [KMIA] New York John F. Kennedy, NY, USA [KJFK] Omaha, NE, USA [KOMA] Providence, RI, USA [KPVD] San Diego, CA, USA [KSAN] Valkenburg Tower, NetherlandsGood Luck!