I admit I am getting lost in your deliberation and not sure what fine point you are making. But on the subject of "clear to land" it is the tower (if there is one) that issues this clearance.Michael J.

No point just a question. When asked I got this..."let me regurgitate what Ken said here again"But the fact is the question was never answered. I'm not sure if Clayton understands the difference between cleared for the approach and cleared to land but there is a big difference. As a pilot you try not to assume and assuming that your cleared for an Approach means that you can land is a big assumtion that I would rather be clear on. So I simply was asking the question if in CoF you can land on other runways other than the active since the orginal post makes mention that information of this Beta version is being commented on by someone who might know the answer.Kilstorm

>...about 75-90 miles away ATC >gives you a vector and tells you which >approach they intend for you to fly...I wish they'd fix that part. The main reason I don't use ATC in FS2002 is because the majority of my flights are less than 100 miles, in IFR and in a light GA single or twin. As soon as I takeoff and contact center they start vectoring me and I don't get to practice flying the airways.In all my experience flying IFR in the real world, I can't recall ever getting vectors from center unless it was for traffic or I requested it. Usually only departure and approach give vectors once your within their airspace. Most of my flights (sim and real) are in and out of non-towered fields.

It's the same database the new Garmin GPS uses for approach tracking/monitoring. I hope ATC will be usable in FS2004. In FS2002 it just wasn't quite ready yet.

some more information from Ken,The cool thing is if you are approaching an airport and there is an AI plane landing on one runway, you can request another if there are two active, if not you can still get a different approach and then circle to land so spacing is easy for you to control, but if the AI plane tries to pass you and land out of sequence HE get's the go around not you, _________________Ken Peckham CEO B&B Sim Technologies

The ATC in 2004 does not follow STARS or SIDs as published in the Jepps plates, BUT....For Sids you can add the waypoints of the SID into your flight plan and as soon as you check in With departure they will vector you towards the first waypoint and let you fly the entire SID and on to your flight plan unassistedSo what's new?You can do the same with FS2002 ATC flight plans. I do it all the time and it works as you describe above.Stamatis

What about AI traffic?? Ultimate Traffic has been released but I am leaning toward holding off until a comparison is made between the AI in FS 2004 and Ultimate Traffic.Can anyone comment on this? Flight1 has indicated that Ultimate Traffic will be supported in FS 2004, but will it be necessary? Will FS 2004 AI be more intelligent based on an SDK that MS has exclusively been developing and using, and third parties will have to integrate into their products, etc?Would be interested in knowing the GAPS if any between FS 2004 AI engine and Ultimate Traffic.Thanks!Barry

Does the Ai aircraft sound loader when on take off rolle, or still soft.

Slightly off-topic, but I wonder if they've fixed the VFR/IFR problem with certain airports. At a few airports, even though the weather is 3 miles visibility, I still get VFR even though I specifically filed IFR.

3 miles visibility is still VFR, so long as the clouds aren't below 1000 ft.

>What about AI traffic?? Ultimate Traffic has been released>but I am leaning toward holding off until a comparison is made>between the AI in FS 2004 and Ultimate Traffic.>The way it was explained the UT does not control how AI planes behave - this is strictly under MSFS control - they only control quantity. So you won't see any difference between generic AI and UT traffic as far as ATC and airplane's physics.I myself am not too crazy about this whole AI business (regardless if generic or UT). Their sounds are not convincing, the way they land, move, taxi leaves a lot to be desired. Michael J.

True, but if I filed IFR, shouldn't ATC say go ahead and fly IFR? FS2002 doesn't give me that option. It automatically gives me the VFR menu.

You are correct. You should be able to fly IFR in any weather.Michael J.http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

Another question for Ken.Will it support dual runway operations such as at KSFO where 28L and 28R are used for staggered landings and 01R and 01L are used for staggered departures? If so I will be purchasing FS2004 immediately after its release!Tony