I have the same problem! This is really annoying, I'm flying PMDG 737-800 with 121 passengers on board, and the ATC would instruct me to land on visual runway 27.

 

First time when the ATC told me to 'Report runway in sight', I didn't have it in sight, until I crossed the hills, then I requested another approach, visual runway 9, and he told me 'cleared to land on visual runway 9, circle to land runway 27, I just ignored it and landed on runway 9 only to be hit by another air craft on the runway and got my passengers killed :S

 

Second time, I decided to follow the ATC instructions and 'lied' saying I had runway 27 in sight (which I didn't), I tried twice to land steeply after passing the hills, to no avail, even with reducing my IAS. I asked for another approach and was granted visual RW9 Approach circle to land RW 27, of course circling to crash far off the runway, again killing my 9 crew members and 100 passengers and injuring 20, I'm very disappointed :s

 

I think I would try another ATC addon

I haven't used the FS ATC in many, many years. Too frustrating.

 

IRL, if ATC gives you instructions you can't follow because of aircraft performance or crew comfort level, you just say "unable" and do something else. If you need a runway other than the one they're trying to use, you may have to go somewhere and hang out in a holding pattern until there's a space in the sequence for you to slip in the way you want. But, as PIC, you're in charge of your flight, and responsible for the safe outcome. The guy with the radar and the microphone isn't.

 

For TNCM, if you want to land on 27, practice hand-flying the airplane until you can do the visual. Basic airmanship here... if it can't be done safely in the type of aircraft you're flying, then your airline, in the real world, would have a note somewhere in their policies/procedures/SOPs prohibiting visual approaches to runway 28 at TNCM.

 

A "visual approach" is just a way for you to join a VFR traffic pattern and land the airplane on the runway in use without cancelling your IFR clearance. It frequently includes downwind and base legs on the way to final, and is not the same a "circle to land" maneuver at the end of an instrument approach.

 

Dave

In real life there are no landings on runway 28 at St. Maarten, sometimes take offs, but never landings, it's always Rwy 10 regardless of the winds. What I do in FSX, after downloading real weather is I go into the advanced weather tab and flip the wind direction around so that ATC will give me Rwy 10.

 

Lee