One thing I've noticed is the default Flight Simulator airports often have arrival and departure frequencies when their real life counter parts do not.If I have this straight, "Approach/Departure" in FSX is equivalent to TRACON in real life? If so, most airports in real-life do not have this facility and you're in contact with Center until you're at around 5000 feet or so, at which case they ask you to contact tower. There are no vectors, no crossing clearance, and they ask you directly what kind of approach you'd like (visual or IAP).Even medium sized airports such as Buffalo, Milwaukee, Providence, and Jacksonville do not have TRACON facilities, despite them having published STARs and SIDs. Only the largest hub airports like Atlanta, LAX, JFK, Minneapolis, and O'Hare have TRACON facilities, and some smaller airports which share the same airspace like Teterboro, Laguardia, Midway, and Burbank might need to go through TRACON as well. When I look at a tracking site like FlightAware, I notice most of the large hub airports holding planes between 10,000 and 13,000 for a few minutes just as they do in RC, presumably reflecting the crossing restriction, while most of the smaller airports usually keep aircraft descending at a much more uniform rate, and they're in contact with center the whole way down.This is just a heads up for those of you who are looking to make the most out of a very realistic ATC application. A lot of the threads here seem to be critical of the whole "crossing restriction" thing and it never seems to get brought up that most airports do not have a TRACON, and you're usually chatting with center until you're able to wave to the tower. Keep in mind it's not RC's fault that most of the commercial airports have TRACON; they're simply getting this info from FSX who tells RC it's got TRACON.When there is no arrival/departure, you'll observe the following differences:Around the time you'd normally receive the crossing clearance, you're asked to maintain 13,000 or so (sometimes with discretion).About 40-50 miles from the airport you'll be asked if you've received weather, and if so, to choose an arrival procedure. If you select negative you'll switch to Wx, receive the weather (be observant of the active runway), and then will be prompted to choose an approach. You can choose a visual approach or an IAP approach. I haven't tried the visual approach yet, but the IAP approach is identical to the IAP option when you're with approach. They will then tell you to *EXPECT* this approach, but will not clear it yet. Instead you'll be given discretion to 5,000 or so. At some point during the approach to the airport they'll clear you for your requested approach, and you'll be asked to maintain 5,000... when you're close enough to the airport you'll be cleared final approach, asked to contact tower, and your radar services are terminated. At this point you can complete the approach and tower will clear you for landing.Let me know if I'm wrong on all of this, though. Those of you who actually do this for a living can tell us if I'm wrong. :)

Thanks very much for this detailed explanation.I am fairly new to Radar Contact but what you say seems to equate with what I have read in the manual and experienced with Flight Simulator. This has made my approaches difficult.I have total faith in this being realistic procedure but for myself I have difficulty locating the runway (whether ILS or not) because (as a flyer of classic aircraft in FS) I try to navigate without using GPS. I do have FS Navigator but have always flown using the map with the aircraft location not shown - i.e. purely as a map, using beacons to keep to my flight plan. As a result I do have difficulty locating the runway without being given vectors. I would be interested to know the proper procedure for this to be done.John

To use two of your examples, Milwaukee (Mitchell) and Providence (T.F. Geen) airports have listed approach frequencies. Both have in their STAR descriptions Radar required for vectors. These are from current FAA listings.The RC4 frequency database is fixed from around 2002. RC5 will build from your installed scenery.http://avn.faa.gov/index.asp?xml=aeronav/applicationsincludes a link to the airport facility directory as well as the terminal procedures index. (I prefer the bundled flightaware.com procedures instead.)http://avn.faa.gov/index.asp?xml=aeronav/applications/d_afdLook at Providence comms from the facilities directory:COMMUNICATIONS: CTAF 120.7 D–ATIS 124.2 401–737–3215.PROVIDENCE RCO 122.6 (BRIDGEPORT RADIO)PROVIDENCE APP/DEP CON 135.4 (1045–0500Z‡) BOSTON CENTER APP/DEP CON 124.85 (0500–1045Z‡)PROVIDENCE TOWER 120.7 (1045–0500Z‡) GND CON 121.9 CLNC DEL 126.65BRIDGEPORT RADIO CLNC DEL 122.6 (0500–1100Z‡)AIRSPACE: CLASS C svc 1045–0500Z‡ ctc APP CON other times CLASS E.Here we have part time local radar and remote radar control fills in.The runway 5 IAP is at http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/PVD/IAP/ILS+OR+LOC+RWY+05/pdfand the STAR (not RNAV) is at http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/PVD/STAR/TEDDY+THREE/pdfFiling this STAR will take you to the IAP IAF LAFAY when local control is not available. Note the IAP does have a RADAR only IAF to handle vectored approaches.So in answer to your question you do not have to be a CLASS B airport (Those are the types you seem to be referring to.) to have a local radar control facility available. KPVD is a class C airport.

Thanks for your explanation. To be sure, STARs contain crossing restrictions, and I guess Providence, despite being a small airport, has an approach center to enforce those restrictions and make sure the planes are separated not only from other PVD traffic, but from traffic near Boston, Hartford, and NYC. I guess I was confused because in FlightAware's track, it shows the pilots in contact with Boston Center all the way to final. Is this because Providence's Approach ATC is sort of an arm of Boston Center specialized for low traffic in the airport's vicinity?Are there major differences between a class C airport's approach procedure and a class B airport's approach procedure in the sense of crossing restrictions 40 miles from the airport and just in the less strenuous traffic that you would get with a much busier airport like Boston, which has many more flights arriving and departing at once on parallel runways?

Here's your departure hierarchy:TWR (GND) > TWR (TAKE-OFF) > TWR or REGIONAL DEP > CENTER Enroute (divided into altitude regions and regional borders within)For arrival:CENTER (Enroute) > TOWER or REGIONAL APPROACH > TWR (Final - Landing) > TWR (GND)For part time facilities CENTER can furnish limited services to take you from/to an IAF or other transition. In the case of CENTER arrival they will clear you to navigate to the IAF and published procedure when radar coverage is no longer available and it has been ascertained traffic conflicts should not occur. At that point it is the pilot's responsibility to do a timely arrival following the published procedure and close the flight plan on arrival by whatever communications are available. An airport can have a tower with no approach facilities and will need to be contacted by the pilot similar to VFR procedures and at such time will offer to close the flight plan. Also note that the initial part of a STAR up to about 40 nm out from destination can be under center jurisdiction.Departure is similar with if no immediate departure is available clearance filing and clearance by whatever communications means is available and a time window is established for the pilot to contact CENTER once in the air and can reach center by radio to activate the plan. The pilot on his own is expected to navigate the filed departure part of the plan from the airport to the contact point.CENTER and DEPARTURE/APPROACH facilities cooperate on establishing a location/altitude where jurisdictional transfer will occur.Really busy areas may have DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL separated through different controllers or a mix of regional and airport specific controllers further splitting up local controllers by arrival departure direction and distance from departure/destination. One TRACON in dense areas may service more than one airport in full or part. It is not necessary for each airport's DEPARTURE/APPROACH control to physically reside at each airport depending on radar coverage capability. That varies by location.CLEARANCE DELIVERY while delivered via local or regional facilities is a cooperative effort by regional and CENTER authority with CENTER dominating the enroute portion.The RC manual contains descriptions of ATC jurisdictional divisions and functions.Enroute facilities are divided into FIRs or Flight Information Regions.The whole stratification of ATC is well described in this printed and online publication:http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/instrument_procedures_handbook/media/FAA-H-8261-1A.pdfthat is an excellent guide for controlled flight organization and procedures and background reasoning. The printed version is available from major local and on-line book sellers and possibly some pilot shops for about $15 US. Preflight considerations such as weather and aircraft weather facilities are included.