Dear all,Just discovered that aircraft in real life have the capability to get ATIS info on there FMC, by entering the ICAO code, they can see all the airports ATIS info... Will that be in the NGX? Although I can totally understand if its not, but I still am suprised that there is actually a way to do that. Now I know how they can expect what runway!Thanks,Spencer Hayes

While cool I doubt it would be possible within the simulator.. I fly with real world weather and I usually just Google the METAR for a given ICAO when I am nearing approach. Not as real I know, but it is usually pretty accurate. Sometimes the wind is off by a couple degree's or knots, but that is FSX for you.. I would think the METAR info being available through the FMC would be due to ACARS which is a feature a lot of people have been asking for. Someone with commercial experience will chime in though I am sure.

While cool I doubt it would be possible within the simulator.. I fly with real world weather and I usually just Google the METAR for a given ICAO when I am nearing approach. Not as real I know, but it is usually pretty accurate. Sometimes the wind is off by a couple degree's or knots, but that is FSX for you.. I would think the METAR info being available through the FMC would be due to ACARS which is a feature a lot of people have been asking for. Someone with commercial experience will chime in though I am sure.

It doesn't really matter to me, I just didn't know that.... I'll just tune into ATIS and figure it out myself, it was just really cool seeing it apper on the FMC's screen.... I saw it in a video...

The brand new helicopters we have at my work can do this as well, and I find it fascinating. Not sure how they do it commercially, but on the MH-60R it can recieve updates from either data link, or SATCOMM (satellite).. Is pretty amazing with todays technology the amount of information the flight crews can access. The platform I started on was built in the early 80's, so if you weren't within radio/data link range you were pretty much on your own.

That sounds like a very interesting feature. Currently I'm doing the same thing with the FS Flight Keeper ACARS, but it would be nice to be able to do it without external tools.

The worst part of flying airliner flights in FS is not knowing what runway FS will have in use at your destination when you arrive.Nothing is worse than knowing winds should be 210 @ 20, planning for the appropriate runways, and getting below FL100 to hear ATC say "Expect runway 11L."If there is anything I wish Microsoft flight would fix, it would be weather.

The worst part of flying airliner flights in FS is not knowing what runway FS will have in use at your destination when you arrive.Nothing is worse than knowing winds should be 210 @ 20, planning for the appropriate runways, and getting below FL100 to hear ATC say "Expect runway 11L."If there is anything I wish Microsoft flight would fix, it would be weather.

FSX will always use the runway most aligned with the wind. If there was an airport with 27L,C,R and 36, and the wind was 220 @1, FSX will use 36. Even though the 27's would triple capacity. Its actually pretty easy to plan what runway. It will also default to the runway closest to you. So if you get into a tower view at ATL and have some AI program, most arrivals will be on the northernmost runway, some on 10/28, and very few (like 1/30) will be on the middle arrval runway.

The worst part of flying airliner flights in FS is not knowing what runway FS will have in use at your destination when you arrive.Nothing is worse than knowing winds should be 210 @ 20, planning for the appropriate runways, and getting below FL100 to hear ATC say "Expect runway 11L."If there is anything I wish Microsoft flight would fix, it would be weather.

This isn't so much aimed at you but others who may find it helpful.Use real weather. (ASE is excellent)Check TAFs online BEFORE the flight. It's part of planning. Start here: http://aviationweather.gov/adds/tafs/If you don't know how to decode TAFs and METARs, use the "Translated" radio button. I highly suggest anyone serious in flight simming learn the short hand language used in weather reports.I have rarely/never, in real life or simming, used a different runway than that forecast by NOAA. That being said, Eric raises an interesting point in the last post. Though I've never experienced this phenomenon. I use custom Afcads, maybe that's why?

That being said, Eric raises an interesting point in the last post. Though I've never experienced this phenomenon. I use custom Afcads, maybe that's why?

If your custom AFCADS close runways, then yes, thats why.

I use the aeroweather app on my iPod and when enroute can bring up the tafs and metars in coded/decoded format. I have foun that to be very accurate to fsx real weather and it's like acars on the iPod screen. I'm 90% sure it's a free app , recommended for all with iPhones iPod touches.

I fly online with VATSIM and I usually check out the winds at my current and destination airports. Depending on the length of the flight, the active runway is the same as when I left. Plus, if there's ATC available, you normally tune into the ATIS and listen out for it. I normally don't input my STAR and runway until I get clearance from the controller (esp if there's dual runways and I get vectored onto a different one eg. at YSSY - Sydney, Rwy 34L is normally used for international flights and 34R for domestic...however from time to time, they do vector a domestic flight onto 34L especially in peak periods).So try that.

FS will often assign TRAFFIC to land on a runway facing downwind, even when using ASE VATSIM weather [for me at least]. I am sure I could play with the settings, but my original comment above was aimed more at knowing what runway FS would decide to use, rather than what would be the active in reality.I can tell you what active runway is in use at JFK right now, what I can't tell you is what runway my FS will tell me is the active when I boot it up. Though it sounds like (from the above comments) that I'm the only one with that problem. :(

Just discovered that aircraft in real life have the capability to get ATIS info on there FMC, by entering the ICAO code, they can see all the airports ATIS info... Will that be in the NGX? Although I can totally understand if its not, but I still am suprised that there is actually a way to do that. Now I know how they can expect what runway!

Spencer -yes, this is an incredibly cool feature called D-ATIS which gets the ATIS digitally via datalink (see ACARS).Technically I believe it is very feasible to implement. Many applications retrieve METAR data from online servers, and since FS gauges contain executable code it's very possible to do it from within gauges. Retrieving the active runway, though, might be a PITA to do if not impossible altogether, since FS does not really provide useful tools to get that info AFAIK. As you already pointed out this would probably be one of the key infos for you to know, but for me personally a METAR report would already make me a very happy camper, but it has not been said anything about it IIRC. I can only say that on one of the screenshots the ACARS entry on the CDU was greyed out, indicating that it might not be implemented (yet). But again, this was a WIP shot so nothing is confirmed.

The worst part of flying airliner flights in FS is not knowing what runway FS will have in use at your destination when you arrive.Nothing is worse than knowing winds should be 210 @ 20, planning for the appropriate runways, and getting below FL100 to hear ATC say "Expect runway 11L."If there is anything I wish Microsoft flight would fix, it would be weather.

That's really annoying. Sometimes when I'm in cruise, to far to recieve ATIS broadcast, I check the winds in the map, prepare the approach to the runway I expect to be in use, according to the winds, set the STAR, look for charts in the internet, set the altitude and speed restrictions, add the missing waypoints and everything else. After all the work, the ATC say they'll vector me to the opposite runway. That take all the expectation I had on landing away.

This isn't so much aimed at you but others who may find it helpful.Use real weather. (ASE is excellent)Check TAFs online BEFORE the flight. It's part of planning. Start here: http://aviationweather.gov/adds/tafs/If you don't know how to decode TAFs and METARs, use the "Translated" radio button. I highly suggest anyone serious in flight simming learn the short hand language used in weather reports.I have rarely/never, in real life or simming, used a different runway than that forecast by NOAA. That being said, Eric raises an interesting point in the last post. Though I've never experienced this phenomenon. I use custom Afcads, maybe that's why?

Checking is one thing, expecting is another..... I can't tell you how many times I check and on my approch, I am assigned a different runway...