I've been really getting into the J41 recently, mainly to keep me busy until the NGX is out. I have to say the J41 is superb, in particular with the addition of the voice activated Fs2Crew...However, I've got to point whereby I'm flying IFR flights and finding that the default FSX ACT just isn't cutting it. In fact it is painful at times!Which of the offline ATC programs are you guys using? I've had a read into Radar Contact and VoxATC, both look really good. Radar Contact seems to be more tailored towards IFR flights (fine) and VoxATC is voice activated (perfect!) but seems to be expensive. With VoxATC it also seems that SIDS & START can be problematic? Maybe that was an older version? The voices seem to be a bit, well robotic, on the videos I've seen on YouTube. SuperATC and SquawkBox appear to be just voice recognition progs as far as I can see? I suppose there is Vatsim as well, but I'm probably not ready for it just yet, although is is something I'd love to get into in the future...Can anyone recommend one over the other? Voice activated ATC would be perfect, but not a 'must have' feature.I'm running Win7 64-bit and Ultimate Traffic 2, which I believe can be problem with some ATC programs?Some advice from you pros would be very useful!

Just use online ATC, I'd recommend VATSIM.

Thanks, yes Vatsim or IVAO is the ultimate goal, however it would be good to have something in the interim to hone my IFR skills without the default ATC taking me on a wild goose chase.

I turn up real atc. With real I mean ATC of the reallife.

Thanks, yes Vatsim or IVAO is the ultimate goal, however it would be good to have something in the interim to hone my IFR skills without the default ATC taking me on a wild goose chase.

There isn't any reason to see using online ATC as a goal, just jump into it.

I think im just paranoid about making a mess of it, that's all! :wink:Need more practice in the J41 and IFR proceedures in general before I go for it. Maybe just hitting Vatsim is the way to go?

I think im just paranoid about making a mess of it, that's all! :wink:Need more practice in the J41 and IFR proceedures in general before I go for it. Maybe just hitting Vatsim is the way to go?

Go for it, the worst that can happen is you may make the controller smile. I've embarassed myself maore times than I can count, but never had a controller as much as grump at me.I wouldn't start at LAX tho, they can be a bit serious in busy areas. Just get yourself organised with the software, load yourself into an aircraft at a parking space at a busy airport and just listen. Won't be long before you want to dive in.Good luck :)

Radar Contact is the best simulation of ATC, but online is the most realistic since you are dealing with real controllers and can interact with them as such. But you are then limited to only flying airports that are currently being served, to flying real world weather and all that. And online will not always have all phases of ATC, so you wil be talking to the same guy for your clearence, ground, tower, and departure. RC will give you all those phases, but again, you are dealing with a computer and not real people. I recommend giving RC a look, and definately try online flying. I bounce between the both of them and I am sure you will find both to be FAR superior to the default ATC. Though I still use the default ATC for when I want to fly under VFR.

Go for it, the worst that can happen is you may make the controller smile. I've embarassed myself maore times than I can count, but never had a controller as much as grump at me.I wouldn't start at LAX tho, they can be a bit serious in busy areas. Just get yourself organised with the software, load yourself into an aircraft at a parking space at a busy airport and just listen. Won't be long before you want to dive in.Good luck :)

Lol! Thanks for the encouragement. I think I'll give it a go as it sounds like a whole lot of fun. I guess you can't get any better than that in terms of immersion. Think I'll have a read into it...

Radar Contact is the best simulation of ATC, but online is the most realistic since you are dealing with real controllers and can interact with them as such. But you are then limited to only flying airports that are currently being served, to flying real world weather and all that. And online will not always have all phases of ATC, so you wil be talking to the same guy for your clearence, ground, tower, and departure. RC will give you all those phases, but again, you are dealing with a computer and not real people. I recommend giving RC a look, and definately try online flying. I bounce between the both of them and I am sure you will find both to be FAR superior to the default ATC. Though I still use the default ATC for when I want to fly under VFR.

Thanks for the heads-up on Radar Contact. It was the one I was leaning towards in terms of the offline ATC alternatives. I think I'll give it a go, and like you say, switch between that and Vatsim. Is Vatsim easy to set up? Does it cater for European/UK airports?

VATSIM is a massive online world with many divisions throughout many countries. You will usually find local and international ATC operating at peak times of the day. As a pilot you just need some client software to connect you to the network. Have a look at vatsim.net it has a wealth of information and links to separate divisions which are usually full of information.With respect to experience, they only thing I would say is make sure you understand the phraseology and if you are stuck say so. Like someone has said previously, don't make your first session be one in a busy time.I remember connecting to it the first time and was nervous as heck!(Other online ATC providers are available!)

You could also try PFE. That works ok as well. In fact the voices are far more natural than RC4. There are about 100 different regional accents which you can hear either from an AI airline or crossing from one country's ATC to another.vololiberista

Go for it, the worst that can happen is you may make the controller smile. I've embarassed myself maore times than I can count, but never had a controller as much as grump at me.I wouldn't start at LAX tho, they can be a bit serious in busy areas. Just get yourself organised with the software, load yourself into an aircraft at a parking space at a busy airport and just listen. Won't be long before you want to dive in.Good luck :)

+ 1They are very friendly and helpful. I too have embarassed myself. (I kept reading back instructions for a certain STAR, but was flying a completely different one. They called me on it when I was on a two mile final for the wrong runway.):( Also, you can chat with a controller privately if you have a question of how to do something etc.

VATSIM.

VATSIM.Nothing wrong with being a newbie, just listen to what others do first, then ask questions if you have them.

Remember though with VATSIM you can only fly from-to where a controller is "on duty"vololiberista