When flying from New York to Wilmington, DE, I received a direction change command from ATC very 3 minutes to go from 290 to 255 to 290 to 255...............etc. Is this a bug in the program? Is there a solution? I got fed up and cancelled IFR.

Sadly, this is somewhat realistic. In the real life northeast corrider, the normal cadence is: go left, go right, go up, go down, go slow, go fast. Then the controller gets a bit busy and before you know it, he is commanding expedite decent and reduce airspeed- seldom can both be done at once! Then you realize the controller has asked you to pull a rabbit out of the hat only to find out all the effort was to position you for a controller handoff/freq. change and that there isn't another aircraft for 50 miles!

Who would have believed that it is realistic. There was one plane within 9 miles of me and 2000 feet higher. Everytime the controller brought me back to 255, I'd see that same plane. THat's why I thought it was a fluke because I if that plane could stay in one directional setup, why couldn't I?

Hi bwales,I think the controller (program)was trying to provide more space between you and the other aircraft. Once the other plane was on the ground and if you were too close, you would have got a 'Go Around'John

>When flying from New York to Wilmington, DE, I received a>direction change command from ATC very 3 minutes to go from>290 to 255 to 290 to 255...............etc. Is this a bug in>the program? Is there a solution? I got fed up and cancelled>IFR. I've noticed this happens when I approach the airport too fast. ATC doesn't give speed commands, so all it can do is wiggle-worm you in. Reduce your speed a bit... ATC should just vector you to final, then.Ewing

I can relate to all the above, having had my first such experience just yesterday!! I did a flight from New Haven Tweed to Burlington VT. I got to about 50 miles of KBTV, was given instructions by ATC to descend to 7,000 and expect vectors to the ILS for rwy 15. Just prior to that I heard three other planes ahead of me being vectored to the same approach. I was handed off and vectored hither and yon, held at 7,000, to almost 70 miles from the airport, almost to the Canadian border!! There were a couple of times that I thought that they had forgotten about me, and I considered just calling it quits. I didn't want to cancel IFR because I was in IMC conditions, with close to solid overcast. Eventually I did get vectors to the airport and the ILS intercept, and was given clearance to contact the KBTV tower--over 60 miles away. The end result was that what should have been a 33 minute flight took nearly an hour and twenty minutes. A positive was that given that the planes in front of me were Cessnas and a Bonanza, I was steeling myself for a 'go around' instruction, since I was flying a bizjet. Didn't happen--by the time I landed, uneventfully, those guys were parked and having coffee!!It's not the first time that FS9's ATC seemed to wig out on me; but in a perverse way, the unpredictability, while aggravating, adds to the challenge and the fun. I would imagine, as was mentioned previously, that's not unlike real life flying in some of the more saturated sectors.

My take on this was that FS ATC was giving an appoximate (within five degress) vector to the final approach fix. As you get nearer, the error of assigned vector compounded by wind changes, gets you a new vector, etc. until you end up intercepting the runway heading...Just my thoughts - please advise!sg

Experienced same yesterday, inbound to OHare from Kansas City, 737. Vectors for left extended downwind, R/W 27L, took me 35 miles out over the lake, before vectors back for final. Upon turning base, I saw the line of aircraft in front of me, so it was pretty realistic. The back & forth vectoring - pre-downwind leg, may have been due to my speed. Although I was descending to 5,000 as directed, I was approaching at 240 kts. until I was near the assigned altitude, at which time I slowed to 220. Speed may be a factor with ATC vectors.Only thing I didn't like, was, OHare only had 27L operating. Ron

You might want to have a look at Radar Contact. The controler will tell you to slow down/speed up, space you and do a whole host of other things. You can even declare an emergency, ask for deviation for weather, and ask for direct to next waypoint and more! All kinds of things that the default ATC couldn't even hope to do. This is the ultimate in realistic ATC for MSFS (unless your online using VATSIM). I was skeptical when I was looking into it, but now that I've gotten it I could never go back to the default ATC.Just a side note: There is interaction between Radar Contact and the AI however, the current version can not control the ai. Makes for some very interestion sitiuations and IMHO adds another level of fun :)

Yeah, Radar Contact is the way to go. I've been using it for years now. I was excited about built-in ATC until I used it in FS8. Tried it again a couple of times in FS9...still no go. With FS9, unless you have a flight that is _hours_ long, there is no reason to work on a flight plan, because you get vectors to final as soon as you retract your gear.RC is rather pricey; but if you fly alot of IFR, it is worth it in the long run.

What would be the optimal approach speed? This would be before ATC clears you to final (intercept of ILS). I usually do 220 kts unless there is no traffic, then 190-200Any thoughts?-DSN

>What would be the optimal approach speed? This would be>before ATC clears you to final (intercept of ILS). I usually>do 220 kts unless there is no traffic, then 190-200>>Any thoughts?>>-DSN> Not sure what it should be in the real world, but I'm between 180 and 210 before they turn me to intercept ILS. I would think 220 is a little fast.Ewing