Best ATC

[rrasfly2 0]

Hi, i was just wondering what is the best fsx ATC to use with the NGX. When i try to use the defalt ATC it wont let me fly my sid and star route. So i was wondering if thier is a ATC program out there that lets you fly your sid and stars.ThanksRobert Shedd

[Robert McDonald 167]

Hi, i was just wondering what is the best fsx ATC to use with the NGX. When i try to use the defalt ATC it wont let me fly my sid and star route. So i was wondering if thier is a ATC program out there that lets you fly your sid and stars.ThanksRobert Shedd

I use the very fine Squawakbox 4 which is freeware. If you are ambitious, you can actually converse with real people posing as ATC controllers. They will give you your clearances, headings, and all the stuff as in the 'real world' of flight. You get Squawkbox off the web, then you join VATSIM and you are given access to the real-time ATC world.If you're technically able- you can run Squawkbox on a separate PC or Laptop, which frees up your screen real estate. You need to install the FSX SDK (Software Developer Kit) which ships on the FSX Gold pack CDs, then configure simconnect so that the two PCs can 'see each other'. There are posts on the web which greatly help in this endeavor. Downside: You must fly your plane in 'real time' no fudging by flying at 32x speed to clear long legs off your flying time.I highly recommend Squawkbox. Once you use it you'll throw rocks at the 'fake' ATC stuff. Plus with real people, you actually will learn stuff you didn't know you didn't know. The ATC will tell you to dial in your new SQUAWK code when you enter his or her airspace. You'll hear other 'real people' flying in your airspace, and experience the closest thing there is to actual flight without the airsickness bag!Get yourself a headset with noise-cancelling mic and you're golden! You can actually talk to the ATC (when they're online). When there are no 'real' folks online you fly on UNICOM 122.8 and you type what you're doing example:KSFO tfc, SWA1762 pushing back and starting at gate D52. Taxiing to 28L via taxiway B F... and so on...no one responds if there are no live controllers in your airspace. If you fly around major airports (which you probably do with a PMDG 737ngx, you will have plenty of opportunities to speak with 'human' controllers. Especially at Oakland, JFK, Chicago, SF, and Seattle to name a few. There are more peeps flying near areas that have upgraded scenery packs, example ORBX Pacific Northwest has me flying a lot of time in the Northwest area. I have the FlightBeam KSFO airport upgrade and fly out of KSFO a lot for that reason.

[matelot2011 0]

Radar Contact 4 is excellent if you don't want to use a headset and just press buttons. VoxATC is also very good if you do want to use a headset and communicate with ATC using your voice. I use RC4 most of he time, you can elect to fly SIDs and STARs if you wish. Have a search on google and there are various posts out there that compare the different products.I also bought Proflight Emulator by Aerosoft. It's worth a look, it's like RC4 that it is a push button response to ATC.

[isaiah 1]

offline I like RC04 most, but nothing beats the online experience on VATSIM (my choice) or IVAO.

[Gazzareth 808]

+1 for RC4... Works great for me....G

[ZKOKQ 984]

Use to use RC4 for many years, changed to PFE deluxe with additional voice pack, the best atc addon I have used.

[Cristiano Mueller 9]

RC4 for me, too... I use it for eight months or so ... it changed the way I fly ...

[CapP 0]

RC4 for sure and don't forget to download the Meatwater soundpack. It adds a lot to the experience.But: far better than that is on-line flying. Took me a couple of years to make that big decision but I shouldn't have waited that long. It's fun, real and relaxed enough for newbe's who don't always understand exactly what they are supposed to do... ;-)

[beep 11]

PFE deluxe by Oncourse software is the best for me. Includes SIDs & STARS among lot's of other great features. jos denis

[xamil 0]

+1 for vatsim. Once you fly online you'll never want to fly offline again.

[uguralbayrak 0]

+1 for vatsim. Once you fly online you'll never want to fly offline again.

i agree with him (like the others). once you have taste it ...

[Cristiano Mueller 9]

RC4 for sure and don't forget to download the Meatwater soundpack. It adds a lot to the experience.But: far better than that is on-line flying. Took me a couple of years to make that big decision but I shouldn't have waited that long. It's fun, real and relaxed enough for newbe's who don't always understand exactly what they are supposed to do... ;-)

Pieter;I agree with you: the best ATC is online. But if not online, I still think the RC4 very good.Thank you for the tip of the download of MeatWater Soundpack. I did not know this "secret", and I'm right now downloading the 10 files from de library.

[andysim 0]

i go with Radar Contact for offline flying. I found Pro Flight Emulator just to complicated to work with even though it sounds better. You have to convert your flightplans and then check every waypoint otherwise it will act up and refuse to let you climb or decend. Radar Contact seems much more user friendly and can be up and running in seconds. The only drawback is that sometimes radar contact will tell you to decend from cruise down to something silly like 18000 within 30 miles and the PMDG737 can struggle to go down that fast, but you can select "Unable to Comply" and it will let you decend as you like.

[Lawyer+Pilot 126]

RC4.I still can't get over the lack of controllers on VATSIM/IVAO. Sure, it's nice to interact with real controllers, but what's the use if you nobody is on at the airport you want to fly into or out of? Instead, you end up flying from some random airport, where all you have is tower, to another random airport, where all you have is ground control. No thanks.

[Paul Deemer 13]

A lot of ATC are folks that are still in school or working so you won't see many during the day. However at Night and during the Weekends there is always a ton of ATC online. This is especially true during the Fall and Winter Months because Vacations are over and people are spending more time indoors because of the cooler weather.The true test of any pilots skills is flying online. There is always something unexpected happening and its not a computer simulated ATC environment where everything works pefectly every time. I do not know how people do not get bored or do not burn out from doing that over and over again.Try looking on VATSIM for an EventUSA http://www.vatusa.net/home.phpEurope http://vateud.org/in...id=11&Itemid=19Cross the Pond is one of the biggest Events and runs for several hours and you may see as many as 200 people over the Atlantic during the event. Other Events like Friday Night Ops are fun as well. If you can find a popular event you can usually expect to see Center, Approach, Departure, Tower, Ground and Delivery on.The other things that make flying online so rewarding is joining a Virtual Airline and meeting new people and talking to your buds while at Cruise or even participating in group flights with others from your airline or other airlines. Most Airlines also have their own ACARS and it will track everything during the flight and even lets you know how hard or soft you landings are.Most popular excuse for not flying online is: I am afraid I will screw up. Flying online is much easier than you think, and everyone was a noob at some point. Even if your not gonna do a flight the first time, just logon and sit at the gate at a controlled airport and just listen for an hour. Most people will pick up everything they need to know very quickly. If you can fly an a Complex Bird like that NGX, learning to fly online and communicate with ATC is a piece of cake.Flying Online is a very rewarding experience with real people and it is a ton of fun and once your hooked you will never want to fly offline again.