People have been asking for years "When will RC5 come out?"

 

Actually, in a typically irritating way, I did have a hunt around myself after asking about RC5. The author has stated that coding for RC5 is suspended until July 2013.

 

http://forum.avsim.n...sion-of-coding/

In fact, the default ATC also offers you a wide range of STARS instead of vectors

 

Can you set out exactly how your are accessing those STARS via the default ATC ?

You can see them in the FS GPS, if you look for the approaches for each airport.

 

The FS ATC window will initially offer you vectors, but underneath there will be the option to ask for a published approach, depending on the runways in use. You can choose the one that's appropriate, and the FS ATC then clears you to fly it. I have found that even in some out of the way places, the FS ATC also clears you to an altitude more or less in keeping with the pubished approach.

 

Hope this works for you.

 

Michael

I don't use GPS - I usually fly the likes of the PMDG NGX which has their own approach database. But seeing them in GPS is not the point, I know the transitions are there, I can see them in ADE, but how do you get FSX ATC to recognise them?

 

So on receiving your initial landing clearance, you are using the "Request Another Approach" option and selecting a "published approach" from there? Because if that's it, you must be using different airports to me because 99 times out of 100, the list I see consists only of alternate ILS & visual approaches to which I'd be vectored.

 

As far as I can see, the only way you can make transitions appear in the ATC process is to set them up as RNAV transitions for the airport in question.

 

I know this because for most of the airports I use, there are transitions attached to ILS approaches. Those transitions don't appear as alternate approaches in FSX ATC. If you copy an ILS approach as an RNAV approach, then the attached transitions do appear in ATC. ATC is still annoying about wanting to vector you to the start of the transition, but once you are in it, it allows you to find your own way to the localiser via the transition rather than vectoring that bit too. Plus, it seems to give better descent instructions if you refuse to follow vectors.

I add the GPS to those aircraft that do not have it, and use it as a data source, since I am more interested in the FS world in which I actually fly than in the world represented by the FMC database in which I do not. Most of the time though, they are not very different.

 

I expect I am using different airports to you, since I generally only use a handful of the major ones in which the approach is coupled with a published STAR in FS. The situation is complicated further by the fact that transitions, STARS and approaches are handled differently by different countries in real life.

 

I do not worry about things unduly if the published approach (or departure) is not in FS, since I have never found that the ATC has any difficulty with my following it. As such, I prefer to 'fly' rather than fiddle about with the innards of FS! But thanks all the same for your tip about the RNAV approaches, that's a new and useful discovery for me.

 

Michael

A STAR is not an approach, its an arrival. The STAR happens before the approach

A STAR is not an approach, its an arrival. The STAR happens before the approach

 

True, but the two are often conflated (and for obvious reasons). The practical point is how best to reflect the arrival and approach using the FS system (and with minimum fuss ).

 

Michael

True, but the two are often conflated (and for obvious reasons). The practical point is how best to reflect the arrival and approach using the FS system (and with minimum fuss ).

 

Michael

 

You will have the STAR which is the arrival. This is already built into the FP as an "I'm coming from this direction" procedure! Typically, for example BIG will be the STAR for a/c arriving from South Central Europe where the FP passes NE of Paris. Therefore ATC know from whence you are coming so to speak! Frequently there are holding points at the end of aSTAR is in the case of BIG where it is mandatory to hold unless otherwise instructed. After the end of the STAR depending on its position in relation to the landing rwy there are "Initial Approach Procedures without radar control". so if instructed to leave the hold and report established, the IPP is automatically followed. Otherwise ATC will give you vectors all the way to the localiser.

PFE does allow the pilot to fly the IPP. The IPP is like a SID in reverse except that it is not "allocated" it is assumed as it is in effect an extention of the STAR down to the ILS. So it can be programmed into the FMC (though usually it's flown manually) and rejected if ATC give other instructions.

All very true, the BIGGIN STAR for Heathrow being a good example of where the STAR and the approach are conflated for practical purposes. This can be used to advantage when just using the FS ATC, where the simplicity sometimes is ideal for my needs.

 

PFE is very good and flexible for this sort of thing, but time-consuming for a quick flight. So I don't know about you, but I build up my favourite SDs and STARs in PFE incrementally, as time permits (which is not very often, for me!). Pro ATC X's use of SDs and STARs is more automated and very much simpler, and it's interesting that it uses the FS GPS and flight planner to achieve this behind the scenes, very clever. Pro ATC X is, of course, the subject of an extensive thread elsewhere in the forum.

 

It's good that there are lots of ways to use FS X, depending on time and mood! :lol:

 

Thanks for your thoughts, and best wishes,

 

Michael

Do any of you know if these "Alternate Approaches" that are listed, whether in the GPS or under the default ATC window can be edited?

Since posting this question many months ago I gave learned, partly from this thread, how to navigate SIDS/STARS on the GPS, and later the Honeywell FMC addon that uses the same GPS input. Now, what I didn't mention is I am a real world controller and although the default ATC is limited in FSX it is what it is. I do sometimes fly on IVAO/VATSIM but my time is often divided with my 2 year old son. So, I mostly fly in house. Now, I've learned to update SIDS/STARS manually using ADE but I've noticed when I update the airports with new fixes, SIDS/STARS through the ADE compiler I sometimes get texture anomalies with the updates. I've found that the Approaches and fixes are exportable but does anyone know how to import them or correct/add this info without messing up the rest of the airport? Thank you guys for all your advice. It's helped a lot.

to Brian

the site "http://www.btinternet.com/%7Egb.mitch/index.html" reports a "the connection was reset" error. You wouldn't have a valid link for updating the FSX database