Current status of Pro-ATC?

[alpha117 73]

Guys,

 

I'm pitching these videos so that a totally 'newbie' can take away something from them and hopefully more 'experienced' FS users can see how the software works.

 

Flight planning part 3 will show more of what ProATC/X can do in the flight planning area.

 

Yes, ProATC/X does use RW SIDs/STARs also it import AIRAC data. This will be explained in part 3.

 

There will also be a full flight video from cold&dark to landing to show how ProATC/X works.

 

I can't please everyone all the time.

 

There is not a 'dedicated forum here on AVSIM, as Pointsoft has it own forum that support there own product(s). Therefore please use that forum if you have any constructive feedback/requirements.

 

Yes, it has been a rocky road for this product, but I'm sure with everyones experience and feedback it can become a very good product.

 

@Jim...Didn't mean it to come across in that manner....my apologies if it read that way.

[Jim Young 2,356]

I just flew the latest version (1137) and was absolutely blown away with all the improvements. I had the best ProATC flight experience to date with interaction between ATC and the co-pilot all the way down to landing. Here are the listed improvements -

 

New features

 

- Manually request for descent initialization.

 

- You may now request for a specific altitude +/- 4000 feet of the assigned altitude.

 

- Flightplan information added to In-Flight menu. Displayed are cruising altitude, assigned altitude, assigned SID, assigned takeoff runway, assigned STAR, assigned Approach, assigned Approach Transition and assigned landing runway.

 

- Implementation of PMDGs NGX SDK: The copilot is now able to setup more things within the NGX panel (Lights, gear, autopilot).

 

I liked the last improvement the best as the co-pilot is now able to do about everything except program the FMC. Gives me more time to sit back and look out the passenger view window. Changing the altitudes as requested by ATC is a big plus as he/she handles all the descent chores too. I like the fact you now have access to all flightplan information updated throughout the flight. Nice!

 

Best regards,

Jim

[wanabflyer 53]

Had a look at some of the video's (which btw are way longer then they need to be imho: what I get to see in half an hour could have been explained in a few minutes...

 

I must disagree. For the first time, I have actually watched an instructional video that leaves little room for misunderstanding. If I have anything to say in the way of feedback on these videos it would be to maintain the same level of attention to detail in all future vids.

 

Keep up the good work, Clive. I for one am about to purchase this program, so I need and appreciate this kind of excellent support.

Regards,

[ZKOKQ 984]

I liked the last improvement the best as the co-pilot is now able to do about everything except program the FMC. Gives me more time to sit back and look out the passenger view window. Changing the altitudes as requested by ATC is a big plus as he/she handles all the descent chores too. I like the fact you now have access to all flightplan information updated throughout the flight. Nice!

Jim, many thanks for your updates on Pro ATC. Like the sound of the development so far, and sounds like Dev support is on a par with Opus. Looks like I like Rick will take the plunge. Have a sore backside sitting on the fence:)

[Jim Young 2,356]

Jim, many thanks for your updates on Pro ATC. Like the sound of the development so far, and sounds like Dev support is on a par with Opus. Looks like I like Rick will take the plunge. Have a sore backside sitting on the fence:)

 

I think you and Rick are making great choices. I'm not their salesman but MBA at Pointsoft is really active in making this product work the way WE want it. His responses to my queries have always been within 24 hours even though he's on the other side of the pond from my location. Don't forget you'll also need to buy a program like RealATC if you want USA background ATC. You'll also need to import AIRAC from Navigraph nDAC3 or NavDataPro from AeroSoft. Have fun!

 

Best regards,

Jim

[ZKOKQ 984]

Don't forget you'll also need to buy a program like RealATC if you want USA background ATC. You'll also need to import AIRAC from Navigraph nDAC3 or NavDataPro from AeroSoft. Have fun!

 

Have all those extras like Real ATC etc, so will be good to go.

[wanabflyer 53]

 

 

Don't forget you'll also need to buy a program like RealATC if you want USA background ATC.

Hi Jim.

 

Do you purchase the Ultimate RealATC collection and the edit for ProATC/X, or just the Edit?

 

Thanks,

[Guest]

Bought it! Did a first flight with it. Love it!

 

However, it wasn't too easy getting it all started because the supplied documentation is er... not exactly sufficient to get you started. First of all there is no manual...?!? Luckily there is a Help file but A LOT of MANDATORY information to get you going is NOWHERE to be found in it. No mention at ALL about MakeRunways being needed (or even what it is or where to get it!), no mention at ALL about having to build a database and align stuff, no mention at ALL where the flightplans are saved... And btw I luckily knew it but I think it's also a bad thing the purchase page doesn't mention you need to buy an AIRAC elsewhere in order to fully use the software... and that you have to figure out yourself where to get it and which options you have. In short: very, very bad...

 

Luckily this is where the bad part ends. ^_^ I just did my first flight (after figuring out everything myself...) and it worked perfectly from start to finish. And as I said above: I LOVE IT! Too much awesome things to mention here, specially because I want to dedicate the rest of my post to a short tutorial I wrote after figuring out how everything worked. Again, all this information REALLY should have been supplied with the software... Anyway, here it goes:

 

Installing ProATC/X

 

These are MANDATORY steps you have to go through in order to use ProATC/X!

Some of these steps may take a while (mainly the ones related to the AIRAC) so be patient and make sure to not continue until everything is finished.

 

1. Purchase, download and install ProATC/X from

http://www.pointsoftware.de/proatcx_e/order.html

 

2. Download the latest update from

http://www.pointsoft...e/download.html

and install it by unzipping the zip into the ProATC/X folder.

 

3. Download MakeRunways from

http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html

and put the MakeRwys.exe that is in the zip into your main FSX folder.

 

4. Purchase the latest AIRAC through

NavDataPro http://en.shop.aerosoft.com (search for NavDataPro: you can buy a single dataset or two kinds of one year subscriptions)

or

Navigraph http://www.navigraph...www/default.asp

 

5. Install the AIRAC (NavDataPro lets you install the AIRAC for the addons you want through a program interface while Navigraph has a seperate installer for every addon).

 

6. Start ProATC/X, click on DATA, choose Import > AIRAC DATA and click on Start Import.

 

7. When the DATA has been imported, click on DATA, choose Import > Align AIRAC with Scenery and click on Rebuild Scenery DB (this will run MakeRwys automatically).

 

8. When MakeRwys is done, click on Start Alignment (in the same Align AIRAC with Scenery window).

 

9. Now you will have to set up the Options. The most important ones are on the Options > In-Flight tab and Options > Path to folders. Most are pretty selfexplanatory but I have two notes:

 

Note 1: In order to enable 'Generate PMDG 737 NGX flight plan' you FIRST have to set the path to the PMDG folder in the main FSX folder on the Options > Path to folders tab! The path is \Microsoft Flight Simulator X\PMDG\FLIGHTPLANS\NGX\. After setting the path press Save and then go back to Options > In-Flight to enable 'Generate PMDG 737 NGX flight plan'!

 

Note 2: The option 'Assign waypoints of SIDs/STARs/Airways' is off by default and should be off in most occasions. Do NOT enable this thinking it is needed in order to get SIDs and STARs assigned! (See the HELP section in ProATC/X to see what it is meant for).

 

This concluded the mandatory steps!

 

A few additional notes about loading a flight

 

I also have a few notes about loading flights because this was a bit confusing at first (for me anyway) and this might save newbies quite some time.

 

1. When you save a flight in ProATC/X you only save it in ProATC/X: the flight is NOT saved (immediately) for FSX or the PMDG 737 NGX! (See below.)

 

2. In order to 'enable' a plan for use in FSX you have to doubleclick on the flightplan in ProATC/X and choose Fly now. However... this is only possible if you started FSX first! So if you have created a new plan and start FSX afterwards you won't be able to click on Fly now. In that case you have to quit ProATC/X and start it again and only then you will be able to click on Fly now.

 

3. You have to load the desired airplane and position it at the airport and gate that you also chose while creating the plan: ProATC/X won't do this for you.

 

4. You won't be able to load the ProATC/X flightplan on the main menu of FSX (so before you started the flight). (See below.)

 

5. When you start a flight the radio's will automatically be set to ATIS (active, so you will hear it immediately) and Clearance (standby). In order to actually start the flight, switch the com frequencies and press 1 to open the ProATC/X menu and ask for clearance. Funny thing: when you start with a cold and dark cockpit you WILL hear ATIS anyway, but you won't be able to switch radio's until you turned on the battery... so if you start cold and dark and hear ATIS, turn on the battery, switch com frequencies and THEN press 1 and ask for clearance.

 

6. ONLY AFTER GETTING CLEARANCE your flightplan will actually be saved for use in FSX and the PMDG 737 NGX! The plan will ALWAYS be called proatcx-clr.pln for FSX and PROATCX-CLR.rte for the PMDG 737 NGX. You can let the plan load automatically in FSX (see ProATC/X > Options) or load it manually at this point and you can load the plan in the PMDG 737 NGX using the CO ROUTE option in the FMC (enter PROATCX-CLR and not the two ICAO codes!) The saved .pln and .rte files will be deleted automatically after ending the flight. Again, these files won't be generated until you ask for clearance!

 

BTW When a approach has been assigned later on, you will also be able to load an updated plan for the PMDG 737 NGX called PROATCX-APP: of course you can also manually select the assigned approach in the FMC.

 

That's about it for now. ^_^ I am going to make some coffee and then setup my second flight with ProATC/X! B)

[riccardo74 36]

Sorry if already asked, but is or is not possible to resume a flight with ProATC?

[Jim Young 2,356]

An awesome tutorial Jeroen. Couldn't have organized it better. The features forum has a lot of good info in it too as you learn how to use this program.

Hi Jim.

 

Do you purchase the Ultimate RealATC collection and the edit for ProATC/X, or just the Edit?

 

Thanks,

 

I got his Ultimate collection but now see he has a special edition just for ProATC-X so I would get the edit. ProATC comes with background ATC for Europe so all you would need is the USA background ATC. Glad to see the developer of RealATC set up a special program for ProATC.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[Rocky_53 1,566]

Hey Jeroen, well done my friend. I have been watching this addon with great interest for some time. I think I am almost about to pull out the credit card. I have to say though, that for a product that is to all intents and purposes still being developed with the help of customers, that the price IMO is very high. I'm also disappointed that there isn't a demo available. BTW Just how easy is it to use? Or is it an addon that needs hours of tutorials to get it working?

[Jim Young 2,356]

Sorry if already asked, but is or is not possible to resume a flight with ProATC?

 

Believe you asked before. It's impossible as that's a limitation of FSX.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[wanabflyer 53]

Thanks, Jeroen for taking the time to compile your mini tutorial. I have printed for use when i purchase, which is shortly.

[Jim Young 2,356]

Hey Jeroen, well done my friend. I have been watching this addon with great interest for some time. I think I am almost about to pull out the credit card. I have to say though, that for a product that is to all intents and purposes still being developed with the help of customers, that the price IMO is very high. I'm also disappointed that there isn't a demo available. BTW Just how easy is it to use? Or is it an addon that needs hours of tutorials to get it working?

 

Hi Howard,

 

I'm on my way out the door for a family gathering but don't try the PMDG 737 first. Just fly one of the default 737's or 747's. Once you set up a flight plan, open up FSX, select your aircraft and location at any gate of your flight plan. Hit Fly Now then start up ProATC and click on your flight plan and select Fly Now. Select 1 and request clearance (if you don't hear anything, you'll need to set the COM to the Clearance COM for the departing airport). Your co-pilot will take over. Just steer to the runway and takeoff.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[Rocky_53 1,566]

Hi Howard,

 

I'm on my way out the door for a family gathering but don't try the PMDG 737 first. Just fly one of the default 737's or 747's. Once you set up a flight plan, open up FSX, select your aircraft and location at any gate of your flight plan. Hit Fly Now then start up ProATC and click on your flight plan and select Fly Now. Select 1 and request clearance (if you don't hear anything, you'll need to set the COM to the Clearance COM for the departing airport). Your co-pilot will take over. Just steer to the runway and takeoff.

 

Best regards,

Jim

Hi Jim, hope you had a good Christmas. Thanks for the info, but you talk a lot about the co-pilot dealing with the ATC, but presumably this is an option?