Hi Guys, Just curious about what most people think of VATSIM. I've finally managed to get it all working and while I think the idea is fantastic, in reality it doesn't seem to be that great. The biggest pain is that 90% of the time, there isn't a controller logged on where you want to fly. Or even if you fly where there is a controller, that controller is only the approach/tower and for the remainder of the journey, your completly without ANY atc and just fly where you want. On the other side, we all know that FS9 ATC could use a lot of work, nothing worse than getting clearence to land when there is another a/c 2 miles in front of you plus one on the runway. Just curious about what others people think?Oh and also, is there a way that you can just listen to the conroller, without actually creating a flight?Cheers,

Well, it's kinda like comparing apples and oranges. VATSIM is designed around real people and thus is best when you have lots of real people available. If you want to fly around the LA basin, for example, you'll probably have lots of fun.FS ATC is really designed for the single user experience. You can fly anywhere is the world and you get "somebody" on the other end of the radio but in the end it sort of seems the same.So really it just depends on what you want to do, not that one is necessarily better than the other.

Hmmm, my copy of FDC Live Cockpit arrived last night in the mail. I'm gonna be installing today and I'll try it out PRONTO! In part, this is supposed to be a replacement for the ATC in FlightSim, which is fairly simple-minded at times. I'm hoping for good things to come. :D

As a keen online flyer I can see no way in which FS9 ATC measures up to VATSIM(or IVAO).Granted - there isn't always someone on line where you may wish to fly - but there is a pretty good chance you'll have live ATC in the US and UK most times (VATSIM) and Europe (IVAO).The system really comes to life when there is a big organized event (See the VATSIM Events page for these)- I remember a while ago the Washington Squared Event- Wash DC to Washington state.I believe somethong like 3 or 400 pilots took part. I do know I had to hold for an hour to land and that at almost any time in the flight I could see several other aircraft above or below me.I had continuous ATC for the whole flightI have tried FS ATC and generally find it unrealistic compared to real world ATC(which I have experienced for some years from the pilot's end in both the UK and US).Of course the more people that participate on VATSIM the better it will become.Right now I think the biggest deterrent to more online flyers is the difficulty in setting up the software-( SBRelay, SB2.3/AVC etc).This situation will, I promise, change as soon as SB3 is released to all - it will be literally one click to connect everything up and then you're off.For a start off try The Denver Flyin tonight 1800Z/2200Z..Dave

Thanks for the replys. I might have to check out these organised events you mention Dave. That does sound good. The VATSIM ATC is 100% better than FS9, its just that often there isn't any there. Hopefully more people get on board and remedy this problem. Cheers,

There's a third option out there...a great add-on called Radar Contact which does automated ATC much better than FS9, and is always there when you need it. It also plays audio streams recorded from real-world ATC frequencies, which adds a nice dimension of realism. They have a forum here at AVSIM.Also, Flight Deck Companion does not, to my knowledge, enhance ATC in any way...it's a great tool for checklists and copilot calls.RegardsBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-V L-300Washington, DC