Hi all, sorry for my terrible english. Im dutch and doing the best i can.

 

A short question: Is there a way (piece of software / Ini files...whatever) to see the active dep and arr runways within FSX during real weather conditions wihout using ATIS.

If you want to know why i ask this question read on.

 

Using Real world weather, the SID is no problem cause i can get the info from ATIS. The Star is a different story.

I tried the next:

- Start up Flight Sim Commander 9.2.2 and download weather. Look at wind at arr. airport, determinating (just a gues) the landing runway.

- Creating a flightplan in FSC incl arr runway.  Saved it into FSC itself and FSX. Turn on Real Time weather, starting up FSX with the PMDG at EHRD. Listen to ATIS for dep runway.

- Enter flightplan into FMC. Start IFR flightplan in FSX, giving me clearance. Take off, following the SID, canceling the IFR flightplan in FSX because it wants to put me at altitudes which conflict with the SID.

- At that point i loose my star guidance. The arr runway is still set on bases what i guessed in FSC. Concerning ATC im flying VFR at 380 (lol). So now i have to guess at what runway i must land. Yesterday FSC told me to land at EDDT 26 R/L looking at the wind direction (just a gues). FSX was directing all AI traffic for a rw 8 landing. While i was way too late to change the plan, i went for the 26 Batel 3H star landing incl. the trans. I had to turn off AI which ruined my whole flight, despite of my nice visual landing.  I dont want ATC software but i only need to know the active runway FSX is using for landings. There must be a "simple" way to get this info...or isnt it? I have red somewere that FSX uses RTW above 10 knots. In that case i could look at the wind direction and strengt in REX at the arrival airport. If below 10 knots, FSX will use the default. Above 10 knots, the runway lying faced to the wind? But still its a guess...i guess.

 

Grtz Boby

 

FSX always uses the RWY that faces the direction of the wind or at least the one that matches this direction best, even with winds at 0! I' pretty sure about that, because that's how I tend to force FSX to use 29 as the active runway in Vienna (jsut select fair weather, than customize it and ony set the wind direction to about 290 degrees) when I fly from there, because taxiing to 34 behind three AI planes is a bit boring...

So a good guess should always be the direction of the wind. However, that can be tricky, if the wind direction is exactly 90 degrees offset from the RWY centerline. What you could do instead is simply not to contact ATC as soon as you're airborne and read back the hand-off, and only contact them when your plane comes close to the planned TOD, they may be a bit confused at first and try to vector you back, but if you just keep on flying your route they'll soon give you further descent and approach instructions.

 

Besides, don't apologize for your English, it's excellent!

 

Best regards,

Flo

Thanks for the answer Flo.

 

I reread my problem and thought about it. I googled and i stumbeld on the FSX ingame mission planner capabilities. I truly do not know why but all these years of flying i have never ever looked at the default flightplanner, rather than importing a flightplan from FSnav or FSC. I noticed that im able to insert manual waypoints, VOR's NBS etc. So what i did for a test was:

 

I created a flightplan in FSC including sid wihout star. Printed the flightplan and opened up FSX default flightplanner. I edited the flightplan and inserted the SID and saved it. SO i had the exact same flightplan in the default FSX planner as in FSC. I entered that same flightplan into the FMC. FSX does nothing with the SID altitude restriction i edited within the flightplan. That was okay for me. The main advantage was that FSX routed me exact along my FMC flightplan during takeoff and(!) landing. During my descent at about 18000 feet, it gave me vectors towards the active runway. ATC gave me descent parameter of 15000 ft, but i wanted to hold the plane at my FMS descent. At that point i canceled the IFR flight. Entered the star in the FMC and landed at the active runway. This example was from EHRD (6 - Arnem 2A) to EDDT (8L - Batel 6Z transition Lanum). I will try this procedure for my other airports: Zurich and Innsbruck.

 

Nope, its not perfect but at least im able to follow FSX IRF flight without strange vectors that deviate from my FMC plan. The major advantage are the vectors for the active runway. Yesterday i tried with the default weather (2992), Today i'll try with real time weather, going back from EDDT to EHRD.

 

As said before: it is possible to manualy edit waypoints to the FSX flightplan and give those waypoints an altitude restriction. ATC ignores these restrictions. Anybody got an idea why?

 

Thanks for reading my long posts.

 

Grtz Boby

Pro Flight Emulator would be useful for you in this situation. It will give you the arrival weather and runway in use when you're in the air via ACARS.

 

FSX weather and runway use is a pain. Especially for programs that require you to set up the SID and STAR before the flight. One easy way that's never let me down in to use some kind of afcad editor to close the runways you don't want. Once the runway is closed the you won't be given it, and you and the ai traffic will use the one left open.

It's excellent that you're attempting to use real world weather and realistic runways, very nice move, and my hat's off to you.

 

While I fly on VATSIM and have personally introduced many pilots to flying on a realistic network, I do understand that some chose to fly office. But with that in mind, let me tell you that without a single exception, all of the people I've introduced to VATSIM, and everyone I know who flies on VATSIM have said that they wished they'd started doing so sooner.

 

Weather is part of the benefit to this. Controllers often have ATIS up (both voice and text) with the runways identified. Now, since controllers are all volunteers and with the exception of posted hours, regular times and scheduled events they provide service when they have time to. But the aforementioned times provide a lot of coverage, particularly in Europe.

 

When an airport is not controlled, the METAR is still available via VATSIM and/or VATSPY. You can use VATSPY even if you're not a member of VATSIM, but be careful because the more aircraft so seeing flying, especially events, the more you'll want to become a member to see what all the excitement is about.

 

So, you've got the METAR even if you're offline, how does that help you select the correct runway?  Well, like learning how to fly realistically on VATSIM, that's actually a LOT easier than it looks.  If you have two airports you fly to/from most ofen, I'll give you an example for those airports.  But until then, allow me to provide you with an example of two airports in your general area.

 

First, a couple of rules of thumb for which there are exceptions, but they're generally correct (and if you'll search the forums for Runway Selection, you'll find this posted there as well - always remember that there are very few questions that haven't already been posted!).

 

1. Depending on airport design restrictions, the Longest Runway is most often used for Landings, and the shorter is used for Takeoff. 

 

2. Again, depending on airport design restrictions, the Takeoff Runway is often the furthest away from the terminal. This is because aircraft taking off generally produce more noise than those landing.

 

3. If you're using and aircraft with an FMC (and if so, it's best to update the NAVDATA (AIRAC) in Europe, you'll soon find out that the SIDs and STARs are each runway dependent, and SOMETIMES you'll find there isn't a SID or STAR for a particular runway - meaning that it isn't typically used for IFR departures or arrivals.

 

Lets remember that there are exceptions to each rule above, but when used in concert you'll select the correct runway roughly 80% of the time. Since the SIDs and STARs are usually runway dependent, that means you'll also have the correct departure or arrival procedure.

 

4. As part of your flight planning (it sounds as if you're actually doing that, so good job!), you can Google the Airport and sometimes there will be a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) and/or standard airport information will tell you which runways are most often used for departures and arrivals and if any runway have been closed (say for maintenance).

 

I have never used any external flight planner, and I fly all realistic routes on VATSIM.  I usually use Flight Aware for U.S. Flight Plans, and Vroute (freeware) or SimConnect (free version) to obtain an overall flight plan, but I use the above rules of thumb and VATSIM ATC for determining the runways.

 

Note too that on VATSIM, if you're on approach to a runway you selected based on weather and the rules of thumb above, and ATC instructs you to use a different runway, you can either request the runway you're on approach for, or ask for vectors to whatever runway ATC has given you unless the runway you've got selected is closed real world (which you'd have found under the NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen) and Airport Information.

 

 

When I introduce someone to VATSIM, I do so by teaching them and even flying shared cockpit (if they'll willing to pick up the Leonardo MD-80, likely by this winter the Pro Version of the Majestic Dash 8, and hopefully by next fall the PMDG 737NGX, 777 and 747v2.  There is NOTHING LIKE FLYING SHARED COCKPIT ON VATSIM, especially in a learning enviornment.

 

If you're only interested in offline flight, then the above rules will also work for you.  One last thing to note is that Real World FSX Weather will sometimes be different than the real world METAR. I don't know why this happens, I just know that it does.  I recommend Active Sky for Commercial Airliner flights - it's change your entire flight sim experience.

 

 

Hope this has been helpful.

 

 

Dave