FSX-SE VoxATC, Radar Contact, ... what shall I ?

[loop_n_roll 7]

I am curious if anyone has tried this:

 

 http://www.pilotedge.net/.

[jcomm 5,926]

I've seen very positive comments on that online service, in particular from an XP10 core user. Unfortunately, leaving in Portugal it doesn't look like a good option for me :-(

[Gregg_Seipp 568]

I am curious if anyone has tried this:

 

http://www.pilotedge.net/.

 

It's excellent...but only works in SoCal.  Here's their coverage map and hours. 

 

http://www.pilotedge.net/pages/operating-hours-and-service-area

[kama2004 74]

Yep, i used that for one year. Excellent service and there is some diversity of airports from very small with simple procedures to complex airspace structure in LA. The human factor make every flight different and I always learned a lot. I suspended my minimum monthly payment just because I lack time to use the service.

 

You can use the tower en route system which is not available with VOX. We dont have TER route in Canada so it was great to learn about that.

 

There is not too many people on line so pattern work are less intense than in real flying.

 

But overal I liked a lot the experience. More than Avsim as youre sure your controler will be there and all positions manned.

[Jaroberts 10]

I am surprised ProFlight Emulator [PFE] has not been mentioned. It has hundreds of pilot/controller voices available making it one of the most realistic ATC addons available.

[coma 6]

kama2004, thanks for the kind words. PilotEdge traffic for Dec and Jan was up 40% compared to the average for the rest of 2014. The traffic is considerably heavier than it used to be.

 

That said, since we cover 40 towered airports, the chances of having multiple aircraft in the pattern are small unless you've arranged something in the Fly WIth Me forum. Another exception would be SNA, which almost always has aircraft inbound or outbound there because of the various training programs.

 

I'm happy to say that we are looking closely at our first network expansion for later this year. The planning and funding are in the works as we speak. I think 737, 757 and CRJ pilots are going to be very happy with the result.

[Gregg_Seipp 568]

 

 

I'm happy to say that we are looking closely at our first network expansion for later this year. The planning and funding are in the works as we speak. I think 737, 757 and CRJ pilots are going to be very happy with the result.

 

Wow, very much looking forward to seeing what you're planning.  I've been working on a new sim and haven't created as big of a VAS mess this time...so far.

[jcomm 5,926]

Just a note on VoxATC and FSX SE. 

 

I was informed by the VoxATC team that they're working on a fix to make it compatible with FSX SE,

 

I will wait for it :-)

 

@Jaroberts: Thank you for mentioning that other ATC program. I will certainly give it a look too!

[BeechPapa 32]

Probably a silly question, but after reading the thread I don't think it was addressed specifically... do all these ATC add-ons also control AI? One of the few useful aspects of default ATC is the prevention of runway incursions and general mayhem. Can the third party stuff accomplish the same?

[Gregg_Seipp 568]

 

 

Probably a silly question, but after reading the thread I don't think it was addressed specifically... do all these ATC add-ons also control AI? One of the few useful aspects of default ATC is the prevention of runway incursions and general mayhem. Can the third party stuff accomplish the same?

 

VoxATC does...a lot of it too!  Generally, the traffic is spot on...though it did send a commercial right under me on departure on my last flight.  Still, much better than FSX ATC with it's reliable "Traffic Alert" calls.  I have to say, however, having just started VoxATC, that it's been a fairly rocky start.  I like it but:

 

• I, so far, fairly frequently have to repeat what I said (I did the voice training)
• The phraseology is somewhat tight.  If you say something a bit different you confuse it ("say again").
• I've had one Fatal error on a departure on a SID (had to restart Vox) but got the flight back on track.
• I find the interface a bit clunky and haven't figured out how to create flight plans with SIDs and STARs (the one I'm using is one they supplied).

I suspect a good bit of this is me stepping out of the bounds, somehow.  So, I need to learn the rules.  Right now I'm at FL200 heading up to KMSP and the flight's going fairly well.  I have 12 more days in the trial to try to get it smooth.  I do have to say I like the experience quite a bit...if I didn't have the frustrations.

 

I think Pilot2ATC is the up and coming voice activated software but it's got a ways to go to catch up with VOX.  It doesn't control AI, it's rough around the edges on vectors and procedures but it handles VFR traffic okay.

[Need-To-Know 34]

Probably a silly question, but after reading the thread I don't think it was addressed specifically... do all these ATC add-ons also control AI? One of the few useful aspects of default ATC is the prevention of runway incursions and general mayhem. Can the third party stuff accomplish the same?

 

Haha - so funny! On the ground - I am a taxiway magnet! I use UT2, Radar Contact and no matter what taxiway I choose other planes will inevitably choose to go at me head on. They stop but then are just sitting there. I try a different one next time and suddenly they are using it - in the opposite direction from me.

 

When landing - if traffic is inbound and in the way UT2 has a clearing option that works good. Radar Contact does seem to interact with traffic coming in for landing and clear me for take off properly.

 

So no RC doesn't stop them while taxing or redirect me. mayhem abounds. But I guess -as far as taxi- it does not get as annoying as the DCS's (combat sim) ground repeating messages.

[BeechPapa 32]

I think Pilot2ATC is the up and coming voice activated software but it's got a ways to go to catch up with VOX.  It doesn't control AI, it's rough around the edges on vectors and procedures but it handles VFR traffic okay.

 

Thanks Gregg, it helps a lot to understand the differences between the different options and what the personal annoyance (that I'm almost guaranteed to eventually run into myself) would entail. I would probably get tired of having to setup a mic every time I needed to fly, so am leaning toward a standard program like VOX or RC. That said, there's also a growing urge in me to try vatsim but I have a problem in that I don't have the clearest hearing when it comes to transmitted voices. I have to ask people to repeat things even on the telephone alot, and certain vatsim videos I watched really just sounded like total mumbling to me.  

 

 

Haha - so funny! On the ground - I am a taxiway magnet! I use UT2, Radar Contact and no matter what taxiway I choose other planes will inevitably choose to go at me head on. They stop but then are just sitting there. I try a different one next time and suddenly they are using it - in the opposite direction from me.

 

Thanks for the info Rob. It's funny what can ensue during taxi. I always felt like a magnet to the ground vehicles. I remember when I was first starting out on the NGX and insisted on using crash detect. Nothing like spending an hour or more setting up a plane still very complex and alien to you, and then having some psychotic baggage cart driver smack into it during pushback. I must have wasted several hours of my life doing that until I realized crash detect just wasn't worth keeping on. I eventually got GSX and turned off ground vehicles too. For the most part, if the ATC can get me from departure runway to arrival runway safe, I'm ok with that.  

[Gregg_Seipp 568]

 

 

Thanks Gregg, it helps a lot to understand the differences between the different options and what the personal annoyance (that I'm almost guaranteed to eventually run into myself) would entail. I would probably get tired of having to setup a mic every time I needed to fly, so am leaning toward a standard program like VOX or RC. That said, there's also a growing urge in me to try vatsim but I have a problem in that I don't have the clearest hearing when it comes to transmitted voices. I have to ask people to repeat things even on the telephone alot, and certain vatsim videos I watched really just sounded like total mumbling to me.

 

Well, so far, as much as I like VOX when it works, it is, by far, the most frustrating app when it doesn't.  The mental effect of flying with it is really cool...you feel like you're not alone up there.  But it also causes problems...gets caught in places where, no matter what you say, it says "Unable" or "Say again".  It, sometimes gets a fatal error (not a huge deal as long as you notice it.)  There are a number of small tools that you use to do things like, configure buttons, add voices, insert SIDs/STARs into a flight plan.  So much stuff!  I tried installing some more voices for it and now it will no longer start.  It really is hard to believe that the software has existed as long as it has and the various issues haven't been fixed.  I found Pilot2ATC much less frustrating to deal with when I did its demo but it truly has a long way to go yet to catch up with where VOX is on procedures.  I may give VOX another try tomorrow but...jeeeeez.

[Glynn 405]

Well, so far, as much as I like VOX when it works, it is, by far, the most frustrating app when it doesn't.

 

 

Greg, I don't know if I have mentioned this before  :smile:   , but Radar Contact just works period.

No messing about, just solid ATC guidance every flight.

[coma 6]

BeechPapa, here's a link to some of the exchanges that took place on the combined radar position during the opening hour of service on PilotEdge today: http://assets.pilotedge.net/recordings/hourly/2015-1-22_8_17510.mp3

 

How do feel about the clarity and readability there? Note: this link will not work in 3 months from now, that's how long the recordings are kept for QA purposes.

 

 

• The phraseology is somewhat tight.  If you say something a bit different you confuse it ("say again").

And that, right there, is why synthetic ATC systems are going to struggle to gain acceptance among real world pilots. If it's all you've ever used, it's probably ok, but once you've spoken to a real controller and realized that they understand just about everything you say, no matter how you say it, it's very, very hard to accept anything else.

 

There are also many non-standard things that can happen during a flight, whether it's requesting an approach other than the one in use, negotiating shortcuts or practice approaches, asking for weather at other fields, or receiving interesting vectors behind other live traffic, ATC is fundamentally dynamic. This is my beef with synthetic systems, they miss this nuances...and ultimately, once you get passed the basics of IFR clearances, taxi, takeoff and landing, what's left is the interesting, dynamic stuff. 

 

$20MM Level D full motion flight simulators are often equipped with synthetic ATC systems. At most places, they simply turn off the ATC and have the instructor pilot pretend to be ATC (badly). There really aren't any synthetic systems out there, afaik, where pilots walk out of a sim saying, "boy, that ATC was amazing, just like the real thing." They sound like what they are...a computer attempting to impersonate a person. Great for stock standard exchanges, but they fall short when the going gets tough.