Hi Jeff,I heard that anytime you're within 500 feet of another aircraft during a flight is considered a mid-air collision by the NTSB and must be reported. It's kind of neat to see close encounters as long as it's in a simulator...Jim

I have a feeling FS isn't changin airports and you aren't getting vectored to KACY, but that part of the KDCA AFCAD which allows non-parallel active runways is located near KACY. If you open the AFCAD for KDCA and look at the list of runways you will probably see a bunch of very short runways (which should be closed) with headings intermediate between the actual KDCA runways. These "phantom" runways are used to make the simulator think that the two non-parallel runways are in fact nearly parallel and that allows them to be active at the same time.FS has a hard time closing runways sometimes, so generally these phantom runways are placed far away from the actual airport (perhaps near KACY in this case). This way ATC has less of a chance of vectoring planes to them inadvertanly, but sometimes if the approach starts near these phantom runways FS will vector to them instead. I would check this out in AFCAD and if you see these phantom runways near KACY I would move them SW out over the Atlantic somewhere. I don't know if you have to keep them within a certain distance but I've generally heard to place them about 100-120 miles from the airport (KDCA).If you are still having problems I would just do what someone else suggested and when ATC assigns a runway and approach just ask for a different runway which you know is ok.

1. Nope, but it has happened to me at other airports. One soultion is to increase the sim speed to x8 and then immediately decrease it to normal speed. This will make FS regenerate the AI traffic, hence the aircraft blocking your path will disappear. I don't like this solution though since it takes away some feeling of realism.2. No, never.3. It has happened to me a couple of times actually. Twice at night in really, really bad weather with close to zero visibility the ATC has cleared an aircraft ahead of me for landing, then the ATC clears me for landing, I overtake the other aircraft and we crash.Also, I have crashed just like you did and since most of my planes don't have a TCAS I've had no warning. Tough luck I guess. :)

Thanks dimbo for your comments. I have Shehryar Ansari's excellent DCA2000 airport scenery installed with the latest AFCAD for this particular scenery and this may be the cause for my diversions to Atlantic City instead of the FS Flight Plan destination - KDCA. I'm surprised this has not happened to others. If I find a fix I'll let everyone know in case it happens to them.Jim

way down

Hi Jim,Regarding the taxi, in fact, ATC doesn't recognize when you are out of your assigned track! If you are going to cross the runway through the taxiway it was assign, it will demand you to hold short. If you are elsewhere, simply disregards you!! Is just like when you are crossing a taxiway that is about to be crossed by another aircraft, from left or right of you, it will call you or him, if both are on the assign route! He is always, because AI are very obidient, but US, the user, not always we are!!! So that is a FS logic problem, that is "normal"!! You should try taxi through other route, and put yourself on a colision route with an AI aircraft, and you will noticed that ATC doesn't call both!!The problem of rwy10, is not only with you. I fly to that airport too, and that already happened to me. As on another airports. The problem is in the "trick" for non-parallel runways. On the AFCAD, I can't be sure 100%, but 90% I am, the "runways star" that enable this, are located near Atlantic City or so. You are not being directed to Atlanic City, but yes, to runway 10 of KDCA that was created there, so far away, (50 to 90 miles) to enable all real runways be active at the same time. And despite the fact that rwy10 is closed on AFCAD file, FS sometimes has this problem! Again FS logic!!To understand these "runway star" and understand why it is created and where it should be, go to the Project AFCAD forum, and there is a post fixed to explain the technic.Hope it help you to understand something that is dificult to understand, since it's a non logic thing!!!!! :-)It's one portion of what all of us do to FS, so he could operate as real to life as it is possible!!! I think Microsoft didn't thought that we could assemble like 2.000 flights per day a Heathrow os CDG or JFK!!!!! And so we need all runways available!!! :-)CheersMiguel

Hey Miguel,Thanks! I flew the JKF-DCA flight again today using the PMDG 737 and again received instructions to Runway 10 at a heading opposite of KDCA (heading 65). I ignored it but this time I selected option 3 from ATC (request another runway) and requested runway 1. Then ATC asked me if I wanted Runway l with the Ott transition and of course I said YES! It then cleared me to Runway 1 via the Ott transition and "sidestepping Runway 10". Never saw that before! On approach to KDCA, I was cleared for a landing on "Runway 1 sidestepping Runway 10". I'm sure you are correct along with others concerning the problem with non-parallel runways and AFCADS. I plan on keeping what I have now since I now see the problem and can get to KDCA via directions from ATC. I don't want to beat a dead horse. It's strange though as I never experienced this with the same flight plan 5 or 6 months ago. Since then I have upgraded FS9 and MyTraffic. One or both must have built this into their respective programs.Thanks again!Jim

Hi again Jim,No problem. And only want you happy as I like to be!!! I'm not because mu FS9 yesterday evening CTD arriving to Heathrow, and annoyed me!!! I'm ###### woth FS9 and microsoft. The product is so good, and there are always problems with memory and such...but... it's life!!! And it's microsoft!!!! :+The problem, and you should try again to see, is that you choose "another approach" and not "another runway"!! And you should select both like this:- ATC contact you to give approach instrutions and assigned runway and approach- Then you should select the option "Select another runway" and on the 2nd screen, choose the runway you want (becarefull because this option will ask ATC to standby for instrutions, so you need to have the voice channel cleared)- Then it will return to initial screen and THEN select the option "Select another approach" and you should select firstly the runway you just selected before, and then the approachs available for it. Given your choose, it will be back to initial screen.- and finally select "Request another runway and approach from controller" or something like that (option 1 or 2). And the new instrutions are given, as you asked for!!And so, you are directed to the runway and approach you just selected. (I hope :-) ).Try it and let me know.CheersMiguel

>Hey Miguel,>>Thanks! I flew the JKF-DCA flight again today using the PMDG>737 and again received instructions to Runway 10 at a heading>opposite of KDCA (heading 65). I ignored it but this time I>selected option 3 from ATC (request another runway) and>requested runway 1. Then ATC asked me if I wanted Runway l>with the Ott transition and of course I said YES! It then>cleared me to Runway 1 via the Ott transition and>"sidestepping Runway 10". Never saw that before! On approach>to KDCA, I was cleared for a landing on "Runway 1 sidestepping>Runway 10". I'm sure you are correct along with others>concerning the problem with non-parallel runways and AFCADS. >I plan on keeping what I have now since I now see the problem>and can get to KDCA via directions from ATC. I don't want to>beat a dead horse. It's strange though as I never experienced>this with the same flight plan 5 or 6 months ago. Since then>I have upgraded FS9 and MyTraffic. One or both must have>built this into their respective programs.>>Thanks again!>>Jim Jim,Does the PMDG 737 have Weather Radar as well as TCAS?Daniel

Hello Daniel,No weather radar it doesn't have.And Yes full TCAS, and what a TCAS!!! Even when ND is 80 or 160nm range on display, even then TCAS works!!If you haven't bought it, please do a favor to yourself: buy it!!CheersMiguel