I have come to P3D directly from FS2004, so Radar Contact had been my primary ATC software for more than 10 years. Just curious if things changed for P3D and VOX ATC or PRO ATC are more superior than RC4. Your recommendations would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Dmitriy

Here comes to the flurry of opinions to help confuse you on what's 'The Best'.     Let me start with my 5 cents worth.

 

VatSIM - Best experience if you can find a controller that knows what he/she's doing

VoxATC - Best choice for Voice Activated/Speech Recognized ATC with the ability to follow SIDS/STARS and handle IFR and VFR flights.   Also handles AI ground traffic and taxing.   This choice can be pricey if you want good voices to talk to you as it uses TTS voices and each voice runs about $45 USD but the pay off is smooth fluid realistic speech that sounds less like a robot.

Pro ATC - This seems to be a favorite among those who prefer button pushing ATC.  It's powerful but I personally can't handle it OR Radar Contact because of the way it does speech.  It sounds like a broken robot who can't decide what pitch or tone to use.   It sounds too 'Automated' sounding, like every controller is an ATIS station.

 

I stand behind VoxATC personally.  It is powerful, sounds great with the right TTS voices installed and gives me full service from Clearance/Delivery to the arrival gate and it does it very well.   The only bug/glitch in it that is left that drives me crazy is the obsessive handing off to ARTCC stations.    I am pretty sure there are not 10 different controllers I need to talk to in one ARTCC zone.   The author is aware of the problem and is looking for a solution.

I've got VOX and RC4.  They both have their pluses and minuses.  Live controlling is, by far, superior.  PilotEdge is the best (if you can handle only flying in the bottom left of the US). 

Robot speech isn't that problematic for me. I'm interested in low-resource usage (such as RC4) and realistic ATC handling

 

PS. Guess that RC4 does not work for P3D, doesn't it?

Rc4 works fine in pr3d I also use pro atc.

 

Regards TED Kiser

Thanks folks,

 

Is PRO-ATC stand-alone module such as RC or it's embedded into P3D?

PRO ATC is a stand alone program.

I would suggest getting Rc4 working then

Explore the other options.

 

Regards TED Kiser

vox atc is the best for me I fly VFR +++

If you can afford it, pilotedge.net, period!!!!

If you can afford it, pilotedge.net, period!!!!

+1 ... but if you can't afford it and still want human ATC (FREE !) >>> VATSIM

If you can afford it, pilotedge.net, period!!!!

 

When they branch out beyond their tiny world of NorCal/SoCal I would be all in.   I think they are missing a gold mine by not offering a full VatSIM like environment with professional controllers covering all of the US and Europe.  I would pay a fair monthly fee for the full experience from gate to gate in the US.

When they branch out beyond their tiny world of NorCal/SoCal I would be all in. I think they are missing a gold mine by not offering a full VatSIM like environment with professional controllers covering all of the US and Europe. I would pay a fair monthly fee for the full experience from gate to gate in the US.

Huge reason is that they want the virtual training "sky" to be appropriately densely packed with flying users at most times to better simulate real world atc.

 

Next step is probably rolling in Seattle/Vancouver type area and connecting for "down the coast" flights or something

PFE does work with P3D and the voices are both non robotic and regional. PRO ATC is non compliant with ICAO so unrealistic to say the least.

Live ATC is really hard to beat. Personally as a licensed pilot, I really appreciate the advantages of Pilot Edge. The benefit really of PE is guaranteed coverage and highly realistic ATC procedures. I'd like to see Pilot Edge expand coverage too. But seeing that they have very high quality paid controllers, I understand why it is not feasible to do so without careful planning and due diligence on their part. If you have to pick a limited area to cover, though, the ZLA area offers a HUGE variety of airspace and terrain. If your thing is multi-hour long haul airline stuff, it is not going to scratch that itch, I suppose.

 

I've heard some really great controllers on Vatsim too, but the lack of consistency and schedule is... well, the "price" of a free service. That said, for most simmers, Vatsim is a great option.

Vatsim unfortunately is never where I want to fly. But this is probably the best example of vatsim anywhere. The guy is a pro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzvtcMqeMvw