Well this explains it - so why would I need this program really - if the aircraft has the plan and following it - not seeing the need for this program other than altitude change which I can handle myself - guess I am missing the benefit

 

 

Not wishing to be rude Richard, but I think you are missing how ATC works entirely.

 

ATC is not a sat-nav that comes over the radio as you reach each waypoint and tells you what heading to take for the next one.

Rich, if you're not at least willing to go to the dedicated forum and interact with the developer to try and figure out your issues, you're probably just better off finding a better alternative or going without an ATC program at all. I've used all of them except ProATCX. None of them are perfect. They all have their quirks. If making an ATC program that was just like real life was easy, it would already have been done and the programmer would be rolling in dough.

 

No reason to go to dedicated forum the post stated above explains it - the program must work just not how I expected. - thought atc program was suppose to get you from point A to B without intervention on my part - again then why do I need it if lets say my 737 all ready has it programmed in fmc am I missing something here

Not wishing to be rude Richard, but I think you are missing how ATC works entirely.

 

ATC is not a sat-nav that comes over the radio as you reach each waypoint and tells you what heading to take for the next one.

 

Got yah Pete - but then what is the major benefit then

No reason to go to dedicated forum the post stated above explains it - the program must work just not how I expected. - thought atc program was suppose to get you from point A to B without intervention on my part - again then why do I need it if lets say my 737 all ready has it programmed in fmc am I missing something here

 

Got yah Pete - but then what is the major benefit then

 

The benefit of PF3 (and other ATC addon programs) is that they try to replicate as best they can how ATC works in the real world. What else would you expect an ATC program to do ? The clue is in the name.

The benefit of PF3 (and other ATC addon programs) is that they try to replicate as best they can how ATC works in the real world. What else would you expect an ATC program to do ? The clue is in the name.

 

Ah ok just like buying a texture payware to add more immersion I guess - lot of work in this case - thanks for clearing that up did not know that

It's not really like buying a texture addon. An ATC addon is largely about the simulation aspect and getting things operationally to be as close to real life as possible. At times it helps immersion too (by the sake of being realistic,) but a texture does not require you to follow a checklist more accurately or change how the aircraft handles if you taxi over it.

>> With PFE/PF3 you can request destination airport ATIS info through the simulated ACARs anytime during your flight. From about 200 nm inbound is a good time to do it and be aware if your runway will likely be changes. Yes, even so it can often change at the last minute if your weather engine updates. <<

 

 

The problem with the PF ACARS and ATIS is that is "wrong" unless you're about 60-70 miles from your destination airport.  It's been a common problem with ATC addons for a while now (which I believe is actually caused by a bug in the sim).  Unless you're close to the airport, the weather on the ATIS is actually the weather in the vicinity of your aircraft - NOT the reported weather at your destination.

 

While flying into EKCH tonight, I called up the weather on both the ACARS and the ATIS about 200 miles out and here's what I got:

211/14  >20  BKN040 06/02 0989  -- Landing and Departing Runway 4L  (Runway 4L with that wind?  Hmm.  But that's another issue.  I was actually correctly assigned 22L when I got over to approach)

 

Then I compared it to what ASN was reporting:

METAR 220/17G27  >20 -SHRA BKN013CB  05/04 0982

 

Unless the program has a link into an external weather generator (which PF3 does not), you can't trust it... it WILL change when you get closer to your destination.

No reason to go to dedicated forum the post stated above explains it - the program must work just not how I expected. - thought atc program was suppose to get you from point A to B without intervention on my part - again then why do I need it if lets say my 737 all ready has it programmed in fmc am I missing something here

 

Got yah Pete - but then what is the major benefit then

LOL

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_traffic_control

 

You don't need an ATC at all when you have everything planned into your FMC. You would get an ATC for added realism and immersion. (Which means IMHO that you shouldn't be getting this one because you have to do too much in PF3 and it is more some kind of canned scenario audio reader).

In the forthcoming vid (it takes more than 8 hours to upload just half an hour :mad: ) The a/c will start at a gate and is given a gate to taxi to at its destination. You tell PF3 the gate/stand number you want to arrive at and it's saved for posterity. That said if the airport is exceptionally busy someone else may steal your designated gate. The resolution for that is to make the radius in afcad too small for anything larger than an ant!

 

A better programmatic solution would be for PF3 to detect the AI in the assigned slot and delete it before you get there, hopefully before it becomes visible to the taxiing pilot. This is what I do when I use Radar Contact.

 

Pete

Is it easy to install - un-install the demo if you don't like it? 

 

Yes, Jon - when installing, recommended you turn off any AV programme though and for removing, just use the Windows uninstaller  :wink:

Flight No. 7 - fist full success. Ging from EDDT to EDBC with an ATR gave great experience and results. Just to let you know after all my negative experiences before. I'll keep you updated.

A better programmatic solution would be for PF3 to detect the AI in the assigned slot and delete it before you get there, hopefully before it becomes visible to the taxiing pilot. This is what I do when I use Radar Contact.

 

Pete

I'll suggest that to Dave, Peter. And see what his thoughts are. It would be great to have a "guaranteed" gate! It works most of the time but rarely for example at airports as busy as Hong Kong!

I installed the  demo and gave it a go. I used it for 2 days  and did few flights.Pf3 imo is just pfe  with "less hassle". I still had to remove a few waypoints tho cause the program was complaining I was going to possibly have problems if i didn't. (which  was a pain).

 

I already have  rc4,pfe,vox and pro/atc and  pf3  adds and is nothing new  (for me). Uninstalled pf3.

>> With PFE/PF3 you can request destination airport ATIS info through the simulated ACARs anytime during your flight. From about 200 nm inbound is a good time to do it and be aware if your runway will likely be changes. Yes, even so it can often change at the last minute if your weather engine updates. <<

 

 

The problem with the PF ACARS and ATIS is that is "wrong" unless you're about 60-70 miles from your destination airport.  It's been a common problem with ATC addons for a while now (which I believe is actually caused by a bug in the sim).  Unless you're close to the airport, the weather on the ATIS is actually the weather in the vicinity of your aircraft - NOT the reported weather at your destination.

 

While flying into EKCH tonight, I called up the weather on both the ACARS and the ATIS about 200 miles out and here's what I got:

211/14  >20  BKN040 06/02 0989  -- Landing and Departing Runway 4L  (Runway 4L with that wind?  Hmm.  But that's another issue.  I was actually correctly assigned 22L when I got over to approach)

 

Then I compared it to what ASN was reporting:

METAR 220/17G27  >20 -SHRA BKN013CB  05/04 0982

 

Unless the program has a link into an external weather generator (which PF3 does not), you can't trust it... it WILL change when you get closer to your destination.

I agree with you. I see ASN weather reporting for FMC planning of STAR and guess active runway. As i near airport, around 80miles, i tune to ATIS to confirm it. 

I wish PF3 had direct links to external weather program to set its ACARS and ATIS.

I installed the  demo and gave it a go. I used it for 2 days  and did few flights.Pf3 imo is just pfe  with "less hassle". I still had to remove a few waypoints tho cause the program was complaining I was going to possibly have problems if i didn't. (which  was a pain).

 

I already have  rc4,pfe,vox and pro/atc and  pf3  adds and is nothing new  (for me). Uninstalled pf3.

 You don't "have to" remove those waypoints actually. It's a feature that the user can disable now in PF3 as during the beta testing we found that the "waypoints are too close" nag was not necessary!

 

There might be a few rare occasions where it could be relevant (for example if your fpl contains wypts after the end of a SID) so Dave left it in. But as I have said above "Turn it off!"

 

I would suggest you have another look at the PF3 demo. It most certainly isn't the same as the old PFE. Read the user manual. PF3 does stuff now that the old PFE was incapable of doing. Waypoints being as close as you like as an example.

No reason to go to dedicated forum the post stated above explains it - the program must work just not how I expected. - thought atc program was suppose to get you from point A to B without intervention on my part - again then why do I need it if lets say my 737 all ready has it programmed in fmc am I missing something here

 

Got yah Pete - but then what is the major benefit then

  

LOLhttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_traffic_control

You don't need an ATC at all when you have everything planned into your FMC. You would get an ATC for added realism and immersion. (Which means IMHO that you shouldn't be getting this one because you have to do too much in PF3 and it is more some kind of canned scenario audio reader).

  

I installed the  demo and gave it a go. I used it for 2 days  and did few flights.Pf3 imo is just pfe  with "less hassle". I still had to remove a few waypoints tho cause the program was complaining I was going to possibly have problems if i didn't. (which  was a pain).

 

I already have  rc4,pfe,vox and pro/atc and  pf3  adds and is nothing new  (for me). Uninstalled pf3.

I had PFE and can tell you PF3 is very much more polished and has features like the warp and voice guidance that PFE didn't. I use UT2 and it really ads to the immersion to watch other aircraft line up and wait your turn for ATC clearance. So definitely adds to immersion for me! Loving this program-no add on is perfect but this one works well enough for me and the customer support forum is top notch and transparent which is refreshingly

pleasant!Would love to see it evolve and to support it wholeheartedly.

Jay