I always ignore FSX ATC during descent. I just acknowledge it. Once you start the approach it usually comes to its senses and gives you landing clearance.

 

It's worst of all for a go-around. You get vectors all over the place. Sometimes away from the airport and then it forgets you need to land. Just ignore it, vector yourself back to approach.

 

Sounds like something interrupting the flow of it, maybe you get some kind of AI traffic foul up. Set up some AI to specifically cause a go around and it'll always come back and land eventually. Perhaps it needs more patience because it will vector you away, might be toward the north pole but you don't actually go all the way there, you'll be heading back to the airport eventually. Turn down AI or try other airports. Airports that have a single taxi on/off the runway can get blocked and then the ATC may take a while vectoring you around.

I always ignore FSX ATC during descent. I just acknowledge it. Once you start the approach it usually comes to its senses and gives you landing clearance.

 

It's worst of all for a go-around. You get vectors all over the place. Sometimes away from the airport and then it forgets you need to land. Just ignore it, vector yourself back to approach.

 

 

I wish there was a way to kill the nagging from ATC.  Doesn't ATC cancel your IFR PF if you don't stay at the altitude they want you at?  I guess you can keep repeating the instruction, but it's ridiculous to have to go through all that.  I'm wondering if using EditVoicePack to remove those nagging messages would work? lol. 

 

I try not to go around, but yeah, it's dumb.  Especially since the approaches have the GA procedure in them.  You can pick the missed approach "published" but I've never done it.  If I go around I usually just enter a pattern.  Truth be told, the IFR handling is so bad that I almost always fly using a flight following only.  Then pick up ATIS on COM 2 and plan based on weather.  Most of my flights end up being VMC conditions, so it makes little difference.

I've not been troubled with late descents, not sure what's happening there, unless going past the airport and turning back due to a runway direction, sometimes seems a long way but it's possibly being impatient. There's a lot of places the ATC can be improved, but it's useful the way it is.

 

 

I wish there was a way to kill the nagging from ATC.

You don't actually have to remain in contact along the way you can pick it up later as you desire.

I've not been troubled with late descents, not sure what's happening there, unless going past the airport and turning back due to a runway direction, sometimes seems a long way but it's possibly being impatient. There's a lot of places the ATC can be improved, but it's useful the way it is.

 

 

 

You don't actually have to remain in contact along the way you can pick it up later as you desire.

 

 

Yeah, I know you can stop switching frequencies but it kinda seems pointless.  I can't see how you haven't had late descents.  They're always way off.  You can't even slow down the NGX if you follow ATC's descent instruction.  As it is, FMC calculated TOD is often kinda late for slowing, so idk.  Unless you are ok with being placed 20 miles past the centerline, then it's highly unrealistic. 

 

I think it depends on how you are flying.  If I'm approaching abeam the airport, using KPHX as an example, I might be on the BUNTR TWO arrival.  FSX has no clue about a STAR.  So, lets say my FSX FP contains all waypoints for this STAR.  Around the PAYSO fix, ATC will expect me to start turning all over the place.  Now, you can go into the ATC menu and choose an IAF for a specific approach.  Default FSX contains the CERUN IAF for ILS runway 26.  What that does is bypass all the waypoints beyond PAYSO and requires you fly direct to CERUN.  Now the distance is good, 81 NM or so.  However, 75% of the time ATC will not have allowed you to descend from say FL300 down to glideslope capture altitude.  

 

It's rarely worked right, FS9, FSX, and prior.  Regardless of the aircraft.  Even something that slows easy like the Q400 or RA Duke.  I've been 2,000 to 4,000 feet too high more times that I can count.  Nothing like being 4,000 feet too high and speeding along at 260 knots because you can't slow down and descent at 2500 fpm, regardless of speedbrake deployment. 

Weird, I was using the stock 747 recently in FSX for a few tests and the descents were perfect.

 

Need to be back in contact early enough prior to descent, and ATC may start vectoring you off your GPS plan. It tries to bring you in at 90, 60, 30 degrees, so the least turn last saves the stock AP from latency, and it's got to descend you in to the area of that 90 degree approach.

Well with every add on I've used it's a mess.  As far back as I can remember.  I don't use default planes, and those I will use are basic GA.  I started out essentially on the Dreamfleet 737 and Level-D 767, so not much of a default jet user. 

 

In something like a PMDG or similar, it's impossible to get down in time without busting speed using default ATC.  I want to be at 240-250 below 10,000. 

It's not a difficult calculation. But sounds like you expect too much from ATC. You say it doesn't handle SIDs and STARs so it would not be expected to refer to them. It's a fairly useful tool, misunderstood, but it's not going to keep anyone entertained.

You have to file a .PLN with the cruise alt stated. ATC works off the navigation from the scenery files won't understand AIRACs and the plan doesn't want to be too far off what would be expected once it get's in range of the destination.

I suspect FSX ATC was designed to give you something to do as much as for realism. Hence all the redundant switching from one controller to another in the same ATC center, levelling off during descent, extended approach and G/A vectoring, etc.

 

 

I wish there was a way to kill the nagging from ATC. Doesn't ATC cancel your IFR PF if you don't stay at the altitude they want you at? I guess you can keep repeating the instruction, but it's ridiculous to have to go through all that. I'm wondering if using EditVoicePack to remove those nagging messages would work? lol.

 

It won't cancel IFR as long as you acknowledge the directions. It might keep telling you to climb up to the last altitude but once you get near the approach path it usually switches to giving you clearance to approach and land. If it doesn't I land anyway.

 

 

Sounds like something interrupting the flow of it, maybe you get some kind of AI traffic foul up. Set up some AI to specifically cause a go around and it'll always come back and land eventually. Perhaps it needs more patience because it will vector you away, might be toward the north pole but you don't actually go all the way there, you'll be heading back to the airport eventually. Turn down AI or try other airports. Airports that have a single taxi on/off the runway can get blocked and then the ATC may take a while vectoring you around.

 

I don't think it was an AI problem. It vectored me away, out of the airport approach area then just stopped giving me instructions. I followed it the heading to see what it would do and I never heard another thing out of it. I'm used to it vectoring you miles away then turning you round but this was way further out. So I routinely ignore it on go-around now. Life's too short for pointless and unrealistic vectors.

Can't think why you are dumped, maybe the sim was out of resources, try with less or no AI traffic.

Can't think why you are dumped, maybe the sim was out of resources, try with less or no AI traffic.

I think its far more likely to be my flight falling down a hole in the AI logic used by ATC. ATC was not busy and I have traffic set quite low to save fps. It doesn't bother me as I don't regard ATC vectors for a go around as being in any way realistic. I only mentioned it because I think it's the weakest part of an already weak system.

The rest of FSX works OK though...

I mean if it dumped you it probably dumped all the AI traffic. I've sat with a PC running in the corner for hours with AI traffic going around and around, it all parks in the end. The ATC brings you in in a 90,60,30 final, descends you in plenty of time to get into that area to get onto the 90 degree leg. There won't be much else can be some holding at altitude, but you'll get down.

The rest of FSX works OK though...

Apart from the well known bugs....

 

I mean if it dumped you it probably dumped all the AI traffic. I've sat with a PC running in the corner for hours with AI traffic going around and around, it all parks in the end. The ATC brings you in in a 90,60,30 final, descends you in plenty of time to get into that area to get onto the 90 degree leg. There won't be much else can be some holding at altitude, but you'll get down.

ATC didn't shut down, other traffic was still being directed. FSX had been running for only a couple of hours. It seemed to me it routed me away from the ATC centre but lost track of me and I got out of range of the frequency. But I hadn't been handed off to another controller. I flew back to the airport but it didn't pick me up as I got close, which it normally would. So it appeared that my flight no longer existed in the system. Software does this sometimes when unexpected combinations of events coincide.

Did you have an AI program injecting traffic? One thing I notice is that an external program can inject one too many AI Aircraft and certain aspects of the current AI can become left in limbo, including the user contact. If you feel you've been lost by ATC, it is worth trying re-submitting the plan before aborting the flight or attempting a landing amongst traffic.