P2ATC version 2 VFR

[piperpiper 1]

Thank you for this great ATC software, it's amazing, very useful and rather coplete!

 

I have only some questions about the VFR features: flying VFR we have to build our flight plan through several VFR Report Points. And, when we arrive or cross an airport, we most do it across VFR gate points. I can't understand how can we manage this kind of rules in absence of all these VFR waypoints. We have also to make reports passing the points to ATC naming these points. All these communications are usually (as I am aware of) directed to Center and, after that handed off to Approach.

 

(by the way, I had an odd clearence for RW08 left in Lugano, LSZA but there is just one runway there, the 01/19. This occoured to me only with v.2.030, in the previous version all was right)

 

Many thanks for your continue effort to make this great masterpiece greater and greater! I couldn't fly no more without P2ATC!

 

marco

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

Marco,

Thanks for your comments.

While P2A currently handles VFR Flight Following, it does not yet have straight VFR position reporting which in the US would be done via the FSS (Flight Service Stations) and I guess you are saying it is done in Europe via Centers and Approach controllers.  Or are you referring to the situation where you are getting Radar traffic advisories, which is the VFR Flight Following situation?

 

On the runway assignment.  I just tested it with the upcoming 20.31 version and it gave me Runway 01.  If you had moved the SIM to LSZA from another airport while P2A was cancelled, that could have caused the problem.  You should be able to try it again and have it work if you connect to the SIM after it is at the airport.

Anytime you move the aircraft or reset the SIM, you should disconnect and then reconnect P2A to help it figure out where it is.

 

Thanks again,

Dave

[piperpiper 1]

Dave,

your immediate reply is priceless!

Well, Radar traffic advisories is working fine, but as you see I usually fly in Europe and I'm actually concerning the lack of VFR report points, that led to the impossibility to make any report and enter airspaces... Do you think is it possible to develop a feature that enable the database with UK, Italian, French (and so on...) airspace with VFR report points? There are utilities on the .org with these files that display them even on the GPS.

Here are some of them, I wonder if they could be useful:

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/27073-uk-airspace/

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/27950-spanish-airspace-for-new-garmin/&tab=comments#comment-174687

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/27882-gps-430-airspace-for-ireland/

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/30081-airac-10-dec-2015-visual-reporting-points-italy-gns430530-a1115/

 

I'm sorry for the RW08left in LSZA, I did it a lot of times, restarting x.plane and P2ATC but nothing changed... This evening I will do it again but I'm sure you are right and it's just my fault!

But I'd like to know one more thing: I'm not able to make my VFR configurations consistent, VFR european default code 7000 and decimal instead point, everytime I start the app I have to correct them. Where am I wrong?

 

marco

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

Marco,

Thanks for the links.  Airspace awareness for both IFR and VFR flights is on my list of future enhancements, so the links may prove useful.  I wasn't aware that VFR reporting points were included in the soaring data files, but if so, I will certainly expand the effort to include them. 

 

In the mean time, if you want to plan and fly a flight plan with reporting points, you could enter their approximate location by using the "User Defined Waypoint" feature of the flight planner and naming each point in the flight plan.  Not ideal, but a possible work-around for the time being.

 

I'll look into the Decimal vs Point issue and 1200 vs 7000 issue.

 

Thanks,

Dave

[piperpiper 1]

Thank you Dave,

 

About the LSZA issue, you are absolutaly right (obviously...) I have no longer that problem, it was the cache of the last aircraft position.

 

Interesting solution the user waypoints, I did it already, but I don't know how give them a name (I tried all the panels but I didn't find where can I do it) and then, reporting that name to the ATC.

 

marco

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

Marco,

My apologies.  When I changed the way the flight plan is rendered, I lost the ability to rename the User Defined Points.  I will add that back in.  I will also have to add some reporting logic to the Grammar, as it does not handle this right now.

 

Thanks,

Dave

[piperpiper 1]

Dave, 

 

Thank you very much for this quick, open, and continue effort. I think that this way solves quite well the VFR procedures, even more if we can speak their name to ATC in a way like "Call Sign" passing "User Defined Point Name" at "Altitude and time" expect "Next User Defined Point" at "Time" like a real VFR flight!

But... please, could you make those user defined points consistents? I mean, if we have to make them from skracth any times we make a plan, and give them a name... it's ok but way better if we have them there, ready to right click and put them into the plan (of course after we have generated for the first time ourself with their latitude and longitude!).

 

marco

[Daikan 4]

Potential new customer here. I fly almost exclusively VFR in Europe and I wanted to ask if there have been any improvements made regarding support for VFR reporting points including official VFR departure/arrival routes?

For me it is essential to be able to follow official VFR procedures for entering/transitioning/leaving controlled airspace via standard routes if they are published in the VAC (visual approach charts) like for example in case of LSZH these are the routes W, S, E (see http://www.vacc.ch/file/36).

The typical phraseology for a direct handover by the area FIS/FSS providing VFR flight following in class G airspace onto tower for a visual approach using standard route S on LSZH rwy 28 would be something along these lines:

• Zurich Info: <Callsign>, Contact Zurich Tower on 118.10, have a good day
• Pilot: <Readback>
• Pilot: Zurich Tower, <Callsign>, Approaching S at 4000ft for landing
• Tower: <Callsign>, Zurich Tower, enter CTR via route S, expect landing rwy 28, QNH 1019
• Pilot: <Readback>
• Pilot: <Callsign>, W1 3500ft
• Tower: Roger <Callsign>
• Pilot: <Callsign> W2 3000ft
• Tower: <Callsign>, join left hand downwind rwy 28, report final rwy 28
• Pilot: <Readback>
• Pilot: <Callsign>, final rwy 28
• Tower: <Callsign> wind 250 degrees 2 knots, cleared to land rwy 28
• Pilot: <Readback>

Is this currently possible?

Thanks.

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

No, that is not currently possible.  The VFR rules and communications follow the FAA rules used in many countries, including USA.  It does not include the many special rules for certain busy airports because the information about those special rules is not available in a data form that P2A could read, like the IFR procedures that are available in AIRAC data.  The program just isn't smart enough to read the charts.

With VFR Flight Following in P2A, you would likely be talking to Departure, Center and then Approach control en-route.  Then, as you get within 10NM of an airport, There might be many variations, but the exchange with Approach control would go something like:

• Approach:<CallSign> You are 10 NM West of the airport, radar service terminated, contact Tower on 118.1
• Pilot: Read back Freq
• Pilot: Fort Worth Tower, <CallSign> 10 miles West at 4500 for landing
• Tower: <CallSign>, Fort Worth Tower, enter a Left Downwind for Runway Three Five, Altimeter 29.94
•  Pilot: Read back altimeter
• PIlot: <CallSign> on left downwind Runway Three Five
• Tower: Roger, <CallSign> call turning base
• Pilot: <CallSign> turning left base Runway Three Five
• Tower: <CallSign> Winds 320 at 10 kts, Cleared to land Runway Three Five
• Piloe: Cleared to Land Runway Three Five, <CallSign>

Thanks for the detail explanation and charts.  I will put this on the possible future enhancements list, if the procedures come available in AIRAC type data form.  If you're aware of a data source, I'd love to hear about it.

[Daikan 4]

On 2.5.2017 at 3:32 PM, Dave-Pilot2ATC said:

I will put this on the possible future enhancements list, if the procedures come available in AIRAC type data form.  If you're aware of a data source, I'd love to hear about it.

I couldn't find any public and machine-readable data source but IMO it's pretty straightforward to create it manually as there aren't that many data points really. As an example I'm attaching a navdata XML (FMC schema) which I made for the "whiskey" approach route for LSZH for the use with WorldTraffic (containing some additional, inofficial waypoints for the various circuit legs in this case)

Given the lack of a comprehensive, global data source I'd propose a solution where the user would be given the option to import this kind of data for whichever airports he or she is able to either obtain or create it - assuming the program is capable of making sense of it.

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

That would be the only way to implement it without the data being available publicly.

As you might imagine, this will be a major effort to fully implement such a feature.  It's on the list of future enhancements and I've saved the sample XML with the suggestion.

Thanks,

Dave