By the way I would love to fly on Vatsim but the horrible, robotic voice puts me off. Maybe I should get over it and give it a go.

 

What do you mean Mike?  _ are you referring to the VHF distortion?  I much prefer it as it sounds a little more realistic.  otherwise it sounds like you're talking to someone on Skype - and actually the primary reason I do not use IVAO.    But if you don;t like the distortion, you can turn it off.  

 

Voice audio quality is also dependant on the microphones people are using.  Crappy, cheap headsets will transmit badly - and I have heard other tranmissions that sound pretty much like modern comms on deck.

In case you are referring to the robotic voice of airport ATIS reports, that's as real as it gets :Whistle:

In case you are referring to the robotic voice of airport ATIS reports, that's as real as it gets

 

 

That is pretty horrid, but you can get text ATIS by right clicking the ICAO_ATIS freq on the left hand side - and as modern ATIS is also transmitted by text printout, it is actually a realistic option.

Agreed about getting the "Texted ATIS" , but I've never seen a texted one that tells me which ATIS report I have (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc).  ATC usually wants you to advise them on first contact which ATIS you have obtained.

Agreed about getting the "Texted ATIS" , but I've never seen a texted one that tells me which ATIS report I have (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc). ATC usually wants you to advise them on first contact which ATIS you have obtained.

 

If you right click the ICAO_ATIS , your text ATIS pops up in the txt message box in green and always tells you what the ATIS version is. It will be displayed as a single letter, not the phonetic spelling, e.g, it'll just say 'Time 0840z Information C, landing and dept runway.......' That would obviously be information Charlie - or if you happen to not identify the version , just tell the controller you've copied the ATIS and confirm the current version with him.

 

The voice ATIS you hear is exactly what you are seeing in the txt box - its just computer emulation of voice using the same data.

My initial thoughts on VATSIM and how to handle it were pretty different to what it really is.

 

Most controllers there are really helpful and friendly and if you don't understand what they say they write it to you most of the time.

So no problem :-)

 

Since I am on VATSIM I never used Mytraffic or an ATC addon again.

 

 

So: Thanks to all the controllers out there, EGKK (and GB generally) is the best place in my eyes and also in LSZH there is good ATC.

 

PS: If someone wants to make a flight together on VATSIM, feel free to contact me :-)

By far the best ATC on VATSIM are controllers in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, USA and Oz - all highly professional sounding - and they know what they're doing.

 

I guess this is your experience, Erich, and of course I fully respect it. But it sounds a bit unfair to me, especially with this 'by far the best'.

 

I have flown in most VATSIM-controlled countries around Europe and find the ATC to be equally professional.

For instance I find Polish controllers to be very good. I know a few of them do it as their daily jobs too.

And the very best single ATC experience I remember from VATSIM was in Zurich, Switzerland.

 

Of course I also enjoyed German, Dutch and British ATC, but I keep wondering why you made such a sharp distinction.

I guess this is your experience, Erich, and of course I fully respect it. But it sounds a bit unfair to me, especially with this 'by far the best'.

 

I have flown in most VATSIM-controlled countries around Europe and find the ATC to be equally professional.

 

I shouldn't have stated that in the way I did. To more correctly state my point, these are the FIR areas I have mostly had high levels of ATC interaction with and found them to be excellent. These are also the regions which seem to be most consistenly staffed.

 

But I have also passed through other manned FIR's and found similar experiences there too. ALL the controllers on VATSIM, in my opinion are very professional - in my experience. There was no attempt to make any other region sound second rate. All are excellent and more are needed.

 

I'm also considering doing ATC on VATSIM - the more controllers it has, the better for everyone.

What do you mean Mike?  _ are you referring to the VHF distortion?  I much prefer it as it sounds a little more realistic.  otherwise it sounds like you're talking to someone on Skype - and actually the primary reason I do not use IVAO.    But if you don;t like the distortion, you can turn it off.  

 

Voice audio quality is also dependant on the microphones people are using.  Crappy, cheap headsets will transmit badly - and I have heard other tranmissions that sound pretty much like modern comms on deck.

I agree Teamspeak lacks realism. I will it give it a go. I have hundreds of hours on Ivao so I know what to expect in regards to phraseology.. I want to fly more in UK and have more choices regarding events. 

 

Melchor

 

 

I agree Teamspeak lacks realism. I will it give it a go. I have hundreds of hours on Ivao so I know what to expect in regards to phraseology.. I want to fly more in UK and have more choices regarding events.

 

I've flown on IVAO a couple of times and enjoyed it.  I do prefer VATSIM but I wouldn't knock IVAO at all...they have a different philosophy that works...please, let's not start that conversation.  (I do like the radio distortion in vPilot.)

I've flown on IVAO a couple of times and enjoyed it. I do prefer VATSIM but I wouldn't knock IVAO at all...they have a different philosophy that works...please, let's not start that conversation. (I do like the radio distortion in vPilot.)

Oh not my intention at all. I fly on Ivao and I love it. I am sure Vatsim is great too. Its just about the software. One(Ivao) sounds too clear whereas the other(Vatsim) too distorted for my taste. I think we should be grateful that we have both. I would even hope they collaborated on events,etc...Actually I want to fly both.

Been flying VATSIM since 2005. Never will stop doing it. 

Third flight.  Not so much nerves and it went well...almost.  Started at Copenhagen, just as I'm ready to taxi I get called by a Center controller who changes my departure runway.  I start making adjustments.  I'd planned on flying a SID...he didn't give me my Clearance so I'm wondering...fly the SID?...runway heading?  He eventually gave me runway heading.  I mucked up the taxi instructions again, was scrambling to get my before takeoff checklists done.  Departed...perfection.

 

Coming into Amsterdam...been itching to fly into it and it doesn't look that busy, right?  Wrong.  The controller(s) were swamped.  Something was wrong with my PTT for a bit.  Got it fixed.  Got pulled off STAR onto vectors right away.  Turns, altitude changes, speed changes...vectored past final, listening intently, following instructions quickly.  Cleared for the approach number 2 behind 777...all good.  Get cleared to land, landing checklist, flaps three, flaps full...two miles out, autopilot off.......no lateral control on my frigging yoke...zero.  I can't steer.  Holy, holy hell.  I get a couple of little movements but it's messed up...I disconnect quickly, shut the sim down, ready to troubleshoot after I get home in a couple hours.  Guh.  I guess I should have paid more attention to the root cause of the PTT problem because it's on my yoke too.  *sigh*

 

But, other than that last bit, I had fun.

In my opinion, the hardest thing to do right is getting on the correct darn taxiways! I don't know how many times I've messed it up altough I always have charts in front of me. There are some programs that shows where you are on the ground but I prefer not to use them since I feel it's a bit like cheating despite.

One minor complaint about VATSIM is controllers often want me to alter my filed flight plan.