PF3 or Radar Contact?

[ThomasAH 61]

22 hours ago, RALF9636 said:

Yes, that was implemented in the latest version. You can always resume your latest flight (if also saved/autosaved in the sim) - as long as you do not start a different flight with PF3.

 

This already was available as a crash-recovery feature since the first release of PF3, so in the past you could intentionally "save" a fight by killing PF3 from the task manager. New in the current version is that it offers this resume feature even without crashing before.

[reecemj 146]

1 hour ago, allergiecheck said:

Bot programs have their pro´s and con´s...I will use both of them from time to time when not flying online on PE, which has by far the biggest immersion factor of course

That was a good comparison Thomas. I have both programs. I use RC for those quick flights in the states and PF3 if I want to hear voices from the foreign country's am flying in.

[beechcaptain 105]

1 hour ago, allergiecheck said:

Yes, definitely! You never get the same heart beat on artificial ATC 

It is unfortunate, for me, that live ATC is usually unavailable during the times that I have available to fly, as well as the routes I fly (tubeliners).  For example,  PE is locked in to Southern/Central California, if memory serves correct, and VATSIM often will have just 1 controller working the route I want to fly, and he/she would just be doing center somewhere along the route.  These are reasons why I have all 3 (RC4, PF3, PATC) and look for the most realistic immersion possible from each.  I realize we all have our own specific requirements as to what makes it realistic and how much immersion we desire.  I'm still trying to narrow it down to which will be my locked in #1.  It is a fun challenge!

[allergiecheck 14]

2 hours ago, RALF9636 said:

So if you want to be vectored before the last waypoint that waypoint should be excluded from the flightplan loaded into PF3

Yes, I know Ralf. I just wanted the same sort of "preset" for all scenarios (RW, PE, PF3 and RC4) in order to compare them.

[allergiecheck 14]

38 minutes ago, beechcaptain said:

For example,  PE is locked in to Southern/Central California

That´s not true any longer Glenn...PE has launched their Western Expansion, including KPDX, KSEA, KPHX, KSLC and many more. So lot´s of fun for tube liners as well! See http://www.pilotedge.net/pages/western-expansion

[beechcaptain 105]

18 minutes ago, allergiecheck said:

That´s not true any longer Glenn...PE has launched their Western Expansion, including KPDX, KSEA, KPHX, KSLC and many more. So lot´s of fun for tube liners as well! See http://www.pilotedge.net/pages/western-expansion

I'll look into that, thanks for the update. 

Edited to add:  Well, I forgot about it being pay to fly.  Seems rather steep for monthly fee + Western Expansion - $35.00, and it appears that I would be locked into only having coverage for KLAX, KDEN, KPDX, KPHX, KSEA, KSFO, KSLC.  Correct me if I'm wrong. 

Guess that is why I prefer the commercially available ATC software for FSX/P3D (RC4/PF3/PATC) - one time purchase and I can fly any airline flight/route I desire, and have full ATC coverage. 

 

[Bobsk8 12,729]

40 minutes ago, beechcaptain said:

I'll look into that, thanks for the update. 

Edited to add:  Well, I forgot about it being pay to fly.  Seems rather steep for monthly fee + Western Expansion - $35.00, and it appears that I would be locked into only having coverage for KLAX, KDEN, KPDX, KPHX, KSEA, KSFO, KSLC.  Correct me if I'm wrong. 

Guess that is why I prefer the commercially available ATC software for FSX/P3D (RC4/PF3/PATC) - one time purchase and I can fly any airline flight/route I desire, and have full ATC coverage. 

 

$35 a month, wow.......

[specialist 51]

38 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

$35 a month, wow.......

If you're just a hobbyist, yeah, $35 a month would be a wow, but if you are an actual student pilot trying to get your license and are struggling with communication, I think it's worth it. Some people don't have a problem communicating through the radio, but for many it's the hardest part of learning to fly. Rather than spend more money learning to talk while actually trying to fly a real airplane, and spending more money in lessons, many are finding it cheaper to take the fear and mystery of learning to speak to air traffic controllers by using PilotsEdge. In the long run it will be cheaper if you are a student pilot.

[allergiecheck 14]

2 hours ago, beechcaptain said:

and it appears that I would be locked into only having coverage for KLAX, KDEN, KPDX, KPHX, KSEA, KSFO, KSLC.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

..not exactly. You get a new bonus airport every 2 weeks (currently: KOAK), AND you have full coverage for all non towered airports in the area. towered airports not listed are treated as non towered. So my flight from KAUN to KOAK was fully covered by Pilot Edge ATC.

In fact, there are thousands of combination you can fly, and ten thousands of approaches... the PE controllers are all bit "different", meaning you may have completely different flight for the same route. 1 lifetime will not be enough to go through all  

[Bobsk8 12,729]

38 minutes ago, specialist said:

If you're just a hobbyist, yeah, $35 a month would be a wow, but if you are an actual student pilot trying to get your license and are struggling with communication, I think it's worth it. Some people don't have a problem communicating through the radio, but for many it's the hardest part of learning to fly. Rather than spend more money learning to talk while actually trying to fly a real airplane, and spending more money in lessons, many are finding it cheaper to take the fear and mystery of learning to speak to air traffic controllers by using PilotsEdge. In the long run it will be cheaper if you are a student pilot.

I agree, and I tried Pilots Edge for a month and thought it would be great for a student pilot. I passed that stage almost 40 years ago, so it held little interest for me. 

[allergiecheck 14]

37 minutes ago, specialist said:

If you're just a hobbyist, yeah, $35 a month would be a wow,

I use PE only for entertainment, since I am neither a pilot nor a student. Since flying at home at evening is cheaper all in all then having a drink outside my apartment I actually save money while flying on PE 

[anden145 2,285]

I always return to RC4 when using any other ATC addon... PF3 is nice (especially the different accents) but - IMO - to complicated to setup a flight and I constantly need to change the flight-levels within the program, after PFPX have already chosen one... 

ProATC never really took off for me. Mainly because it's a bit confusing (again, IMO) and the voice sets aren't that good. Disappointed, that various airlines are missing for instance...

RC4 just works. With it's shortcomings.

[specialist 51]

The only ATC addon I ever used was VoxATC, and thought it was pretty good for what it did, specially liked the idea of being able to use all my IVONA voices, but it still had too many bugs to be completely satisfied. I was hopeful when I heard of a new version being worked on, but it seems like the developer disappeared.

[Boomer 1,619]

4 hours ago, Anders Gron said:

PF3 is nice (especially the different accents) but - IMO - to complicated to setup a flight and I constantly need to change the flight-levels within the program

This I am seeing as well:  PF3 has issues with descents whereas RC4 does not, though I may need more testing.

[Bobsk8 12,729]

2 hours ago, Boomer said:

This I am seeing as well:  PF3 has issues with descents whereas RC4 does not, though I may need more testing.

I never have problems with descents, but I spent some time learning about PF3. It's not that difficult, just requires a bit of effort.