I wanted to follow up with contacting FSS. While Gibraltar does have TOWER and can also be contacted to open flight plan, contacting Flight Service also works.

Using  "Radio, <callsign> requesting you open/close my flightplan" works very well also.

This request is a more correct way to contact Flight Service and does work with MCE/PF3.

I found these very helpful links here:

 

and here:

https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/1473/how-do-i-contact-flight-service-while-in-flight

I wanted to pass this information along in case someone else had this same question.

 

 

 

I always have massive problems contacting FSS or Radio. Will try the way you do it.

Concerning callsigns: I had problems with "Fedex 3". Jean-Claude didn't respond to ATC calls (except clearance, here he reads back even if I have told him I have ATC). ini and log files are ok, and the MCE GUI shows the right callsign in "ATC". Is "Fedex 3" too short?

hi all, my FO talks to PF3 atc, but it seems Nothing is transmitted. I think that my Settings are correct as what i´ve seen in this thread. I have activated the MCE Option in the PF3-configfile, FO-Option in PF3 is set to 0, and FO-voice is deactivated, name of voicepack and close capture is deactivated, in MCE talk to atc, FO can tune Radios, is  activated.

If i say to FO "you have the Radios" he confirms, but he don´t tune com1 to Ground. I have to tell him to do, then he tunes to the freq. i said. Then i ask him to request clearance, he confirms and speaks to atc like Lufthansa 2214 request ifr clearance to EDDS and after that just silence, no clearance as Long as i push the Hotkey 0. Then Ground gives immediatly instructions and FO reads back automaticly. But again he´s not tune com1 to the given frequency. I have to tell him so and he tunes the Radio. And then same is going on. I ask to request taxi and he talks to atc but again i have to push 0 to get atc clearance, but automaticly FO confirms the instructions, and so on....

May i have something wrong set? Any help much welcome.

reg.

Bernd 

On 12/6/2018 at 2:51 PM, d.tsakiris said:

Concerning callsigns: I had problems with "Fedex 3". Jean-Claude didn't respond to ATC calls (except clearance, here he reads back even if I have told him I have ATC). ini and log files are ok, and the MCE GUI shows the right callsign in "ATC". Is "Fedex 3" too short?

Follow-up: Today my call-sign was “Turkish 6QV“. Unfortunately, in PF3 I selected the wrong entry (there are two “Turkish“ in the drop-down), and the call-sign was “TurkAir 6QV“. MCE cropped that to “6QV“ and probably because of that, my FO didn't answer any ATC calls.

A couple more things I have noticed:

Before contacting clearance delivery, I say “I have ATC“, which my FO acknowledges. I then request and receive clearance, but my FO still reads back (I think also all of the following transmissions, so it might not be only the IFR clearance).

It seems my FO is aware when he is being “talked over“ by ATC, and he then re-transmits - that's cool. Could he please, when contacting a new facility, after changing frequency wait a few seconds before transmitting? That would really de-clutter things.

I also have an annoying problem only during receiving clearance where even though I have the radio, the FO will call out the altitude and squawk while the clearance is being read. I don't have a problem with him dialing in the squawk or altitude just that he reads it back at the same time clearance is read, which makes it hard to hear and copy clearance.

11 hours ago, d.tsakiris said:

Before contacting clearance delivery, I say “I have ATC“, which my FO acknowledges. I then request and receive clearance, but my FO still reads back (I think also all of the following transmissions, so it might not be only the IFR clearance).

 

Strange. That does not happen to me. "I have ATC" works fine for me, FO does not read back.

 

 

Roger. Can it be I just take too long to respond (I take notes), FO gets impatient and takes over? I think there may be such a function.

For me, in "I have ATC" mode he does not read back the clearance which is correct, only that during the time that the clearance is being given, the FO reads the altitude and squawk out loud immediately when he sees it in the caption. In effect "stepping on the clearance". This has a tendency to cause me to miss those parts of the clearance , and I have to request the clearance be repeated.

I have found that un-checking "Copilot can handle radio if busy" under the ATC tab, cleared the problem of him reading the clearance back in "I have ATC" mode for me.

 

 

Tony J

13 hours ago, Fighter Guy said:

For me, in "I have ATC" mode he does not read back the clearance which is correct, only that during the time that the clearance is being given, the FO reads the altitude and squawk out loud immediately when he sees it in the caption. In effect "stepping on the clearance". This has a tendency to cause me to miss those parts of the clearance , and I have to request the clearance be repeated.

I have found that un-checking "Copilot can handle radio if busy" under the ATC tab, cleared the problem of him reading the clearance back in "I have ATC" mode for me.

 

 

Tony J

 

Just an idea:

Do you have PF3 on a loudspeaker? Maybe MCE picks up parts of the clearance over the microphone and takes it as a command by you?

 

 

11 hours ago, RALF9636 said:

 

Just an idea:

Do you have PF3 on a loudspeaker? Maybe MCE picks up parts of the clearance over the microphone and takes it as a command by you?

 

 

RALF9636,

 

No, I have PF3 coming through my headset. I remember reading somewhere awhile back that someone was saying that the FO wasn't dialing in the squawk or altitude. For me he dials in the squawk and altitude, he just does it during the clearance, and sometimes when I'm reading back. I'm going to try re-doing my speech profile from scratch and see if tha has any effect. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Tony J

I've tried to get my FO asking the centerfacility like Munich radar I. ex. for an ATIS update for destination. PF3 has an multi-use hotkey for this request, but my FO just ignored my request. Is this key-function implemented in MCE and if that's the case what would be the right grammar to get my FO requesting this?? 

1 hour ago, BerndB said:

 Is this key-function implemented in MCE and if that's the case what would be the right grammar to get my FO requesting this?? 

Nope, not implemented.

Maybe you can create a custom request in VoxKey and tie it to the relevant Hotkey.

13 hours ago, FS++ said:

Nope, not implemented.

Maybe you can create a custom request in VoxKey and tie it to the relevant Hotkey.

thank you Gerald, i´ll try the VoxKey thing, should work I think.

reg.