Going VFR from Brackett (KPOC) to San Diego (KSAN).

After I get the, "leaving my airspace" message I decide than rather than tune SoCal Departure, I'll just leave it tuned to Brackett - tiny field, no traffic.

The entire flight to San Diego I see maybe three aircraft?

Okay, let's try this again.

This time after the "leaving my airspace" I tune SoCal Departure and the difference is huge. The amount of radio traffic is greater and the number of aircraft in the sky is greater.

 

So I wonder if the amount of actual traffic you encounter is tied to the radio you are monitoring?

(Which sounds both logical on a programming point of view and ridiculous from a simulation point of view)

Does anyone know?

What would happen if you install an ATC alternative program?

Staying tuned to Podunck airport departure should have no effect on the number of AI aircraft in your sector, just the radio traffic you hear

Did you right-click on your screen to see the amount of aircraft traffic? 

So I would have thought, but it doesn't seem that way. The air over San Diego should be full of GA & commercial. It wasn't.

Yes, I also had "Traffic" enabled on my GTN 750. Skies empty.

Do you run the free NavData updates from https://www.aero.sors.fr/navaids3.html

That reduced my AI to almost ghost status.  I had a problem with FSX and ended up running the verify integrity check in Steam.  It cleaned out all my scenery from FTX and AI bgl files, but it was easy to reinstall ORBx and rename the bgl or default traffic.  Either way, I ran FSX before adding the navdata update from above and found that planes were actually at the airport.  I then looked a the info more about the navdata updates and it says it interferes with AI flight plans.  Not sure how or why.  I just thought they flew from A to B, not waypoints.

Brackett field is a GA airport.  No, you won't hear nearly as much radio chatter as SoCal TRACON with SAN and LAX (and LGB, and SNA, and...).

No Orlaam, I do not run it.

ESzczesniak - right, I live there. Ontario is 2 minutes away. There is a lot of local traffic.

And I was headed to San Diego.

No Cross traffic inbound to LAX? No one around KSAN? KONT?

 

 

To monitor, just periodically right click on the screen at check Airplanes (AI) - it will give you a list. I'd be astonished if there was a difference based on frequency. 

Maybe pick yourself up a decent AI package.  There are a handful of payware ones.  Freeware is WOAI and the military AI works.  They would give you a compliment of real world type traffic.  Being tuned to one frequency over the other hss no bearing on the AI present, but obviously if you are monitoring a terminal or enroute frequency you are going to hear a lot more as there are many more aircraft in the area covered.

It is not a lack or an excess of traffic.

It is that the traffic mimics the radio you tune. Tune a busy FBO and the sky is full. Tune a snooze fest and the skies are empty.

 

 

Might give that KPOC to KSAN a quick test later this morning.  What would happen if you tuned

SoCal Departure and made contact but then re tuned KPOCK field?  Would the AI immediately

disappear or would it stay full because contact was made with SoCal Departure?

I just tried the flight and kept it on KPOC freq.  My AI in the area list was maxed out and never

had anything less at any time no matter what freq I was tuned to.  Sorry for adding a K in my last

post about KPOC!