Pause at TOD

[bootsie 0]

Hi, I'm a new user to P2ATC on X-Plane 11 so apologies if this has already been answered somewhere.

On longer flights I often set a "Pause at TOD" option in the FMC if the aircraft has one, or else I use the excellent AutoPause plugin to pause the sim some distance from TOD so I don't have to sit watching the screen in cruise for 4 hours.  How does this fit in with P2ATC and are there any recommendations on how best to configure things to work this way?

So far I've just noted the TOD distance in Pilot2ATC and set AutoPause accordingly to give me enough time to prepare for descent.  Then I walk away and let the co-pilot handle the comms,  However, on a few occasions I've come back and I've been told to descend earlier than I'd expected so my calculations have obviously been off somewhere.

Does anyone have any tips for using Pause at TOD options?

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

P2A recalculates TOD dynamically so if your Groundspeed is faster than the planned GS, for example, the TOD will be moved to earlier to account for this.

I suspect you could just add 100NM or so to the initially calculated TOD and be fairly safe, or be sure your Groundspeed is as forecast in your plan.  Remember, it's Groundspeed, not True or Indicated airspeed.

Dave

[bootsie 0]

Thanks Dave.

So am I just ok to walk away and have the co-pilot handle comms, or should I be actively doing something, like leaving the frequency?

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 870]

As long as nothing goes wrong, you should be OK to just let the FO handle the Coms.  Of course, if something does go wrong, and the Captain not on deck, no telling what will happen.

Pilot2ATC is not designed for pilot-less operation.

[bootsie 0]

That's fair enough.  Understood, thanks.