Determining the "Active Runways" for Takeoff / Landing

[FalconAF 213]

Regardless of what any "real time" runway report you see will tell you (like Flightradar, LiveATC.net, or even ActiveSky), if the winds in the simulator are "calm" the sim is going to use the lowest numbered runway(s) available in many cases, regardless of the wind direction in the sim.  This has always happened in FSX and still does in P3D.  A prime example is someplace like KLAS (Las Vegas) where their are runways 8L/8R - 26L/26R with 1L/1R and 19L/19R.  In the real world here (at KLAS) until the tailwind component gets to be 10kts or greater, the "active runways" will be the 26's and the 19's.  But in FSX and P3D, as soon as there is ANY wind from the east, even just a "calm" wind, the runways used will be the 8's and 1's, which is totally bogus here.  It takes an act of God out here at McCarran before ATC will use the 8's for takeoffs or landings, but FSX and P3D will use them all the time if there is a "calm" 3 knot wind from the east.

So sometimes you just have to go with the flow in the sim.  The above happens regularly at large airports with many different runway configurations in FSX and P3D.  But normally what I do in these cases is just disregard the ATC, whether it be the default ATC or even my Radar Contact.  I will use the runways I know the real world would be using at whatever airport I am at.  I don't care if ATC yells at me or not...it's not a "real world" life and death situation.  Will you sometimes end up landing on a "real" runway with an aircraft taking off at you in the opposite direction?  Let 'em.  Have your crash detection turned off and run 'em over.  Then after landing when the Critique Guy in Radar Contact gets the FSDO Guy to ream you a new butt, just laugh it off.  Heck, it's fun listening to him yell at you every once in a while.