Hi Guys,

 

I was using the default ATC at an Orbx airport the other day and the ATC was very busy.

 

It raised an issue. I was told to line up and wait which I did....And then just sat there awaiting clearance to take off. That eventually came.

 

This is my issue...Again ATC was extremely busy so it took a while to acknowledge my take off clearance..

 

So, Do I take off and acknwledge when I can get in or do I sit and wait until I can acknowledge and then carry out the instruction thus taking up valuable runway time?

 

Dave

Once you get your takeoff clearance, determine if the runway is clear, respond with your intention to act, then proceed. If there is a potential conflict they will be quick to let you know. 

Hi 188AHC,

 

Thank you...that was my problem...I could not respond as ATC was to busy...couldn't get a word in edgeways.

 

So you are saying once I receive my instruction I can proceed and acknowledge when ATC is free??

 

Dave

Absolutely. They can see you moving to the active and like I said, if they see a problem developing, they will tell you to taxi into position and hold. There might be an aircraft on final that someone missed or there might be a runway incursion (someone crossing).  If they are that busy, then a major part of the job is in your lap. You have to verify that you are clear both on the taxiway and the runway.

Understand, however, that this is subject to the controllers at your location. They might change the instruction to "Hold Short and await clearance". This might occur if they have already given you clearance but something changed.

 

 

In real life, there is extreme radio discipline in effect, especially in busy airports/airspace. When they tell you to move, they are expecting you to promptly execute and read back. When I hear "line up and wait", I'm already coming off the brakes and feeding in some power as my non flying pilot is reading back the instruction. All pilots know there is an order in communication and ATC will drive this. If ATC tells you to do something, they are waiting and anticipating your response. Other pilots waiting to prompt ATC knows the controller is waiting on your response and they will wait and not step over you. If you delay in your response, they will quickly prompt you and possibly tongue lash you if you're not listening up. Once they clear you onto the runway, you have become priority and they need your acknowledgement before addressing others. The problem with flight sim is that the ATC and other pilots do not respect this order. This is worsened by the slow speed at which they talk.Things will jam up quickly. A good solution is to use EditVoicepack. Not only will this program update airline callsigns and standard terminology, it allows you to speed up the speech rate. This makes the interaction flow quickly allowing ATC to handle/process more traffic quickly. 

I fly in and out of the NorthEast coast of the USA. Going in and out of KLGA, you notice the speech is quick and direct. ATC give instructions and responses come quickly. it pops. They are known for quickly tongue lashing you for breaking the flow by missing calls/not responding fast enough. One day while #2 for departure, this Q400 had just checked in with tower on final. The tower gave him winds and LASO instruction with his landing clearance. The pilot responded, I'm a Southern boy, can you repeat that and slow it down a bit. ATC repeated the instructions and informed that in NY he needs to pick it up a bit. I always heard some of the craziest things in that area.