It seems that FS9's ATC is a little late authorizing descents. Tonight I was enroute from KORD to KMIA at FL350. The call to descend didn't come til 100 mi out. This resulted in a series of sharp zig-zag turns and a hasty lineup to rwy 12. It could have been a nice smooth straight in. What determines the point at which descent calls are made?Is it something in the way I have my aircraft configured? I'm using FSNavigator with my 747 descent rate at 1500 fpm.

While I don

As real as it gets my friend, as real as it gets.ATC is not responsible for your descent profile, they just make sure you don't hit someone on the way down. Sometimes they leave you high, sometimes they bring you down early. Either way, guess whose responsibility it is to get back on the profile?You have speedbrakes, you can descend at a higher speed (assuming throttle at idle), you can bring the speed back and get the gear down early. In real life you can ask for more track miles but that's unfortunately not an option in FS.When you are approaching your destination, keep track of roughly how many track miles you have to run (based on distance from the field and any anticipated routings) and get the aircraft in a position to successfully complete the approach. Some people use the 3 times table (i.e. FL350 requires just under 120nm, 350 / 3 = 116.7 but you'll be doing this in your head. It can be prudent to add ten miles to that to allow for slowing down too. So from FL350 you need 130 nm for the descent.) If you are high vary the descent rate to get back on track. FS ATC usually give you the runway in use fairly late on (80 odd miles) which can make life more interesting but that happens in real life too. Fairly recently IRL going to Hamburg the ATIS said we were using runway 23 (which meant flying past the airfield and back) so I kept us fairly high in anticipation of the extra track miles, with about 80ish nm to go we were told we would be landing on 15 with a tailwind (thanks guys!). In the ensuing plummet (thrust levers to idle, speedbrakes out, speed up to about 330 IAS) the aircraft overtook the cabin on the way down. This caused a number of bings from ECAM but sorted itself out in time (and neither of us felt any discomfort). By the time we arrived at about 5000 ft we were back on track and made a normal approach and landing. In the bus to the hotel none of the hosties said they noticed anything out of the ordinary about the descent, despite our 6000ft/min descent rate from about FL300 down to about FL80.In my experience FS ATC usually descend me early and in an effort to keep a Constant Descent Approach I get badgered to "expedite my decent to ...". Nevertheless, you can't blame FS ATC if you've got too much energy to fly the approach, in much the same way you can't blame ATC if you bugger up the landing. You're the pilot, you fly the aircraft, ATC have their own problems.I hope this gives you an insight to, what I believe, is the most difficult part of flying an airliner.Take care,Ian

The zig zag turns are because you are not keeping your heading.I strongly recommend you never accept the default ILS approach with vectors to final. That is put in for the novices and ignores anything like real procedures.Plus you don't know or have the waypoints which are the ATC targets for your aircraft.Always ask for an approach with a transition.The way to handle too steep a descent is to enter the holding pattern which is built into almost every FS2004 approach.Once you select the approach with transition on your GPS, it will fly your aircraft perfectly if you wish. You will enter a hold if you are too high automatically and after you descend, slowly and controlled, to the proper altitude, you will exit the hold automatically.But the other factor is that FS only works about 100-120 nm out from an arrival airport. Quite often it is in your best interest to drop to FL330 or FL320 about 150 nm out - just request a lower altitude from the ATC.

That all works. I wasn't 'blaming' ATC for anything. I forgot that it doesn't operate much beyond 120 miles so it all makes sense now. I'll check ask for lower altitudes til they are ready for me.

It was also probably expecting a faster decent rate from you.>That all works. >I wasn't 'blaming' ATC for anything. I forgot that it doesn't>operate much beyond 120 miles so it all makes sense now. I'll>check ask for lower altitudes til they are ready for me.

I usually descend at about 1500 fpm with my 787, MD11, A340, B747

Try 2000 fpm as you start your descent, then use Ian's (XWRed5) and figure in your head. When you are 100 miles out you should be about FL300, at 90 miles aim for FL270, 80 mliles FL240, etc.At about 80 miles, you'll get your approach/runway assignment and you can adjust your descent rate as required. Try it and see for yourself.R-