Morning-

Random question for you guys.  I am currently flying the PMDG 737NGX, via the FMC and using real routes from flightaware etc.  While I prefer to use the real routes, I still like to have a little communication with the default ATC, however when it's rainy/snowy etc, I receive the "request denied, airport is currently IFR," which even though I'm flying via the FMC and have the runway plugged in, obviously the FMC and ATC don't talk to each other.  I usually just land anyway, but was wanting to know if there's a setting somewhere to just override the IFR only in ATC and have it assume I'm coming in IFR.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Sounds like your flight plan in the default ATC was “filed“ as VFR...?

I don't use the default ATC, so I could be wrong.  Going back to previous FS versions, you had to have the flight plan also entered into the simulator flight planner as well.  In essence, just because you have it all plugged in the FMC, the simulator itself has no idea you are flying an IFR flight plan unless you tell it you are.  You'd have to manually enter it in prior to loading your flight or have a planning software that could generate a .pln file for you to open.

Yes, but even if I file as IFR, I still can't fly the actual SIDS and STARS correct?

You can to an extent, but you have to have those waypoints entered into the P3D flight planner as well.  It will get to a point where it will try and vector you off the path however as that is the logic it uses to set you up for the approach.

Thanks, I'll give that a whirl.

Keep in mind that if you are manually entering in your route to the flight planner, that many waypoints particularly on the newer RNAV SID/STAR's will not be found unless you have uodated the navdata in the sim itself.  Software that generates a .pln file I believe overcomes this by utilizing the geocoordinates.

I believe the "airport is currently IFR" is triggered for visibility conditions under 3 NM.

You could also try requesting an approach which has a transition attached to it... Then ATC would clear you to the transition waypoint and you could follow your STAR all the way to the waypoint at at that point be cleared for the approach and told to contact Tower. 

It's the easy little known workaround to fly STAR's using default ATC.

 

One thing that's kind of nice about default ATC is that you cna essentially do whatever you want, as long as you keep communicating with it. For example, a while back, I would tend to file an IFR flight plan (Without entering the SID and STAR into the flight plan, mind you), and then have the aircraft fly the SID and STAR regardless of what default ATC was telling me to do. I have found that, typically, as long as you end up where default ATC wants you to be, they will let you continue the flight without bugging you further. For example, even without a SID< they would typically vector me onto my flightplan. Usually I just follow the flight director instead, but since I always end up on course, ATC stops bugging me when that happens. I have found the same for the approach. At some point, depending on altitude, weather and destination airport, defualt ATC will always start to vector you. There is no way to let ATC know you want to do a STAR, so either you just do it (and ATC will keep telling you to do something different) or you follow their vectors. I usually do the latter, but times that I did a STAR, I would always acknowledge their instruction and then just do the STAR. The result is that ATC will not cancel your flightplan (as ATCdoes when you don't respond), just keep giving you amended instructions every so often, or complain that you're at the wrong altitude. Eventually, though, when you sort of get to where ATC wants you to be anyway, it's likely that it will then tell you to contact tower by itself. If not, well... you'll have to cancel the flight plan and manually switch, but it's likely that then you will end up in VFR and get the notification that the airport is VFR only.

Yup, sometimes if my initial clearance is fairly high (11,000 feet or so) i will not tune departure until i’m close to the first point they expect you to be at.  I normally include my Sid/star in my flightplan so it’s not an issue but this method works well if the runway changes from what I expected for example.