June 8, 20205 yr I noticed a couple of posts from various users referring to problems with PATC regarding descending, so I thought I would share my way of using ProATC X. This is not necessarily the “right or wrong” way to use PATC, it is however my way. One thing to note is that I use FS2Crew on all my flights, in this case the ProATC X co-pilot functions are disabled apart from "Contact controllers" and "Serve COM radios" *EDIT :- ProATC X development is currently paused as the author /developer had a very serious accident which has prevented him using the computer. As of this moment we are not sure whether or not development will continue. However, ProATC X works just fine and gives a very realistic approxamation of real ATC, especially if you use the relevant real ATC voices and set them to their respective country. SETTING UP ProATC X DO make sure you have set the correct folders, especially if you are using both P3D and FSX (SE). DO set the pilot's voice to the correct country for the airline you are flying (MA’VE creations has many voices for download) DO set the CDT slider if you are having problems with PATC crashing This is no longer needed and is not present in the latest version i.e. 1925 DO make sure you set the correct path to your weather program of choice. DO make sure you have run "makerunways" and updated the AIRAC (do this everytime you add or remove scenery or airports) CREATING A FLIGHTPLAN You can......create a perfectly good flightplan using ProATC’s own FP creator or use one of the many 3rd party add-ons available. I personally prefer SimBrief.com, who incidentally are also used by VAMSYS. It’s free and you can create an account here:- https://www.simbrief.com/system/ Don’t forget to set; the airline, the gate and your cruise alt. CLEARANCE DELIVERY and TAXI TO RUNWAY This is where you find out if you followed the advice above correctly...🤪 I was streaming the other day when someone came onto the chat and remonstrated with me that ATC is “not” contacted until after the “walk around”, however what the pedant in question was not aware of was that when using a combination of FS2Crew and ProATC X you must have all relevant flight info entered into the FMC “before” the second finishes his walk around. I am also not aware of what various SOPs from the very many different airlines do, but I’m sure they vary greatly. SO, if using FS2Crew and ProATC make contacting clearance delivery one of your first priorities. The first thing you will hear after clicking fly and OK on the box with your current AC (if using AS16 or ASP3D weather) will be the ATIS. Ah, let’s have a quick word about aircraft shall we? You can use PATC with any aircraft in your simulator if! you have “1” added said aircraft and “2” set the corresponding runway lengths. You “do not” need the aircraft to be listed like, for instance, the PMDG 737, 777 etc. I have it on good authority that more aircraft will be added in future updates*. So if using a listed aircraft i.e. 737, 777 (747, I use this by setting the path to the PMDG 777) Airbus etc, you will get after contacting clearance, the flightplan entered automatically into the FMC. If however the aircraft you are using is “not” one of the listed one’s, you must enter your own flightplan via SimBrief etc etc. ProATC will work exactly the same whether you enter the fp or it is entered by patc. So, ATIS is jabbering away, the next thing to do is switch frequencies, the correct frequency will already be entered just click the switch button and if Authentic ATC is ticked depending where you are “and” if you have set it up, you will hear ATC talking to your AI traffic. Once you have your SID and RWY don’t forget to double check which way the AI traffic is taking off! The PATC moving map will show you (this is assuming you have AI Traffic active) as sometimes if the wind is variable (if using real weather) you may find yourself taking off as AI is landing in the opposite direction (not great if you are aiming for “as real as it gets”) 3 Steps, (1) Ask for engine start (and pushback if needed) (2) Ask to taxi to runway (3) Ask for takeoff clearance. If PATC is the only map you have, don’t forget to zoom in for the taxi, especially at an airport like EHAM! As you near your designated runway patc will ask you to contact the tower (if you have set SERVE COM RADIO in patc options, this will be done for you). Just ask for permission and line up, unless you have an AI on final or in front of you in which case you will be asked to wait/and or told which number you are in the que i.e. number 3 to takeoff etc. ASCENT AND CRUISE Ascent will be fairly straight forward and pretty much follow the FMC (especially in the UK where constraints of 4, 5 and 6000 ft are common) most of the time you will be asked to climb towards your cruising altitude within a few minutes of takeoff. DESCENT Regardless of how you have set the option i.e. Told to descend or Ask to descend, you will see your TOD marked on the ProATC Moving Map, make sure you are setup to descend with all checklists done and instruments set (and if using FS2Crew, announce TOD and Descent checklist). ProATC seems to use common altitudes on the descent i.e. FL240, FL160, FL070 most of the time these instructions will get you to the required alt for your approach and landing; However! remember these words: YOU ARE THE PILOT!! Many airline pilots refer to themselves as glorified bus drivers, and in reality they are quite correct in as much as they will fly a regular route day after day week after week, consequently they know these routes, charts and airports like the back of their hands! You, on the other hand, a sim pilot with loads of enthusiasm and little knowledge (I disparage no one with that comment and include myself as it is the truth) do not know most of the airports we fly into as we do not see ourselves as bus drivers (boring, I know, I have been one) but adventurers zooming to destinations as yet unknown ( I would very rarely fly to same airport twice in the same year!). As a result we “do not” know all of the airports we are descending into, in fact I can honestly say that most of my descents are “blind” into an airport I have never seen before! therefore, and this applies even if you are not using PATC, you need to plan your approach with extra care. Consult the charts, check all the constraints so when PATC asks you to descend to 2000ft you will know whether it is (a) applicable and (2) safe to do so. The final decision is “ALWAYS” yours. APPROACH AND LANDING CHECK, CHECK, CHECK!...........The charts, the runway (which way is the wind blowing?), other AI Aircraft that may be on approach, decision height. The moving map is your goldmine, it contains all of the info you need for the flight from clearance to parking at your destination, info on the left includes RWY’s, ILS frequencies, COM frequencies and a plethora of really useful information, the MAP shows your route and airport parking, Takeoff positions (where you are handed over to the tower) are marked as is your parking position at the destination airport. DO NOT FLY WITHOUT THE MOVING MAP. If you use a 3rd party AI Aircraft program, you may, at times have to re-set said program to avoid conflict when taxiing to or from the runway, ProATC will stop encroaching AI but not always in a convenient position, so be warned. HOLDING In an earlier incarnation ProATC would throw in a hold at various airports. As you can imagine this was a bit “hit and miss” at times. Now you have to program your own holds (read the manual for how to accomplish this). EDIT :- I will cover this in my live stream. Edited June 8, 20205 yr by SierraHotel AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 4.2 32 gig ram, Nvidia RTX3060 12 gig, Intel 760 SSD M2 NVMe 512 gig, M2NVMe 1Tbt (OS) M2NVMe 2Tbt (MSFS) Crucial MX500 SSD (Backup OS). 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