I'm a RW PPL(A) SEP(L) pilot flying in Poland. Addition of Pilot2ATC to MFS2020 is a game chanher to me when it comes to realism.

I have several questions, I wonder if it's a god idea to have them all in one thread, so at least I numbered them.

Questions specific to ATC conventions in Poland (PL):

1. Unlike US, in PL we don't specify the aircraft type in the calls. I'm flying Tecnam P2008JC and my callsign when talking to ATC is just "SP-MGT". How to achieve this in Pilot2ATC?

2. I entered "Siera Papa" as "Call sign" and "MGT" as "Flight/Tail Number". But this results in ATC in Pilot2ATC calling me sometimes "Mike Golf Tango". In PL the abbreviated callsign is the first and last two letters, "Sierra Golf Tango" for "SP-MGT". Any way to achieve this in Pilot2ATC?

3. In Poland we precede every call with the full name on the station called e.g. for EPWS "WROCLAW TOWER - SIERRA PAPA MIKE GOLF TANGO - requesting...". P2A sometimes recognizes "WROCLAW TOWER" in funny ways. Any way to avoid this?

4. Does it matter if the "SP-MGT" is at the beginning or after the end of my calls? When I place it at the beginning, P2A sometimes recognizes "SIERRA PAPA" if funny ways as "Popeye...". Any way to avoid this?

5. Any way to use European ATC phraseology instead of US (e.g. "Runway vacated" instead of "Clear of active")?

 

And some general questions.

6. Sometimes Pilot2ATC is specyfying the landing runway with a tail wind. I'm using NOAA weather in P2A and Real Weather in the sim. And P2A gives me runway 32 with wind from 110 at 6 knots. How to avoid this? Should I reduce the Max Tailwind "P2A Setup" to 0 kts? Or will it cause trouble when variable winds perpendicular to the runway will happen? Should I edit the max tailwind per airport in the "Gate and Taxiway maintenance" or globally in the "P2A Setup"?

7. Is there any option, when flying VFR without a flight plan, to request a specific runway? I have "Force Pilot Ruway Selection" enabled, but P2A ATC insist on 32, even if I specifically request runway 14.

8. How to request landing on uncontrolled field without assigned frequency. Will P2A Flight Infromation Service (in case of my region in PL 126.300) guess the closest airfiled? Should I somehow request landing on specific filed and P2A will remember it and take inco account, when choosing the pattern and runways?

9. When/how to specify that I would like do do some pattern work? "Ready for departure to remain in pattern" just before departure and taking the active runway?

10. Any way to request right vs.left pattern - or should I specifypattern direction in "Gate and Taxiway maintenance"?

11. Any option to remove runways P2A recognizes? I imported the runways with "MakeRunways" then in "Gate and Taxiway maintenance" deleted some some red lines depicting runways which doesn't exist in reality. Additionally if unchecked "Take off" and "Land" in the "Runways" tab for the runways I want to get rid off, but ATC still recognizes these unchecked runways. Could it matter that I edited the runways in "Gate and Taxiway maintenance" while flying? Should the P2A be reconnected or restared to take the edits into account?

12. I have a home cockpit with one additional Windows tablet on which I run AirManager and P2A via WideFS, to avoid FPS impact on my main PC running 3 displays. I'm contemplating trying the VR path, so I believe I will need to have the P2A on the main PC to be able to interact with it while wearing VR googles. Should I buy 2 separate P2A licenses (i'm still withing my trial period) for my tablet (non-VR flying) and main PC (VR flying)? While the P2A is excellent, 2 licences are a bit on the expensive side.

13. Is this possible to transfer the P2A Data folder between the 2 PCs, without the need to repeat the taxiway/gate editing on each PC separately?

I hope there's nothing unlucky about 13 questions in a single post.🙂  I will try and answer them all by the numbers.

1 & 2.  P2A generally follows the US conventions when it comes to things like call signs.  You might try experimenting with a Military call sign instead of GA.  The military call sign can be set to just about anything.

3. Proper name recognition is quite difficult.  P2A tries to load all of the names near a flight plan into the grammar, so flying with a flight plan will help.  Even flying VFR, you can create and file a flight plan, just don't call for clearance and you should be able to fly as if without a flight plan...meaning you will be released from ATC once you get out of the Tower controller area.

4. Generally, when making a request, your call sign should be at the beginning of the call, right after the name or type of controller your calling...like "Tower, <CallSign> request....".   When reading back instructions or other information, it should be at the end of the readback.

5. Adding various regional phraseology is on the long term list of things to improve P2A, but that will require a large investment to develop, so it is not going to be here around the corner.

6. You can reduce the tailwind component to a lower level and improve the odds of not getting a runway assignment with a tailwind.  I would not recommend 0, but it should actually be OK if you don't mind occasionally being told there are not runways available.

7. Yes, you can say when on the ground, "Ground, <CallSIgn> request departure runway 1 4" and they should oblige.  On approach to a controlled field, after you're given a runway you don't want, you can say "Approach, <CallSign> request arrival runway 1 4" and that should get the controller to approve that runway.

8. An uncontrolled field is uncontrolled, so you can land on any runway you like.  You don't request landing because there is no one to request it from.  P2A follows the US rules here also.  You announce your position on the CTAF frequency as you enter the pattern, usually starting before you enter downwind.  '

9. Yes, that phrase should do it.

10. You should set Pattern Direction in TaxiMnt.  Pattern direction does not change for a given runway.  It is a "published" attribute of the runway. P2A assumes the default of a Left pattern for single runways because pattern direction is not published in sources like AIRAC data.  If you are familiar with an airport, you can change this in TaxiMnt.

11.  You must shutdown and restart P2A after doing edits in TaxiMnt because the data has to reload.  If you delete runways or taxiways, be sure that you are not cutting off taxi routes to remaining runways, etc. 

12. If you are going to be using the software on two PCs, then you would need two licenses.  We give a 25% discount on the second license.  If you are going to move it permanently to the other PC after using it on the laptop, then we can reset the license server to allow that.  

13. Yes.  The edits made in TaxiMnt are stored in the P2ABaseData.mdf file.  You would have to move that file along with the corresponding log file named P2ABaseData_log.ldf.

 

Dave

 

Thank you for your comprehensive answers. I will need some time to digest them.

Consider adding to your nice to have features list the option for specifying explicitly the full and shortened call signs. In PL case it would be "SP-MGT" and "SGT".

By the way in PL call signs SP originates from "Skrzydlata Polska" which means "Winged Poland" or "Poland on the wings". Isn't this poetic? 😉

Edited December 12, 20205 yr by Steku

Interesting.  Where does the MGT come from?

Dave

SP- as "Skrzydlata Polska" as "Winged Poland" is a nice story... but just an urban legend. 🙂
The abbrev. SP means "Statek Powietrzny" - what could be translated as "Air Ship" and is used for almost any kind of vehicle moving through the air in Poland. Also a hot air balloon would be called SP-XXXXX.
The third letter should be a "code of ownership". An "A" for example would mean, this plane is owned by an aeroclub. A "M" should be emergency services. But looking at the list, they got a little chaos in their system. Maybe nobody expected such many plane owners back then.
In Austria it's similar. The first two letters are OE- then followed by a letter that is the class of the plane. F.e. Single engine, multi engine up to XXXlbs TOW and so on.

Thank you for the explanation!

Dave