Hi,

yesterday i did a flight in Spain, IFR flightplan but i was given an Visual Approach in Barcelona (Airport was VFR).  I was flying a GA plane.

Normally on a IFR Flighgtplan the waypoints take me basically all the way to final. But when given a Visual approach i can only select VECTORS and STRAIGHT as transistions in the G1000.

Both seem to just extend a straight line from the runway. 

Shortly after reaching the airport the ATC told me to fly heading 090, which basically put me on  a crosswind to my assigned runway. There were no further instructions.

How would you approach such a situation in real life or at least as realistic as possible inside the sim? I flew a left hand downwind and base and landed. But i felt a bit lost at such a busy airport just doing my usual pattern when there are like 4 runways and i need to get really low and basically cross other runways during my downwind.

Edited June 12, 20223 yr by wiggum

Don't use the default ATC, it's worthless... I'd approach this situation by using Vatsim if you want to fly with ATC ;).

In reality, such a situation would likely not occur, and if it did it would be accompanied with an explanation and further instructions.  The default ATC can't handle any of that, so there's no real way to compare it to what would happen in reality. 

Ok, but i dont have time for VATSIM. 

SO how could i "roleplay" the situation and make a decently realistic approach?

I don't use VATSIM or the stock ATC.

Guess you could say I "roleplay" too.  Just simply use your imagination and self navigate.  Its really that simply.  If a flight simulator developer was able to construct an ATC system that organized and sequenced the worlds air traffic into a seamless flow into and out of the worlds busiest airports.....it'd be worth a few billion dollars!

Ironically, people think the ATC system is some exact pattern day in and day out, with exact crossing restrictions, and exact vectors.  Try flying into Florida during the summer and learn that crossing restrictions are void because aircraft are descending and climbing through the same gaps in the weather.  Try flying into a medium sized airport during a frontal passage with winds at 50 kts at 3000 feet agl...and you'll get miss vectored through final with the controller saying "uhh...turn another 20 back left and rejoin".  And don't forget the sound of the supervisor stepping in and interrupting the training controller.  These days that happens more than you'd think.

Anyway..my point:  The only way to experience real ATC at the moment is to go fly in real life..if you can't..then I say just make it all up in your head.  It is probably is just as unpredictable and messy as in real life! 

You don't typically load in a visual on our GPS unless you were very unfamiliar with the airport or it was night.

In real life once approach clears you for the visual you just navigate to a point about 1 mile final (since you said you were flying GA).  If you're flying a jet I'd shoot for a 3-5 mile final.  Every 300 ft vertically is about 1 nm - for a standard 3 degree glide path.  So at 5 mile final you could be about 1500 ft above the runway.