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Planning help for a noob

Featured Replies

  • Author
47 minutes ago, pete_auau said:

simbrief is  quite  easy  and  fast  to do  once  you have  done  a couple  of  flights just  simple  copy  the  route  and  paste it  in p2a,  probably  takes  longer  to type  your  route  manually  in  🙂

I guess what i'm saying is why? What benefit does this plan-cut-paste give over doing it all in P2A ?

I've never used SImBrief but do use LittleNavMap a fair bit, but if it can all be done in P2A why not?

YT videos never seem to explain the why only just how they do it :)

 

  • Author
54 minutes ago, pete_auau said:

plenty of  utubes  out  there  showing  how  to set  it up  and etc

Maybe, and I am certain I have watched every single one of them, but.

A - they never set it up the same way

B - None of them have mentioned that "Live weather" must be used - this should be noted on the main web download page as it would have saved me a whole lot of pain because I never use live weather - I mostly only do VFR scenic flights in GA so in the evening when I have some time to fly its always dark and currently very windy and wet.

Pretty much means I cannot use P2A sadly.

  • Commercial Member

You can set the weather in the SIM and then set the Departure and Arrival Runways in P2A based on your set weather.

Set your altimeter to whatever you set up in the weather and then just leave the altimeter set to that for the entire flight.  When the controller gives you a different altimeter setting based on real weather, you can just read it back but not change it in the aircraft.

Someday MSFS will hopefully output the weather to FSUIPC.

You would use SIMBrief for a long flight where you want to fly airways, like from KJFK to KDFW.  Pilot2ATC can select IFR Procedures or accept manual entry of waypoints via typing or the map.  It just doesn't plan airway routes automatically.

Dave

 

  • Author

Thanks for that.

Thats good then with the airways as i never do long-haul, my flights are typically <1hr and no higher than IFR low.

I have been recommended to look at Rex Wether Force add-on to set weather and connect to P2A.

  • Author

Just tried another flight, this time as it was day time I went for live weather and NOAA in P2A.

Loaded a short route, loaded same route into FS, then into plane FMC - all looked good.

Connected good, green button.

File the plan - all good.

Then I notice no ATIS, check frq and its the one listed for Cranfield EGTC ATIS, no sound.

Check the voice engine on the config tab and voice plays well.

I then spent an hour basically talking to myself - the only response I could get was from the following...

"Cranfield Tower, Cessna Kilo Whiskey Delta", (my callsign for this plane is Golf-Delta-Kilo-Whiskey-Delta)

The response was...

"Cessna Kilo Whiskey Delta, this is tower, go ahead"

and that was the limit of response I could get, the phrases where showing on screen, probably with a 90% accuracy rate, but nothing from tower or ATIS at all.

I tried pretty much every single phrase in the list.

Have I missed a step?

  • Commercial Member

When you first connect, and if you have the CoPilot Changes Frequencies option enabled, P2A tries to set the active frequency to ATIS and the Standby Freq to Clearance Delivery, if one is available.  If you don't have that enabled, then you can use the Freq button to the right of the map to open the list of nearby frequencies and select the correct one.  

Most of the time, this will match the frequency llisted in charts, etc., but not always.  You must use the frequencies that P2A knows about.

If the frequency is valid, the controller name will display in the P2A Comm or STBY display on the main screen.  If it doesn't display, it won't work.

It appears you were able to communicate with tower.  Phrases like "Cessna Kilo Whiskey Delta ready to taxi" should have been recognized and responded to.  When you say the phrases were showing correctly, do you mean what you said was in Green and ATC was responding with text in white?  If so, then your volume settings are likely the problem.  

Click on the STBY display to open the Comm Panel.  Use the Volume UP button to set the volume to 100%.  Then check your Voices volume and set them all to 100%.  Also, check the Windows Volume mixer to be sure that volume is all the way up.

Dave

 

  • Author

No, what i said was in green but there no responses at all, only the one i listed above.

Clicking on the ATIS frq yielded nothing although it did tune the radio.

  • Commercial Member

It's possible it doesn't like your call sign, which would render all your phrases as invalid.

Try using a GA call sign with Mfg set to Cessna and Tail Number set to N43KWD.  This will yield a valid call sign of Cessna Kilo Whiskey Delta.

Also, try setting the Active Frequency to Ground or Tower and just saying "Say Altimeter", nothing else.  You should get a response with the local altimeter setting.

As for ATIS not playing, if it says EGTC ATIS in the Active COM display, then pressing the Active COM display to swap frequencies twice might get it going.  

Dave

  • Author

Thanks, 

I'll try this out later.

  • Author

Almost but not yet...

Changed the callsign but not sure it made any difference.

There was a tick-box - "P2A provides ATIS" - that was off, its on now and ATIS is alive and working.

I then pressed the PTT button and said "Cranfield Tower, Cessna kilo whiskey delta"

P2A Speech reply:- "Cessna kilo whiskey delta, this is cranfield tower, go ahead"

I said "Cessna kilo whiskey delta ready to copy"

P2A Text reply:- Assigned ctrl: EGTC Tower 123.92 - in green text

I then tried saying "Say altimeter" and got the same text response as above - Assigned ctrl: EGTC Tower 123.92

I just can't get a speech response despite it seeming to recognise my input.

  • Commercial Member

That "Assigned Ctlr ...." only happens when the Frequency changes.

I suspect the problem is you don't have all the MSFS ATC options turned off so it is controlling  the radios:

Options -> Assistance->Piloting->AI Radio Communications (ATC) - OFF
Options -> Assistance->Navigation Aids->Route & Waypoints - OFF
Options -> Assistance->Navigation Aids->Taxi Ribbon = OFF
Options -> Assistance->Navigation Aids->Landing Path - OFF
Options -> Assistance->User Experience->ATC UI Panel Open at Start - OFF
Options -> Assistance->User Experience->Show Message Log in ATC Menu- OFF
Options -> Assistance->User Experience->ATC Voices - OFF
 

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