How do you choose the landing runway ?

[Nemo 1,305]

...especially at low wind conditions. I'm mostly flying PMDGs 737 and usually, I start programming my approach and runway when I've passed TOD. How can I find out which runways MSFS would assign to ai traffic (FSLTL) at that stage of the flight? There is nothing worse than ai using the opposite direction.

Edited April 10 by Nemo

[turbomax 3,299]

10 minutes ago, Nemo said:

How can I find out which runways MSFS would assign to ai traffic (FSLTL) at that stage of the flight? There is nothing worse than ai using the opposite direction.

what does the tower or local ATIS say?

[arkob145 4]

In-sim ATIS is probably your best bet, but this also helps https://flightsim.to/file/42731/aiflow

[Nemo 1,305]

11 minutes ago, turbomax said:

what does the tower or local ATIS say?

I cannot reach the tower from that distance (usually 80-100nm).

[Mace 1,942]

17 minutes ago, Nemo said:

I cannot reach the tower from that distance (usually 80-100nm).

You can use an app like LittleNavMap to find destination weather, which should give a pretty good idea of which runway to use.  This is what I do 90% of the time.

Also, some aircraft have destination wx in their EFB. 

Also, I believe MSFS now has a metar capability in its wx dialog, just type in the ICAO, although I never use this

There are also resources on the net for this, for example in the USA there is:
Aviation Weather Center

I usually plan my approach runway in PREFLIGHT, I don't like doing it before TOD.  For long-range flights or if you think winds have changed, you can get the TAF at websites life Metar/TAF:
METAR, TAF and NOTAM decoder for all 67,960 airports (metar-taf.com)

[Virtpilot 156]

I always check the Flightradar24, what runway real traffic is using. Usually Simbrief says the same, if not, i go with the Flightradar24.

[Farlis 2,299]

1 hour ago, Nemo said:

...especially at low wind conditions. I'm mostly flying PMDGs 737 and usually, I start programming my approach and runway when I've passed TOD. How can I find out which runways MSFS would assign to ai traffic (FSLTL) at that stage of the flight? There is nothing worse than ai using the opposite direction.

Since I always use realtime weather I look at Flightradar24 to see which Runway is active, or if it is a U.S. Airport at the published ATIS.

 

I don't fly with AI (or rather I fly with PSXT AI which uses realtime injected Traffic, so they will fly exactly what you can see on FR24), or I fly on Vatsim.

The problem on Vatsim are the unmanned stations. I find that often pilots who fly into a currently uncontrolled airport choose the approach Runway on a whim instead of checking what is going on in the Real World. At Vienna for example I keep on seeing people flying towards the wrong runway, which of course makes it harder for people who fly to the real world active Runways.

[Nemo 1,305]

25 minutes ago, Virtpilot said:

I always check the Flightradar24, what runway real traffic is using. Usually Simbrief says the same, if not, i go with the Flightradar24.

I did that today on approach to KORD. FR24 showed all a/c landing at 27/28 runways. When I arrived, FR24 was still showing these runways in use, BUT, MSFS decided to use the opposite runways. The problem only exists when winds are very low, or when we have crosswind conditions.

Edited April 10 by Nemo

[Gazzareth 817]

I just get assigned a runway from p2atc, won't bother with AI traffic until there is an ATC system that can sensibly control them & myself....

 

G

[Bobsk8 12,825]

PF3 assigns me the active runway in MSFS 2020. I can chose another runway if I want to. 

[edpatino 1,971]

https://runway.airportdb.io

[Fielder 3,697]

 I roll the bones. Dice !  Just kidding....

[s0cks 132]

1 hour ago, Mace said:

You can use an app like LittleNavMap to find destination weather, which should give a pretty good idea of which runway to use.  This is what I do 90% of the time.

Yeah, LNM will even tell you best runways to use based on the weather.

I don't fly airliners, but I thought these days the FMS could show you weather and active runway?

[vadriver 248]

1 hour ago, Nemo said:

The problem only exists when winds are very low, or when we have crosswind conditions.

Aircraft seen on FR24 can be using downwind ops for a range of reasons ..... noise abatment etc.

Your sim can't simulate that unless (as in P3D addons), you have controlled AI.

[precog 101]

For small airports overfly and check the windsock.  A bit hard to do in msfs though as the windsock is hard to spot