Hi all. I will be 81 in a couple of days, and have been using every version of flight simulator since it was first introduced. Since it's inception into MSFS using the default flight planner and ATC to fly IFR airline routes I have enjoyed using FSX and then P3D all versions except V6. I always enjoy using the default flight planner and flying my flights with a VA. Visual landing are no problems and always turn off the AP around 1000 ft. AGL. I have tried to find a way to us MSFS 2020 for 4 years with no luck. The climb is no problem, but on descent ATC will always leave me WAY too high to make any kind of landing. Is there some way to make the default flight planner with ATC do what the FSX and P3D can do? Programing the FMC is something I would like to avoid. I never had to do it with the prior sims.

Thanks in advance. 

Bob G.

 

1 hour ago, Vineguy said:

I will be 81 in a couple of days

Pffft! You're just a whipper snapper. I'll be 83 in July . Nah nah na na nah. 😀

30 minutes ago, Ron Attwood said:

Pffft! You're just a whipper snapper. I'll be 83 in July . Nah nah na na nah. 😀

You're the whipper snapper.  I'm 87 and been there since the beginning.

Sorry, couldn't resist. 

To the point, I just quit using ATC for the same reasons. They would keep jerking me around and before I could do the last request they would change it.  Maybe the new update will correct that for us.

Roy

OMG! I've been out whippersnappered, 😕

😃

6 minutes ago, Ron Attwood said:

OMG! I've been out whippersnappered, 😕

😃

I gotcha too Ron, I was 87 in January!  😛

This whippersnapper contest reminds me of 2 2nd Lieutenants arguing about seniority. 

I don't use the MSFS facilities for flight planning or bother with the builtin ATC.  I do notice that after crafting a flight plan using Navigraph Charts, MSFS has on occasion modified my flight plan when I load it.  I think that several aspects of MSFS seem to have been designed by non-pilots for the general gaming crowd but I guess that's where the money is.

Jim Driskell

Default ATC has always been garbage in any sim. Get an ATC payware program.

1 hour ago, vgbaron said:

I gotcha too Ron, I was 87 in January!  😛

Dagnabbit!

I am such a novice!  Been flight simming since 1982.  Albeit I am only 75 years into life at this writing!  Nice hanging with you octogenarians! Recognize that several of you have been on this site since the late 1990's, before an event took out this website in the early 2000's,  Appreciate you setting the table for me, my contemporaries, and those who follow.

I also note that we all are significant donors to this site.  My hope is that those who follow us will embrace that by joining us to perpetuate this site. Avsim and association with you and other enthusiasts have without question multiplied my personal enjoyment over these years.  That benefit clearly equals or exceeds the cost of countless addons....

Edited May 20, 20242 yr by fppilot

4 hours ago, Vineguy said:

on descent ATC will always leave me WAY too high to make any kind of landing. Is there some way to make the default flight planner with ATC do what the FSX and P3D can do?

I'm a relatively young 43 so let's see if I can help 🙂

Unfortunately the default ATC is not very good (or at least consistent) at descending you in time to make your airport.  I've recently moved to using Beyond ATC for IFR flights, but prior to that I would always make a point of knowing roughly how far out I need to descend and if ATC did not tell me to descend I would start down anyway.  Multiplying your altitude in thousands of feet by 3 is a good rule of thumb.  ie if you're at FL300 you'd want to start down roughly 90 nm away from your airport.

ATC is very poor in this respect within msfs and all of its predecessors.  Personally, I just calculate my descent mentally using speed, distance and height required fairly roughly ensuring that I err on the side of caution. I make sure I get down a little early to be on the safe side.

If you are older or just can't do the calculations mentally, I would suggest just using a cheap calculator.

Hey !

I don't quite remember the last time I used the MSFS ATC, but I recall that I decided to ask for my onw step down altitudes from cruise, after planning them according to the mnemonic by @regis9

I ask ATC for a lower level as soon as my flightplan tells me I should start to get down.

Human age means nothing to me because I was already born 83. Eh.... in 83 😄

I highly recommend not using ATC at all but programming the flight management computer for a perfectly computer-assisted descent.

I quit IFR on cruise and use VNAV for decent.

10 hours ago, Vineguy said:

Hi all. I will be 81 in a couple of days, and have been using every version of flight simulator since it was first introduced. Since it's inception into MSFS using the default flight planner and ATC to fly IFR airline routes I have enjoyed using FSX and then P3D all versions except V6. I always enjoy using the default flight planner and flying my flights with a VA. Visual landing are no problems and always turn off the AP around 1000 ft. AGL. I have tried to find a way to us MSFS 2020 for 4 years with no luck. The climb is no problem, but on descent ATC will always leave me WAY too high to make any kind of landing. Is there some way to make the default flight planner with ATC do what the FSX and P3D can do? Programing the FMC is something I would like to avoid. I never had to do it with the prior sims.

Thanks in advance. 

Bob G.

 

Calculate your TOD and request a lower altitude from ATC