Requests for version 4

[Guest VCSIGDA]

Hi JD,Thanks for all your continued support.I have some requests for your next version that I would like your comments on.I mostly fly the 737-700 and I use the Jeppesen charts for my arrivals and approaches. I like to fly by the numbers (crossing restrictions and waypoints). On some approaches, I do let ATC guide me in.I do not know what it is in real life, but is it possible to contact the arrival airport sooner. Right now I can contact arrival for my weather around 40nm to 65nm away. I am well into the arrival stage of the charts and I find I am rushed if I have to re-program the FMC for another runway. I am managing ok if this is not the way it is in real life. Right now AS2004 lets me get my destination weather well in advance. Since I have Radar Contact on the widefs machine and AS2004 on the widefs machine to be able to here ATC through headphones, I need a pause key for Radar Contact's chatter so I can hear AS2004'S weather report. I would be getting a weather report from As2004 and chatter or ATC comes online with more instuctions and the both conflict with eachother. Two wave files at once is to hard to understand.Also if I want to fly by the numbers, I have to check the notams box for the arrival airport. This way when ATC tells me to fly a certain heading or altitude I just ignor them and continue flying by the numbers. I do not like to ignor ATC, and it would sound better if I can let ATC know my intentions. I would like to save the notams box for mountanious terrain.I am still trying to figure out what to do when I am at cruising altitude using the FMC and ATC tells me to decend. Do I wait for the FMC to start the decent or do I start decending because ATC told me. Again trying to fly by the numbers. Right now I do start decending because ATC told me so.---------------------other requests or issues----------------I think you have commented on this other request but I will just mention it again. It would be neat if we could take off VFR in a cessna, then along our flight we run into unexpected weather problems, which leads us to have the ability to pick up a IFR clearence in the air half way through our flight. Again just keep it to what happens in real life.a bug report-- I am having some issues where the chatter would not shut off, it would just continue to run and run, so I have to turn off the chatter. This happens close to arrival and sometimes in foggy low visibility weather.One other thing I would like to comment on is which runway ATC tells me to land at. The older version of Radar contact was closer to giving me the correct runway to land at (even if there was a ILS in place). We do have the option to request another runway, but we have very little time before ATC gives me another heading or altitude to fly. Even if the winds are clearly against the ILS equiped runway (ex. 25knot winds), ATC still tells me to land using the ILS equiped runway. The older version of Radar contact would tell me to land the other way using the LOC-Back Course. The older version would read the winds as being more important than a ILS.I fly using a widefs setup so this really is not a issue for me but for others, If I want to request a airport while in flight other than my two airports I can set in the Radar contact program, now the problem, I will be in full screen mode and when I want to look for another airport via the menus, FS2004 will jump out of full screen mode to where the blue box comes into view, now I can select an alternate airport using the scratch pad. A widefs setup is not effected this way.And of course, whatever you are able to do with AI traffic would be a help. Right now I do not use AI because they get in the way of my flight. This whole seperation issue is a big thing to program and to set up each aircraft to come in for a landing. Maybe with version 4, I can use AI again.Thanks a bunch and looking forward to your next release.Proud supporter of Radar ContactCYQRVincent

[jd 57]

>Hi JD,>>Thanks for all your continued support.>>I have some requests for your next version that I would like>your comments on.>>I mostly fly the 737-700 and I use the Jeppesen charts for my>arrivals and approaches. I like to fly by the numbers>(crossing restrictions and waypoints). On some approaches, I>do let ATC guide me in.>>I do not know what it is in real life, but is it possible to>contact the arrival airport sooner. Right now I can contact>arrival for my weather around 40nm to 65nm away. I am well>into the arrival stage of the charts and I find I am rushed if>I have to re-program the FMC for another runway. I am managing>ok if this is not the way it is in real life. Right now AS2004>lets me get my destination weather well in advance. Since I>have Radar Contact on the widefs machine and AS2004 on the>widefs machine to be able to here ATC through headphones, I>need a pause key for Radar Contact's chatter so I can hear>AS2004'S weather report. I would be getting a weather report>from As2004 and chatter or ATC comes online with more>instuctions and the both conflict with eachother. Two wave>files at once is to hard to understand.since doug is a real life controller, and getting weather 40 to 65 miles out has always been the standard, and he has never commented on it otherwise, i'm assuming it is the way it is.do you really need AS giving you the weather verbally, doesn't it know the arrival weather? can't you look at the arrival weather in AS's screen, and see what is happening? you're still not going to know what runway you're going to get. rc doesn't just base runway selection on winds.in v4, i will be looking at the runways fs ai planes are using, and use them to choose the arrival weather. so knowing the winds, aren't going to help you there either.>>Also if I want to fly by the numbers, I have to check the>notams box for the arrival airport. This way when ATC tells me>to fly a certain heading or altitude I just ignor them and>continue flying by the numbers. I do not like to ignor ATC,>and it would sound better if I can let ATC know my intentions.>I would like to save the notams box for mountanious terrain.can't you ask for an iap approach? rc isn't going to give you grief then, and you can fly the approach, just like your charts.>>I am still trying to figure out what to do when I am at>cruising altitude using the FMC and ATC tells me to decend. Do>I wait for the FMC to start the decent or do I start decending>because ATC told me. Again trying to fly by the numbers. Right>now I do start decending because ATC told me so.fmc's don't control the skies, controllers do. when they tell you to descend, it doesn't matter what the fmc says.>>>---------------------other requests or issues---------------->>I think you have commented on this other request but I will>just mention it again. It would be neat if we could take off>VFR in a cessna, then along our flight we run into unexpected>weather problems, which leads us to have the ability to pick>up a IFR clearence in the air half way through our flight.>Again just keep it to what happens in real life.i doubt if vfr makes it into v4.>>a bug report-- I am having some issues where the chatter would>not shut off, it would just continue to run and run, so I have>to turn off the chatter. This happens close to arrival and>sometimes in foggy low visibility weather.what time of day is it?>>One other thing I would like to comment on is which runway ATC>tells me to land at. The older version of Radar contact was>closer to giving me the correct runway to land at (even if>there was a ILS in place). We do have the option to request>another runway, but we have very little time before ATC gives>me another heading or altitude to fly. Even if the winds are>clearly against the ILS equiped runway (ex. 25knot winds), ATC>still tells me to land using the ILS equiped runway. The older>version of Radar contact would tell me to land the other way>using the LOC-Back Course. The older version would read the>winds as being more important than a ILS.as i commented earlier, v4 will be basing it's runway selection more on what the fs ai planes are doing, than equipment or winds. you can ask for a different runway, at any time up until final. so if you get a vector after talking to approach, you can still ask for another runway, i'll vector you there, no problem>>I fly using a widefs setup so this really is not a issue for>me but for others, If I want to request a airport while in>flight other than my two airports I can set in the Radar>contact program, now the problem, I will be in full screen>mode and when I want to look for another airport via the>menus, FS2004 will jump out of full screen mode to where the>blue box comes into view, now I can select an alternate>airport using the scratch pad. A widefs setup is not effected>this way.>>And of course, whatever you are able to do with AI traffic>would be a help. Right now I do not use AI because they get in>the way of my flight. This whole seperation issue is a big>thing to program and to set up each aircraft to come in for a>landing. Maybe with version 4, I can use AI again.you will be able to use ai at 100% with v4. i've posted many times what i've accomplished with the ai, and you will enjoy the busy skies. (the ai planes won't like it :-) )>>>>>Thanks a bunch and looking forward to your next release.>Proud supporter of Radar Contact>>CYQR>Vincent>>

[ronzie 21]

Just a side note Vincent:Using 3.1 with the latest build and FSUIPC, AI targets within a certain range are called out by RC ATC. You just have to make sure interact with AI is checked in the options panel.If we can assume you are landing at larger airports where IFR procedures are mandatory (or at least a mode C transponder when switching to visual approach) is required, a proper TCAS will help you adjust airspeed to maintain seperation and improve your situational awareness. The one I use is included in the EHSI with the Reality-XP Jet Line series and seeing the targets in the EHSI reporting relative difference in altitudes and trends in that difference during departure and approach phases really helps. I always land under NOTAMS and slow down if I see I am gaining on a forward target and if within reason change altitude to avoid a crossing target, direction within limits occasionally to avoid an enroute target or other traffic situations.This does nicely for me now and provides a solution until version 4 arrives where RC will participate in AI control.

[Guest Bob524]

jd... I have another request for version 4. When Departure tells you to contact Center, you have been given, up to this point, radar vectors, which usually put you on or very close to the airway.In real life, departure often, if not most of the time, gives you a last vector with instructions to intercept the airway on your own and then "proceed on course." Or he may turn you over to center and their first communication, after "radar contact of course, instructs you to fly a certain vector to intercept the airway. You may be several miles from the airway when all this happens. I think the departure routes out of a large airport make it impractical for Departure to vector you around within their airspace to get you established on the airway before contacting center. Maybe Doug could comment on this. Maybe it is not possible in Radar Contact because it would require you to have a map to determine what VOR radial makes up the airway. However, this is one of the options for getting back on course when coming out of an enroute "radar vectors" holding procedure.Bob

[Guest Bob524]

jd...I have a suggestion for version 4. Don't know whether it's possible or not, but I'll run it up the flagpole and see if anybody salutes it.When I was instructing in real life, one of the biggest problems I had was the student missing radio calls to him. I remember one incident in particulay where the student was taking a last check flight before taking his flight test. I was supposed to be along just for the ride. He sat there, bright, dumb, and happy when Cleveland departure called us with a question, whether we were level at 6,000 as I recall. After the second call, I began to feel uncomfortable (technically I was still in charge on that flight), and I asked the student if he thought that last transmission might involve us.In real life the same controller is controlling all the traffic. In other words, the voice is the same whether he's talking to you or to the other dozen or so flights he's controlling. With the student preoccupied with keeping the airplane upright and continuing to navigate toward point B, he frequently misses radio calls to him.In radar contact this is not a problem; he recognizes the call is to him because because that is "his controller's voice." It stands out from all the rest.Finally, my request. If it is possible, could we have OUR controller issue commands NOT directed to us but to other "victious" flights? This would keep us on our toes picking out calls to us from all the others in "our controller's voice.Bob

[jd 57]

already done