:)Yes.. it happened.I was flying from KPSP (Palm Springs) to KSAN (San Diego).Flew the DP and STAR (combined Route) I have the flight plan (that was created using the FSBuild).ATC cleared me to 12000 for the most part.It basically left me alone to fly my route for the most part..but when I was about 30 nm from KSAN, it started asking me to descend ...around 25nm It started to vector me and asked me to descend to 8000, before I could even acknowledge that.. it asked me to descend to 4000. At this point I was 25 nm EAST of San Diego. there are mountains there...Since I was using Active Sky (real world weather), it was clear weather... so I could see the mountains staring at me. so I started climbing.. and the ATC kept busting me for not maintaing my given altitude... then it asked me to descent to 3800 to intercept the ILS 27 approach to San Diego. (but there is no ILS there.. there is a LOC 27 approach there) It was 25-35 nm out. But the words they used ..I don't remember clearly.. It could have been 8 miles. i.e correct. The ATC's words when they cleared me..may have been ..' you are 8 nm out. (Not sure of this). Le me know who to send that flight plan.BTW.... I have been consistently asked to intercept vectors around 25nm or more.Manny

you have a couple of options.rc thinks the MSA for KSAN is 3700. if you know the msa for KSAN is higher, then override the MSA on the controller's page. i will never descend you below the MSAwhenever you are flying into mountainous areas, it is a good idea to check the NOTAMS box on the arrival airport (Departure for that matter too, if appropriate). then you won't be ######ed at for not being at the assign altitude.the second option is covered in the tutorials. did you fly any of them? the first is a trick/tip that might be worth checking each time you load a .plnjd

Hi jd,what second option are you talking about?No.. I haven't done any of the tutorials. MannyYup.. the MSA in the AC6 thingi is 3700.Where from are you getting this? Do I have to go check and set those figures up every time?and why letting me lose at 25nm? how do I set this up...such that I could get vectored closer and let me intercept ..like 15 nm our or so?

2 options, adjust the msa or set notamsi suggest you fly one of the tutorials, especially the one that discusses notams. it is designed for airports in mountainous aressince i didn't have the msa of every airport available to me, i took the database of topography, which gives me elevation of every 30 minutes of lat/longthen i took every airport in ad, and determined what the highest point in the topography database was, in a 20 mile radius of the airport, and added a couple of thousand of feet. if high ground didn't happen to fall at the 30 minute intervals, the msa on the controllers page might be a little off.so yes, it would always be a good idea to check what i think the msa of a given airport is, compared to real life.intercept headings to final at 25 miles are pretty common for near straight in approaches. (travelling west, landing west). if you can't receive the localizer, fly the heading until the bearing to the airport is the same as the runway heading, and then fly the runway heading. when you are close enough to receive the localizer, make the necessary adjustmentsjd

3800 at 8 miles out could be correct, although usually you intersect at 13 or so. At 14.3 I-UBR for DME inbound to 27 is 4,000 on the profile.MSA is 5,200 in the area coming in from NE to SE as you state at the 25 nm radius of the inner marker (AN NDB) for 9.Have you run the database builder and also checked the properties of the afcads for this airport that the database is developed from?

>3800 at 8 miles out could be correct, although usually you>intersect at 13 or so. At 14.3 I-UBR for DME inbound to 27 is>4,000 on the profile.>>MSA is 5,200 in the area coming in from NE to SE as you state>at the 25 nm radius of the inner marker (AN NDB) for 9.>>Have you run the database builder and also checked the>properties of the afcads for this airport that the database is>developed from?>>>No I have not 'run the database builder and also checked the properties of the afcads for this airport that the database is developed from'.:)BTW.. how do I do that? I think I ran something as part of the install of AC6. Is that the db builder you are talking about?

Start RC4 (Not running FS). Main page lower third utilties section. Click rebuild scenery database. Do this whenever after adding airport sceneries and/or afcads _after_ running FS to update the FS scenery.cfg.

Oh..I did that after the initial install (two weeks ago?) and I have not added any scenaries after that.

All right.. I sat and read thru the manual this time. :)I understand NOTAM now. (but why did you guys call it NOTAM for that functionality? am I missing somehting?)OK.. If I select NOTAM, ATC will not bust my chops for for altitude non compliance. But..how would I know the safe altitude at that point? (assuming I am in the soup). What happened to me..was on a clear day..so I could see the mountains...so I tried to avoid em. I won't have that option when I can't see.Ofcourse I can always request pilots discretion and descend on my own... Hmmmmm.... But I see y'alls point about, how would RC know the altitude at the position I am in and and the altitude ahead of me.The MSA is a good indicator and you have that number, the issue is you (RC) seems to use it even before the 25nm. I think.. Another way to get around this issue is..for me to descend slowly so that I would only reach the MSA altitude (given to me by ATC) within the 2nm. hmmmm....Manny

>>how would I know the safe altitude<