Hi Guys,I've been considering purchasing RC for some time now due to frustrating instructions from the default ATC and would like to know if RC will overcome them e.g.Approaching GCLA for landing rwy1 and ATC wanted to keep me at 6500' even when I was only 5 miles out which would then have meant a 'dive' in.... or the infamous direction stright through the mountains!?Will it sort these issues?Many thanksMike

Hi Mike,I see GCLA is La Palma in the Canaries. All ATC programs require a bit of help when flying into airports in mountainous areas.RC handles things nicely with the NOTAMS option. This tells RC that the pilot may not be able to descend when instructed. All descents are "if able".Now clearly you need to descend safely and in these conditions it's best to include waypoints in your plan that will safely guide you laterally towards the approach. So rather than take instructions from RC when contacting Approach (40 miles out) you would elect instead to fly the IAP and RC will give you a descent clearance and leave you alone to fly the heading required.Hope that helps.

If in FSNAV for instance you create a plan and then manually add altitude restrictions to way points (so as to take note of terrain) will RC take note of them and limit your descent until after a particular waypoint that has such a restriction?Phil

Hi Phil,No it won't. It only reads lat/lon info from the flight plan. RC decides when to start you down and issues further descent instructions based on your distance from the airport.Your best bet in mountainous areas is to select an IAP approach on first contact with App (having ticked NOTAMS) and you can fly your own headings and altitudes to avoid flying into mountains.RC5 will be better in this respect but is still in early development.Cheers,

Hi Ray,On my example with La Palma I was coming in over the sea from the North and then to turn back to come in for runway 1 - default atc was trying to keep me at 6500 even though there was no need and it just meant I was too high by the time I had visual. Same happens when approaching lowi - it keeps you very high and then expects you to land within a few miles. How would RC handle this kind of approach? (i.e. would it keep me too high when I need to be lower - the opposite of the mountain problem)CheersMike

Hi Mike,The situation you describe at La Palma is identical to that I get at Tenerife South. If you fly on the downwind leg until 40 miles out from the airport you will then get further descent clearances but clearly this isn't something desirable. RC is just trying to stop you from flying into a mountain but because it doesn't know where the high ground is relative to the aircraft/airport it takes a very cautious approach :-)In situations like this you need to request an IAP when making first contact with Approach and you will be cleared down to the approach altitude and RC will let you fly the headings you want. In these situations include relevant waypoints in your plan to aid the approach.Same for LOWI. You need to include all waypoints for a safe approach. You cannot safely use the downwind/base/finals procedure in mountainous areas.Cheers,

Cheers for that Ray - looks like a purchase is required:9 Mike

Once you get it Mike you'll wonder how you ever put up with the default ATC.Cheers,

HiRadar Contact will be the best product for FS9 you'll buy all year. Since I purchased it a while back I have not used the default FS9 ATC at all.Regards and enjoy :-)

How do you turn off the default ATC? I hear the default ATC talking to AI planes. I turned down the volume on the ATC so I only hear Radar Contact via headset on networked computer.

http://www.jdtllc.com/FAQ.htm#17

Order placed last week:D CheersMike

Hi Mike,A wise investment :-) I'm sure it will transform your enjoyment of FS. Don't forget to do the tutorials. They really help to get to grips with the program.Cheers,

Its arrived already:D Oh dear I've already got a couple of days off work booked, was supposedly doing some jobs round the house - never mind, they'll still be there next week.Mike