Ramberga

because you can't land at a controlled airport without a clearance. Your initial post includes "Washington Center, N7WA, Inbound At 6,000 Request ILS Approach to Runway 05R" as part of your dialogue. That is an IFR request, so the flight is not "obviously VFR".

Your example is a VFR flight, not an IFR flight needing a flight plan. Just take off VFR without a flight plan, shoot the approach and call Tower for landing clearance.

Awesome Spiny - they were designed with general aviation in mind, especially VFR flights. With IFR, you pretty much just follow along with instructions from ATC. But with VFR flights, the pilot is more responsible for traffic separation, airspace entry and so on. Things like opening/closing a VFR flight plan with a flight service station, requesting touch and goes and staying in the pattern, flying into and out of uncontrolled airports and so on require very different actions from the pilot. Why even bother with opening a VFR flight plan with FSS??? Because, if you crash and have not filed a plan with flight service, no search-and-rescue will commence for a LONG time. Good luck! This is totally different than being on an IFR clearance where ATC knows where you are at all times (and even track you). If you follow the example flights in the 'documentation/flight scenarios' folder of the P2A install, they will show the typical procedures and dialogue that is commonly used in a GA flight. Honestly, if I had never become a GA pilot, or had never flown with a GA pilot, I would have no clue what procedures to follow with a flight. That was the basic reason behind creating the documents. Enjoy! Pete

Scottish wings - after you say to tower, "Tower <call sign> ready for takeoff runway <departure runway> request to remain in pattern", tower will ask you to report downwind and final. On final, if you say "tower <call sign> on final runway <runway> touch and go", tower will clear you "for the option". If you want to proceed with a touch and go, respond with "cleared for touch and go runway <runway> <call sign>". On final, if you say "tower <call sign> on final runway <runway> full stop", tower will clear you "to land". If you want to proceed with a full stop, respond with "cleared to land runway <runway> <call sign>". Most times, P2A will allow you to respond without using the runway number, so "cleared for touch and go <call sign>" will work, too. I think it is always a good idea to include the runway number, so ATC knows you are the same page as them.

Beta 7e, released on 9/23/2023, contains a useful folder within its "Documentation" section of the Pilot2ATC version 2.7 download - where P2A's user manuals are currently found. In the Pilot2ATC_2021_x64 root directory, open the "Documentation/Flight Scenarios" folder. You will find: IFR Controlled Apt to Uncontrolled Apt Example.PDF IFR Controlled Apt to Controlled Apt Example.PDF IFR Uncontrolled Apt to Controlled Apt Example.PDF IFR Uncontrolled Apt to Uncontrolled Apt Example.PDF VFR Controlled Apt to Uncontrolled Apt Example.PDF VFR Controlled Apt to Controlled Apt Example.PDF VFR Uncontrolled Apt to Controlled Apt Example.PDF VFR Uncontrolled Apt to Uncontrolled Apt Example.PDF Each file contains example general aviation (GA) flight communications. using P2A's grammar logic. These example flights demonstrate the proper phrases and syntax to use, as well as proper procedures to follow in a real-life flight. Additionally, there is a document containing the most frequently used communications between ATC and the pilot. This file shows the correct syntax for commonly used phrases between the pilot and ATC controllers: Pilot2ATC Frequently Used Communications.PDF Each of these files are in PDF format and can be printed and used as a handy hard copy for reference during a flight simulation session. I hope some will find the documents useful, especially those learning the Pilot2ATC verbiage as well as those less experienced in real-life flying.

This actually works really well. Engine sounds, etc., can be routed to the main speakers and bypass the equalizer completely (select "output device" in Windows audio mixer for each program running). Then P2A's sound can be routed through the equalizer by itself (again, using Windows audio mixer). You can have full frequency sound for the flight sim program, while having P2A's sound routed through the equalizer. Works well.

Awesome Jack - I hope they might give people some insight into the protocol used on a real-life flight. Pete

Several VFR and IFR example flights, showcasing Pilot2ATC communications, have been added to the documentation folder, starting with V2.7.0 beta 6. The flight files are in the .PDF format and can be found in the main Pilot2ATC root directory/Documentation/Flight Scenarios folder. The example flights cover general aviation communication with ATC, along with proper procedures into and out of controlled and uncontrolled airports. IFR clearance, IFR release, VFR Flight Following, flight service station usage, radar vectors and so on are important concepts shown in the examples. Each flight file is an actual transcript between the user and Pilot2ATC. They show the proper syntax for phrases to use, the procedures to follow as well as the immense power of Pilot2ATC. Hopefully, they will be useful to some in the sim community - especially to those not experienced in real flying.

XP11 and its AI traffic.

I have a friend who is married to a Mac Studio platform. i really want him to experience Pilot2ATC, but of course it is incompatible. He has tried allocating resources to run XP and P2A, but it is not working. Can anyone help?

I set the timer to 30 seconds for GA airport and I had the identical traffic as you. It worked perfectly.

Isn't your call sign 'niner one'???

Totally agree. His passion for the product shows in his support. I usually use P2A for IFR flights, but have been trying out VFR without a flight plan lately. He has nailed it. Immersive, real-to-life.

Thanks Lon. How do you use P2ATC?? Spread the word! Pete

As a retired computer science prof and GA pilot flying the C172 and C182 planes in the 90s, I have been using P2ATC for a few years now. Renting a plane is out of my budget, so sim flying is my way of enjoying the skies these days. My main focus is trying to replicate the navigation and communication routine that I used to do when flying for real. Although scenery is lovely, being able to simulate the "human interactions" while flying is what makes Pilot2ATC so impressive for me. With all of its maps and flight planning and so on, I find that simply minimizing the main screen of Pilot2ATC and letting it do its work in the background to be its strength. It is an immersive experience to navigate and communicate with the controllers, just like in real life. - and have nothing other than X-Plane or MSFS being used for the visuals. Talking and listening and navigating while flying; that's Utopia for me. Adding ATC chatter and extra controller voices only adds to the realism. I love it. Artificial intelligence is a beast - a real beast - to simulate. With the myriad possibilities, exceptions and the like in human thinking, AI is as complex as it gets. Pilot2ATC shines in this regard. With each release or beta update, previously unseen issues are resolved and the program keeps getting better. And better. If you are on the fence about using Pilot2ATC, try it for free for a week. Dave - the owner and chief programmer - has hit a home run with this product. It is his passion, his knowledge, experience, programming expertise and willingness to listen to the sim community that is so outstanding. Nice going, Dave... A huge P2ATC fan, Pete