Emergency ATC

**Kapitan** · 02-25-2009, 05:58 PM

Back in 2005 when FSX was about to be released there was a promotional video by Microsoft about the game. It showed some people playing and interacting (online), from laptops, showing game features...

I was excited...and when actually grabbed the game...disappointed. Let me explain:

Sometimes its nice flying super-real with flight plan, fuel calculations, start-up sequence, push-back, etc. But usually I have only an hour or so to play so I like chosing an airport and hitting Fly, setting trim, flaps, full power and take off.

After awhile flying high and not so sure where exactly I am, I press gps or map and chose a nearby airport so I can land and end the game.

Calling ATC is absolutely boring cause no matter where you are it will always tell you to enter the airport pattern circuit, even thou the selected airport/runway is directly in front of me, (thats why I chose it), and I really WANT to land NOW.

Here is where the promotional video was misleading. In it a guy shouts in a microphone from his laptop..."Vancouver Tower, this is AA-4075...this is an emergency, I need to land straight away!!"

and Vancouver would respond directing him to a straight-in, clear to land.
I thought this was something the game was capable.

Later I realized it was just an online flight acting made for the promotional video. So the actors on the movie were flying online and speaking thru a mike...ok. But thats not a "feature" exclusive from FSX. Flying online and that scene was possible in the previous version FS9 so inserting it in an FSX promotional video caused confusion. What was new about that??

I was really hoping I could call any ATC...declare an emergency, and come straight to land.
Wonder if any third parties offer this?
K

**rhymin** · 02-25-2009, 07:04 PM

i agree, would be lot better, i was thinking the same the other day when i lost power due to icing, later found out there was an engine anti-ice system :P

not sure about the third party apps

the dodgy fsx dx10 screenshots wern't exactly what we got when finally released either :P

**mavrocket** · 02-25-2009, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by rhymin

the dodgy fsx dx10 screenshots wern't exactly what we got when finally released either :P

That is definetely the worst trick played on me by MS ever... and I've been flying MSFS since version 5...

As for ATC, I think that there is no way to change the way the game engine does the ATC, but there are some addons that will play live ATC or more exact ATC inside FSX. Take a look on fspilotshop.com for a program called VoxATC, except that I remember reading another thread that said the program was a load of junk... just be careful...