We had quit a lot of pilots going down the last few days in Amsterdam due to a bug in Squawkbox.

In real life, Schiphol Airport is located at -11 feet (below sea level). Flight Simulator 2000 is the first FS version that supports negative altitudes. As a result of this, it gives some problems when using it in SATCO environment. There are 2 things you need to be informed about:

1. Uncontrollable crashes around 2500 feet south and southwest of the airport.

FS2000 pilots running Squawkbox, experience heavy windshears when passing through 2500 feet when they approach or depart from Schiphol in south and southwestern directions. All engines fall out and the aircraft is suddenly uncontrollable. This is, again, caused by the fact that Schiphol is located below sea level and Squawkbox doesn't handle those values correctly. To solve this problem, do the following steps:

• Download and install the latest version of Peter Downson's FSUIPC module
• Open the FSUIPC.INI file, located in your \FS2000\Modules directory
• Change the option WindTransitions, found in the General section, from No to Yes
• Save the file and restart Squawkbox if necessary

That's all there is to it to provide a safe landing at Amsterdam Schiphol when using the SATSERV network.

2. Radar Display Problems

FS2000 pilots should be aware of the fact that their aircraft might not be visible on the radar screen when on the ground of EHAM airport; only the big ones like the 767 and up are visible. ProController is not able to interpret negative altitudes either. Flight plans however will be visible at all times. Because of this, FS2000 pilots should be able to report their exact position at the apron at all times.

FS98 users using FS6IPC> will not encounter any of the above mentioned problems at all.

We hope all this will be corrected in the new PC/SB versions.

Regards

Ed Peters
PR DutchVACC
http://www.dutchvacc.com
pr@dutchvacc.com