AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL ADVENTURES (INTERACTIVE):
Many thanks to all the air traffic controllers & pilots across Australia who have
contributed to the realism of this package.
Due to the constant review of aviation procedures, these radio transmissions may not
reflect current procedures / phraseologies, nor may the traffic pattern / runway usage
heard as background radio chatter, correlate with each specific simulator flight.
‘V5.1’ users: Providing you also have Flight Shop™ installed, you can
access our free
inclusion of pre-compiled air traffic control adventures for selected routes, & the
‘Aussie ATC’
background radio ‘feature’ adventure. From the Aircraft menu select your desired
aircraft. Now select the appropriate departure airport (choose domestic terminal if this
option exists) from the ‘Australia Vol.2 (or Vol.1 as applicable) PII’ scenery
area via the World menu, as per the previous ‘How to Start’ instructions. This
will correctly position your aircraft at the terminal. Then, from the Options menu choose
Adventure Factory & choose the ATC adventure that you want to fly (of course this
should match the departure airport that you have just selected), then click on OK.
‘V6.0 & FS98’ users: Even without Flight Shop™ installed, you can
access the free ATC adventures included. From the Aircraft menu select your desired
aircraft. From the World / Go To Airport menu, select the appropriate departure airport
within the ‘Australia Vol.2 (or Vol.1 as applicable) PII’ scenery area (choose
domestic terminal if this option exists). From the Flights / Adventures menu choose the
ATC adventure that you want to fly (of course this should match the departure airport that
you have just selected), then click on OK.
A list of available adventures is provided in this section. Each adventure with its
description, is also included in the ‘Flights / Adventures’ (or ‘Options /
Adventure Factory’ in V5.1) menu.
If you ever experience your aircraft ‘crashing’ at the start of an interactive
ATC adventure, temporarily switch crash detection off prior to selecting the adventure.
At the beginning of the adventure you will be asked to choose how you would like air
traffic control to communicate with you.
VOICE ONLY = 'CTRL W' TEXT = 'CTRL X' VOICE & TEXT = 'CTRL Y'
You should then have a pen & paper handy & select the ‘Airways Clearance
Delivery’ frequency, which for all adventures is 127.50, & press 'CTRL K'. If you
need your clearance repeated, you can request this (refer to the listed key commands).
Whenever you change frequency, or are instructed to contact the next air traffic control
sector (even if the frequency remains unchanged) you must always press 'CTRL K' which
alerts the controller that you are ‘on frequency’, otherwise you will not
receive any further instructions! Listed below is a summary of key commands which may be
used during the adventure.
'CTRL F' - FPAP ON (Autopilot, which in addition to flying the aircraft for you, also
responds to air traffic control instructions)
*In FS98, the autopilot settings only, may have been set for you with this command.
You may then need to turn the individual autopilot selectors on, refer to your FS98
documentation.
'CTRL E' - FPAP OFF (Switches off the autopilot described above - note that FPAP is only
available once airborne & until final approach)
'CTRL K' - CONTACT FACILITY / ADVISE CONTROLLER THAT YOU ARE ‘ON FREQUENCY’
'CTRL R' - REQUEST LAST INSTRUCTION TO BE REPEATED
'CTRL W' - REQUEST WEATHER UPDATE (must change to Flight Service on 125.00 first, then
back to ATC afterwards)
'CTRL I' - REQUEST SWITCH FROM ‘IFR’ TO ‘VFR’ OR FROM ‘VFR’
BACK TO ‘IFR’ (must be with Flight Service on 125.00)
'CTRL G' - REQUEST MISSED APPROACH
'CTRL \' - REQUEST RADAR CHECK
'CTRL D' - END ADVENTURE
After successfully landing at the conclusion of an adventure & while still listening
to the tower frequency, you will be instructed to contact a ‘Ground’ frequency.
This is not necessarily the published ‘Ground’ frequency of the airport, it is
however a specially assigned ‘Ground’ frequency that you must make contact with
('CTRL K'), to complete the adventure. If the ground frequency is the same as the
published ground frequency for the arrival airport, you may want to delay pressing 'CTRL
K' until you’re parked at the terminal, so that you can continue to listen in on ATC.
After the ‘adventure ending’ dialogue appears on screen, you may continue
further flying & if you wish, select the ‘Aussie ATC’ adventure along with
the published airport frequencies (or FIS if
applicable), or perhaps start another interactive ATC adventure (using the instructions at
the beginning of this section).
Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to find your own aircraft programmed into one of the
adventures listed here ... or perhaps an aeroplane that you have flown in at some time.
Maybe also you’ll find the airline & flight number, or route of a journey that
you have flown when you used to be just a ‘passenger’!
‘JET’ aircraft have been flight planned at 480 knots, & at a flight level
(generally above F200, or above 20,000 feet).
‘FAST’ refers to a high performance twin engine turbine, flight planned at 240
knots & at around F150 or 15,000 feet.
‘MEDIUM’ refers to a twin engine propeller aircraft, flight planned at 180
knots, & at or below 10,000 feet.
‘SLOW’ refers to a single engine propeller aircraft, flight planned at 140
knots, & at or below 10,000 feet.
‘HELI’ refers to a helicopter (included in FS98), flight planned at 120 knots,
& below 5,000 feet.
You may of course choose any aircraft with any adventure, & adjust the flight planned
speeds mentally. Although Microsoft® Flight Simulator™ only includes single engine
propeller & jet aircraft (plus a helicopter in FS98), other aircraft are available in
retail packages & some are even available as internet downloads from various
world-wide web sites. Also, once airborne the adventure programming will allow you to
cruise at a lower altitude than that flight planned, providing that you have not already
reached or climbed above the flight planned cruising altitude.
SY to ML (1_SM) = ‘QANTAS 419’ Sydney to Melbourne (JET) ML to SY (1_MS) =
‘BA SPEEDBIRD 10’ Melbourne to Sydney (JET)
ML to AD (1_MA) = ‘ANSETT 61’ Melbourne to Adelaide (JET) AD to ML (1_AM) =
‘ANSETT 94’ Adelaide to Melbourne (JET)
AD to PH (1_AP) = ‘QANTAS 561’ Adelaide to Perth (JET) PH to AD (1_PA) =
‘QANTAS 808’ Perth to Adelaide (JET)
PH to AS (1_PAS) = ‘QANTAS 942’ Perth to Alice Springs (JET) AS to PH (1_ASP) =
‘QANTAS 945’ Alice Springs to Perth (JET)
AS to DN (1_ASD) = ‘LGH’ Alice Springs to Darwin (JET) DN to AS (1_DAS) =
‘QANTAS 492’ Darwin to Alice Springs (JET)
DN to BN (1_DB) = ‘ANSETT 155’ Darwin to Brisbane (JET) BN to DN (1_BD) =
‘ANSETT 102’ Brisbane to Darwin (JET)
BN to SY (1_BS) = ‘BSJ’ Brisbane to Sydney (JET) SY to BN (1_SB) = ‘ANSETT
132’ Sydney to Brisbane (JET)
SY to CB (1_SC) = ‘ANSETT 103’ Sydney to Canberra (JET) CB to SY (1_CS) =
‘ANSETT 200’ Canberra to Sydney (JET)
CB to ML (1_CM) = ‘ANSETT 201’ Canberra to Melbourne (JET) ML to CB (1_MC) =
‘ANSETT 146’ Melbourne to Canberra (JET)
ML to BN (1_MB) = ‘QANTAS 614’ Melbourne to Brisbane (JET) BN to ML (1_BM) =
‘QANTAS 631’ Brisbane to Melbourne (JET)
AF to MCY (2_01) = ‘JJL’ Archerfield to Maroochydore (SLOW) AY to ML (2_12) =
‘KENDELL 239’ Albury to Melbourne (FAST)
PEC to SY (2_02) = ‘KMG’ Aeropelican to Sydney (SLOW) MB to LT (2_13) =
‘IXH’ Moorabbin to Launceston (MEDIUM)
MB to AY (2_03) = ‘FZR’ Moorabbin to Albury (SLOW) SY to CS (2_14) =
‘QANTAS 406’ Sydney to Cairns (JET)
HB to LT (2_04) = ‘MSQ’ Hobart to Launceston (SLOW) RK to TL (2_15) =
‘QANTAS 2300’ Rockhampton to Townsville (JET)
MCY to BN (2_05) = ‘TWJ’ Maroochydore to Brisbane (MEDIUM)TL to SY (2_16) =
‘QANTAS 447’ Townsville to Sydney (JET)
BN to CG (2_06) = ‘MBZ’ Brisbane to Coolangatta (MEDIUM) ML to HMI (2_17) =
‘ANSETT 228’ Melbourne to Hamilton Island (JET)
TW to CG (2_07) = ‘UBC’ Tamworth to Coolangatta (MEDIUM) BN to RK (2_18) =
‘QANTAS 866’ Brisbane to Rockhampton (JET)
BK to TW (2_08) = ‘UJM’ Bankstown to Tamworth (MEDIUM) CG to CB (2_19) =
‘QANTAS 859’ Coolangatta to Canberra (JET)
SY to WM (2_09) = ‘JEG’ Sydney to Williamtown (MEDIUM) EN to PF (2_20) =
‘KTI’ Essendon to Parafield (JET)
SY to AY (2_10) = ‘KENDELL 6404’ Sydney to Albury (FAST) JK to YESP (2_21) =
‘ZMD’ Jandakot to Esperance (JET)
AY to CB (2_11) = ‘MZV’’ Albury to Canberra (MEDIUM) SY to OLPK (2_22) =
‘HELICOPTER 1’ Sydney to Olympic Park (HELI)
In addition to the ATC adventures that have been written specifically for ‘Australia
Scenery Vol.2’, we have included as a bonus, a number of updated extra adventures
that have been designed specially for use with Vol.1 & Vol.2 combined. Also, each
interactive adventure listed above, simultaneously accesses the sound library of
Australian ATC ‘background radio’ voice modules (depending of course upon which
modules you chose in your personalised installation).
& yes, the helicopter adventure is challenging & difficult to fly, but we’ve
done it, so we know its possible! Do not ‘air-taxi’ too high, or the controller
will think that you are trying to depart without a clearance. Also, when you have been
given take-off clearance, make sure that you depart on the runway heading of the assigned
runway, or the controller may reprimand you for not flying in accordance with his
instructions within such a busy piece of airspace. Expect to receive lots of radar
vectors, & on approach to Olympic Park, the helipad will be addressed as a runway
(which will give you the preferred approach direction), & is a design feature of the
ATC adventure. You might like to try this one at dusk or even at night (the helipad is
well lit)!
The flight plans of these adventures are available for you to print from the folder
FLT_PLNS found on this CDROM. The filenames are abbreviated in brackets in the previous
list (Aus1_SM or Aus2_01 etc). Please note that you are unable to modify these flight
plans. They have been saved as bitmap images (.BMP), so you will need to import them into
a word processor to be able to print them in an appropriate format & size. For maximum
print size, it is suggested that prior to importing the flight plan, you set all your
margin sizes to 1cm. To import for example, in Microsoft® Word, use the ‘insert
picture’ command to be able to load & then print your selected flight plan. In
Works, use the ‘insert object’ command. In either case, you will need to browse
& locate the specific flight plan bitmap image (.BMP) that you wish to import &
print. You might want to print 2 or 3 copies of the flight plan, one for use now, & a
couple to use on later adventures. For further assistance, consult your word processor
manual or help files, on inserting or importing bitmap images.
Even if you are not flying the actual interactive ATC adventures, you may still want to
print & fly these flight plans between some of the capital cities & regional
centres. Appropriate new & existing navaid frequencies, are also included in the
flight plans, to assist you.
AUSSIE ATC ADVENTURE (BACKGROUND RADIO ONLY):
There is one other very special feature ‘adventure’ that can be loaded, which
adds true ‘atmosphere’ to you cockpit.
Giving you the freedom to fly wherever you want without being restricted to one of the
pre-programmed interactive ATC adventures, & still adding incredible realism to your
flying, this may become your most used adventure!
‘Aussie ATC’ provides real live air traffic control & pilot radio
transmissions! Included are over 1,000 ATC & pilot voice files, recorded live from
control towers all over Australia. This adventure is non-interactive & provides
background radio chatter only, making your cockpit come to life as you tune in to each air
traffic control centre & listen to all the different tower frequencies. 50 different
location-specific voice modules have been programmed to give you near-perfect flying
realism.
To start the adventure, refer to the first two paragraphs (V5.1 or V6.0 / FS98) under the
heading ‘Air Traffic Control Adventures’ found just earlier in this manual, but
select the adventure titled ‘Aussie ATC’. You should still select your aircraft
type & departure airport first, because with Flight Simulator™ V6.0 & FS98,
these options are disabled once an adventure has been selected. You can easily overcome
this by ending the adventure, making your desired changes & re-starting the adventure.
Naturally your aircraft must be within range of the ATC facility to be able to hear any
radio transmissions. FIS (125.00) & CENTRE (125.20) may be tuned in at any location,
whereas Tower, Ground, Approach & Departures frequencies are generally limited to a
range of less than 30nm or 50nm from the appropriate airport / ATC facility.
Occasionally, you might like to monitor the emergency frequency of 121.50, this is where
you would here an ELB (emergency locater beacon) transmitting if one was activated in an
aircraft accident. We have programmed an ELB transmitting, into this adventure, but
naturally it will only occur sporadically ... & you’ll certainly know if it does!
To end this adventure, or to de-activate the background radio chatter, you may press 'CTRL
D' at any time, allowing you to continue your current flight unaffected. You can
subsequently start the ‘Aussie ATC’ adventure again, mid-flight, if you wish.
VOICE ASSISTED ATIS (Automatic Terminal Weather Information Service):
With any of the Australian ATC adventures, including ‘Aussie ATC’, voice
assisted ATIS comes included. Whenever you dial up the ATIS frequency for any ATC-equipped
Australian airport (providing it is listed as such in the manual), a location-specific
voice assist will be heard while the detailed weather information is displayed on your
screen.
Although the written weather information is generally available within 80nm of the chosen
airport, the voice assist will only be heard within 30nm or 50nm of the airport, depending
on the ‘transmitter strength’ & prevailing conditions.
In the interactive adventures, there are certain times when the voice assist will be
temporarily deactivated. This will be up until you have obtained your initial airways
clearance on 127.50, & also between receiving your take-off clearance & becoming
established on climb.
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