Microsoft Flight Simulator Handbook

by Jonathan M. Stern

Communications on Flight Simulator

Use of the communication radio on the basic Flight Simulator program is not very realistic. It serves the limited purpose of allowing you to "listen" to ATIS information at selected airports. There is also a feature that permits you to request takeoff and landing clearance.

To use this feature, follow these steps:

1. Select Air Traffic Control from the Nav/Com menu.
2. Tune the COM radio to the control tower or ATIS frequency associated with the airport at which you wish to land or take off.
3. Press Enter; a dialog box presenting the choices of Request To Take Off and Request To Land appears. Select the appropriate box and OK.
4. Flight Simulator provides very abbreviated instructions.

I expect that in the not-too distant future, Flight Simulator will be equipped with a full, interactive air traffic control simulator, including voice recognition capabilities and digitized voice output. An example of an excellent ATC simulation already exists on subLOGIC's Flight Assignment: A.T.P. program, where all of the ATC functions described previously work interactively during the flights. Additional ATC features are already available on Flight Simulator when used with Flight Simulator Flight Shop, discussed in Chapter 20, "Understanding ATC."

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