Some Questions

[EHM-1358 Tim]

Ive got some questions that I hope some off you people can answer.

-What do I say on Unicom if there is no ATC at the airport im departing from?

-What do I saw on Unicom if theres no ATC at the airport Im landing at?

-What do I do if there is no Controllers in my airspace, so should I just follow my flight plan?

-How do I know when to contact the ATC (if there are any at the airport) when im going to land?

Thanks if you can answer these. These are mostly about UNICOM.

[EHM-1388 Tiberiu]

This is a tip for all the questions: get ServInfo (if you haven't already) and take a look from time to time at the traffic around you.

-What do I say on Unicom if there is no ATC at the airport im departing from?

Take a look at the Servinfo screen. If there are other planes arriving/departing to/from the airport you are at (let's say EGCC), you should say something like this: "Taxiing to rwy xx EGCC", and when you reach the Holding Point of the desired runway, say "Taking off rwy xx EGCC". If there is a plane on approach at less then 10nm, it's recommended you let him land first and then take off.

What do I saw on Unicom if theres no ATC at the airport Im landing at?

Again check for other traffic and report "Inbound ILS rwy xx EGCC" or visual, or any other approach you are performing. If the rwy is clear, go ahead and land... Don't forget to report "Rwy xx EGCC vacated".

What do I do if there is no Controllers in my airspace, so should I just follow my flight plan?

Yes.

How do I know when to contact the ATC (if there are any at the airport) when im going to land?

Normally, the controller contacts you first with a private message like "This is EGCC_APP, please contact me on 119.4", or something like this. However, if the controller does not contact you should contact them like this (in my oppinion): APP at ~40nm, TWR at ~15nm, GND when you have vacated the runway.

Hope this helps, if anybody thinks otherwise, please feel free to correct.

[EHM-0001 Gergely]

Hi Tim

1. and 2. If there's another aircraft departing/landing there, announce such actions as taxiing and takeoff (when departing), estimated time to arrive, on base/on final, runway vacated (when arriving).

e.g. 'Otopeni traffic, EHM789 is type 737, on final rwy 26L'
Or just: 'On final 26L LROP'

3. Yes. If it's no ATC, or the ATC goes offline, you should continue at own discretion.

4. CTR must be contacted when you reach the FIR boundary. APP has to be contacted when you're about 50 nm from the airport (at that time, you're usually at FL120-FL180). TWR has to be contacted only when you're on final.

However these are not general rules, e.g. a TWR can request you to contact him when you're at 40 nm from the airport and navigate you until landing, if there's no APP/CTR above.

[EHM-1358 Tim]

Thanks for the help.

Just another question- How do you stop FS from pausing when you go onto something else for example ServeInfo?

[EHM-1388 Tiberiu]

Just another question- How do you stop FS from pausing when you go onto something else for example ServeInfo?

In the General Options menu there is a check-box called "Pause on task switch" or something like that... uncheck it.

[EHM-1358 Tim]

Oh another question. How do work out how long your flight time be. Where its says departure time and arrivle time.

And another question is how to work out how much fuel I need for a flight.

Thanks for the help.

And from before. If there no one landing or departing can I just do the stuff I need to do on the airport without having to say on UNICOM?

[EHM-1388 Tiberiu]

Well... there are several ways to make your flightplan... one of them is the Flight Planner in FS2002/2004, which isn't too good unfortunantly. After you find your route, click the Navigation Log (or something like that, I can't remember) where you will find Estimated Time Enroute and estimated fuel, but remember always to take extra fuel for altenate airport plus 45 minutes of flying.

Another way to make you flightplan is FSNavigator (download here), which is much better in my oppinion. It also gives you flight time, fuel, but can also be used as a FMS (Flight Management System) that follows your flightplan, shows you a nice map with a lot of needed information, it can even hold a pattern.


For the last question: Yes, but only if you are sure there is noone around.

[EHM-0001 Gergely]

Originally posted by Tim
Oh another question. How do work out how long your flight time be. Where its says departure time and arrivle time.

And another question is how to work out how much fuel I need for a flight.

If you mean the Time Enroute and Endurance fields in the flight plan:

Time Enroute - the approximate time the flight will last. Usually this can be found out from the Navigation Log.

Endurance - the time the aircraft can be airborne. For example, if you can fly 6 hours with a full fuel tank, and you depart with 50% fuel, then your endurance is approximately 3 hours.

[EHM-1152 Thomas]

Another way to work out the fuel consumption is to look at the nav data when planning a flight in flight simulator.  It will give you an estimated fuel usage.  Be careful though it is not always accurate!

[EHM-0641 Rico]

Originally posted by blood13
In the General Options menu there is a check-box called "Pause on task switch" or something like that... uncheck it.

THNX.!!!  I've been looking for that ever since i've started using FS.!!

[EHM-1388 Tiberiu]

THNX.!!! I've been looking for that ever since i've started using FS.!!

Guys, please... Don't be affraid to post any question related to FS. There is no such thing as a stupid question.