ATC or no? Passenger boarding / unboarding locations

[JerseySeven]

Two questions for those who have been flying the Connie awhile (I've yet to start):

1. Do you use ATC for mid-flight instructions? Seems like a conflict between "Please expedite descent" nagging and passenger comfort. I'm thinking I would rather not file a flight plan and pre-calculate my TOD for a gentle descent to approach altitude.

2. In the modern world there are jetways (jetbridges) which seem a bit out of place for this sim (although they were used as early as 1960 - https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/f ... /80806044/). Where do you prefer to park for stairway boarding and disembarking passengers?

Thanks.

[flapman]

I haven't used default "canned" ATC in years for anything other than takeoff/landing clearance, pattern sequencing, and ground operations. In the modern world it does not handle SID/STAR unless I build them manually (per specific runway) in the .pln file. In the classic period, it is heavily reliant on radar service and turbine aircraft performance. It will issue late descents, and will always vector you off course way too early and at way too high an altitude. These problems can be remedied via requests for altitude changes at your calculated descent time, and via requests for the full procedure instrument approach at your airport. Default ATC will still be unable to process any kind of departure procedure/SID. Given these limitations, I don't use the simulator coding and instead "issue myself clearances" along the flight. It's much easier and accomplishes the same thing.

I park at the same terminal that I would in modern turbine aircraft. Instead of following the painted line, I make a right turn before I stop of approximately 45-135 degrees, as this points the main cabin door towards the terminal. My virtual passengers deplane using the stairs, then enter the terminal through a ground level door. If there's a jetbridge, it has been lowered to another set of stairs, which the passengers climb from the apron/ramp to access the elevated terminal.

[JerseySeven]

Thank you flapman! Very helpful reply.

[flapman]

No problem,

Of course, I can't recommend the California Classics 2008 Propliner Tutorial enough, even for as advanced payware as the A2A Propliners.. there are a lot of concepts and history which will help you get the best experience from these aircraft. Depending on how you fly the A2A L-049, the tutorial could be a complete paradigm shift for you.

[FireRescue85]

Well, if you study the era of when these aircraft were used, ATC and passenger flights were in their infant stages, and pilots (and airlines) were by and large left to make their own routes and schedules. Even while flying scheduled routes, aircraft had very loose restrictions when dealing with ATC. The onboard navigator was, obviously, navigating, and would correct the route as needed due to weather, wind, etc. Pilots would really only call ATC to "check in" over predetermined points to make sure that the aircraft was still flying and on schedule. Failure to check in was actually a major factor in finding out if an aircraft crashed, although it wasn't unusual for an aircraft to miss a check in point and wasn't necessarily a cause for alarm. (Air Disasters did a fantastic job of explaining early ATC operations during their show about the Lockheed Constellation vs DC-7 collision over the Grand Canyon in 1956.)

As previously mentioned, FSX ATC is tuned for jet aircraft. They will consistently bother you about expediting climbs and descents. To get around this (and to make it more "period realistic" with fewer check ins) I use ATC only for takeoff clearance and then monitor the radio in VFR conditions, or use ATC for IFR clearance and takeoff, and then cancel the IFR once in VFR conditions.

To land in IFR conditions without being bothered to "Expedite descent!!" repeatedly is a simple solution: descend at your planned time and rate until about 6,000 ft, and then open an IFR plan to said airport. By then you're close enough where they just tell you to descend to 2,000 and give you your ILS vectors to final.

Hope this helps, it works rather well for me,

-Scott


**EDIT** I missed that FLapman recommended California Classics Propliner Tutorial. This is a must read, as it has better policies and procedures for dealing with the limitations of a simulator while maintaining realistic propliner operations.

[alan CXA651]

Hi.
I fly the connie on VATSIM , and i had an ATC guy once trying to keep me to high for a decent to an airport , till i reminded him of my max decent speed , and needed to decend now or miss my approach , they usually accomodate you , unless of mountains in the way , then you might need to do a decent and turn , to get a correct approach .
As for jetways , i avoid them and park on a stand away from them.
regards alan.

[Bazonka]

No problem,

Of course, I can't recommend the California Classics 2008 Propliner Tutorial enough, even for as advanced payware as the A2A Propliners.. there are a lot of concepts and history which will help you get the best experience from these aircraft. Depending on how you fly the A2A L-049, the tutorial could be a complete paradigm shift for you.

Thank you very much for this link, searched a long time for something like this!