Marc Sieffert Posted January 17, 2020 at 02:49 PM Posted January 17, 2020 at 02:49 PM Hi, I am using X Plane 11.40 with ZIBO when flying on VATSIM + X Pilot. I have a question regarding ATIS. I found out that the usual ATIS information from X Plane/with ZIBO is only working when X Pilot is not connected... Is this normal? What is then the normal process to listen to ATIS - - if no controllers are available on one hand - and if a Controller is available on the other hand? ANOTHER QUESTION: when approaching LFMN yesterday there was no plane at all in this area and also no Controllers but somebody wrote following text in X Pilot: LFMN final 4R Is this a mistake or if not what is the meaning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Dammers Posted January 17, 2020 at 03:07 PM Posted January 17, 2020 at 03:07 PM When an airport is staffed (either directly via the TWR, GND or DEL positions, or via top-down control from an APP or CTR position), the controller responsible for it will usually run an ATIS channel on a separate frequency (e.g., right now the controller staffing EDDF_TWR on 119.90 also runs EDDF_ATIS on 118.02). So if that is available, tune in to the frequency just like you normally would, and you should hear actual voice ATIS. When you're not in controlled airspace, there usually isn't any ATIS service either, so you will be on your own. You can, however, get real-world ATIS from many online resources; I usually use SkyVector's METAR overlay. Now, I don't use XPlane, so I don't know how it works there, but it does make sense to me that a VATSIM plugin would disable the built-in speech synthesis ATIS; after all, if it didn't, then tuning COM1 to the correct frequency would get you both the speech-synthesized one from the sim itself *and* the voice ATIS from VATSIM, and you wouldn't hear a thing. In fact, that is what happens in FlightGear unless you disable the built-in ATIS entirely, and it's extremely annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Shearman Jr Posted January 17, 2020 at 06:24 PM Posted January 17, 2020 at 06:24 PM the usual ATIS information from X Plane/with ZIBO is only working when X Pilot is not connected... Is this normal? Yes. There is an option within xPilot (I believe it's in the X-Plane menu, Plugins, xPilot) to turn it back on. This is so you don't hear a live VATSIM controller's ATIS at the same time as the X-Plane ATIS, as Tobias mentioned. What is then the normal process to listen to ATIS -- if no controllers are available on one hand Use whatever source you want. Just keep in mind that other pilots in the area on VATSIM may be using a different source than you, and may in fact choose a different departure/arrival runway than what you're using/expecting. This is why communicating your intentions over 122.8 is always recommended. - and if a Controller is available on the other hand? Keep the X-Plane one disabled, and listen to the one being provided over VATSIM. ANOTHER QUESTION: when approaching LFMN yesterday there was no plane at all in this area and also no Controllers but somebody wrote following text in X Pilot: LFMN final 4R Is this a mistake or if not what is the meaning? Well, I believe then that you are mistaken that no other pilots were in the area. It sounds to me like another pilot was announcing that he was on final for runway 4R at LFMN. Cheers, -R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Sieffert Posted January 17, 2020 at 06:35 PM Author Posted January 17, 2020 at 06:35 PM Thanks a lot to both of you!! Regarding LFMN 4R, I had two different VATSIM online maps open, there was really no plane in this area.. But it doesn't I just wanted to be sure that I do not miss something important here... But I have another question, tonight I landed again in LFMN and another plane was landing on a very close airport. I had my transponder on TA/RA but did not see the plane on my ND. I just wanted to make sure that it should normally be the case. Or is there something special to do to make it work? Also last question, to enter a text in the radio I saw that it is possible to do it directly in the main X Pilot window but also under the xpilot plug in X Plane, where there is a pos radio messages which opens a separate window to enter a written message... What is the difference here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Shearman Jr Posted January 17, 2020 at 06:47 PM Posted January 17, 2020 at 06:47 PM tonight I landed again in LFMN and another plane was landing on a very close airport. I had my transponder on TA/RA but did not see the plane on my ND. I just wanted to make sure that it should normally be the case. Or is there something special to do to make it work? It depends on the simulator, the add-on plane, and the pilot client all using the same datarefs (i.e. internal variables within the code) for other planes' positions. Yes, in an ideal world, it should all work as it would in reality. In the simulator it's not always the case because the aircraft developer may not realize that using different variables might affect other plugins (such as xPilot) being able to see and use that data. Since it's so specific to the exact combination of software and add-ons being used, it's best to open a separate thread about this specific case in the support forum for the pilot client (xPilot in this case), but, understand that it may ultimately be a matter of the aircraft developer using the correct variable names. I'm not a software developer myself so I'm giving you a very watered-down explanation here; hopefully it gives you a general idea of what all goes into this situation. Also last question, to enter a text in the radio I saw that it is possible to do it directly in the main X Pilot window but also under the xpilot plug in X Plane, where there is a pos radio messages which opens a separate window to enter a written message... What is the difference here? One is within the simulator and one's a separate app. It just allows users to choose which one is easier to use. Some have a second monitor for supporting apps and like to have all that stuff off-screen; some prefer to have a window within the sim. xPilot offers either or both. Cheers, -R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Dammers Posted January 20, 2020 at 03:40 PM Posted January 20, 2020 at 03:40 PM Thanks a lot to both of you!!Regarding LFMN 4R, I had two different VATSIM online maps open, there was really no plane in this area.. But it doesn't I just wanted to be sure that I do not miss something important here... The commonly used VATSIM maps (map.vatsim.net and vau.aero/fsmap) don't update in realtime, they generally lag quite a bit behind, easily a full minute or so sometimes. The VAU one also doesn't show aircraft on the ground. So it's quite possible that you just looked in the wrong spot - when the pilot made the announcement, the map may still have shown them somewhere up the STAR, while you were expecting to see them on final approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Fuchs Posted January 20, 2020 at 04:06 PM Posted January 20, 2020 at 04:06 PM That's why I love my pilot client's radar display, you get to see other planes in your vicinity in real time. I just finished live-streaming a flight, you can see that radar here: Cheers, Andreas Member of VATSIM GermanyMy real flying on InstagramMy Twitch streams of VATSIM flights and ATC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts