ttjager

I've been away from this sim for a while running another one. After reading the release of the latest version, I thought this issue might have been addressed. I was really disappointed to see it's gotten no attention from the crew. It must be a real undertaking for the developer to make this realistic, because this is the phraseology used by controllers everywhere in the US. If you're a professional pilot or controller running this software, it's practically a show-stopper to use the voice recognition (which is pretty darn good!) and be forced to say it "wrong". It can certainly be done, as other sims get it right all the time. TJ

I could not figure out why TRACON!2012 would not generate any aircraft for Ramona Airport (KRNM). I triple checked the SAN sector file dozens of times. I found an error in the "SAN - Before you Begin.txt" file that is included in the add-on package. The instructions say: 2. Copy the four text lines below and paste at the very bottom of the airports.txt file. MYF Montgomery Field CA US 32.81 N 117.13 W KMYF RMN Ramona Airport CA US 33.02 N 116.54 W KRMN SDM Brown Field Municipal Airport CA US 32.34 N 116.58 W KSDM SEE Gillespie Field Airport CA US 32.82 N 116.97 W KSEE The error is airport identifier for Ramona. It should be RNM and KRNM, not RMN and KRMN as written. As soon as you fix that, you will immediately get Ramona traffic. That said, I'm not sure why Ramona was included and not Palomar (KCRQ). In March 2013 the airport was the fourth-busiest single runway airport in the United States. Ramona has significantly less IFR traffic. TJ

BTW, the "airspace editor" is a really nice touch. It lets you guys to crank out sectors that are fairly realistic, but allows users, with very intimate knowledge of an airspace and how it is worked, to make tweaks that very closely represent real world. I am very grateful for that. TJ

Vic, This is awesome news! I've recently started working the SoCal SAN Area again, and I really like it. REQUEST: It is really difficult to work a busy sector when the towers release their departures at the exact same second and without any request for release. For reasons I don't understand, it is uncanny how often the towers do this. I understand the sim does not currently support a "request for release" from the tower to the departure controller (as would be required in the real world), but that would be an perfect addition that would allow the departure controller to understand the situation in his sector before it actually is happening. It happens several times per hour that 3 or 4 aircraft depart different airports simultaneously, all calling on the frequency one after another. Strange and difficult to work realistically. Thanks for your work. TJ

Well, like I said, "I started using . . . " and was doing it wrong. I was assigning the keys a prescribed "text block" and it would not take the ENTER key. I changed it to "multi key" macro and the ENTER works great! Thanks! I'm only using them to get the aircraft off the gates at LAX, so I have a pushback commands with runway assignments and taxi instructions each assigned to an individual macro key. I added one last one for "continue taxi". That way, I can work the regular ground and local positions without any problems and handle much more traffic. I've kind of automated the ramp tower to some extent. I almost always simulate ground delays/flow control to several commonly used airports. So that keeps me busy assigning "wheels-up times" and parking aircraft on adjacent taxiways while they await release. Keeps it realistic and challenging. I'll leave the ramp tower to the "developmental controllers"! :) TJ

I can't figure out how to have the "send" command added to the macro shortcut. Nothing seems to work from a keyboard standpoint. That would be a nice addition to my macro. Any ideas? I never thought about simply clicking the flight strip. That would work just fine. Thanks!

I have a keyboard "work-around" I've been using for a couple days now. I LOVE controlling with voice, and it works very well in this sim. But, "one-holing" a the ramp tower, ground, and local positions on both the north and south complexes at LAX at the same time with very heavy RealTraffic loads can be overwhelming. Simply put, you talk non-stop and if just one aircraft misses a clearance, it's a mess. So, I started using a Logitech G105 gaming keyboard. It allows you to record macro commands and assign them to anyone of several different dedicated gaming keys. The only thing I'm doing is using the gaming keys to handle the ramp tower push back commands. I think that's fair. So, I have each runway's push back command assigned to a separate key. When an aircraft calls for push and start, I simply click their ground radar icon, hit the appropriate macro key, and click send. It might not sound like a big time savings, but you can send these back-to-back-to-back without waiting for the aircraft to respond. They will, but you can ignore their babble as you keep your "flick" going on more important issues. I can give four push back commands in less than 5 seconds! So far, it works pretty darn good and allows me to concentrate on more pressing clearances and saves LOTS of air time on the frequency. The only catch is running dual screens . . . I do. I keep the ADIRS on a screen all by itself. When you do that, clicking on that screen won't allow you to "type" in the command line (use the macro key). So, I keep a second, very small, cropped ADIRS window open on my main screen. It's cropped to show just the north and south gates. That will allow you to click on an aircraft, use the macro key, and click send. Works well. Good luck. TJ

This is probably not the answer you're looking for but you really should get the schedule creator program. It's very reasonably priced and it really adds needed realism to the traffic at an airport. I'm not a spokes person, but you'll be happy you did. TJ

You're teasing us!!! :) TJ

I have the same issue with B9, but I've never tried typing it. TJ

BillA is correct. About 99% of the time, all SAN departures go all the way to the end. One notable exception is an occasional RJ departure to LAX. They almost always have flow times to LAX. Sometimes there will be a stack of departures holding short of 27 with an LAX-bound RJ taxiing eastbound on BRAVO towards DELTA. Sometimes, the tower will give the RJ a clearance to depart runway 27 at DELTA, so they can bypass the line at the end of BRAVO and make their flow time. Another interesting thing that happens at SAN involves extra large airliners taxiing from terminal 2 to runway 27. Right now, British Airways has one 747 that departs non-stop to LHR and Japan Airways has a 787 to goes non-stop to HND. Those are the only two departures this applies to right now, but those aircraft are too wide to taxii full-length eastbound on BRAVO to the end of 27. So ground will taxi them BRAVO BRAVO-6 CROSS RYW27 CHARLIE-6 CHARLIE CHARLIE-1 to 27. Interesting situation that only happens twice each day, but you can always make a little old SWA 737 do the same thing just for the practice :) . Have fun! TJ

Folks - Kingsman's post is correct and it's a good workaround to get an aircraft to taxi across an active runway without stopping and waiting for a separate clearance . . . for now at least. Using LAX as an example with aircraft landing on 25L and 24R and departing 25R and 24L. When an aircraft is rolling out after landing, issue their "taxi to the ramp via . . . " clearance. They'll acknowledge (and unfortunately come a to a complete stop on the taxiway after exiting the runway) and then begin their taxi. At some point during the taxi, if you want them to continue across the parallel runway without stopping, instruct them to hold short of different runway - probably one on the other complex. They will continue right across the runway you want them to cross and right to the gate. It's a perfect "fix" in lieu of a working "cross runway XX, taxi to the ramp" clearance. I love it! Example: AAL123 landed 25L, taxiing to the gate, approaching 25R. You have just given UAL987 a clearance "Runway 25R, line-up and wait" and you want AAL to keep it rolling across 25R. Simply tell AAL123 to "hold short of runway 24R" and they will roll right across 25R. It's not RL, but in RL you would tell him to "cross 25R and taxi to the ramp" (maybe even expedite across 25R!). This small hack accomplishes that goal. I'd prefer the proper RL clearance, but this works well. :) TJ P.S. It was TRACON II by Wesson that had a RAPCON military radar approach control that actually simulated working PAR approaches. Pretty cool for the old days! P.P.S. I would pay a lot of money if FeelThere would develop an ARTCC sim. I think it would be relatively easy to do compared to the incredibly graphic-intensive program Tower 3D Pro has become. What a gem that is it! Always thankful!

I agree with Viper's comments. The whole idea of runway crossing clearances it to keep the traffic flowing safely. Having taxiing aircraft come to a complete stop before they will follow a command to cross an intersection is kind of crazy. It's also frustrating to see them come to a complete stop every time they exit a runway even when they have a clearance to taxi to the ramp. This would rarely happen in RL with a clear taxi clearance given on the runway. Of course, the AC would usually be switching to ground to get that clearance and would stop until they receive it. In the case of Tower 3D Pro, you're "one-holing" it and have all the tower positions combined into to one position (ramp tower, ground, and local - everything except clearance delivery). Kingsman's report of a possible "bug" might actually be a usable workaround for me until we get a runway crossing command. I'll try it tonight. Always thankful for this wonderful sim. TJ P.S. For the old timers here . . . if there are any . . . I've been running ATC simulators all the way back to the original TRACON and TRACON-II by Wesson - a DOS program!! When Chris Coons (a former ZLA controller) developed his ATCC simulator, I was the first beta tester (I even got my name in the credits of the printed and bound program manual!). I've run TOWER 2011and TRACON 2012 . . . but this version of Tower 3D Pro is one of the best - by far. Thanks!

I hope this is the appropriate place for this suggestion/request. If not, my apologies. We really need a command that allows runway crossing instructions as part of the taxi clearance. It really bogs down the flow when every aircraft stops at every runway intersection. While that is mandatory for all aircraft without crossing instructions in RL, it is very common to issue crossing instructions as part of a taxi clearance and it's done all the time in RL. My biggest issues involve aircraft landing at 25L and 24R at LAX. I would love to be able to issue, "American 123. Cross runway 25R. Taxi to the ramp." I would consider this a major wishlist tweak that would keep the simulation highly realistic. Thanks for your consideration. Love the sim guys! TJ