here - Radar Contact

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Publisher
For use on
JDT LLC
FS2004/FS2002/FS2000/FS98
Reviewed by David Lolley
[email protected]
I must admit that the first time I saw
the title ‘Radar Contact’ I did not at
first look into the details, as I imagined that it must be a program for
Air Traffic Controllers and not pilots.
Then curiosity got the better of me
when I spotted on one of the flight
simulation websites, that version 4.0
had been released. OK, I thought I might as well see what this
program is supposed to do. It was then that I discovered that it
is in fact a very fine program that provides full Air Traffic Control for pilots. So let me share the good news with you. There
have of course been versions of this program in the past, and
each version has included, as far as I can see, more and more
goodies. Already, since I installed Radar Contact it has been
updated to version 4.01 and the update made available for
download. I should think that the programme would be shipping as 4.01 on disc by the time you read this review.
Radar Contact 4.0 comes on a CD which you have to order
from the USA, this is then despatched to you by first class air
mail, so delivery should be quick, my version was slightly delayed because of the Christmas and New Year holidays on
both side of the Atlantic, but never-the-less, it arrived packed
in a sturdy cardboard container. Be sure to have plenty of hard
disc space when you load it on though, The Radar Contact CD
has 655 MB of files, and when it is unpacked onto your hard
disc it is in the region of 1.25 GB. This size is not surprising in
view of the very large number of Wav files in the program, and
more are being made available as I write this, I have been informed by email from the programme makers of new voices
that are available for download via AVSIM, and most of these
have been UK and European voices, but more about that later
on.
select close, quit RC4, open AdvDisplay from the Modules
menu, then restart RC4 and all will be well. Before you use the
program it is most important to click on the Rebuild Scenery
DB (database) button, then go and make a cup of coffee or
something, while the program searches your Flight Simulator
for all of the sceneries installed therein. At the end of the action, click a few OK’s and the database is built. It is important
to remember to re-run this search every time you install new
scenery. In my case it found and installed into the database a
total of 25,574 airports and 51,396 runways, as you can see it
is quite some database when it is completed. Now you can get
down to setting up RC4 just the way you like it, nothing is set
in stone, so you will be able to make changes to settings at
any time to suit you.
First click on the General button and up will come a page
which will allow you to select your aircraft, airline, -there are
many to choose from, and you also select whether your aircraft is jet, turbo prop, prop or heavy. If you wish, you can select to have the pilot ATC auto-reply tune on contact and also
When the program is installed you will find in
‘Programs’ the Radar Contact program itself (I
shall refer to it as RC4 from now on), plus the
manual, all 294 pages of it, in PDF format.
There is an FAQ page, RC4 home page, and
the support forum. Also, in most cases a shortcut icon will have been installed on your desktop. It is worth noting here that RC4 works with
all versions of MS Flight Simulator from FS98
through to FS9. There will also be nine flight
plans already included, so you can fly straight
away and start to become familiar with the program. Together with RC4 you get what is called
an ‘Adventure Display’ which is activated in FS
via Modules on the menu and then putting a tick
against the AdvDisplay, then you will find a box
displayed on you screen which you can drag to
wherever you wish to place it and resize it, best
would be to about two inches square. It is in the
AdvDisplay that all the ATC details will be
shown throughout your flight. It would be nice to
think that a later version would be transparent
similar to the FS default ATC text box. If you
forget to open AdvDisplay before you start RC4,
you will see a green panel right across the top
area of your screen with strange text in it. If this
happens, right click inside the green space and
son for this is that you must file a flight plan
before you can fly with RC4. You can fly
from airfields without their own controllers,
but you must still file that flight plan, then
the program makes a phone call to the
nearest controllers and they will take care of
you through your flight. It is to be hoped that
not too far in the future, dare we hope in
time or the new Microsoft offering later this
year, that the programmers will be able to
provide ATC for VFR pilots.
interact with AI aircraft. Also you can choose to have AI chatter or pre-recorded chatter, the latter having being installed
with the program. Next click on the Voices button and up
comes the page with several sub sections, here you can select the voices you wish to use for Pilots, Co-pilots, Controllers
and Chatter Pilots. There is a nice touch here, as you select a
voice a National Flag pops up to show you which country the
voice belongs to. So if you are flying in the USA, it makes
sense to select American voices, if you are flying in the UK or
Europe you can select English voices, sorry no Irish accents
yet. There are also several European voices, so check the
flags for which country to make flying there sound natural.
I have to say at this stage that all the voices are excellent, and
do not sound robotic; it makes such a change from always
listening to the American voices in Flight Simulator. Also
please note that if you have AI chatter selected, all your AI
aircraft virtual pilots will speak in the National accent you have
chosen for them. You will be amazed when you first hear this,
here you are flying into a UK airport and you the pilot are
speaking with an English accent, as are all the controllers and
the other virtual pilots in the AI aircraft. The program would be
worth buying just for this feature alone! At present there are
two female voices (thank goodness) one American and one
English……..more please. There is also a Keyboard button,
click on this and you can see which shortcut keys are selected. Underneath these buttons is a box, which will show
you what you have selected in various sections. There is also
a Debug button, I hope you never need it, but if you do, you
can send the results of the debug to the support team, which
will help them to solve any problems you may have, and then
there is the Update button.
Controlled Flights
To start with, you create your flight plan,
you can use the default Flight Planner in
MSFS, or if you can use FSNavigator,
FSBuild, or other such programs that can
export to RC4. You then import the flight
plan, this only takes a few seconds, and the
details are displayed under the Controller /
Flight Options. If you click on the RC4 Controller button, on
the page that opens, you will see a box for the departure gate
and arrival gate, put suitable numbers in there and RC4 controllers will handle you from gate to gate. However, RC4 will
not give you the taxiways to or from these gates, but will just
tell you to taxi to the runway and from the hold to the ramp. It
is important to remember to turn off the default ATC, and also
to turn down the volume of the default ATC, otherwise you will
have two sets of ATC running at the same time.
OK, we have filed our flight plan with RC4 and started it up in
AdvDisplay. You will now see which keys to press to get ATIS
information etc., this is where it really starts to get real. When
you request the ATIS, all the relevant details will be relayed to
you, and if you are using MSFS real weather or FS Meteo or
suchlike, you will find that the ATIS is an exact match for the
weather, including the QNH. Then it is on to request for clearance as filed, after this has been given, you are back to a
ground controller to request Push and Start (you don’t get that
with the MSFS default ATC), after which, you contact Ground
for clearance to taxi. You will then be given clearance to taxi to
the hold for the active runway (although you will have options
to choose another runway if that suits you), and here comes
another clever bit, although you have not been given the taxiway route to the hold, if another aircraft is on the taxiway you
will be advised, for instance, “Follow the Air France ATR on
the taxiway.” A nice touch! If your flight planner allows you to
select the gate to start from and arrive at, you will hear these
gate numbers used by the controllers.
It is only fair to state at this stage that there is no provision for
all VFR pilots out there. Only IFR is catered for, and the rea-
told so, and then given a heading to get
you back on track. When approaching your
destination, you will be given vectors, but if
you have filed a STAR, then you will fly that
approach. If you are approaching with vectors, you may, at a suitable distance, opt to
fly a visual approach. Upon landing you will
be asked to vacate the runway at the next
exit and to call Ground, the Ground controller will then tell you to taxi to the gate number you have selected, or if no selection
was made, will just ask you to taxi to the
gate. You may need some charts at big
airports to find your way to the gates.
You arrive at the hold and are asked to monitor the Tower frequency, if you are in a queue, then you obviously move forward as each aircraft moves ahead. When you reach the holding point, there may be a short delay, but the Tower has not
forgotten you, as you will be told to line up and wait. Moments
later you will be given take-off clearance, and be given the
wind direction and speed, and the altitude required after takeoff. If you have filed a SID in the flight plan, you will be able to
fly the SID as it should be flown and shortly after take-off, you
will be handed off to Departure. Being able to fly SIDS and
STARS with ATC is one of the major improvements over the
MSFS ATC. Also note that at the top of the AdvDisplay, it displays the name of your next Fix, the bearing and distance to it,
and the radio frequency of VOR’s and NDB’s.
Other Features
During your flight you can leave the controller’s frequency to check on the weather,
they will tell you to call back on frequency
within three minutes. You can also deviate
from your planned course, perhaps to
avoid weather or turbulence - yet another
useful feature! It is also possible to change
your destination and you will receive vectors to the chosen
airfield. As you are taxiing to the gate you can choose to listen
to a critique of your flight, if you have done well, you will be
told so, if you have done badly, you will be told in friendly but
firm tones what you have done wrong and that you must try
harder. You will find that even if you have set up the pilot, or
the co-pilot to set and answer the radios, that you will have to
set the Squawk code and the QNH. At any time during take-off
or the flight, you can call the controller to abort the flight, or
declare an emergency. Perhaps you have a case of air rage
with a drunken passenger, or smoke in the cockpit etc., you
can choose to divert to the nearest airport, and vectors will be
given, or return to where you started from - you will be asked
what emergency service you require on the ground.
As you fly your route, you will be handed over to Controllers all Altitude changes can be requested, but don’t expect to autoalong the line, if you should wander off your route, you will be matically be given the requested altitude, because of traffic
etc. The controller may well tell you that your request has
been noted, and you must wait until they get back to you, you
can of course ask again a few minutes later and see if your
luck has changed.
Differing procedures are used as you fly in various parts of the
World, for instance in the USA you will hear a controller or pilot call for a frequency of “124 point 20”, whereas in Europe
the call for the same frequency would be “124 decimal 20”.
Conclusion
In summing up I have to say that RC4 offers a great deal more
realism to ATC than the default MSFS ATC, good as it is, and
of course this is how it should be, after all you are paying for
the extra features. RC4 makes all flights much more interesting and enjoyable. There are still some things needed to make
RC4 almost perfect, I have mentioned the lack of coverage for
VFR fliers, and it would be nice if they could include calls to
the taxiways in the not too distant future. I must say that the
support for the program is, in my experience, first class, I had
at least a couple of occasions to contact support. There was
nothing wrong with the program I might add, but I did need
some advice. The first occasion was a Sunday evening, and I
did not expect to get a reply before the next day. However, I
had a message back the same evening. The next occasion
was a weekday and I received the information back almost by
return. If you have a good aircraft to fly, a nice panel, a good
weather program, and a few choice bits of scenery, and airport
add-ons to MSFS, install RC4 and you flights will be just about
as real as it gets in a static simulator.
Radar Contact is available from www.jdtllc.com.
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