Yes, I know all that of course. The 'two pilot' thing was simply because I nearly always fly large jets in X-Plane and was thinking Boeing/Airbus...
If you look at one or two other threads here you will see that there is an issue of ATC instructions not being spoken, or appearing on the ATC log window. I can't recall the thread title as I write this, I can search for it if you don't find it. In this case, the problem probably
was indeed caused by my missing a change in frequency.
As far as being cleared to a runway, if you don't like the runway that ATC assigns you, Ctrl-Shift-W and ask for a runway change.
Yes, again, that is known and is what I do, and I would go back to using Mode 2 -
if Dave can exclude the arrival runway clearance from an automatic pilot reply, or at least include an option somewhere to do so. Otherwise of course, the pilot confirms, then immediately changes his mind, every time. It's perhaps only a 'cosmetic' thing, but in X-Plane, where I set up detailed SIDs and STARs for all my flights, needing to change runway (rather than change all the SIDs and STARs that were laboriously set up before the flight) is a far easier option. In the real world, I know pilots
may choose to change all their arrival data in the FMC, rather than ask ATC for a different runway, but as I have all my X-Plane flight plans saved with specific SIDs/STARs, asking for a runway change is by far my preferred option.
Martin