OnCourse Software

I seem to have a problem with un-towered airports since the latest upgrade - just after I thought I had mastered the procedure. Has something changed?

1. After tuning to FSS, I had to press 0 several times to ask for my flight plan.
2. Tuned to Multicom, taxied out
3. Announced taking runway with 6
4. Announced leaving area with 8
5. Tuned to departure
6. Pressed 0 several times to contact departure but nil response
7. Checked channels several times with Shift^F10, even tried going back to Multicom and then Departure again but nuffink
8. Aborted flight.

John

Hi John

Well the log would only show me those hotkey presses that were detected so I have no way of knowing if you'd hit the hotkeys at anytime and they weren't detected. But what the log does show is the following...

The first time you hit Hotkey #0 you were tune to Departure, so there would be no response

The second time you hit Hotkey #0 you were tune to FSS and made contact

Next Hotkey you hit was #6 when departing

Next Hotkey you hit was #8 when departing the area

Next Hotkey used was #0 when you were tuned to 122.42 but departure frequency was 124.22

You then tried Hotkey #0 again but got no response as you were not tuned to any active facility

Ditto a third time

Ditto a fourth, fifth, six, seventh and eighth times

Then you tuned to Departure on 124.22 but hit Hotkey #8 (which is not used for that facility)

Then you tuned back to 122.42 and hit Hotkey 0 but obviously got no response as that frequency was not current

That's it

Thanks for looking into that, Dave. It looks as if I got my undercarriage well and truly in a twist over the channels. Some aircraft have quite tricky radios to set and this was one of them. I did then try setting with the Remote Radio Stack which is easier, but that's adventurous if you have to leave FS to set it when there's a mountain at the end of the runway.

I will give it another whirl when I can but meanwhile plead guilty as charged!

Best regards,

John

I'm sorry, Dave, but I have attempted to repeat this flight today and there are definitely issues. Maybe I should have regenerated a flight plan, but all was saved, so I re-used the old one.

Curiously, Shift-F10 allocated me a differend channel for departure - last time it was 124.42, this time it was 119.02. But after pressing 8 (leaving the area) and retuning to 119.02 I attempted to contact departure, but Key 0 did nothing. I also tried 118.85 (which is FSX's perception of the departure channel) in the hope that would work, but it didn't. Eventually I reached my initial assigned altitude of 7000 but needed to keep climbing owing to the surrounding terrain (and cloud!).

At one point a voice burst forth telling me to descend to 7000, but that controller wouldn't let me speak to him.

I gave up, turned on the default ATC sound and resigned myself to the default ATC system for the flight.

After several changes of channel for different Centre frequencies, one of your nice young ladies again told me to descend to 7000, which I couldn't, but she at least let me make contact with the 0 key. I then cancelled FS's ATC, and proceeded nicely along my route. It took me a while to persuade her to give me the altitude that I wanted, but all was good, I got my descent at the right point. But when I was put in touch with Approach I got no runway advice but was told to do a U-turn! Initially I obeyed, but I could see this wasn't going to take me to the airport, so eventually I ignored this and made my own way to the airport.

I'm not going to do this flight again but hope you can identify why I am unable to contact departure and fix it. I hope this issue does not afflict all un-towered airports because it was all working fine before the last update.

Log attached.

John

I've only taken a very fast look at your log, and Dave is the expert so he will likely have further input. When you contacted FSS for clearance, the response was

Quote:

Transcript: 'Japan Air 433 Roger. We'll open your flight plan at 33 you're cleared to Kilo Alpha Lima Whiskey Climb to 7 thousand Departure frequency 133.17 '

so you were given the Departure frequency. I'm not sure where you got the 119.02. After you announced leaving the area you tuned 119.02 and pressed hotkey 0, but this was not the correct frequency and you did not get a response. The log shows you were tuned to 119.02 and the correct Departure frequency was 133.17.

You may want to try the flight again and note the Departure frequency given to you by FSS (it may well be different each time). If you miss it, you can press hotkey 4 to ask FSS for the Departure frequency. This will work as long as you are still on the ground.

Thanks, Dan,

Thanks. I think you have identified the issue. I (wrongly) pay no heed to FSS's departure frequency advice because at the start of the flight I always write down the departure frequency from the Bong Bong (Shift-F10) window that comes up automatically when you engage PFE.

On the first occasion that showed departure as 124.42 and on the second 119.02. On past flights elsewhere the frequency given there has always been correct.

Just as an exercise, I just loaded the flight again:
Bong Bong showed departure as 133.17
But FSS said 131.0

So unless there is something specific to KPVU, PFE has definitely changed since I last used an un-towered airport. I now know how to get round it, but this inconsistency shouldn't happen.

I guess the next thing to try is an u/t airport elsewhere.

John

PS - spotted what probably messed up the end of the flight, that was my fault and can be disregarded.

Hi John, the displayed frequency should be right so yes, you have identified a problem which I will address.

Many thanks, Dave.

John

Well this is a bit bizarre. I've just tested a couple of flight plans and the displayed (ACARS) Departure frequency shown during the initial connection to FS matched the frequency given by FSS. So I then tried your flight plan and the same thing, frequencies matched. So I'm stumped.

I also have been unable to reproduce it. The Departure frequency on his kneeboard seems to be the one from the previous flight. When his kneeboard showed 119.02, that was Departure frequency from the previous time he attempted the flight. The actual frequency for the current flight was 133.17.

The next time he tried the flight, the kneeboard showed 133.17, but the actual Departure frequency was 131.0. Maybe the kneeboard isn't getting flushed or updated? Should Shift-F10 bring up the current contents of the kneeboard?