7000 --> 7800 --> 7000 --> 7800 --> 7000 --> 7800 etc and how to fix an ASI

[ehunyadi 0]

ATC is giving me fits. They keep having me go from 7000' to 7800' and back again. Does anyone know why this happens?

To make matters worse, I lost my ASI in AH today. I think that's typically something I would fix before taking off (the failure occurred just after I fueled the plane on the ground) but I couldn't figure out how to do it without stopping my flights.

As for the yoyo action ATC wants me to perform, I began ignoring the last "climb to 7800 feet" order and now about every 20 seconds, ATC asks me to expedite my climb. What he doesn't know is I'm not doing it. lol. My plane is too heavy and can only climb at about 400 FPM and it's really tiring to go up and down all night for no reason.

[allardjd 1,853]

Dear yo-yo,

 

Two words - Radar Contact. Abandon MS ATC for all time and get that add-on. It's not perfect but it's an order of magnitude better than MS ATC.

 

As for repairing a fault while still on the ground, just click back out to the AH screen before starting your engines. You'll be at the Flight Monitor screen and from there you can get back to the Cargo Loading screen where the repair can be performed. Return to FS after completing the repair by using the button on the Cargo Loading screen and then click back into FS when it tells you to. You'll be about $5,000 poorer, but your ASI will be fixed, which you must do sooner or later anyway.

 

I assume you used the Shift-Z "HUD" to make your flight.

 

Ain't it FUN!!!

 

John

[ehunyadi 0]

Now, were I a smart pilot like you, I'd have used the Shift-Z hud. I forgot all about it (even though I messed with it yesterday!!!). I just listened to the engine and the air noise in the cockpit and made my best guess as to my speed! I used GPS every now and then for ground speed, but that's about it.

AND IT WAS A BLAST!!!

The ASI cost me about $4k, which was about what I made for the day (lol) but all the bad weather CA is having right now (and I fly with RW weather) really made it a blast. I enjoy bad weather, and pulling greasers on all four legs was the capper (even without the ASI for the last one!).

I'll definitely fix whatever is wrong with my plane next time before taking off, though. I really don't like flying without an ASI. My flight instructor's voice is always in my head on approaches (airspeed-altitude, airspeed-altitude) and I had no airspeed to look at.

[stu7708 244]

I can only agree with John on getting Radar Contact. It adds tons to the ATC experience. The only problem is that it doesn't support VFR flight in the current version. Hopefully they will have version 5 out soon with VFR support.

As for the default ATC sending you up and down the only thing I can think of is that it's trying to keep you at a safe altitude above the ground. Are you flying in mountainous terrain? I had the same issue on approach once when flying in mountainous terrain. As I came close to a mountain ATC asked me to climb (even though I was well clear of the peak (well, atleast 500 feet above it), and then descend me again once I had passed the mountain, and so forth as I passed over a couple of ridges.

[allardjd 1,853]

That could well be it - 500 feet is not considered "well clear" of terrain in the IFR environment. I don't recall the terrain separation minimum, but 2,000 feet sticks in my mind - it may vary from country to country in the RW. Even if that was the cause in this case, there is plenty in MS ATC to cause one to go for something better and RC is probably the best alternative available.

 

As for RC version 5, don't hold your breath. I bought version 4 in 2007, I think, and version 5 was supposed to be less than a year away at that time. I'm happy I didn't hold off waiting for the new version.

 

John

[Tim_A 997]

I'm not instrument rated, but this is how I understand it. "Minimum Safe Altitude" for IFR flights is considered to be 1000ft above the highest obstacle within 5nm either side of track, rounded up to the nearest 100ft, or 2000ft above the highest obstacle in mountainous terrain. Where no obstacles are shown on the chart, the "highest obstacle" is considered to be 300ft, since aviation charts normally only show obstacles taller than 300ft.

Thus your MSA will be the highest terrain point + 300ft (or charted obstacle, whichever is higher), rounded up to the nearest 100ft, + 1000 ft. (or +2000ft in the mountains)

The "basic" rules for IFR flight are

* Above MSA

* Correct semi-circular cruising altitude appropriate to the aircraft's track

So you should never be below 1300ft (or 2300ft) AGL. This is of course "except as necessary for take off or landing"

If you are flying airways, the airway itself will have a "Minimum Enroute Altitude" (MEA), which is the lowest altitude guaranteed for reception of the navaids along the length of the airway.

The big numbers shown on sectional charts are Maximum Elevation Figures (MEF), which represent the highest terrain within a sector, not including obstacles. They are not the MSA.

What I can't quite figure is why ATC would tell you to climb to 7800ft, since this is not a correct IFR cruising altitude...

[stu7708 244]

What I can't quite figure is why ATC would tell you to climb to 7800ft, since this is not a correct IFR cruising altitude...

It's the default FSX ATC after all, it disregards so many other procedures, so why not this one :th_smiles73:

[Tim_A 997]

True enough!

[David TRIGGS 0]

About the up-and-down FSX-ATC ...... were your altimeters correctly set?

David

[ehunyadi 0]

About the up-and-down FSX-ATC ...... were your altimeters correctly set?

David

Yes; I checked that. I thought the same thing after my first "yo," but by the fifth or sixth "yo," I figured that it was ATC having fun watching me go up and down.

Weather in Southern California has been really bad this past week (which means a lot of fun to fly in for me!) and I thought that the altimeter was set wrong or that the weather was changing, but the whole yoyo thing kind of threw that out.

It hasn't happened to me since; I guess it was just a weird night.

[Tim_A 997]

Turn your radio off and squawk 7600 (the code for Radio Failure). ATC will expect you to fly your filed flightplan.

Of course, once you get on the ground, there will be "paperwork", but that's another matter...

(I don't believe native FS handles any of the emergency squawks, but Radar Contact might)