Microsoft Flight Simulator provides a realistic flying experience that any and every aspiring pilot will love. Players fly their planes over their desired locations. This is why they will need someone to guide them in order to prevent crashes. This is where the Air Traffic Control steps in. It helps players with landing, taking off, and flying to the correct airstrip. Although this can be automated, players may want to enjoy some real-life piloting experience. For this, they will have to manually track their whereabouts and connect to the ATC which can be a bit tricky. Hence, you can refer to our guide on Microsoft Flight Simulator: How to Talk to ATC (Air Traffic Control) to easily communicate and get help from them.
Moreover, the game features over 2 million cities, 37,000 airports, 1.5 billion buildings, real mountains, accurate temperatures, wind speeds, and much more. You can even locate your own house in this flight simulator!
How to connect to the ATC?
Players can connect with the ATC by tuning their radio to the correct frequency. They can then either manually alter the frequency or use the autotune feature which can be turned on and off.
Follow the steps below to connect with the ATC
- Press Shift+2 at the same time to make the radio stack pop up.
- Select the radio frequency that needs to be changed.
- Make use of the mouse wheel to increase or decrease the frequency.
- Alternatively, press the C key to choose the primary frequency numbers on Com 1 radio. You can also change the primary frequency numbers on Com 2 radio by pressing C+2. Then, use the plus and minus signs to increase or decrease frequency. If you want to change the secondary frequency numbers, press the C key twice for Com 1 radio. For Com 2 radio, press the C key twice followed by pressing the 2 key two times.
How to Talk to the ATC?
Talking to the ATC in Microsoft Flight Simulator is exactly like the way pilots and controllers talk in real life. Players will make a request, the controller will give an appropriate response or instruction which is followed with an acknowledgment by the player.
Players communicate with the ATC using the ATC menu. This is showcased inside a transparent window that can move around the screen.
When players need to communicate with the tower, an option saying “Choose a Message to Transmit” will appear. When no messages need to be sent, the ATC map will read “There are currently no messages to transmit.”
Follow the steps given below to send a message to the ATC
- Open the ATC menu by pressing the scroll lock key.
- Press the number key that corresponds to your required message to send it to the ATC.
- Players cant use the numeric key to send messages. They can only use the 1-9 keys present in the top row of the keyboard.
Other ATC tips
In multiplayer mode, players can talk to other pilots using the internet.
Two players can’t communicate with the ATC at the same time using the same frequency. They will hear a squealing sound instead and their messages will not be sent to the tower.
Players have the option to select their own pilot voices. To do this, go to settings followed by options. Then, click on the ATC menu and tick the Use a Pilot Voice checkbox. Players can then click their desired pilot voice from the list.
Players can change the aircraft’s ATC name. To do this, they must choose the “Select Aircraft” option from the Aircraft menu. After selecting their aircraft, they must make their desired changes in the ATC information under the Details heading and click okay.
Players can opt for the autotune feature if they don’t want to change the frequency of their radio manually. They can then simply choose a message to send to the ATC and the radio will automatically make contact with controllers.
Players can choose to disable the ATC and use the AI feature to put their aircraft in autopilot mode.
