[OFFICIAL] Community Fly-in Event: Grand Canyon Razor Run

Jummivana · December 14, 2020, 8:05pm

The Official MSFS Discord and ATConnect present…

2020-12-18T20:00:00Z

This race will take place through a large section of the Grand Canyon, refereed and timed by ATConnect Air Traffic Controllers.

Contestants will start at 1G4, race through an ATC-designated section of the Grand Canyon, and end at KGCN. No registration is necessary, and all skill levels, including new beginners and experts, are encouraged to join the race!

Contestants can choose one of three aircraft: TBM-930, Extra 330LT, or Pitts Special S-2S.
Contestants will contact 1G4 GND to indicate they’re interested in racing. After ATC confirm required software is properly set up (see “How do I join?” for requirements), taxi directions will be provided.

Contestants will complete the race asynchronously, with ATC starting and stopping an official race timer for each aircraft separately. For more detail on the race path, see this Google Maps Screenshot or this ATC Radar Scope or this MSFS Demo Flight Plan. ATC will provide start and end vectors; these are simply for reference.

Leaderboards, separated by aircraft type, will be updated live as the race progresses and moderated by ATConnect and FlightEvents!

Contestants who alter their aircraft (other than skins/decals), slew in-race, cut corners, or otherwise try to cheat will be disqualified from official leaderboards. (Remember, ATC can see your aircraft speed, direction, and altitude at all times )

Spectators who wish to watch the race in-game without (or after) racing, are allowed to do so by receiving clearance for their desired flight path from KZLA CTR.

How do I join…

…the competition on the leaderboards and get timed by ATC?

Download and set up Flight Events.
MSFS Client is mandatory; Toolbar is optional
Join the Official MSFS Discord Server
Connect to #FE Preparation in MSFS Discord
Disable Co-Pilot & AI ATC: Settings → Assistance → User Experience → ATC Voices
Spawn on the ramp at 1G4–not on the runway–with the following multiplayer settings:
US-East Server; Live Players; No Traffic

…to just fly through the canyon for recreation without getting timed or having to contact ATC?

Use this MSFS Demo Flight Plan or Google Maps Screenshot to follow the same route as the racers!
Use these multiplayer settings: US-East Server; All Players; No Traffic

How do I learn to talk with ATC?

Practice makes perfect. That said, this event requires little to no ATC phraseology knowledge! We–ATConnect–host these events to provide a fun experience for everyone, regardless of ATC experience. That said, if you want to come extra prepared, here are some resources:

ATC Flowchart Demo for Canyon Race
Recent ATC Twitch Event with Jayne & Wastelander
ATConnect Pilot QRS (Quick Reference Sheet)
Search “ATC phraseology basics”

Questions?

Ask in #flight-events-bot (MSFS Discord)
During events, we also monitor #FE Preparation

See you in the skies!
~Rob Geebivi, Co-Founder and Event Coordinator, ATConnect
~MSFS Community Team
~MSFS Discord Team

Event Radio Frequencies

Controllers announce the next frequency with every handoff. The below list is simply for reference.
Disclaimer: These frequencies are NOT for real world communication.

Grand Canyon West Airport

1G4 ATIS   119.425
1G4 GND    122.900
1G4 TWR    123.900

Race Control Frequencies

RACE STRT   124.900
RACE CNTL   125.900
RACE END    126.900

Grand Canyon National Park Airport

KGCN ATIS   124.300
KGCN GND    121.900
KGCN TWR    119.000

Los Angeles ARTCC

KZLA CTR    124.850

Interested in joining ATConnect as a virtual controller?

That’s great! We’d be happy to have ya! For more information, please visit our website: ATConnect.de

Jummivana · December 14, 2020, 11:29pm

The Official Twitch Stream will feature 8 racers and we will hop back and forth between everyone to see how they are doing (Voice, Camera, and Game Screen). This is outside of the regular race that everyone can participate in above.

Your Hosts for the stream:

@Jummivana
@simtom2
@Chewwy94

The 8 Twitch Racers are:

Note: We are still picking our 8 main racers. DM me if you are interested. Requirements: Access to mic, and OBS. Thanks!

migte · December 14, 2020, 11:30pm

woweee, this seems like such a cool event that I will totally attend

Can’t wait :

BritinDC · December 16, 2020, 4:41pm

Count me in!

JayviatorX · December 16, 2020, 7:42pm

I’ll have a go, should be fun, I have joined the discord but I am unsure how to use the ATC, I have not done a community event before so with luck i will be able to participate!
Is there a maximum height, i mean do you have to stay low in the canyon?

migte · December 16, 2020, 7:54pm

Within the canyon walls is pretty much the boundary.

Also, as for the ATC, be sure to connect to flight events as instructed, and then follow the flow chart provided. It should be pretty simple, and if you ever get stuck, just ask around and people will be more than glad to assist

JayviatorX · December 16, 2020, 9:18pm

Thanks, I have downloaded the flight connect app and put it in my community files and seems to work as I just did a quick test flight and my aircraft showed on the flight tracker, so its more how I connect to the ATC that I am not sure of now.

migte · December 16, 2020, 10:29pm

To speak with ATC, you must be sure to link your FE client to your discord account. As you can see, under the discord tab, I am currently linked up to my discord profile.

Once you get that setup, when you join the Official MSFS Discord Server, you will be able to find this voice channel on the channel list called “FE Preperation”
under the events category.

Join this channel, connect to flight events, and whenever you change your in game frequency (be sure to follow the steps about disabling default ATC) you should be switched to a channel of that frequency within discord.

let me know if you have any issues and I’ll be glad to guide you through the steps in a voice call one on one.

JayviatorX · December 16, 2020, 11:17pm

Thanks for the offer to help, I think i have successfully connected to my discord server and have joined FE preparation but nobody is here so I cannot be sure if I have done things right, maybe its best to try again when the race is on?

migte · December 17, 2020, 12:22am

When you join the channel, and connect to flight events, did you try switching your ingame frequency? It then should move you to a new channel named that frequency.

JayviatorX · December 17, 2020, 1:59pm

I didn’t try that, do I have to tune it to a particular frequency? that is one thing I have not done with the flight sim yet (changing the frequency manually) as I don’t have any radio controls to do that and its a bit awkward trying to tune the radio and fly using a mouse, well not so bad on autopilot.
Its going to be quite hard to change frequency during the race or will I only have to tune to 1 frequency?

migte · December 17, 2020, 3:38pm

While flying, you would have to transition to a total of 4 frequencies ( startRace - Enroute - endRace - Tower2)

The provided frequencies to tune to are in the initial post at the top of this thread. Be sure to follow all the steps so you don’t have to listen to the ingame ATC and ATConnect’s controllers at the same time. I advise you practice/find a good way to switch frequencies in flight so you won’t have any issues.

ctt9563536 · December 17, 2020, 7:45pm

This free companion app has radio tuning functionality: https://www.reddit.com/r/MicrosoftFlightSim/comments/kebovo/msfs_mobile_companion_app_v13_released_added_flc/

Also, I think it is possible to assign keyboard/controllers inputs to the radio functions in the Controls options.

JayviatorX · December 17, 2020, 9:40pm

Thanks again, I have just had a practice run and I think I can manage, its not easy though, and it depends if I have to tune those frequencies immediately , if I can have time to find a relatively straight section i found after trimming the aircraft I can quickly let go of the controls and tune the frequency, also I have the next frequency in the standby so all I have to do is switch the standby to active com. Will we be told when to tune to those frequencies? Also will we be told that we have started and finished the race or do we just have to look at the map and guess where the start and end points are? I noticed there is a red building inside the canyon near the end point so that could be a good marker for the end.
Also could you elaborate more on the boundary, you said its within the canyon walls, but that is not to clear, at least for me, as within the canyon walls could mean right at the top of the canyon where there is quite a vast gap in between the walls and would be a lot easier as you could fly a lot straighter but lower down the canyon is a lot narrower (i did my practice run very low down, really hugging the river as much as i could (there’s a few glitchy areas where the river rises almost vertically up some kind of huge mounds, so watch out for those!)
I will look into those other frequency tuning options as mentioned below.
Thanks again for your patience! I apologise for asking all these questions, seems like I am the only person who doesn’t really have a clue!

JayviatorX · December 17, 2020, 9:41pm

Cheers, I shall have a look at those options.

migte · December 17, 2020, 9:55pm

Hey! The ATC and stream crew will take care of all the placement stuff, all you gotta do is fly! You will be told to contact the next controller by ATC, unless monitor me operations are in use, so for the most part, you can take their time (up to a minute to change freqs is reasonable)

The canyon walls means within the canyon walls. You cannot fly outside the canyon, but inside the boundaries of the giant hole in the ground

JayviatorX · December 17, 2020, 10:03pm

I downloaded that app, it said to launch a code in my browser, I assumed that meant in my mobile device browser, i did that and its not worked but i entered it inn my browser on m,y pc and it has worked on that, can you tell me how to get it to show on my ipad?

JayviatorX · December 17, 2020, 10:05pm

Thanks that makes things a lot easier then i should be able to get a much quicker time as well, no need to weave around at the bottom of the canyon!

Angernerve · December 18, 2020, 12:10am

Should be a boat (plane?) load of fun. Best of luck to all of the racers, and thanks to the hosts for taking the time to create this. Special thanks to @RobGeebivi and his fantastic coordination with ATConnect!