No matter on which continent you fly with an IFR flight plan, ATC does not recognize that a landing is imminent. Taking off with the appropriate altitude information works, but ATC repeatedly insists on staying at the last requested altitude (e.g. 10,000 feet). Even if you descend towards the airport using ILS, you will be repeatedly asked to stay at 10,000 feet.
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Please don’t take this the wrong way, but without clearance from ATC you must never change your altitude. IRL they will know your destination and you can tell them when you want to start your approach, but in the sim sometimes they request you to start your descent, and sometimes they don’t. The only way to work with ATC is to ask them for a lower altitude when you reach your TOD. If they deny your request, it mostly is not without reason. You can then request smaller steps and try again later, but normally you can get down this way and they will clear you for the ILS approach when you are near the airport.
I’ve not been able to confirm this since I eschew setting STARs on GA flights where the weather at destination could make it inaccurate, but ATC might be recognizing Top of Descent with Arrival Procedures now.
In 2020 and again in 2024, ATC does recognize ToD to a destination airport without an approach selected - as long as I import a Flight Plan from an external EFB like Little Nav Map. I will get prompts to descend, then followed almost immediately by an Approach assignment.
Where I see folks not getting a prompt seems to be in two situations - probably related. One is the use of airliners, and two is the use of SimBrief.
A .PLN plan import from a non-Simbrief EFB has never failed me in terms of TOD. I will make an investigation into STARs on the next flight to see if ATC also “recognizes” it the way it does a SID - based on the verbal prompting it provides.
I was advised of the descent requirement on my recent IFR flight from YBOK (Oakey) to YBRK (Rockhampton). Furthermore, I used the in-game EFB tablet to plan the flight with a RNAV approach and ensured I filed the plan with ATC and sent the route to the avionics.
As the weather was inclement with tropical cyclone Alfred just off the coast, I was diligent with ATC contact. Around 10 mins before my estimated rule of thumb TOD, I used the Garmin 530’s TOD calculator to refine the TOD.
On reaching the TOD location at 13,000 ft, ATC didn’t instruct me to descend; I requested and was granted a lower cruise altitude of 8,000 ft. However, shortly after beginning my descent, ATC instructed me to descend according to the flight plan’s arrival and approach.
So, in my opinion, it worked (in this scenario)!
In my case there was a difference in when, but that’s due to the rate of descent I used in my calculation of 800 fpm. ATC obviously uses a higher value.
This is not real life, it is a heavily bugged “sim”.
I’ve had plenty of occasions where descent requests are accepted and then immediately the ATC re-orders me back to the original FL. I’ve had times where I’m overflying the airport and still don’t have any instructions from ATC. Sometimes it waits so late you’d need a 5000fpm descent to get to the glideslope.I can fly the same approach procedure 5 times (a favourite is TULS3A Arrival and RNAV 26Z via RTT approach to Innsbruck) and it is consistently inconsistent.
When the ATC gets it’s knickers in a twist, usually the only option is to cancel IFR and fly the instrument approach and take the hit to the undefined “airline procedures” score.
In the real world this wouldn’t be something you would do, but in this bugged, rushed beta product, it’s the least worst option.
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That’s why I wrote to ask for descent yourself and not wait for ATC to instruct you to do so. And I also wrote that if they decline your request, it often (not always!) is not without reason. Have you checked the approach plate if the altitude you requested was below some waypoint limit? Or did they decline you to leave your cruising altitude? Sometimes they want you to go back to cruising altitude while you’re already on the glidescope, that instruction you can just ignore. Otherwise I only had trouble with ATC if I misinterpreted their instructions, or if they fire two or more instructions my way without giving me a chance to acknowledge them first.
@Flusigolfer : does the ATC instruct you to descend once close or overflying the airport ?. If so seems to be the same issue than reported here: ATC approach instructions issues (too late and high altitude)
When I enter a flight plan in FS2020, I am guided to a favorable altitude for ILS in good time. I am also prompted to connect to the destination airport, etc.
None of this happens in FS2024. From my point of view, there is no reason why this does not work exactly the same way in FS2024.
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There is even the case that I asked for a lower flight altitude and got it confirmed. However, seconds later I was told to immediately return to the previous altitude. The first confirmation of the requested lower altitude came from a female voice and the revocation from a male voice. Something is not right.
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Thanks for your comments!
What flight planning tool you used?
In FS2020 the ATC worked with a lot of bugs and problems and although there were minimal changes, the expected improvements were not made - this meant that only the very optimistic could hope for something much better in FS2024 - I was not one of them. Unfortunately, I was right, because apart from the fact that the controller sounds are better and don’t deteriorate in the long run, the ATC quality has become even worse than it was in 2020. The problems could be listed at length I have commented on it several times. If we accept this and do not complain regularly, it will remain largely as it was in 2020, unfortunately. We need a comprehensive overhaul!
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It happens to me every time I do so, so i presume it`s a bug!
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