ATC tells C172 to go to 21,000 ft. Funny but a bug

Bug Reporting Hub User Interface & Activities
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1

ISSUE DESCRIPTION

When doing a VIP mission, the ATC instructs my cessna 172 to climb to 21,000 feet. I will be dinged for this when I land as not following procedures.

If applicable, which aircraft is experiencing this issue:
Cessna 172

[PC Only] Did you remove all your community mods/add-ons? If yes, are you still experiencing the issue?
Yes

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

How often does this occur for you (Example: Just once, every time on sim load, intermittently)?

intermittently

REPRODUCTION STEPS

Please list clear steps you took in order to help our test team reproduce the same issue:

  1. Fly a long haul mission in a C172.
  2. See that sometimes ATC instructs you to altitudes you cannot attain.

MEDIA

Screenshot 2024-11-25 150436
Screenshot 2024-11-25 150436990Ă—793 40.3 KB

[END OF FIRST USER REPORT]

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2

I had a similar experience- One was in the C172 flying IFR into Yosemite National Park, and I was asked to climb and maintain 16000. lots of icing and barely made it. The other is the one I am in right now in the Beachcraft G36 and asked to fly to 18000- getting hounded by ATC to please expedite my climb…doing the best I can fully trimmed and climbing out at 85 KTS…ugh!

3

Supporting documentation
Referencing the information manual the service ceiling is 13,500 ft (underneath “no more than 100 fpm climb rate” as explained by a prior CFI, that denotes a service ceiling)

20241126_140017
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2 Likes
4

Can confirm. During the missions with IFR ATC gives unrealistic flight levels for Cessna 172. Quite annoying.

5

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ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Description of the issue: ATC asks for an altitude higher than the plane can do.
i. Career VIP flight calls for 22k altitude in a cessna 172. You try to request a lower altitude and the request is denied.

If applicable, which aircraft is experiencing this issue: cessna 172 but could be others

[PC Only] Did you remove all your community mods/add-ons? If yes, are you still experiencing the issue? yes, nothing in community folder

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

How often does this occur for you (Example: Just once, every time on sim load, intermittently)? often

REPRODUCTION STEPS

Please list clear steps you took in order to help our test team reproduce the same issue:

  1. career VIP in 172
  2. IFR

YOUR SETTINGS

If the issue still occurs with no mods and add-ons, please continue to report your issue. If not, please move this post to the User Support Hub.

What peripherals are you using, if relevant:

[PC Only] Are you using Developer Mode or have you made any changes to it? no

[PC, MSFS 2020 Only] Are you using DX11 or DX12?

[PC Only] What GPU (Graphics Card) do you use?

[PC Only] What other relevant PC specs can you share?

MEDIA

Please add a screenshot or video of the issue occurring.

[END OF FIRST USER REPORT]

:loudspeaker: For anyone who wants to contribute on this issue, Click on the button below to use this template:

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
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Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:
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6

I’ve had this happen several times as well though I think only on Freelance missions not Employer missions. I think the missions are designed for, and assume you are flying, certain later aircraft even though you can still fly them with for example a Cessna 172.

One possible way to deal with this is to go into the Chat window and request an altitude decrease. You can request a change up to 10,000 feet at a time, and you can do this multiple times if you need. ATC will occasionally deny your request particularly if you are requesting something too low but mostly they will allow it.

Unfortunately, sometimes later controllers will ignore your new altitude and ask you to climb back up to your original cruising altitude. You can safely ignore those requests but it is annoying because they will continuously ask you to “expedite your climb” up to that altitude.

Another way to deal with it is to go into Chat and choose the Cancel IFR option. This stops all ATC interaction for the flight. You can always go back to Chat and request Flight Following to re-engage with ATC.

1 Like
7

I’m not sure if this is the right place to post, but it has to do with the ATC. I was flying Freelancer and then asked for flight following. The ATC answered and asked me to go to 10.000 feet. As soon as I was climbing, I heard Go to 24,000 Feet. I then continued climbing. I then heard almost instantly Climb to 11,000 feet, then Go to 24,000 Feet. I tried to cancel Flight Follow8ing, but as soon as I acknowledged the transmission, the option to cancel IFR disappeared. I was using the Beta, and the problem hasn’t come up again since.