It would be very nice if MSFS could get the info from the charts to know if a particular runway is a left or right hand pattern.
I realize that may be difficult to do - so what if there was a check box to force that info to ATC before making your request.
It is really annoying when ATC is indicating a left hand downwind when in fact it should be a right hand downwind. I guess MSFS has defaulted all runways as left hand patterns.
For whatever its worth… Published patterns are regulatory if there is no active ATC. When ATC is active they can use either pattern or both patterns simultaneously.
Local conditions or local procedures might dictate that ATC always use either left or right pattern in particular circumstances, but as far as I know there is no general data source that contains such information. In the absence of such a data source I would prefer if ATC directs me to the closest pattern, and if there is no ATC I use the published pattern.
If you only fly in the USA, you can find this information in the FAA A/FD. If an airfield requires right hand traffic, this is always explicitly noted.
2 Likes
Again, you can’t. That information only tells you what traffic pattern to use if there is no ATC. If ATC is active you follow pattern instructions given by ATC. The point being of course that when ATC manages traffic in the pattern there is less need for everyone to be using the same pattern since ATC can handle the sequence.
1 Like
FAA chart supplement contains traffic pattern info.
1 Like
My original point being - in a case where there are parallel runways like for example KPAE Paine Field the Jeppesen Chart clearly indicates RH Patterns for 16R and 34R for obvious reasons.
If I could at least force MSFS ATC to use RH Pattern that would solve the problem. At the moment MSFS ATC always specifies a LH Pattern.
It does not matter if you are looking at Jeppesen charts, FAA chart supplements, the text on sectional charts, or whatever: That text is only a requirement when there is no ATC. A pilot making an approach without ATC (e.g., tower is closed) has to obey that text. A tower controller does not.
Just from looking at that chart, there is nothing to suggest real-world ATC would never clear you for a left hand traffic pattern to 16R if traffic conditions and other circumstances make that favorable. All that text means is that if the tower is closed you cannot make a left hand pattern to 16R. In MSFS the tower is never closed if there is a tower so that text never applies as a requirement at a towered airport in MSFS.
There might be other reasons why ATC would never clear you left traffic to 16R, such as local noise, traffic, or terrain considerations. But you cannot tell that from published chart information, you would have to read local procedures written for use by the ATC controllers themselves, and that information is not generally published.
1 Like
I can’t for the life of me figure out why anyone would use MSFS ATC. Vatsim all the way.
1 Like
I agree with you totally. I only thought I would see what it was like, but now I know it is far from reality.
The pattern for a runway is set in the configuration for an airport. This can be easily changed using the World Hub (or the full toolset in the SDK). I’ve worked on about 40 airports using the World Hub. Three or four of them had incorrectly set patterns.
3 Likes