For those of you that aren’t familiar, POSCON is like VATSIM or IVAO, but IMO more geared towards the future and realism. I’m not knocking VATSIM as I have used it for years. It gets the job done nicely, and is very user friendly. POSCON however, is a middle ground between PilotEdge (which I’ve never used) and Vatsim. For those that want ultra realism, without the need to pay for a subscription.
One of the coolest features of POSCON is the traffic refresh rate. They update their traffic 15 times per second, so you’re seeing a very accurate portrayal of what other planes are doing. Little nuances while landing, taking off, etc. It makes for a very fun time plane spotting…that being said, there is no custom traffic set. You’ll have to use the .vrm files like on vPilot to get model matching. Unfortunately, this is a limitation with all of the virtual ATC networks since there are not AI traffic packs out yet. But once there are, it’ll look amazing.
POSCON is very realistic in that it does not hold your hand…at all. Similar to PilotEdge, you need to have current charts and resources available during your flight. Unlike VATSIM, there is no chat box. Everything is done via voice communication and/or CPDLC. Currently, it’s a bit clunky. I’d prefer one simple UI that allows you to have everything in one place. CPDLC for instance is an awesome feature. It has the same communication setup as real life, with some ACARS features built in (like checking weather/ATIS, etc) BUT the UI for CPDLC is used through your browser. Like I said–clunky. It’s not that bad, I’m just not a huge fan of ALT+TABbing during flights since I’ve only got 1 monitor.
You’re required to monitor (when able) 121.5 on your standby radio because if ATC comes online, you don’t get a private message telling you to contact said controller, they’ll hail you on 121.5 and have you change to their frequency. Or if you’re logged on to CPDLC, they’ll send you a message there. BUT if all else fails, they can try to raise you on their Discord – so there is a pseudo chat, but not necessarily attached to the network itself.
The pilot client is very similar to vPilot, but without the chat box. I mean it’s pretty much the same exact thing.
They’ve also got a 20 minute “training video” to explain the rules and regs when you sign up. Most of it is
basic straight forward stuff you’d expect from any virtual ATC provider, but there is also some good info in it.
My first flight was from KJFK to KPHL. There was only one controller online at the time, and he was handling about 25 planes throughout JFK airspace. He was professional, timely, patient, and helpful. There were a lot of folks that were using it for the first time, but were not afraid to ask questions.
I think the one thing POSCON needs is more participants. Obviously right now, VATSIM is the gold standard for free online ATC, but I think in the next few years, as FS2020 grows and more planes come out, we’ll see a change.