How do I use ATC in FSX Free Flight like guided missions?

To use ATC in FSX or FSX: Steam Edition Free Flight like a guided mission, load an IFR flight plan, start at parking at a controlled airport, open the ATC window, request clearance and follow every hand-off. You will receive clearances, vectors and approach instructions, but not scripted mission prompts or objectives.

Why does Free Flight ATC feel different from a guided mission?

Free Flight uses Flight Simulator X’s rule-based ATC system, while guided Missions can add position-triggered narration, instructions, checkpoints and failure conditions.

A voice telling you to lower the landing gear, fly through a marker or perform a manoeuvre may belong to the mission’s ATC script rather than stock ATC. Free Flight does not load that script, even if you recreate the same aircraft, airport and route.

“Full ATC” in FSX therefore means the normal clearance, taxi, take-off, en-route, approach and landing sequence where suitable controllers exist. It does not include an instructor, mission scoring, procedural coaching or control of your aircraft.

How do I set up full ATC guidance in Flight Simulator X?

The most reliable setup is an active IFR plan whose departure airport matches your starting location.

1. Create and load an IFR flight plan. In the built-in Flight Planner, select the departure and destination, choose IFR, calculate a route and set an appropriate cruising altitude. The route must be loaded as the active FSX plan, not merely entered into an add-on FMC. See our walkthrough for creating and loading an FSX IFR route if the clearance option does not appear.
2. Start at parking at a controlled airport. Choose a gate, ramp or parking position at the plan’s departure airport. A runway start skips part of the clearance and taxi sequence. An uncontrolled aerodrome will not have Clearance Delivery, Ground or Tower, although you may be able to contact an en-route controller after departure.
3. Power the radios and avionics. This matters particularly in cold-and-dark or complex add-on aircraft. COM1 must be available because that is the radio used by stock ATC.
4. Open the ATC window. The default command is the grave-accent or backtick key, `, although non-US keyboards and custom assignments may use something else. Calls and replies are selected with the displayed number keys; stock FSX ATC does not recognise microphone speech. Our guide to the ATC window and its numbered options covers the controls in detail.
5. Request and read back the IFR clearance. Select the option to tune or contact Clearance Delivery, then request the loaded IFR clearance. At smaller controlled airports, Ground or Tower may handle the clearance instead. Read back the assigned altitude, departure instructions and transponder code using the displayed response.
6. Contact Ground and request taxi. Do not expect a runway start to provide the same sequence. Once taxi clearance has been issued, FSX may offer progressive taxi; this displays magenta arrows on the ground. We explain how to turn on progressive-taxi arrows when the airport layout is unfamiliar.
7. Follow every controller hand-off. A typical chain is Clearance Delivery, Ground, Tower, Departure, one or more en-route controllers, Approach, Tower and Ground. Not every airport or region provides every position. Read back the frequency change, then select the separate option to contact the next controller.
8. Fly the assigned headings and altitudes. Acknowledging an instruction does not change the autopilot, heading selector, altitude window or throttle. If ATC says “resume own navigation”, follow the active GPS, VOR or FMC route until another clearance is issued.
9. Complete the arrival. Approach will normally assign a runway and either provide vectors or clear you for an approach. After landing, clear the runway before contacting Ground and requesting taxi to parking.

Selecting a displayed contact option normally tunes the required frequency and makes the call. If the frequency does not change, or you prefer to manage the radio yourself, use the active COM1 frequency and confirm that the standby frequency has been swapped correctly; our COM1 tuning and ATC hand-off guide explains the process.

What guidance will FSX ATC provide?

An active IFR flight plan provides the closest Free Flight equivalent to mission-style guidance, but the amount of communication changes with the flight type.

Silence during an IFR flight does not always indicate a fault. After clearing you to resume your own navigation, a controller may have nothing further to say until a traffic advisory, altitude change, approach instruction or hand-off is required.

Can I use FSX ATC with PMDG aircraft and other FMC routes?

Stock Flight Simulator X ATC cannot read a route held only in a PMDG CDU or another aircraft’s separate flight-management system.

Load a matching IFR plan through the FSX Flight Planner as well as entering the route in the FMC. Keep the waypoint order and cruising altitude reasonably aligned. When ATC gives a vector, use the aircraft’s heading mode as required, then intercept or rebuild the FMC route after ATC clears you back to your own navigation.

FSX ATC does not operate the PMDG autopilot and does not fully understand every SID, STAR, speed restriction or altitude constraint. If strict procedure fidelity is the priority, expect occasional conflicts with stock instructions. If continuous stock ATC guidance is the priority, use a simpler FSX route that closely matches the FMC plan and obey the issued headings and altitudes.

Why is the FSX ATC window silent or not guiding me?

Missing guidance is usually caused by an inactive IFR plan, an incorrect frequency, a missed hand-off or a route that exists only inside an add-on aircraft.

• No IFR clearance is offered: confirm that the plan is IFR, loaded and begins at your actual departure airport. A saved route that was never made active will not generate the full clearance sequence.
• The ATC window will not open: check the assigned ATC-window control in the keyboard settings. The default ` key varies by keyboard layout and may have been overwritten by another command.
• The menu has no useful controller option: you may be at an uncontrolled airport, outside radio range, using the wrong COM radio or missing avionics power.
• You acknowledged a hand-off but heard nothing else: reopen the window and select the option to contact the named controller. Reading back a frequency change is not the same as establishing contact.
• The route is visible in the PMDG FMC but ATC ignores it: load a corresponding IFR route into the FSX Flight Planner. The stock controller cannot inspect an add-on FMC database.
• ATC is quiet during the cruise: continue along the route at the cleared altitude. Extended gaps are normal after “resume own navigation”.
• Text appears but voices are missing: check the simulator’s voice volume, ATC text setting and selected audio output. The communication logic can continue even when speech is inaudible.
• You ignored several calls: FSX can terminate IFR service after repeated unanswered instructions. Structured hand-offs will not resume until IFR service is re-established or the flight is restarted with the plan active.

Can airliners fly VFR in FSX or ATC24?

Stock FSX allows an airliner to fly VFR; it does not force an aircraft to use IFR because of its size or category.

You can request VFR taxi, take-off and landing services and, where available, flight following. You will not receive the continuous altitude assignments, route clearances and approach handling associated with an IFR plan. Real scheduled airline operations are normally conducted under IFR, even though aircraft are not universally prohibited from operating VFR.

ATC24 is separate from the FSX ATC engine. Its session or server rules may require airliners to file IFR, so those published rules take precedence even though stock FSX permits VFR flight.

Is FSX: Steam Edition ATC different?

FSX: Steam Edition uses the same core Free Flight ATC workflow as Flight Simulator X: file the plan, open the ATC window, request clearance and follow the hand-offs.

Steam Edition does not add a newer controller engine or mission-style coaching to ordinary flights. Keyboard assignments can differ if they have been customised, but built-in ATC is part of the simulator and does not require a separate ATC product or subscription.

Is FSX a full ATC sim, and does it follow an ATC script?

Free Flight ATC is an automated, pilot-facing traffic system rather than a full controller-training simulation or editable ATC script.

Its instructions are generated from the active flight plan, aircraft position, airport data and simulated traffic. Mission authors can add scripted voices and triggers, but those belong to the individual Mission and cannot be switched on from the Free Flight ATC window. Some FSX editions also have separate multiplayer tower-controller facilities; those are distinct from the automated ATC covered here.

Do ATC staff get free flights?

Real-world air traffic controllers do not automatically receive free airline flights as a standard benefit. Controllers are generally employed by government bodies or air-navigation service providers rather than airlines, and any travel benefits depend on the employer and local agreement.

Within FSX, built-in ATC can be used on any Free Flight without a separate service fee once the simulator is owned.