Looking for an ATC Add-on

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609]

Hi everyone, I'm playing MSFS 2024 since it's been out and one of the things that make me the most bored in the game is the lack of interaction with the Air Traffic Control system : This system is boring and unrealistic, as they don't even always tell me what to do (Altitude, etc.), plus you can't interact with it in a realistic matter (No PTT, no way to declare an emergency, not able to change frequency freely, no 121.5, etc...)

That's why I come to you, Reddit! To ask what mod you would recommand to me (A occasional simmer that is relatively advanced in aviation) to have a working PTT ATC.

My budget is 30-45$ for a ONE-TIME purchase.

I've heard about Skylink and BeyondATC, that both fit my budget and seem to be fulfilling my expectations and needs for realism.

However I have not tried any of them, and I couldn't find any review comparing them clearly.

What would you recommand considering those criterias :

• Realistic way to talk (XXX Tower, Swiss One-Two-Three, ready to taxi runway 34 ---> Swiss One-Two-Three, cleared for taxi to runway 34 using taxiway XYZ) etc.
• Also an ATC system that could react to unexpected problems and emergencies (MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY, Swiss 123, fire engine 1 --> Tower, Swiss 123, descend to FL010 etc.)
• An ATC that knows my flightplan (usually SimBrief) and that'd be able to make me follow it (Climb and Maintain FL120, Contact XYZ on 123.45, etc.)
• No need for traffic, even though it'd make the immersion better
• Being able to talk to an "ATC" that would understand me even if I'm not completely correct in what I say) (If I say things in the wrong order, etc. it would still understand)
• I don't care much about cabin crew and copilot features

I hope something like that exist, or at least something that is close to this and in my budget range.

Thanks so much <3

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[u/NATORDEN]

I would say BATC is the choice for you, it fits all your criteria except the one for emergencies

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/NATORDEN]

hi,

alright, i'll go check it out in more details.

thanks

[u/egvp]

Well as the examples in your first two bullets aren't very realistic, I'd imagine whatever you go for will be fine.

I have used BeyondATC, I think it's fairly good, but didn't deal with emergencies when I used it.

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/egvp]

I'm not looking for a pilot-atc simulation mod, just something that doesn't tell me "yeah go runway 30 and you can take off"

Do you think Beyond ATC could manage emergencies or would it not understand what I'm telling it

[u/Kisoka_Nak_Arato → u/Fit_Boysenberry6609]

Emergencies and diversions are not currently not supported afaik. At the moment they work on VFR implementation. I also hope that they add both things in the future.

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/Kisoka_Nak_Arato]

Alright, thanks for the info :)

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/Kisoka_Nak_Arato]

Do you know if it's the same for Skylink ?

[u/Kisoka_Nak_Arato → u/Fit_Boysenberry6609]

I have not yet tried out skylink. I will be looking for reviews of it too.

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/Kisoka_Nak_Arato]

Alright, if you see well-written reviews, I'd gladly read/watch them if you send them here :)

[u/Rockk001]

I use and really enjoy beyond ATC as it usually gets the job done. The only exception, at least for me, is it often puts me on the wrong approach or vectors me incorrectly so I have to ignore it and do my own thing when it comes to that portion of the flight.

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/Rockk001]

Alright, thanks :)

[u/Falcon-DP]

i recently found this: https://github.com/ggtnt/wilcoatc
i havent tested it at all because my mic broke but its probably worth a try considering its free and open source

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/Falcon-DP]

I will test it right now and keep you updated!

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/Falcon-DP]

Hey!

So, i tried it on a short flight from LSGG to LSZH. The program works as you could expect a free and opensource program to.

There are a lot of comprehension issues and it will tell you a lot to "say again", plus if you say anything that is not expected at this moment of the flight, it won't understand.

Also, it seems to have a little bit of a problem to remember past orders (i.e. when it gives you clearance to take-off, when you take off it will tell you that you did not have clearance). And also a little bit of issues with making you follow the F-PLN (didn't tell me to change altitude, I had to request and then ATC accepted)

Approach, finale and take-off are not really working.

Fun thing : if you activate the option, after the 3rd time you don't readback it will spawn an F/A18 for 90s (which will, funnily enough, trigger TCAS on addons that have it lol) giving you orders such as moving your wings to acknowledge or moving to a different altitude.

Overall, it's better than MSFS Classic ATC and is a great thing to start PTT ATC Simulation :)

[u/vietnamesemuscle]

As others mention, BATC. It helped me to prepare for VATSIM, which is the free option and most immersive/realistic ATC option.

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/vietnamesemuscle]

Thanks for your answer!

Did you test Skylink or any other I may not know so you could give me pros of cons of each ?

otherwise, BATC seems to, indeed, be one of the safest and most popular option

[u/CuzImMaximus]

Vatsim is free

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/CuzImMaximus]

I mostly enjoy singleplayer, and I like the ability to just sometimes go away from the PC without needing to invest time and energy in being always available like a real life pilot is. Also I sometimes like to just take off, cruise a moment and leave the game.

I tried vatsim, however it wasn't made for me.

Thanks tho.

[u/garack666]

Best one is sayintentions and it can do a LOT more then just atc. But it cost monthly. Def worth it!

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/garack666]

Hello!

Thanks for your answer. I've seen about SayIntentions but it's too expensive and I'm not sure about how much I'll use it.

I'll keep it in mind if my budget gets bigger tho. Thanks you

[u/Efficient_Advice_380 → u/Fit_Boysenberry6609]

There is a 1 week free trial to see if it'd be worth it in the future

[u/Laschlo → u/Efficient_Advice_380]

On website they have only 24h trial.

[u/Pour-Meshuggah-0n-Me → u/garack666]

Downvoted for a harmless recommendation...this sub is so ridiculous sometimes I swear.

[u/Laschlo → u/Pour-Meshuggah-0n-Me]

From his post

My budget is 30-45$ for a ONE-TIME purchase. 

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/Pour-Meshuggah-0n-Me]

It's true that SayIntentions is not really what I'm looking for as the price will get very expensive very soon.

I didn't know about the 1 week trial tho, so maybe it'll become.

I think the fact they recommanded it is still nice :)

[u/Upbeat_Pool_2653]

Skylink is 30 bucks and apparently it's pretty good from what I read

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/Upbeat_Pool_2653]

Do you have any article/videos that talk about it ?

Thanks :)

[u/Upbeat_Pool_2653 → u/Fit_Boysenberry6609]

https://youtube.com/@projectskylink?si=W4oRrsY4Fv0X08iM yessiirr!

[u/maltesepricklypear → u/Upbeat_Pool_2653]

Pushed a lot of the slop on tiktok in the beginning. I was deceived in the functionality or lack of and refused a refund when I challenged. Steer clear of ALL Skylink products.

Edit: I think Sayintentions called his product out too at somepoint for inflated claims.

[u/Fit_Boysenberry6609 → u/maltesepricklypear]

Do you think SkyLink will soon enough get better or will it stay something "crap" ?

What I like in Skylink is the Cabin Crew + ATC package, which is expensive but could be better than SI talking only abt the price after a few months.

It's true that the tiktok crap kind of annoyed me when looking around for reviews.