CURRENT NEWS


January 14, 2009 - USB Headsets

For those of you wishing to utilize speech recogntion, USB headsets are not recommended. A standard analog headset that uses the MIC input of your sound card produces superior response to that of USB headsets. Plus, known issues with USB headsets will be avoided when a standard analog headset is utilized. This information is most applicable when using the shareware program ATA (Air Traffic Assistant) designed for use with ATCsimulator2.

January 12, 2010 - Microsoft Policy regarding VB6 and Windows VISTA/7

The following article, explains that VB6 will continued to be supported in VISTA/7 for next 5 years, followed by another 5 years of extended support. ATCsimulator®2 was written in VB6 Professional and will continue to be updated/modified using VB6 Professional. You can be assured that our product will continue to be supported in all version of the Windows O/S as far back as Windows 98 thru Windows 7, well into year 2018. So, if you encounter any strange behavior as can be expected with the latest O/S, please alert us and we will work diligently to correct any problem encountered as always.

November 12, 2009 - Indiana State University Adopts ATCsimulator®2

Indiana State University has chosen to adopt ATCsimulator®2 into their air traffic training program.
We are truly excited to see how ATCsimulator®2 is continuing to help prospective students achieve
their dream of becoming one of the nations air traffic control specialists.

September 5, 2009 - Become a fan of ATCsimulator on Facebook

Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Here you will find product screen
shots as well as information about up and coming new products.

July 16, 2009 - New WIDESCREEN Support for ARTS-IIIa Mode

Finally, classic ARTS-IIIa mode now runs under widescreen settings. This is a major uplift to this legendary program. For all you fans of the legacy ARTS-IIIa equipment, you can now run it in the following widescreen settings: 1280x800, 1440x900 and 1680x1050. Large (120 dpi) and Normal (96 dpi) font modes only. This is ideal for both laptops, and desktops alike. This update is NOT to be used to correct problems with the demo.

Here is sample screen shot of the 1440x900 screen in the dim setting (for darkened rooms):



The screen above depicts the Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) TRACON area.

Here is sample screen shot of the 1440x900 screen in the bright setting:



The screen above depicts the Chicago O'Hare (ORD) TRACON area.

An update for existing customers is available for download via the Support page.
ATCsimulator2 Build 3.3.0.16 (Dec. 2007) or later is required. If you have version 3.3.0.8 or earlier,
you can upgrade for $20 USD. This upgrade will provide you with 3.3.0.16 Professional. You can
then apply the widescreen update to this version. Your Paypal transaction ID and email account
will be needed to validate your previous order and to send an invoice for the upgrade.

November 10, 2008 - youTube Demonstration of ATCsimulator®2

If you would like to see ATCsimulator®2 in action, INCLUDING speech recognition, just click here. Enjoy!

TRY-BEFORE-YOU-BUY-DEMO available.

We have packaged a 14 day trial version of ATCsimulator2, complete with 4 control areas, DFW, JFK, LAX and ORD. You can download this to your computer by clicking here. Remember to "Save" this file to a temporary folder of your computer. Do NOT "Run" until the download is completed. For VISTA users, be sure to "Run As Administrator".
NOTE: If there is any evidence of a previous version of ATCsimulator2 on your PC, this demo will fail.

DEMO GAMEPLAY INSTRUCTIONS

Here are some quick instructions to get you going. This is in no way a thorough manual, the registered
manual is over 120 pages. But this is enough to get you started and will allow for some exploration. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Downloading this demo is at your own risk and no support is provided.

NOTE ON INSTALLATION OF THE DEMO: Windows VISTA. Be sure to use Windows Explorer, and set the compatibility of the EXE file(s) to "Windows XP/SP2", check "Disable Visual Themes", and check "Run As Administrator". Better yet, you should disable UAC (User Account Control) completely to install this demo without a problem. Once it is installed, you can turn it back on. Please consult with Microsoft as to how to do that.
If you encounter error 75 on Windows VISTA, you did not follow our instructions.
Do NOT attempt to register the demo program.
WE DO NOT TROUBLESHOOT THE DEMO PROGRAM.

June 12, 2007 - FREEWARE Speech Recognition Software available

Dave Lange has completed his ATCListener program and it is available for download. Click here to download your copy. ATClistener is based on SAPI 5.1 rather than SAPI 4.x. Some who have struggled to get SAPI 4 to work have had better results with SAPI 5. Please note that this distribution of the software does not include any of the SAPI 5.1 runtimes - you will have to download and install them yourself. Instructions for doing so are included in the ZIP file. This software is being provided as freeware to the ATC Simulator community. Enjoy! In the event of problems, please contact Dave Lange. aerostudios does not provide support for this freeware application.

Career Minded Customers

If you're wanting to know how to become an air traffic controller, and what the training program is like,
there is no better book on the subject than Dr. Pat Mattson's, "Air Traffic Control Career Prep",
published by ASA. To order a copy you can visit here.

January 16, 2009 - ATCsimulator® Turns 8 Today

Dear air traffic simulator community,

Today marks the 8th Anniversary of the publication of ATCsimulator®. I want to thank the aviation community, and
the 60,000 or so customers for your support in the past 8 years. I especially wish to thank AVSIM for their support in keeping ATCsimulator® alive in the minds and hearts of those seeking a career in air traffic control. I am looking forward to an even brighter future with many new challenges and new ideas in air traffic simulation in pursuit of the career and hobby that we all love.

I never dreamed that ATCsimulator® would have achieved such success in the past 8 years; you have made my dreams come true. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, sincerely, Russell B. Davis/aerostudios.

"..controllers are reaching the breaking point of what they feel they can safely handle in light of the chronic
failure and may have to resort to using non-radar procedures to separate flights in their airspace.."

Visit here for a story about the problems facing the FAA and air travelers.

ATCsimulator ® © 2000-2010 Russell B. Davis
ATCsimulator is a registered trademark of Russell B. Davis
ATCsimulator radarscope image © 2005-2010 Russell B. Davis
aerocenter is a trademark of Russell B. Davis

MISSION STATEMENT:

To create the most realistic simulation products using current software technology. Todays user is intelligent, sophisticated and expects the ultimate in realism, as close as can be achieved. We do not believe in selling a "game" version of our product as a "watered-down" edition of a so-called "professional" version. Our products will maintain the highest quality, and will replicate the real-world, maintaining a balance between hardware constraints, and value-added playability. We believe in simulating the real-world as it is, because we believe the user is hungry for, and entitled to, the truth. But, this is after all, a game meant for the purpose of entertainment and is in no way intended to replace professional ATC training.