Enroute

Center handoffs, climb, descend, jump to waypoint

From the initial climb to top-of-descent.

Who you talk to#

After takeoff, Tower normally hands you to Center. For very short flights, you may go directly into the arrival flow with Approach or another Tower.

Center handles:

Initial airborne contact ("checking in").
Climb clearances.
Heading and vector instructions.
Direct-to and waypoint sequencing.
Center-to-center handoffs across regions.
Top-of-descent transition into the arrival.

Initial contact#

After airborne the Radio Log offers a check-in button labelled with the sector you are entering, e.g. Roma Center initial call or Approach initial call. Press Handoff. The controller responds with a climb clearance or a heading.

Climbing#

Altitude planning uses sparse flight-level data. Not every waypoint has a fixed flight level. Climb is delivered as intermediate clearances: "Climb FL150", then later "Climb FL250", up to your cruise altitude.

Cruise altitude changes are available from the Nav Display Altitude tab with Request cruise altitude change when the flight phase allows it.

Vectors and headings#

When flying manually, follow the cleared heading yourself or set your aircraft autopilot. If AutoFly is active, its assistance follows the ATC workflow; hearing a heading alone does not confirm that your aircraft has accepted or reached it.

In Options you can tune:

Reduce heading vector calls — fewer repeated corrections.
Precise heading — tighter heading handling.
Calculate wind correction angle — heading values that account for the wind.

Direct-to#

The controller may issue Direct to FIX to skip part of the route.

Center handoffs#

When you cross between control regions, you are handed to the next Center. The Radio Log offers the new frequency. Press Handoff to tune, then Handoff again to check in.

Top-of-descent#

Near the destination, the plugin builds the arrival path. The Radio Log offers a descent clearance. From here on, see Arrival.

"The climb seems too slow / too step-by-step"#

Each climb is an intermediate clearance. The next one comes when you reach the previous level or when traffic separation permits. This is closer to real-world step climbs than a single "Climb to cruise" clearance.

Choose a cruise altitude appropriate to the route and aircraft. A lower filed altitude does not guarantee a single uninterrupted climb clearance.

"I never get handed to Center"#

Causes:

Your flight is too short — you go directly into the arrival flow.
The airport has no nearby Center frequency in the navdata.
You were handed to Approach (also valid).

In all cases the Radio Log shows the next frequency to tune.