Fs Atc

FS-ATC is a Macintosh shareware air-traffic-control companion for Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0. It runs in the background, uses undocumented Apple Events to read the aircraft's position, heading, altitude, and speed, and feeds the pilot ATC instructions through the Speech Manager or as on-screen text.

What it adds to FS 4.0

The Mac port of Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0 shipped without meaningful air-traffic-control. FS-ATC bolts that layer on top, giving the simulator the realistic radio chatter and clearances that FS players had been asking for.

How it works

FS-ATC sits alongside Flight Simulator and queries it continuously through Apple Events. From those readings it generates appropriate ATC messages and either speaks them via the system Speech Manager or displays them in its own window.

Coverage

Version 3.0 introduced internal databases of VORs, center boundaries, and a curated set of airports, with fully automatic ATC from the gate of the chosen departure airport to the gate of the destination. Version 3.1 was distributed as US$10 shareware.

Compatibility

FS-ATC needs Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0 for Mac and runs on Mac OS releases from System 6 through Mac OS 9. It is preserved as a companion download to the FS 4.0 entry on Macintosh Garden.