The centerpiece is a new dynamic airport loading system that will allow pilots to interact with airports and controllers around them as they fly, rather than being locked into a strictly linear departure-to-destination experience. BeyondATC says the same underlying system will also be introduced for IFR flights.
The update also expands COM2 support, introduces new controller and frequency types, adds regional VFR procedures, improves flight following and control-zone transits, and brings a redesigned in-sim toolbar.
BeyondATC says Stage Two is now in the final stages of internal testing, although the team has not yet announced a release date for the experimental branch.
Dynamic Airports Change the Way Flights Work
The headline feature is dynamic airport loading.
As pilots move through the world, BeyondATC will load nearby airports and frequencies, allowing users to tune controllers, monitor weather stations, land somewhere unexpected, depart again and continue flying.
That is a major shift from the more rigid structure common in ATC add-ons.
A VFR pilot could depart with one destination filed, request a transit through controlled airspace, divert to another field, land and later continue elsewhere while still interacting with BeyondATC.
IFR pilots will benefit too. Dynamic loading will allow them to monitor nearby controllers, weather broadcasts and airport frequencies along the route.
There is still one limitation: BeyondATC will continue to require a flight plan for both IFR and VFR flying because it uses that information to prepare traffic and other flight data. However, VFR pilots will not be restricted to landing at the destination they originally filed.
That should make the experience feel considerably less like riding invisible rails across the map.
COM2 Gets Much More Useful
Stage Two also brings expanded support for the aircraft’s second radio.
Until now, COM2 functionality has been relatively limited. With Stage Two, pilots will be able to tune virtually any supported frequency on COM2, with independent volume controls and improved monitoring logic.
At launch, COM2 will be monitor-only, meaning users will not yet be able to transmit through the second radio.
Even so, this could make a noticeable difference during busy operations.
A pilot could communicate with ATC on COM1 while listening to AWOS, ATIS, another controller or a nearby airport on COM2 without constantly changing the active frequency.
UNICOM, AFIS, FSS and More Arrive
BeyondATC is dramatically expanding the types of frequencies it recognizes.
Stage Two adds support for:
- UNICOM
- CTAF and other broadcast frequencies
- Flight Information Service
- Flight Service Stations
- AFIS
- Air/Ground Communication Service
- AWOS and ASOS
- Australian AWIS
- UK LARS services
- London and Scottish Information
Self-announcement will also be available on frequencies such as UNICOM, SAFETYCOM, CTAF and air-to-ground channels.
This is especially important for VFR flying because smaller airports often do not have conventional tower controllers.
At uncontrolled fields, pilots will be able to announce their intentions through BeyondATC rather than suddenly falling into radio silence once they leave a towered airport.
AI aircraft will not yet use those broadcast frequencies in Stage Two. BeyondATC says that capability will arrive later as VFR AI traffic is introduced.
More Realistic UK VFR Operations
The United Kingdom receives some of the largest additions in Stage Two.
BeyondATC is adding support for LARS, or Lower Airspace Radar Service, allowing pilots to request Basic and Traffic Services outside controlled airspace.
The team says the relevant LARS controllers have been mapped with realistic coverage boundaries, handoffs, free calls and squawk assignments.
London Information and Scottish Information will also provide basic flight-information services.
AFIS locations are being treated differently from fully controlled airports. At a UK AFIS airfield, the controller can provide information and manage ground activity, but cannot issue a conventional takeoff or landing clearance.
BeyondATC is also experimenting with more natural chained requests, such as requesting airfield information and taxi clearance in a single transmission instead of making two separate calls.
Control-zone transits, visual reporting points and altitude-setting regions are also being added for UK VFR flying.
U.S. Pilots Get Flight Following and Airspace Awareness
For U.S. pilots, one of the biggest additions is VFR flight following.
Controllers will be able to provide traffic advisories and may ask pilots to identify on radar depending on traffic conditions.
BeyondATC is also adding awareness of Class B, C and D airspace, including logic for airspace infringements and Class B transit requests.
Controllers will be able to coordinate handoffs for aircraft receiving flight following, making longer VFR trips feel much more connected.
AWOS and ASOS stations will also become available at smaller airports.
Australia and New Zealand Get Expanded VFR Support
Australia receives flight-following support and AWIS weather broadcasts.
BeyondATC is also bringing AWIB stations into New Zealand and says New Zealand VFR operations will now use Australian-style rules within the system.
A new setting will allow pilots flying outside the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to choose which regional VFR rules BeyondATC should apply.
That should make the system more usable in areas that do not yet have their own dedicated regional rule set.
Controllers Can Be Too Busy to Help You
One particularly interesting addition is controller workload.
BeyondATC says certain VFR services may become unavailable when a controller is busy. A controller could hold a pilot outside controlled airspace or deny a request if workload becomes too high.
That introduces a little friction into the experience, which is exactly what can make an ATC simulation feel more believable.
Sometimes the answer really is "unable."
Smaller Fields Get More Attention
Stage Two will also allow BeyondATC to load smaller and private fields, including some airports that lack extensive scenery information.
That should be especially useful to bush pilots, touring pilots and anyone whose idea of VFR flying involves something smaller than an international airport with six Starbucks and three parallel runways.
The team has also worked on cleaning up frequency data, including improved handling for European 8.33 kHz channel spacing.
Toolbar V3 Is Coming With Stage Two
BeyondATC is also redesigning its in-simulator toolbar for MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024.
The new Toolbar V3 will bring more of the BeyondATC interface directly into the simulator, which should be especially useful for VR users and home cockpit builders.
Pilots will be able to:
- Start and end BeyondATC flights
- Access a redesigned frequencies page
- Manage turnaround functions
- Adjust common settings
- Toggle the MSFS 2024 taxi map
- Resize the toolbar to suit different displays
The toolbar will debut with Stage Two and then move into the Early Access branch after the experimental release.
VFR Traffic Is Still Coming Later
There is one major feature Stage Two will not include: full VFR AI traffic.
That is being reserved for Stage Three.
BeyondATC says the eventual plan is to introduce VFR traffic gradually, beginning with enroute aircraft before moving toward airplanes entering and leaving airports, flying circuits and transiting controlled airspace.
IFR traffic will still be present during Stage Two, and the developers say they have improved separation and traffic calls between IFR and VFR operations.
VFR vectoring and more advanced deconfliction remain works in progress.
From Scripted Flight to Open-World Flying
The bigger story behind Stage Two is not one individual feature.
It is the change in philosophy.
Stage One established controlled-airport VFR operations. Stage Two begins connecting those airports into a wider environment where pilots can move through different types of airspace, contact different services and change their plans along the way.
That is much closer to how VFR flying actually works.
Pilots rarely need an ATC system because everything went exactly according to plan.
They need it when weather changes, they decide to stop somewhere else, controlled airspace appears in front of them, another aircraft shows up on frequency or the destination runway suddenly becomes far less attractive than it looked on the chart.
Dynamic airport loading could be the feature that allows BeyondATC to start handling those moments naturally.
Release Timing
BeyondATC has not announced a date for Stage Two.
The team says it does not want to commit to a timetable until it is confident one can be met, but the update is now in the final stages of internal testing.
Stage Two will first arrive on the experimental branch.
VFR remains an experimental feature and will not move to the standard Early Access branch for all customers until all three planned stages are complete.
For VFR pilots, however, Stage Two looks like the point where BeyondATC begins evolving from an airport-focused ATC tool into something much closer to an open aviation world.
And once virtual pilots realize they are no longer required to go where they originally said they were going, controllers may discover exactly what real-world ATC has known for decades:
General aviation pilots occasionally have ideas.
