> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.skyvexsoftware.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pause at TOD

> Have Stratos pause the simulator at your top of descent, so you can step away during cruise without flying past it.

Stepping away during a long cruise? Switch on **Pause TOD** and Stratos pauses the simulator for you when you reach your top of descent (TOD), so you come back to the aircraft where the descent begins rather than miles past it. Stratos works out the point from your cruise altitude, or you can give it your own distance.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **At a glance**
>
> * Switch on **Pause TOD** in the header of the tracking screen. It's set for each flight, not in Settings.
> * **TOD in** counts down the distance to where Stratos will pause.
> * On **Auto**, Stratos pauses about 3.5 nm from the arrival airport for every 1,000 ft of cruise altitude: about 130 nm out at FL370.
> * Press **Resume** in the flight log when you're ready to descend.

## Turn it on

1. Start tracking your flight and climb to your cruise altitude.
2. Check **TOD in** and the distance in the header of the tracking screen. This is how far you have to fly before Stratos pauses.
3. Switch on **Pause TOD** next to it.

![The tracking screen's header halfway to Sydney at FL370: TOD in 449 nm, the Pause TOD switch turned on, and 578 nm to go in the stats bar](https://mintcdn.com/skyvexsoftware/Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg/images/screenshots/stratos/tod-countdown-light.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Sb1fRnwlSTYcmxHg\&q=85\&s=8f451c9a89fea867e05c6ce9bc824e90)

With it on, the map draws a dashed circle around the arrival airport. Stratos pauses as you cross it.

**Pause TOD** is off at the start of every flight, and it switches itself off once it has paused. It pauses only while you're cruising or descending.

## Automatic

Unless you set your own distance, Stratos works the point out for you. It allows 3 nm for every 1,000 ft you have to come down, plus another 0.5 nm for every 1,000 ft so you have room to slow down and set up the arrival: 3.5 nm for every 1,000 ft in all. The altitude it uses is the highest you've reached on the flight, so the distance grows while you climb and settles once you're at cruise.

The distance is in a straight line from the aircraft to the arrival airport, not along your route.

> **A worked example: HBV107, Auckland to Sydney at FL370**
>
> * Highest altitude reached: just under 37,000 ft.
> * That is a touch under 37 × 3.5 = 129.5, so Stratos pauses at **129 nm** from Sydney.
> * Halfway across the Tasman, **DTG** in the stats bar shows 578 nm to go, so the header shows **TOD in 449 nm** (578 less 129).
> * The pause comes with 129 nm to go, a little earlier than a 3° descent alone would need.

## Set your own distance

If your FMS or flight plan has its own top of descent, use that instead.

1. Click **TOD in** in the header. **Pause at TOD** opens on **Auto**.
2. Click **Manual**.
3. Enter **Distance to destination**, in nautical miles to go. It must be less than the distance you still have to fly.
4. Press **Save**.

![The Pause at TOD dialog on Auto: Using altitude formula, with Manual beside it, and Cancel and Save](https://mintcdn.com/skyvexsoftware/Hz6HvysXK9kok6qr/images/screenshots/stratos/tod-dialog-light.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Hz6HvysXK9kok6qr\&q=85\&s=32b3eb117221dcde30b7dd25547f6109)

While your own distance is set, a pencil shows next to **TOD in**, and the countdown and the circle on the map use your distance. To go back to the automatic point, open **Pause at TOD** again, click **Auto** and press **Save**. Your distance is for this flight only.

Like the automatic point, it's a straight line to the arrival airport. With a long arrival procedure, set it a little further out than the distance your FMS shows along the route.

## When it pauses

At the point, Stratos pauses the simulator and the flight, and plays a sound (if **Sound** is on in [Settings → Notifications](/stratos/settings.md#notifications)). On the tracking screen:

* The header shows **Paused** with an orange dot, and **TOD in** and the **Pause TOD** switch are gone.
* The flight time stops while you're paused.
* **Resume** takes the place of **Pause** at the top of the flight log.

![HBV107 paused at FL370, 129 nm from Sydney: Paused in the header, Cruise in the summary row, and Resume at the top of the flight log](https://mintcdn.com/skyvexsoftware/Hz6HvysXK9kok6qr/images/screenshots/stratos/tod-paused-light.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Hz6HvysXK9kok6qr\&q=85\&s=b5c5d64ccebb05494c41affc722a1cfc)

## Carry on

Press **Resume** in the flight log. Stratos unpauses the simulator and carries on tracking.

You can unpause in the simulator instead. Because some simulators come out of a pause by themselves, Stratos holds the pause the first time and shows **Holding at top of descent**. Unpause the simulator again to carry on.

To pause again later in the flight, switch **Pause TOD** back on while you're still short of the point.

## Related pages

* [The tracking screen](/stratos/tracking-screen.md)
* [Pauses and disconnects](/guide/pauses-and-disconnects.md)
* [Flight phases](/guide/flight-phases.md)
* [SimBrief](/stratos/simbrief.md)


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