Posted: 11/28/2012 11:15:33 AM EDT
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Are simulators run on a PC useful tools for learning to fly or keeping your skills sharp?
If so, what programs do you folks use? Thanks! Dave |
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I'm a rotary wing guy, and MS flight sim's flight dynamics are nothing even close to accurate for helicopters, especially without a custom control set up plugged in to it. BUT, I have found over the years, that if you keep copies of approach plates, sectionals, and ELA's around, that MS Flight Simulator is great for maintaining instrument proficiency.
My entire way through the instrument portions of Army Flight School. I would plan my flight the night prior, and I would sit down before bed and fly my routes and planned approaches on flight sim using a light fixed wing like the 172/182 with autopilot. I chose that aircraft because it had similar cruise speeds and easy controls since I was only interested in the instrument portion. And that kept me sharp on the approach procedures, and also that way when I came to flight line the next morning I had already seen my exact flight the night prior so I was way ahead of the game in that respect. |
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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 with the Squawkbox interface to VATSIM. Many of the current plates still match up with MSFS and VATSIM provides real people doing ATC to make it more interesting.
I also own MSFS X, but my computer's not fast enough to run it well (30fps on 2004, only 5 on X). As well as that, I have X-Plane 9, but I just don't really like it all that well (even though the flight dynamics are way better, the instrument stuff just doesn't seem as good to me). |
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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 with the Squawkbox interface to VATSIM. Many of the current plates still match up with MSFS and VATSIM provides real people doing ATC to make it more interesting. I also own MSFS X, but my computer's not fast enough to run it well (30fps on 2004, only 5 on X). As well as that, I have X-Plane 9, but I just don't really like it all that well (even though the flight dynamics are way better, the instrument stuff just doesn't seem as good to me). I had never heard of that, but I will be buying a new headset tomorrow, and downloading that to check it out, that is just too cool (nerdy, but so am I, I am a pilot after all so it's cool) |
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Depends. A sim is not very useful in actually flying the plane. The sims tend to be very easy and not very accurate. The comment below comes from my recent experience of learning to fly and may or may not apply to your situation. The opinion is what you paid for it.  However, the flying part is only a portion of actual piloting. A lot of what you are doing is "systems management". Engine, airspeed, radio, traffic management, navigation, checklists, etc. I find the sim to be helpful here. Even just being in the simulated pattern while working through checklists, hitting airspeed, pretend radio calls, etc. One all of this stuff becomes second nature you can spend more time on the details of flying and as a result will be a better pilot. Remember, a great landing starts 5 minutes before touchdown. And the keys to that are correct airspeed, RPMs, location & direction and configuration. All of those things can be practiced in the sim. As to what happens in the sim the last 300 feet, forget it. I also found the sim pretty handy for practicing VOR nav, which i guess is going away soon anyway. |
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I did a little air traffic control last spring. They do the best they can to get it as realistic as possible. There is a lot of coordination that goes on throughout the country and the radar "scopes" that are used are pretty impressive. You don't have to fly on the network but, if you choose to, it ups the realism especially if there is a special event going on. VATSIM VRC - NY/Newark Approach  The new vSTARS radar interface  From that end it can get pretty realistic. VATSIM - The International Online Flying Network One of the most popular jets to fly is the PMDG 737-800 Here's a short video of what it's like: http://vimeo.com/27292595# Wanna fly the 787 Dreamliner? There's a sim for it If you want to fly Air Force One or a B-52 you can do that too. Captain Sim Then you can go there and get all kinds of addons: AVSIM.COM Then when you think you know what you're doing, you can go fly for a virtual airline like: Southwest Virtual Airlines American Airlines Virtual they've got a whole structured training program Virtual United Airlines Here's a list of virtual airlines you can fly for - they run profit and loss analysis just like the bigboys. They don't leave any stone unturned. It's wild. You can get swallowed up in all of the planes and paintjobs pretty quick. Flight Simulator 2004 or FS9 remains extremely popular because of hardware requirements. If you have a little more juice FSX has a little more detail. But there are tons of free add-ons you can get from cockpits to scenery to ground crews, terminals and on and on. United States Virtual Air Force Virtual Thunderbirds Virtual Blue Angels I have no financial interest in any of these sites whatsoever - just sharing my own research FLY SAFE! |
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Quoted: People really do this virtual ATC? Must be some really nice basements.  Check this out Most simulators are not that elaborate and don't even come close. I would say most are something like this:  Here is Fort Worth virtual ATC Some are like this:  Most are like this:  Watch this in fullscreen NY Approach It's a hobby like anything else |
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Simulators just don't similate the 'feel' of flying and VFR stuff. For that they aren't really useful.
For procedural stuff like checklists, setting radios/instruments, flight planning, instrument procedures, etc they can be fantastic aids...but not substitutes. The value is then limited by how real you treat it. I've found through hours and hours of flying 'instruments' on the sim was very beneficial for when I actually flew a real plane under the hood. With the sim you have no external influences to confuse you so all you have is to watch your instruments. This seemed to desensitize me and to then ignore those sensations and trust the instruments. I'd bet the guys who have more seat-of-the-pants flying real planes in VFR conditions have a more difficult time transitioning to IFR. |
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Quoted: So people do these simulators online, networked. What simulator do people use? Online with VATSIM or setup a flight plan on your program and fly that with the program's ATC telling you what to do. VATSIM during an event allows for the realistic exchange of communication as you are connected through the VATSIM network and talk to each other via Teamspeak. Most people use MS9 or MSX - I haven't seen much good said about the latest MS Flight Some fly X-Plane 9 Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight - Computer friendly: The minimum system requirements for Flight Simulator 2004 - A A Century of Flight are:
These are the minimum system requirements that a computer must have to run Flight Simulator 2004. You can increase the overall performance of your computer if you exceed these requirements. Microsoft Flight Simulator X - It really needs more juice than this to run at its best and take advantage of the upgraded graphics. Required Processor 2 GHz equivalent or faster processor Required Operating System Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, or XP SP2 Required Memory 1 GB Required Hard Disk Space 32 GB for installation, 15 GB thereafter; Acceleration requires 12 GB for installation, 6 GB thereafter Recommended Input Device Joystick or yoke Required Input Device Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device Required Platform PC Required Sound Card Sound card, speakers, or headphones required for audio Required Video Card DirectX 9 or higher compatible video card; 128 MB video RAM or higher, Shader Model 1.1 or higher Other System Requirements 56.6 kbps or better modem for online play For the cost of the program you could try out FS9 (under $15 new) and see what you think about the whole premise and not be out much money at all. If you have a good computer and decide you want to dive in FSX is a little bit more (under $20 new) then buy your yoke and power quadrant, find add-ons and before you know it you are really bitten by the bug. Check out this video for how detailed these aircraft simulations can get. This is the startup sequence for a PMDG 737NG Here is how to set up the Flight Management Computer on the PMDG 737-700 |
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It's amazing how detailed some of the add on programs for MSFS are.
One of my buddies is a sim junkie, and he has this: Fly the Maddog I fly the MD-80 for work, and you could learn all the procedures and flows/checklists with this program. But the flying leaves a little to be desired. |
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I'm a controller, but know nothing about these simulators. You mean to tell me that there are people who use ATC simulators and interact with flight sim players as a hobby? Yes. Someone would do your job for free, too, were it not for the age requirement and government employment hoops. Meanwhile, the FAA is busy taking away these safeguards for the pilot profession. |
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I'm a controller, but know nothing about these simulators. You mean to tell me that there are people who use ATC simulators and interact with flight sim players as a hobby? Yes. Someone would do your job for free, too, were it not for the age requirement and government employment hoops. Meanwhile, the FAA is busy taking away these safeguards for the pilot profession. But, but, but...We have to lower the requirements and have the MPL..It's the only way we can staff the regional airlines, since we have to lower the pay and benefits (pinnacle today). $22,000/year for a new hire is just too much $$! I've actually had flight simmers approach me at the airport, while in uniform, and start a discussion about flying. One believed he was just as qualified as we were, since he had 2200 (yes, over two thousand) hours logged on flight sim. And don't get me started on the airliners.net crowd. |
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I'm a controller, but know nothing about these simulators. You mean to tell me that there are people who use ATC simulators and interact with flight sim players as a hobby? Yes. Someone would do your job for free, too, were it not for the age requirement and government employment hoops. Meanwhile, the FAA is busy taking away these safeguards for the pilot profession. But, but, but...We have to lower the requirements and have the MPL..It's the only way we can staff the regional airlines, since we have to lower the pay and benefits (pinnacle today). $22,000/year for a new hire is just too much $$! I've actually had flight simmers approach me at the airport, while in uniform, and start a discussion about flying. One believed he was just as qualified as we were, since he had 2200 (yes, over two thousand) hours logged on flight sim. And don't get me started on the airliners.net crowd. The thing that gets me about that is that I would bet that passengers would gladly accept a $1 increase in ticket price to make being a pilot a highly paid, highly competitive position again. And playing call-of-duty is just like the real thing too, only you get to turn the game off or respawn in 3 seconds after you die. And don't get me started on the ar15.com crowd when it comes to firearms. 
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Quoted: I'm a controller, but know nothing about these simulators. You mean to tell me that there are people who use ATC simulators and interact with flight sim players as a hobby? Yeah, and there are a bunch of them - all over the world too. Check out VAT-SPY - VAT-Spy is a simple application that allows you to view current ATC staffing and traffic levels on VATSIM. It will show the aircraft flying on the network and what their flight plan is, altitude and ground speed. It gets hoppin' during events and on the weekends. It's kinda dead tonight though. You living in the Alabama area might be interested in virtual ZTL Atlanta ARTCC They have over 70 controllers on the roster. |
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People really do this virtual ATC? Must be some really nice basements. Some brilliant mind is going to just outsource ATC and the pilots to these guys, and not tell them they are actually doing stuff. Just pay them in cookies. Could be setting themselves up for a virtual strike. |
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People really do this virtual ATC? Must be some really nice basements. Some brilliant mind is going to just outsource ATC and the pilots to these guys, and not tell them they are actually doing stuff. Just pay them in cookies. Could be setting themselves up for a virtual strike. I actually joked to a friend that I want to be the V-ALPA President. |
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I'm a controller, but know nothing about these simulators. You mean to tell me that there are people who use ATC simulators and interact with flight sim players as a hobby? Yes. Someone would do your job for free, too, were it not for the age requirement and government employment hoops. Meanwhile, the FAA is busy taking away these safeguards for the pilot profession. But, but, but...We have to lower the requirements and have the MPL..It's the only way we can staff the regional airlines, since we have to lower the pay and benefits (pinnacle today). $22,000/year for a new hire is just too much $$! I've actually had flight simmers approach me at the airport, while in uniform, and start a discussion about flying. One believed he was just as qualified as we were, since he had 2200 (yes, over two thousand) hours logged on flight sim. And don't get me started on the airliners.net crowd. The thing that gets me about that is that I would bet that passengers would gladly accept a $1 increase in ticket price to make being a pilot a highly paid, highly competitive position again. And playing call-of-duty is just like the real thing too, only you get to turn the game off or respawn in 3 seconds after you die. And don't get me started on the ar15.com crowd when it comes to firearms. Don't kid yourself. If the average Pax could save $20 on a ticket, they would gladly climb into a UAV 737 and have some pimply MS Fltsimmer pilot them around from the comfort of his mother's basement.
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| I've been spending a bit too much time on VATSIM myself. My vataware stats (which don't include all flights as it drops any flight that you divert or crash on) show that I have 13,509 minutes of time now. :-) The bulk of it in a V35B Bo' with the rest split up between a Baron, Twin Comanche, Talon, Mooney, a Learjet 45, and even a little time in a Skyhawk! |
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People really do this virtual ATC? Must be some really nice basements. Some brilliant mind is going to just outsource ATC and the pilots to these guys, and not tell them they are actually doing stuff. Just pay them in cookies. Maybe we're all in an Enders Game universe.... Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I logged about 250 hours on VATSIM as I was recovering from an accident that left me unable to walk. Flying around and learning procedures by pissing those guys off is pretty much why I'm a pilot.
My old cowboy instructor was actually surprised by how proficient I was on the radio when I started taking flying lessons. My flying skills, however, still need work.
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Don't worry the longer you fly the easier the planes get to fly...
I'll never understand an industry that has the least experienced pilots training the new pilots, the most difficult aircraft you will fly come in the beginning of your career, you will take a pay cut almost every time you change jobs (at least for a year or two), and the cost of doing business is passed along to the employee rather than the customer. (airline pay cuts) truth be told... I wouldn't want any other job!!! and hey, I fly jets and chicks dig me ;-) |