"Jim Macklin" writes:

A real simulator costs more than the airplane it is
duplicating, a Beechjet or Boeing simulator can cost $8-10
million dollars or more.

Are there full-motions simulators for specific GA aircraft, such as
the Baron 58 that I've mentioned? The aircraft apparently costs about
$1 million to purchase today, so I should think that someone would
have simulators somewhere, but I don't know if a full-motion simulator
would be economical. If one exists, it would be fun to fly it.

It is worthwhile because it
doesn't burn several thousand pounds of fuel per hour, can
be run nearly 24/7, rarely kills anyone and it is a safe
place to do things that can't be done safely in a real
airplane. Also, it allows the airplane to be out earning
revenue.

Very similar to the reasons for using a PC-based simulator. You get
many of the advantages and avoid many of the disadvantages of a real
aircraft.

Even a PC based training device is very useful for learning
and practicing procedures, but you get what you pay for. A
King Air trainer with out full visual and motion still
allows learning all the systems and practicing the various
emergency and abnormal procedures.

Are there specific simulator packages for specific aircraft that run
on a PC? I've only used MSFS, mainly because it has a very good
all-around blend of the kinds of features one might want in a
simulator, but I've heard that there are other programs that are very
good for specific purposes, such as very intensive IFR training or
very accurate flight models.

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