wrote:
Hello,

I am not a pilot - but I play a lot of flight simulator. I wanted to
talk to some real pilots about flying proficiently. I feel like I am
pretty good on simulator, but I have no way of knowing b/c I don't
have feedback from an actual pilot.

I was wondering what makes a pilot proficient? When making turns,
does the VSI fluctuate at all or should a pilot be able to keep it at
0 fpm at all times? What degree of fluctuation is considered
proficient?


Specifically, (for private pilot standards,)

+/- 10 degrees hdg
+/- 100 feet alt
+/- 10 knots airspeed
Maintain desired bank angle.

When you can do that, cut the numbers in half until you can do that.
Then cut 'em in half again.

The VSI is a trend instrument, so use it as secondary reference to your
altimeter. 90% of the time you're not looking at that either; you're
using your outside reference. Once you get your pitch, power and trim
dialed in it becomes easier. If you're having problems, start with
shallow banks--20 degrees, say--and only increase the degree of bank
after you have mastered the shallower turns. Also, I get a lot more
use out of 720-degree turns than 360-degree because two full turns
requires you to pay more attention and hold it longer.


When leveling off after a climb or descent, how quickly
should the pilot be able to get into straight and level?

Depends on the airplane. Pretty quickly in a Cessna, but in a B-17 (for
example) pilots would climb about 500' above the desired altitude, and
the airplane would settle into the desired altitude/airspeed as they
established cruise configuration and trim.

If you are a proficient pilot, what types of things do you ensure in
take-off, cruise, landing, etc?

Get to know your V-speeds and the associated power/pitch settings, as
well as the picture outside the window. For each airplane I fly I have a
cheat sheet that shows the speeds, VSI figures, RPM/Manifold settings,
etc specific to that individual aircraft. That really helps.

You should eventually be able to establish your desired attitude solely
by looking out the window (although you scan the panel anyway...the
point is that since most of the time you're looking out the window and
if you know what a cruise climb or a descent looks like out the window,
you won't have to chase the needle all over the place.)

On your simulator display, stick post-its over your various instruments
and see if you can hold a heading, altitude, airspeed, climb, descent or
whatever without use of that instrument(s). That will increase you
ability to fly the airplane by use of a combination of all the other
information and outside reference.

Cheers!

-c