Birddog wrote
Irrelevant, in my opinion. You can't any more learn to fly with a simulator
than you could with radio controlled models. They're both toys.

I will agree that MSFS on a home PC is a toy and that X-plane is a
close second in the "From Santa with Love" department.


As for totally useless, I must respectfully disagree.

What I'm working on is vastly different and the company is owned by
pilots with engineering degrees. We're taking the "toy" out of it. We
will also train the IP to use it, provide a course of study for the
student, and pull the IP in to the factory once a year for a
recertification on the use of the unit. We'll also be able to score
the student AND THE IP over a internet connection. Its good for 3
hours out of the minimum 40. That turns into 2 more hours the student
can spend in the real aircraft, without drastic increases in the cost
of the license.

Teachers have a rule, to determine if a teaching method is useful.It
says: "A goal or objective in the classroom must be observable and
measurable". That is one of the many missing parts in the desktop
toys, when it comes to being useful to a student.

Steve