On Nov 23, 1:34*pm, sisu1a wrote:
I suspect useful videos of many aspects might be made using simulators
rather than live action. Videos could be produced this way much more
quickly, easily, and cheaply than going to the gliding club and climbing
into a glider. Good winter time fun, too!

I think you are on to something here Eric, but I will emphasize it a
slightly different direction. Rather than a production geared at
trying to teach stick&rudder/rules&regs etc using any old sim, what
about a decent video tutorial series on how to use Condor for
legitimate training rather than just playing a video game. Kinda like
Frank's (excellent) Condor Corner in Soaring Magazine, but a video
version specifically geared towards steering non-rated pilots (and
beyond...) towards realistic scenarios/settings/hardware
recommendations, resulting in safe and applicable habits. This could
easily be non-regional, and there are many thousands of Condor pilots
already out there. The cash investment to bring it up to minimum level
is really small compared to actual training, and could significantly
reduce the time/$ needed for prospective pilots to achieve their
rating. It also keeps people that can't afford to fly current and
interested... *I've got lots to share for the hardware tutorial

Related note- my own simpit is getting pretty immersive. Easily and
cheaply made from a recumbent Schwinn exercise bike (model 205p:http://tinyurl.com/24l2wnf*, which seem readily available for $20-
$50 on craigslist etc. It is really easy to move around since I put
wheels on it, and this thing is *very solid, with a fully adjustable
seat (had my 6'2" 270lb friend flying it no prob). I'm trying to make
it really easy/cheap to follow suit as well. Just about to get the
release knob wired up. I bought some Aeronca Champ pedals on ebay and
did some quick/dirty hardware work/joystick hacking and wala! I park
it in front of my projector screen and it's getting very satisfying.
I'm going to make a separate post with pics etc about this soon, but
in a nutshell...

tl:dr: A video version of 'Condor Corner' geared towards getting
individuals able to use Condor as a *real training/currency tool for
the ab-initio and beyond

-Paul

Now this is something I like. Video + Condor integrated training
suite.

However, I don't think a video will ever replace a real live flight
instructor even with Condor. If the student is doing something wrong,
the video can't analyze the student's performance and offer a critique.