"Chris Norris" wrote in message
...

Peripheral vision? If you had persistently relied upon peripheral vision
for situation awareness at a military flying school you would have been a
candidate for elimination. You would have been taught to "keep your head
out of the cockpit and on a swivel." In other words, during contact
flight,
your instructor would want to see your head up and in constant motion,
traversing a very wide angle . You would be taught to cross check
instruments quickly and return to the routine of turning your head so
that
you could see directly your situation. Good peripheral vision would be a
requirement for your acceptance in the program, but you would not make
the
grade relying on it as you suggest.

Thank you for your candid opinions on my flying ability. Yeah, I
remember you sitting in the back watching my every move during the
lessons.

For your information I value my life and so the instructor did not
have to tell me to look around regularly and before manoevring.

Good for you.

Do you really imagine I sat there and only looked at the panel and
through the front windshield, with my head fixed and eyes forward like
a freakin crash test dummy or something?

I know that this will be hard for you to take and I really don't want to
upset you, but the fact is, you have not been uppermost in my mind.
Moreover, I hadn't so much as imagined your existance till now and am having
difficulty with the concept at present. In general, however, the behavior
you mention is typical of new student pilots.

I think a lot of people can tell the difference between sitting at a
computer desk and sitting in a cockpit. I know I can and I'm starting
to wonder if you cannot and therefore are taking it out on the fine
people in this group?

Good for you. Thinking and wondering should help you to sort it all out.

Anyway, this whole discussion wasn't about just turning one's head. It
was about using FS as a training aid.
For instance you can read a
mutlitude of books on navigation but putting theory into practice and
using the instruments and charts for real is a different ball game and
requires hours of practice.

All I'm saying is that as a training aid
FS is a valuble addition to ground school and you can practice
whenever you like.

Chris Norris

Apparently, you have not bothered to read the entire thread. Do that and a
little more thinking and wondering.

Kalijaa