Roger (K8RI) writes:

Although the sim can do a very nice job of ... well... simulating an
IFR cross country and even approach there are a number of things
missing, part of which are psychological and part physical. I love
rolling into a steep turn and feeling 2Gs pulling me down.

I can understand that, but I usually hate strong physical sensations,
so it probably would not please me at all. I stay off
roller-coasters, for example.

I love doing a loop (not in the Deb) while maintaining positive G forces all
the way around. It's almost as if the earth makes a loop around me.

That is definitely not on my list of desired experiences--although
I've done it in simulation (while watching from a safe distance).

I have a great respect for the airplane, the weather, ATC, and a
certain amount of unpredictability in all. I've had ATC give me a
vector for traffic avoidance and then forget me. I've had them clear
me for a circle to land right in front of departing traffic, and I've
had them tell me to follow the plane ahead when I couldn't see the
wingtips on the Deb. I've also flown directly over automated stations
reporting clear and I was in solid IMC.

That's another reason why I don't feel a need for real-world flight.
Too much room for human error (besides my own).

It's difficult to describe the feeling of breaking out of the clouds
just above MDA in rain to find the runway right where the instruments
said it would be after a long cross country.

That much can be largely simulated, and I like that experience.
Sometimes I fly for hours in zero visibility, just to see if the
instruments can be trusted, and they always can. If I'm not where I
expect, I did something wrong.

Of course, my life is not at stake in a simulator, but I don't need
that kind of risk to make the experience enjoyable.

The knowledge that if
the runway isn't visible at the MAP I will have to "go around" and
either try again, or go to some other airport is a part of the
challenge I find exhilarating.

Which is good, because you cannot simply stop the simulation if you
are landing for real. Even if you are tired or frustrated or not
feeling well.

Also IRL (for those who don't sim that is sim language for "In real
life") ATC makes mistakes, pilots make mistakes and it's up to you to
maintain situational awareness. You have to know if what ATC just told
you is correct, or what you just told ATC is going to tell them what
they want and need to know.

ATC makes mistakes in simulation, but it's a bug in the software, not
a simulation of the real world, so you have to try to ignore it. It
seems like every other aircraft is told to "go around" in MSFS, but I
doubt that ATC would be that careless in real life.

I love flying VFR on clear days when it seems you can see forever, but
those days are rare here in the central Great Lakes. One of the most
beautiful trips I ever took was IFR where I ended up between layers.
It looked like a scene out of a sci-fi movie with the clouds above and
below tied together with randomly spaced columns of cloud, Then there
were the random small clouds floating around while the whole scene was
lit with a fluorescent green light.

Some scenes are interesting to see. Recent versions of simulators
have become very good at producing convincing skies and weather. In
some cases, the sim sky can easily be mistaken for the real thing.
The same cannot be said of ground detail, which is manifestly computer
generated on close examination (photo realism is possible but
expensive, and it's not really necessary for most sim applications).

I guess the easiest way to sum it up: I like siming, but I love flying
IRL.

You must be independently wealthy and retired if you can actually
afford to fly in real life. And even then, it's unlikely that you
have your own 737 that you can fly around whenever you're in the mood.

--
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