Flight Simulator Software - Any Help or Just a Game?

I agree. Flight sims did not teach me how to fly. But they DID teach me
about maintaining a sensitive touch and how powerful small adjustments can
be. The first time I got behind the wheel of a car with an instructor, he
was amazed at how smooth my control inputs were. I didn't swerve while
alternately jamming on the gas and brakes. He asked "are you SURE you've
never driven a car before?" While I certainly wasn't perfect, I credit
flight sims with giving me that smooth touch.

In addition, flying different aircraft in MS Flight Simulator had me
constantly trying different sensitivities so that I didn't get locked into
believing that "when I push the joystick this much, I will bank this much."
Instead, I would learn to adapt to each aircraft and see that there was no
single way of flying the sim. When I first took the controls of a real 152
in February, it was the same basic idea. This was a new set of controls, and
I'd have to explore them.

Now, I'm not sure if I can give the following credit to FS or not, but I
seem to have a good sense of direction these days. I always seem to know
which way I'm heading and where things are in relation to me. My instructor
has asked where we are at random points on x-c's, and I tell him. Maybe
that's just something built into my mind, or maybe it's the result of 6
years of flying above a virtual Los Angeles. Maybe it's a bit of both.

In summary: Flight sims taught me that before I could learn a vehicle's
controls, I would first have to explore them with a careful hand. A good
sense of direction may have been at least partly the result of the sims.


-Tony
Student Pilot
31.3 Hours




"Jay Honeck" wrote
Another point of view:

I learned to fly ten years ago in 1994. I started "flying" sims in the
mid-80s, when they were little more than wire-frame depictions of flight.
(Anyone remember Atari STs?) By the time I could afford real flight
lessons,
I had a zillion hours of sim time.

At least partially as a result, I took to flying immediately, and soloed
with just 6.4 hours in my logbook.

Quite frankly, I'd be willing to bet that my time riding motorcycles was
just as helpful in learning to fly (the physics of riding and flying are
nearly identical) -- but my instructor (who, by the way, was an older
gentleman and quite the technophobe. He believed that computers were evil
devices from Day One.) figured that all my sim time really helped --
especially in the early stages of flight instruction.

Your mileage may vary, of course.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I find them great for instrument training/practice (as in getting an
instrument rating). However, I found that the only benefit from my sim
before and during my primary training was the ability to practice
cross-countries. I would set the sim to night time (the original MS
Flight Sim), shut off the lights in the room, and set up a trip (such as
from BOS to MVY). Basically just practiced the navigation.

pjbphd wrote:
I'm a student pilot and have heard mixed reviews of Flight Sim software.
Some say it's great for a little on the ground practice. Others say it's
really a waste of time.

I don't expect it to really take the place of air time, but I'm wondering if
anyone out there can tell me if it's really useful, and if so, what
accessories are recommended e.g., yoke and pedals.

Thanks in advance

pjbphd




--
Remove "2PLANES" to reply.

"pjbphd" wrote in message news:Nx3%c.213310$sh.156079@fed1read06...

I don't expect it to really take the place of air time, but I'm wondering if
anyone out there can tell me if it's really useful, and if so, what
accessories are recommended e.g., yoke and pedals.

I think the modern flight sims (e.g. MS FS 2000+) model instrument
procedures well enough to extract some use in polishing procedures
after you've been taught the right way to do things. You don't use any
of their canned "lessons" but if you need to drill yourself on, say,
ADF holds, they are more useful than a notebook and some flash cards,
but perhaps not as much as you'd like to think. FS2004 is in its own
way impressive but still far behind the actual environment. I have
that, a fast computer, and a nice CH yoke, and it's still "not quite
right."

For a primary student, I suspect they are at best useless, and at
worst harmful. The lack of kinesthetic feedback deprives you of what
you need most at that stage. Save your money, be happy, and fly a real
airplane

-cwk.

"pjbphd" wrote in
news:Nx3%c.213310$sh.156079@fed1read06:


I as well am a student pilot and found my M$ flight sim 2004 invaluable. I
have the pedals and 3 lever yoke and has helped me fix a few persistant
problems I have had.

Instructors I have worked with have said that students that use flight sim
have a much easier time when getting the IFR ticket.

I use it now to fly my x-countries before I actually go. Helps me to get
aquainted with my flight plan....



My 2 bits....

"pjbphd" wrote

I'm a student pilot and have heard mixed reviews of Flight Sim software.
Some say it's great for a little on the ground practice. Others say it's
really a waste of time.

I don't expect it to really take the place of air time, but I'm wondering if
anyone out there can tell me if it's really useful, and if so, what
accessories are recommended e.g., yoke and pedals.

For VFR flying Flight Sim 2004 is probably next to useless (or worse
than useless as some others have indicated) for helping with the real
thing. But for flying in the clouds it's nothing short of superb.
Clearances, reasonable reproduction of flight dynamics, and not bad
weather depiction. I have the yoke and throttle quadrant device from
CH Products, which was something like $85 and well worth it. Rudder
pedals would be nice, but I haven't forked over for those yet. I'd
like to see how accurately a slip or skid can be simulated.

Jim Rosinski
N3825Q

Icebound wrote:
Having said that, most joysticks are designed for right hand with left hand
throttle, and that is backward to a real-life left seat..... If you do opt
for a joystick, get one of those that allows you to reverse the throttle so
that you can operate the control with the left hand, and the throttle with
the right.

That's because military jets use that configuration. Senior cadets
at the air force academy learn to fly in the right seat so that they
get used to throttle-left, stick-right.

"pjbphd" wrote in message
news:Nx3%c.213310$sh.156079@fed1read06...
I'm a student pilot and have heard mixed reviews of Flight
Sim software. Some say it's great for a little on the ground
practice. Others say it's really a waste of time.


The Navy appears to think that students with MS Flight Sim training are
better than students without Flight sim training.

"Armchair jet jockeys play Microsoft Corp.'s Flight Simulator on their PCs
to capture a bit of the thrill of the real thing, which replicates an actual
flight experience closely enough that the Navy is making its customized
version of Flight Simulator standard issue for all student naval aviators.
.......
Cadets who used the Navy version of Flight Simulator in a test run this
summer "had significantly higher flight scores...and fewer below average
unsatisfactory flight scores," "

http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computi...6/missile.idg/

This is from an AOPA article.

"Have you heard of Herb Lacy? In 1998, the ensign and U.S. Naval Academy
graduate saw a lifelong dream fulfilled when he was accepted into Naval
flight training. But Lacy, who had never flown an airplane, found himself at
a disadvantage in the extremely competitive program—many of his classmates
had previously received flight instruction, and some were certificated
pilots.

Lacy decided to level the playing field. He bought a copy of Microsoft’s
Flight Simulator 98 and used software tools to create a representation of
the Beech T–34C Mentor in which he would learn to fly. Lacy even added local
landmarks near Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, to help him with
situational awareness. He spent more than 40 hours flying the customized
simulator before climbing into a Mentor cockpit.

His efforts were so successful that not only did Lacy graduate near the top
of his class, but the Navy investigated the idea of using computer gaming
software for training. An experiment showed that when pilot trainees
practiced with Flight Simulator, 54 percent more received above-average
flight scores. So the Navy decided to issue Flight Simulator 98—modified
with a software shell, much like Lacy’s version—to all of its flight
students."

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/features/future0004.html

In article . net,
Dudley Henriques wrote:
So damaging can the use of the simulator be during this stage, that it's
use can actually retard the progress of a new student.

My experience is completely the opposite. I was having trouble with
crosswind landings (I had to think about what I had to do to stop the
drift, and it was of course too late by the time I'd come up with the
answer - this is something you have to do automatically). With a flight
sim with a yoke and pedals, I could practise doing crosswind landings
with extreme crosswinds over and over and over again until I'd
automatically put the control inputs in the correct way. This was with
FS95.

The next crosswind landing lesson may not have resulted in perfect
landings, but they resulted in no overshooting of the centreline when
turning base to final, and automatically using the correct inputs to
stop the drift, and no sideways movement on touchdown. Worked great for
me.

Of course, for instrument training there is no question it's valuable
(the best ones are the 'PCATDs' with the right physical controls
including knobs you can twist on the radios, but a normal FS 'game' will
do the trick - and of course you can simulate conditions you'd never do
in real life training because they are too dangerous, such as engine
failure on takeoff in a light twin in low IFR, gyro failures - with the
slow failure of the gyro that might go un-noticed. We had great fun with
the PCATD with the separate instructor console as the poor pleb who we
are torturing has no idea what will happen next.)

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"

"Earl Grieda" wrote

The Navy appears to think that students with MS Flight Sim training
are better than students without Flight sim training.

But your post does not indicate in which phase of training the
advantage appeared. Pre-solo, Primary, Advanced, Basic Instrument,
Radio Instrument...or one of the other phases. All of the CFIs
who have posted here agree that there is value when used during
instrument training, but not during the "learn-to-fly" training.

Bob Moore
US Naval Aviator '58-'67
ATP CFI

(C Kingsbury) wrote
FS2004 is in its own
way impressive but still far behind the actual environment. I have
that, a fast computer, and a nice CH yoke, and it's still "not quite
right."

If you ever use an FAA certified sim (and I've used a couple,
including one with visuals and motion) you will discover that while
the MSFS flight model is not quite right, it's a lot closer to right
than the FAA certified products. Sad but true.

Michael