Hello,
I will be attending a private pilots lessons (for VFR) in January and just wondering if playing Microsoft Flight Simulator will give me an edge (I’m thinking about purchasing it). Thank you for your inputs. Also, I’m in the Air Force and have been around aircraft (even flown in several) for the last 6 years.
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I’m not sure it will help a lot, but it will certainly allow you to be familiar with the layout and behaviors of some of the aircraft, especially if the simulator has the same type of aircraft you’ll be training on. For decades, pilots have trained on simulators, so it must work. It certainly would help you, but make sure you don’t rely on it as your source of flight instruction. Remember, it is first-and-foremost A GAME. That’s like using Gran Turismo on the Xbox to take a driver’s test.
http://www.asa2fly.com/Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-as-a-Training-Aid–P845C268_product1.aspx
http://www.aopa.org/special/microsoft/flightsim.html
It definitely CAN help! Obviously there are many things that you CANNOT get from sitting in front of the computer, but you will find very useful for reinforcing procedures such as:
1. Order of Control – Climbing, Descending, level flight, Turns, Stalls. I practiced all basic flight maneuvers in FS before getting into the real plane. Use the REAL checklist (not the Flight Simulator one!).
2. Navigation – I always practiced my cross country flights on flight simulator first.
3. Circuits – Normal, short field, short and soft, etc.
The general principle is that you use FS to reinforce procedures, so that they are embedded before flight. In the real plane, you can spend more time ‘getting used to the feeling of’ the airplane.
One thing i did not find FS very useful for was ENGINE FAILURE PROCEDURE. You can still reinforce procedures in FS (15%), but during actual training for emergency procedures, the realtime pressures are an integral part of learning(85%). You cant simulate how your heartbeat races and you rush to do stupid things.
You can also practice IFR flying but i strongly recommend you get help from a certified instructor to sit with you on this. You can pick up bad habits here that can hinder you in the long run.
In all your FS training, PLEASE refer to the flight school manuals (and not the FS ones). Flight simulator is just a GAME if you are not applying real-world procedures.
EDIT:
It is actually possible to get a MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR configuration CERTIFIED so that you can log the time! You will need to do many things, such as add screens and various controllers (rudder,yoke, throttle+others). Just as in other more ‘realistic’ simulators, you would only be able to log the time when under the supervision of a certified instructor.
There are also airschools within the US military that use special versions of Microsoft FS to train pilots.
EDIT:
A friend of mine flies for United Arab Emirates. He’s used MFS to practice certain maneuvers in large aircraft for YEARS.
No, not really. I have a commercial License and I have played with the MS Flight Simulator. It has timing errors and, when you are doing a climbing turn, it is off enough that you could be in serious trouble in a real airplane.
There are some excellent filght simulators, but nothing you can run on a PC.
I can help you with this because I’m almost done with my PPL and I will move on to a Commercial Multi-Engine.I thought that the flight simulators would help but they do not…the Instruments…Navigation…VOR (Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range) are somewhat a edge tor wards you knowing the instruments and navigation devices…. you Will have fun but the flight Characteristics are completely off though.
I would recommend AGAINST buying any flight simulator game until you have actually started your formal pilot training. MS Flight Simulator is not perfect, but it IS a real enough simulation that if you spend a lot of time with the game, you may develop some bad habits that will be hard to get rid of during your actual flight training. Concentrate on learning the REAL airplane first.
Once you have mastered the real thing, then you can go to the game and practice your navigation and procedures. You can’t log the time spent on your flight sim, but you can pre-fly your cross-country trips to make sure your headings and settings are in the ball park.
Of course it doesn’t fly like the plane does, it’s a simulator dumbass. Tell me which simulator flies like the real plane, including level D sims.
To the one who asked the question, you will get out of it what you put into it. Someone above said that there were certain things that worked well, that is true. Another thing it will help you with is just understanding who to talk to where. For example calling clearance delivery, ramp, gnd, tower, departure and so on. I thought it was decent for flying instrument once you had everything set up. Don’t become so proficient at looking at the instruments that you can’t fly by not looking inside though. This is a major problem as your ppl will focus exclusively on visual references.
It certainly won’t hurt! It’s good for practicing some basic concepts, such as the relationship of pitch and power to performance, but don’t expect it to make you an expert before climbing into an airplane. Always listen to your instructor – don’t assume that because you can do something in the simulator, that’s how it will work in the airplane.
If nothing else, the flight simulator costs less than three trips around the pattern in a plane with an instructor. At the best, it’ll help you grasp a few flying concepts a little quicker. At the worst, you still have a fun game to play with!
We had hired a new freight pilot at my former job but a slot had not been made for him. So in the mean time he practiced flying approaches, intersections and the such to get familiar with the airspace around our airport.
yes it helps if you have the right option are applied
Only a little. It is only mend for entertainment. But it can train you a little like landing, turning etc.
No!!! when you actually fly planes and get your liscense and all that stuff, you would figure out how big of a difference there is from MS Flight Sim and actual flying. MS Flight Sim is good for people who want to play but its horrible when it come to flying training.
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