(I'm working on an essay about my checkout in the Evektor SportStar but not quite done. In the meantime, here are some thoughts about desktop flight simulators (Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane, etc):
I've "flown" MSFS for years (before it was Microsoft and was Bruce Artwick's FSII for the Atari 800) before I learned to fly in 2002 at age 40. I had lots of bad habits (many have already been mentioned) but some good: facility with VOR nav, airport and flight environment, relationship between pitch, power, attitude, and configuration, and more.
I used MSFS2004 to supplement my IR training. I took the practical with 40.3 hours and passed. I would fly the previous lesson a couple of times and try to duplicate the good and eradicate the bad.
I dropped MSFS for the Comm and CFI and didn't fly it much except to learn the G430 and G1000. I still use it from time to time to supplement my instrument proficiency, but use a real airplane for currency.
www.BruceAir.com is the best single source of information on using flight sims to support and augment flight training and currency.
- Don't use any desktop flight sim to practice landing, ever. The kinesthetic aural, and visual feedback required for landing are missing and you will learn to rely on the wrong cues. Even if you can transfer the flight sim practice to real world application, you may be suppressing better cues because those you rely on in the sim have "always worked." So Forget it. It won't help and in fact will make you worse.
- Don't crash. This sounds silly but if you are going to use the sim as a training device you need to train yourself to fly and survive. That means not crashing. It also means not breaking up in-flight (you do have the sim set to full realism, don't you?).
- Don't fly the Extra 300 if you're going to be learning in a Cessna 152. The excess power in the Extra can get you out of all sorts of trouble.
I've "flown" MSFS for years (before it was Microsoft and was Bruce Artwick's FSII for the Atari 800) before I learned to fly in 2002 at age 40. I had lots of bad habits (many have already been mentioned) but some good: facility with VOR nav, airport and flight environment, relationship between pitch, power, attitude, and configuration, and more.
I used MSFS2004 to supplement my IR training. I took the practical with 40.3 hours and passed. I would fly the previous lesson a couple of times and try to duplicate the good and eradicate the bad.
I dropped MSFS for the Comm and CFI and didn't fly it much except to learn the G430 and G1000. I still use it from time to time to supplement my instrument proficiency, but use a real airplane for currency.
www.BruceAir.com is the best single source of information on using flight sims to support and augment flight training and currency.
I agree with you, when it comes to actual flight don't based only on what you've learned in a simulator flying games because some are different from the actual and from the simulation. Simulation is only for basic and intermediate learning. actual experienced is the best.
ReplyDelete