Can't agree more with the last few posts. The sim wins every time.
- Much more relaxed atmosphere for learning the basics
- You can be positioned and repositioned at the touch of a button, saves having to fly to the start of an approach each time you practice it
- You can pick the weather/wind yourself. Light winds down the runway for learning the basics, strong crosswinds once you're up to speed
- No ATC delays
- No problems booking slots with ATC
- ATC can be as accomodating or as difficult as you like - accomodating when you're just starting out, difficult once you've got the basics sorted out
I could probably list many more advantages of sim over aircraft if I thought about it.
However, I don't think 15 hours in the aircraft is quite enough, although that is the minimum for a JAR IR. I'd try to get at least 20 hours in the aircraft, especially if it's an aircraft which you don't have hundreds of hours in.
FFF
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