The purpose of flight simulation
The main concern I have is that we are accepting the dribble which originates from authorities and so called professionals, many who have failed pilot courses and wound up in the psychobabble world enforcing their views.
The point is, after a RT/PC over 2 days you go back to the line tuned up and practiced on emergencies that you rarely experience in the real world. The net result of doing it PC/RT would in the vast majority of cases be almost identical. So why change it, what is the advantage of switching it around?
We all should appreciate that our scan rate slows down if we are not current. As per some of our ULR RQ colleagues. Some years ago a handling sim was introduced to give more practise to those on the ULR fleets, in other words using flight simulators for pilot training/practice. Practice makes perfect!
No doubt a little practice in a RT before a PC blows a few cobwebs away and you are better prepared to undertake the testing for the PC. Doing it the other way will only emphasise our "rustiness" something which is blatantly obvious to us all. In the end most will pass, maybe more retests will occur, but what is the point if after 2 days sim you go back to the line more or less at the same level of competency as if it was undertaken the other way around, probably demoralising some candidates. (maybe thats the intention)
When a pilot has been off work for 6 months, 2 years etc are we going to strap him in to do a PC on day one and then give him/her some training on day 2? Flt Ops has gone mad!! , we are using a fantastic expensive training machine as a culling device and that is sheer lunacy!
It is simply ridiculous to bow to the idea of doing it the other way around without tangible benefits. So what is the basic purpose of a Flight Simulator
UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE A FLIGHT SIMULATOR
A flight simulator seeks to duplicate the experience of flying as realistically as possible for the purpose of training pilots.