BA777
I too, am a young flight simmer who really wants to get somewhere into real aviation. I have made an attempt at this, and hopefully this year after getting a job I plan to start a real PPL.
I do appreciate what you say, but the way you described ...
Say ATC said : Speedbird 999, be level 7000ft, 5nm before Biggin." All a PIC pilot would have to do is to make an arc on the display by going to the FIX page of the FMC, putting the FIX in, then the '/5' for the arc distance, then adjust the FMC to automatically calculate the descent, or use the VS - simple.
... is idealistic to be honest. I, do not think I could manage on a real sim, let alone a real aircraft ! I think that the sheer size of the flightdeck would be quite intimidating. Remember even if you use a 21" monitor (biggest CRT or LCD in my knowledge, before you get to projectors) then the actual spread of the instruments for the scan is still much larger. Also, the throttles, speedbrakes and flap levers too.
Yes, flight sims are getting better. But unless you use a full motion flight sim ( that is $10 million as compared to say $100) then sims are not entirely useless, as you do get ahead of the average man. However, I would never question the knowledge of a real ATCO or pilot.
We can get a small head start using sims, that is about all. It is good to show determination and interest though, and keeps the interest alive. Hope you manage to get some real hours under your belt; you will love it.
I wish there was a TV programme too, it'd be awesome to see the comparison between the two.
If you have Sky Digital satellite, or cable you may receive Discovery Wings - great channel, and some shows are reasonable too. Flightdeck was a good series - but getting a little dated now, as is the rest of the programming.
As you are interested in ATC, look for a great programe called Air Traffic Control - Too complex for humans ? (simple, and obvious title eh ?
) and that was a good programme.
Best regards,
PS: Harder to fly the real thing ?
Well, real flying and sim flying is two different things. Learning one is bad for the other in my own opinion. Sim flying is ok yes, but if you go real flying then do not take what you learn sim flying and apply it to real life flying - and vice versa. I think that demonstrates the usefulness of a off-the-shelve product.
The elite flight simulator, as seen in Transair at £4000 may be of limited use though.....