Simuflite Dallas

[BlueWhiteSky]

Has anybody experience with Simuflite Dallas good or bad. Our Company intend to send us there for King Air 350 recurrent.

Thanks for Info

[Son of a Beech]

do you fly an N- reg B-350 or do you have to do an JAA check

[BlueWhiteSky]

I need to do a JAA check primary. But if possible I would like to use the training and/or checkride to add the B300 rating to my US commercial licence depends on how much they would charge and how many time is required for that beside the regular JAA recurrent programm.

[Son of a Beech]

To do an FAA check is no problem since the JAA checkman is also an FAA examener so he can do both checks in one simsesion. however the JAA program is approved via the UK-CAA and in the netherlands there was a big problem to get the typerating in the licence since the dutch CAA didn't aprove the CAA JAA aproval.

So before you go be sure the German CAA aproves this program

SOAB

[BlueWhiteSky]

How was your experience with the training ground school and simulator. Does it cover the systems very detailed and the sim scenarios are enough to be prepared for real live emergencys.

[Son of a Beech]

for the Citation II good.

[westhawk]

I have had several training events at SimuFlite/DFW and found them quite satisfactory. You will find the facility to be well equipped and customer-friendly with a variety of reasonably-priced food onsite. They seem to employ instructors with substantial line experience in most of their type programs. On some types, the allotted time for the courses is perceived by a number of clients to be rather short considering the amount of material to be covered. I suppose this is a consequence of the economic factors involved. It helps to pre-study to get the best training experience. One nice feature at SimuFlite is that once your training slot is confirmed, you can access some of the training materials online through their website. I suggest you register on the website now to browse it's content. You may have to speak to them by phone to activate your access to training materials once you are confirmed. Lots of other helpful info there too. Do make sure to bring all required documentation with you to the first day of class.Enjoy your training and your visit to the Metroplex area!

Westhawk

[Son of a Beech]

Altough I agree with westhawk's responce, it sounds a little like westhawk is the sales manager at Simuflite DFW :p

SOAB

[Blu2]

Have only been once and not on your type BUT thought it was well run. I found that during ground school they went into the right amount of detail, not too much that it sent you to sleep but enough to learn the important stuff AND they have lots of free food, bbq's at lunch time and cookies in the afternoon etc so I was happy!! The simulator side of things was good too, we took our own instructoe/examiner with us (company policy) but it din't break anywhere near as much as the Flight Safety sim I've been in, that or maybe my flyings just getting better...........

[westhawk]

SOAB,

It does, doesn't it? I applied last time I was looking for work but it's just as well they didn't bite. Those instructors work their tails off! Besides, I found another flying job in due course. Went back there for recurrent in May. There was this girl..... No wonder I give them a good review.

Best,

Westhawk

[FLEXJET]

http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/182134-1.html

The tale of a Simuflite experience (by a former airline pilot).

[westhawk]

And if you enjoy Mr. Deakin's story of his Simuflite experience, here's what he has to say after some time flying the plane.

http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/185048-1.html

Being very familiar with the charter company that spurned him after he wrote the initial article, I can attest to Mr. Deakins' assertion that his words carried a high personal cost to him. He was effectively blackballed from employment as a charter pilot. That he was able to find work at all is testament to his fortitude and the fact that not all charter operators agreed that he should be censured for his views of the training experience. I think that after so many years of being a captain on 747 classic, the G-IV and the accelerated training regimen outside the airlines left him feeling unprepared for G-IV PIC duties. Understandably so, in view of the vast differences between the aircraft and type of operation. As you can see for yourself in his later column, he is now quite comfortable in the plane after having enjoyed the benefit of some time flying trips as SIC then PIC in the real world. My own experience with the glass transition was somewhat less traumatic than John's since I had some familiarity with the new airplane and training regimen allready. His experience illustrates the limitations imposed on bizjet type training by economic factors. While I believe he is correct in his condemnation of the "firehose" method of instruction, the pressure to shorten training events continues. As in any other kind of training or education, studying beforehand adds value to the training event.

Best,

Westhawk

[Cypher]

I did the Westwind course there. Though it was very well run and very well resourced.

Our sim broke only once, however they had it fixed and working again within 30 minutes. Minimal loss in training time.

The instructors we had there were top notch. One guy made us think outside the square (cheers H.C)
All the instructors we had, had extensive line experience and some were still actively flying the type.

Cafeteria there makes a mean sandwich....

Good places to stay: Grapevine area - Amerisuite Hotel was good. Across the road from a large mall which was handy.

:ok:

[crazy_max]

I am sure that there have been people, as the gentleman that wrote that negative article, that have had a negative experience training at Simuflite. But I am certain that they are in a really small minority.
I do not work for Simuflite, CAE, or any other company related to them, as a matter of fact I am just a simple pilot.
I have attended Simuflite for 3 intials, G-IV, HS-125(800), and DA-10. My experinces with them have been more than just positive, they have been a true joy.....I actually look forward to going there again. Not only are the intructors there good at their job, they are decent, and nice persons.
The company I work for now does not send it's pilots to Simuflite, we go to Flight Safety, and that is one of the most negative aspects of this job. The quality of trainig is not bad in FSI but the attitude of the instructors , at least at the 2 FSI training centers I have attended is not the same as that of the gentlemen at Simuflite.
As a final point, I would recommend Simuflite for anyone.
This are just my humble opinions, If you don't agree I am sure you have good reasons......

[Astra driver]

I did my Westwind and GII initials at Simuflite Dallas as well as numerous recurrents and I find them to be very thorough, proffesional and responsive. Their instructors try hard to make both the class and the sim sessions both pleasant and productive while giving you information you can use in the "Real world" as well.

For comparison I did my Astra initial and recurrents at Flight Safety in Wilmington and felt they did an equally good job.

From what I hear Simuflite is usually the cheaper of the two providers.

[thedeadseawasonlysick]

I did a F2000 course at Simuflite Dallas a couple of years ago. As others have said, the staff was enthusiastic and very welcoming. However, the manuals were a mess. On various pages pressures and temperatures were completely different for the same system. The books were about 18 months old and had never been ammended. I can't believe that nobody else had noticed the errors and pointed them out. They also suffered from having been translated from French by a non native English speaker and having never been proof read. A lot of time was taken up deciding just what was meant by any particular passage.

The clincher came when we got onto pressurization. The manual talked about three systems and it was obvious that they had done a cut and paste job from the F900 manual. This followed over to the exam at the end of the course wherethe first question on the braking system bore no relation to anything I had learnt. When I called the invigulator over, he took one look and said,'that's because it's the F900 braking system'. In all there were six questions relating to the F900 in the exam. It showed a very lazy attitude to checking. In airlines I have worked for, this just would not be allowed, either by the airline or the CAA.

The instructor who took groundschool had been everywhere and worked for everyone. After a while it became obvious why. At that stage of proceedings all we wanted to know what was needed to pass the exam. What we got was.' you don't need to know this, but it's a good bar-room topic'! Eventually, when a CAA inspector was due to sit in on a sim session with us, the instructor refused to go in the sim with him. After this our new instructor was much better and we learnt more of use in the last few days than in the preceeding two weeks.

I recommended to the company that we never use Simuflite again.

[westhawk]

thedeadseawasonlysick:

<<However, the manuals were a mess.>>

I encountered the same frustrating experience with the Falcon maintenance manuals when I was an A&P mechanic working on Falcon 50 and 900 series C checks. The same problems persisted into the 2000 manuals as well. We noted the manual discrepancies and turned them over to the Falcon techreps. I have since "come over to the dark side" as a charter pilot flying Westwinds and Hawkers for the last few years. I don't know how many of the translation and other errors have since been corrected. I too have found training manual discrepancies at SimuFlite and FlightSafety in both maintenance and flight training materials. I always point them out to the staff in the hope that corrections will be made. However, with the quickening pace of training, there is little time available to dwell upon a single issue during valuable class time. It might be one of the shortcomings of modern training organizations that airplane type training programs take years to get established properly. I hope that you made your concerns and areas of dissatisfaction known to the management in the form of a scathing course critique form. The program managers and their bosses read these. Enough of these indicate the need for improvement. In theory anyway. At least you get the satisfaction of having put in your $.02 worth.


That F2TH is an aircraft I think I might like to fly in the future. How do you like it after flying it awhile?

Best regards,

Westhawk

[thedeadseawasonlysick]

Westhawk:

F2000 is a lovely aircraft, but have now moved onto the EX EASy. (That's the way Dassault spell it). A quantum leap in some respects. Takes a complete brain transplant to adapt to the rollerball way of doing things, but being a bear of little brain to begin with....! As with most new aircraft, it doesn't go quite as far as the manufacturer said it would and we have the normal new aircraft software glitches, but when it's all working it's a wonder to behold. If you get the chance, grab it with both hands.

By the by. Saw both the A380 and the 7X at Le Bourget during the Paris airshow. The 7X is an F900 with knobs on. The A380 is one big ugly MF and only a mother could love it's looks!