737 Simulator

[bigfoot01]

Hi there, my good lady wife has bought me an hour in a 737 Simulator up in Yorkshire. I am a 59 hour PPL pilot, so it is more for an experience than anything serious, however, I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts on how to get the best out of the experience, e.g. any pre reading to do or things to prepare before I go. Also, and this is a big one for 59 hour PPL, can I log it in my log book?

Ducking now!!!!!!

[pmd1]

I stand to be corrected on this ,but as far as i remember from PPL airlaw ; the only sim flights to be put in your logbook are those which are part of a test . . . .so dont think you can :=

[EGCC4284]

What a good wife you have, give her my love.

[Jinkster]

I think you can log the hours - I also think that the people that run it are professionals and the sim is just not in 'someones back garden'

Your logbook may have a place for sim time where you can possibly log it - although it wont mean anything.

Just ask when you go and enjoy.

To get the best out of things - its completely different to a Cessna.

When you add power, it takes a bit of time then the nose will go up. If you take power away the nose will drop, so you need to be prepared and the speed will run off too.

When landing - DO NOT glide it in as you would a Cessna, you need to fly it 'into the ground'! With a small flare at about 40ft ish!

Good luck!!

[IRRenewal]

Of course you can put in in your logbook. And you should! Get somebody to take some pictures and stick those in as well.

It is your logbook, and since it is not a safety issue whether you put it in or not I am sure the CAA couldn't care less.

Having said all that, just remember it doesn't count for anything.

You need to fly these things 'by the numbers'. Your instructor will provide these numbers. Stick to them, and it will all work out fine.

Most importantly, enjoy!

Cheers
Gerard

[vancouv]

I went in an A320 sim and the guy who was with me was an F/O for an airline flying A320s. However, he told me it couldn't be logged as he wasn't qualified as an instructor and therefore the flight would not be legal with me as PUT - obviously I couldn't log P1 or P2.

Having said that, if you want to put it in your logbook then I guess that's up to you, so long as you're not going to count it towards jet time. :ok: I also did a flight in a helicopter which I couldn't log as although the guy was an instructor you can't log rotary time in a fixed wing logbook - apparently.

As for getting the best out of it, I found it was a bit like the first time I flew - things were happening around me and I didn't really know what was going on!! We did a circuit at Heathrow, and then an approach and landing at Innsbruck I think. One thing I found was that it takes a while setting things up, so don't waste your hour asking to land at lots of different airports or you'll spend lots of time sitting doing nothing.

I also asked to fly it both with and without the flight director to see how it was. As a PPL flying purely by hand was interesting. And as for auto-throttles - boy do they make it easy! Set a speed, and just point the nose where you want it to go - it keeps the same speed no matter what. Not like my approaches in a PA28:ok:

[Floppy Link]

you can't log rotary time in a fixed wing logbook - apparently.

whoever told you that was talking out of their ar5e. :ugh:

I just put rotary in blue, fixed wing in black, sim at the back. It's worked for 25 years and nobody has batted an eyelid, not even our lords and masters at the CAA when the logbooks went away for various assessments...

[bigfoot01]

I am a bit gutted about not being able to log the helicopter lesson, hoping to get one of those for my Birthday.

[vancouv]

Floppy - can't say I'm too surprised, the whole experience was a little strange. I specifically wanted to fly down the London heli lanes and cross Heathrow. We set off from Southend, and the first bit down the Thames was OK, but once we left the river he was constantly being told he was off track, and was also reading back incorrectly - to the extent that the controller said he was going to cancel his clearance over Heathrow.

Anyway, we made it overhead, had to hold between the runways while a 777 landed below us (fantastic I'd recommend it to anyone) and he was then told to cross behind the threshold - at which point he headed straight for the centre. I mentioned it to him, just before ATC hassled him about it, and he had to do a steep turn to get back on track. After that I helped him with his navigation. As I'm a PPL and he was an instructor it made me feel quite good!

Afterwards he admitted he hadn't flown the heli lanes before - I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't made it across Heathrow due to his errors? That was the whole point of the trip!

[Floppy Link]

[BACK TO TOPIC IN HAND]

Yes, stuff it in your logbook (some of them have a dedicated simulator log section) and put some photies in there too. It's your logbook, they are your memories.

As for With a small flare at about 40ft ish!


listen to the brief and do what the instructor says. 40ft sounds to me to be a wee bit too much for a 737, but I don't have a clue about them (757/767 - now you're talking).....BUT....yes it is a small flare, only a degree or two.

Plus when you go remember to leave all cash, credit cards etc at home, or you may be tempted to splash out on another 737 session or even the F4!

Have fun and let us know how you get on.

[Fuji Abound]

You will enjoy.

Maybe sometime on MFS before would be "helpful" - MFS is surprisingly realistic.

On approaches you will instantly notice how much slower turbines react to throttle changes so keep that in mind, also the aircraft has far more inertia so wait for the proifile to change having applied or removed power.

After that it just like any old Cessna with a few more buttons and switches.

Oh and get hem to set you up for an approach - ten mile finals with unlimited viz., with any luck the screens will come on with the threeshold in view, and after a few moments the engine noise and then finally the aircraft will start to move - it is always surreal the bit when you are "hanging" in space without any sound and without any movement. :)

[High Wing Drifter]

bigfoot,

I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts on how to get the best out of the experience, e.g. any pre reading to do or things to prepare before I go.I did 20 hours (all hand flying) in a 727-200 simulator in Dublin for the MCC course. I believe the Yorkshire simulator is the a 200 too (Real Simulation?).

Basically, it is like this, you won't stop fecking grinning. If it is a 200, then it is all clockwork dials just like a big Seneca with fewer levers. If you have any multi experience get them to fail an engine at V1, makes a the Seneca look like a bit of a puppy in comparison :D

An hour will whiz by, so I don't think you'll go into detail in any single aspect so I don't think you can prepare for it. As was said, they'll brief you, just listen carefully and do what they ask and you'll get the most out of it. Probably in the profiles you'll be flying, I imagine that speed control is the biggest issue for a piston person. There are lots of numbers to memorise to help manage the speed, I'm certain the briefing they give will give you the relevant numbers to work with to match their ops without overloading you with information. By comparison to my usual conveyances, the speed is very unstable when on the slow side.

Fuji,

Maybe sometime on MFS before would be "helpful" - MFS is surprisingly realistic.Several people say this. Even our sim instructor said that he stays in tip-top condition using FS. But me, I don't get it.

[DBChopper]

Sorry guys, but I'm going to have to jump off-thread again...

Afterwards he admitted he hadn't flown the heli lanes before - I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't made it across Heathrow due to his errors? That was the whole point of the trip!

Vancouv, you are telling me that a qualified helicopter instructor, specifically hired to fly you along the London heli-lanes, admitted he had never flown them before??? :ugh:

I feel I am going to have to post this in Rotorheads, if you don't mind... :E

[vancouv]

DBChopper - yep, that's what he said - but only told me after we'd done the flight. I guess he might not have mentioned it if things had gone according to plan, and the fact that I was a PPL meant he couldn't blag about what had happened. Feel free to post it elsewhere, but I won't be naming and shaming.

And I promise no more thread drift :oh:

[Fuji Abound]

Several people say this. Even our sim instructor said that he stays in tip-top condition using FS. But me, I don't get it.

Which bit? (dont you get)

[bigfoot01]

I bought flight sim to practice during my PPL, but I found it of limited use, it is difficult to fly a circuit when you are used to looking out of the window for visual reference of the airport location and you have to push keys to do it. I think it might be of more use practicing for my IMC. That said, using the keyboard and then a joystick didn't do it for me. I have invested quite a lot of money in the CH Pedals and yoke and I think that will be useful for following tracks and instrument let downs, as it is a bit realistic. Haven't had time to set it up yet, but I will get there ; - )

Great responses, thanks for the information!

[tom775257]

Hi,
Enjoy it. I suspect learning a few pitch and power settings might be a touch useful, can't help there, I don't fly the 737. That said most jets I believe work around 15 degrees nose up after take off, 7.5 degrees for acceleration and flap retraction, then climb clean (no flap/slat) 10 degrees below 10,000ft, 5 degrees above 10,000 feet, 2.5 degrees nose up cruise, gives a rough idea. A cheeky trick - the VSI becomes quite a useful tool when it is an instantaneous one. i.e. what is says is what you're doing - little to no lag.


Flight sim is probably good for this; I passed a sim ride on the 737-800 sim after training on flight sim with an add-on and the CH yoke.
I suspect putting in some study time before hand will make you understand and enjoy the experience a lot more.

Landing, I flare the A320 at 20 feet, I guess 20-30 feet flare would work on the 737.

[G-Dawg]

Kevin at Real sim is top notch, you'll have a great day. To be honest I wouldn't worry to much about trying to revise stuff before the day, Kevin will brief you on everything you need to know. I'm on the B737-500 so this is type specific, but intially on rotation pull through to about 18 degrees nose up taking about 6 secs to get there then you'll need to lower you nose to increase your speed in order to take in your flap, but like i said Kevin will tell you all this. And as for the flare, it is about 40ft, we actually start at about 50ft....But most of all enjoy it, I'm sure you will...

[TheGorrilla]

Try some aeros! :E