Flight Simulator. Does it help?
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Flight Simulator. Does it help?
Hello everybody,
I'm a 15 year old boy and I've always wanted to be a pilot since I was 4. I'm studying for my GCSE's now and am predicted to get mostly A's and B's. I'm taking IB after and am taking higher physics, History and Geography. I plan to apply for either the Cathay Pacific or Dragonair cadet programmes once ive finished university. But my main question is... Do flight simulators like Microsoft flight simulator really help you to learn how to fly? I play flight simulator quite often and can do take off and landings quite easily, fly level turns etc. I did some flying lessons in a glider and one on a DR221 in the summer and I loved it. The instructors were impressed with my hand flying skills and I was even allowed to land the DR221 which I was really happy about! One thing that my instructor noticed was that I was looking at the instruments much too much, I think I learnt this from the flight simulator as the outside isn't very detailed and I'm always trying to look at the bank level, altitude etc. So do you think the improvements in actually flying the plane outweigh the bad habits you may pick up? I just don't want to carry on flying on the flight simulator and learn bad habits that might affect the way I fly later on. Sorry if this is in the wrong forum but I couldn't think of anywhere else to put it.
Thanks in advance.
I'm a 15 year old boy and I've always wanted to be a pilot since I was 4. I'm studying for my GCSE's now and am predicted to get mostly A's and B's. I'm taking IB after and am taking higher physics, History and Geography. I plan to apply for either the Cathay Pacific or Dragonair cadet programmes once ive finished university. But my main question is... Do flight simulators like Microsoft flight simulator really help you to learn how to fly? I play flight simulator quite often and can do take off and landings quite easily, fly level turns etc. I did some flying lessons in a glider and one on a DR221 in the summer and I loved it. The instructors were impressed with my hand flying skills and I was even allowed to land the DR221 which I was really happy about! One thing that my instructor noticed was that I was looking at the instruments much too much, I think I learnt this from the flight simulator as the outside isn't very detailed and I'm always trying to look at the bank level, altitude etc. So do you think the improvements in actually flying the plane outweigh the bad habits you may pick up? I just don't want to carry on flying on the flight simulator and learn bad habits that might affect the way I fly later on. Sorry if this is in the wrong forum but I couldn't think of anywhere else to put it.
Thanks in advance.
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Hi Juliette Alpha,
After reading your post, it's a realistic estimation that it's going to be the best part of 3 years before you start applying for the mentioned Cadet schemes (If there still going), or Flight Training Organizations. With that in mind, I wouldn't take any notice really with what you previous gliding instructor said. When I first undertook a few hours flying, exactly the same thing was said to me. The instruments are right in front of you and it's going to be integration for any student who has been using flight simulation beforehand and is now learning the basics of Visual Flight Rules.
Flight Simulation will certainly help you in terms of some stages of PILAPT testing which is required by most FTO's before enrolling on an Integrated course, said Cadet-ships undoubtedly. This is because PILAPT testing uses a joystick to test the candidates ability to keep the cross-hair central, while throwing in some force-feedback and alike.
Personally, I cannot see Flight Simulation whilst sat at your computer desk benefiting you a great deal in terms of the actual 'flying', however when you come on to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), you could certainly use it to your advantage and practice procedures such as ILS approaches, Flying a VOR..etc.
Everyone will have a bad habit upon starting to Fly, very much the same as starting to Drive, but I honestly cannot see Flight Simulation at home contributing to that.
I hope that helps.
Regards
After reading your post, it's a realistic estimation that it's going to be the best part of 3 years before you start applying for the mentioned Cadet schemes (If there still going), or Flight Training Organizations. With that in mind, I wouldn't take any notice really with what you previous gliding instructor said. When I first undertook a few hours flying, exactly the same thing was said to me. The instruments are right in front of you and it's going to be integration for any student who has been using flight simulation beforehand and is now learning the basics of Visual Flight Rules.
Flight Simulation will certainly help you in terms of some stages of PILAPT testing which is required by most FTO's before enrolling on an Integrated course, said Cadet-ships undoubtedly. This is because PILAPT testing uses a joystick to test the candidates ability to keep the cross-hair central, while throwing in some force-feedback and alike.
Personally, I cannot see Flight Simulation whilst sat at your computer desk benefiting you a great deal in terms of the actual 'flying', however when you come on to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), you could certainly use it to your advantage and practice procedures such as ILS approaches, Flying a VOR..etc.
Everyone will have a bad habit upon starting to Fly, very much the same as starting to Drive, but I honestly cannot see Flight Simulation at home contributing to that.
I hope that helps.
Regards
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Completely agree with the above post.
I played flightsim a lot when I was younger and it definitely helped with the basic aspects of flying.
During my instrument training it was beneficial to be able to practice procedures and helped me get my head around how the needle swings etc.
As stated above be careful not to self teach yourself as you will pick up bad habits that may be hard to get rid of.
I played flightsim a lot when I was younger and it definitely helped with the basic aspects of flying.
During my instrument training it was beneficial to be able to practice procedures and helped me get my head around how the needle swings etc.
As stated above be careful not to self teach yourself as you will pick up bad habits that may be hard to get rid of.
Last edited by pipersam; 27th Sep 2012 at 12:36.
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Hi Juliette Alpha,
I used to play the flight simulator and was using it for last 10 years , I did my engineering and after that went for commercial pilot training and now I have got my PPL and now moving ahead to get the CPL .
I must say that it helps alot and it can give you a boost in your ground studies . Same thing happened with me my instructors were amazed to see my handling too and I was the one of the best in my school who can handle crosswinds very well .
The only thing which you will need to work on during your flying is the trimmer and the rudder coz in simulators we can't feel the forces .
I used to play the flight simulator and was using it for last 10 years , I did my engineering and after that went for commercial pilot training and now I have got my PPL and now moving ahead to get the CPL .
I must say that it helps alot and it can give you a boost in your ground studies . Same thing happened with me my instructors were amazed to see my handling too and I was the one of the best in my school who can handle crosswinds very well .
The only thing which you will need to work on during your flying is the trimmer and the rudder coz in simulators we can't feel the forces .
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don't expect to learn any hand flying skills from FS, it is good to provide an understanding of the instruments and basic systems, improve your instrument scan etc but it will be no reflection on the actual feel and forces experienced during real flight. There is nothing wrong with using it at an amateur level and that can be quite helpful, any bad habits you may pick up should not be too serious and can be ironed out during your flight training.
I would also recommend you consider using something like Vatsim, where you enhance the whole experience by having real life ATC from other simmers. It may be a place where you may find the more hardcore users lurking but many of them are quite good (real life ATC) and it is very similar to the real thing - it can certainly help with getting used to the big bad world of ATC at an early stage and making your RT more confident when you start flying the real thing.
good luck
I would also recommend you consider using something like Vatsim, where you enhance the whole experience by having real life ATC from other simmers. It may be a place where you may find the more hardcore users lurking but many of them are quite good (real life ATC) and it is very similar to the real thing - it can certainly help with getting used to the big bad world of ATC at an early stage and making your RT more confident when you start flying the real thing.
good luck
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Agree with Mr. 737: doing airwork or practising landings on a PC sim with the intent of getting better in "the real thing" is a waste of time (fun though it may be), and you may have to concentrate more on looking outside during VFR training than someone who has never developed the habit of scanning an instrument panel in front of him/her.
On the other hand, apart from spending delightful and immersive hours, some of them in airplanes at least I could never afford (financially and training-wise) in real life, if you take flightsimming seriously, it can improve your skills in several areas, especially if you join one of the online flying networks (IVAO or VATSIM; forget any discussion about which is better, choose the one with more ATC coverage in the areas and during the times you "fly"). My personal benefits were/are:
- improved nav skills, partly from practising, partly simply from getting a better feel for how the surroundings look from above and how maps translate into actual terrain (depending on the quality of your sim scenery, of course);
- being very much at ease with VOR navigation;
- better feel for time and distances when flying;
- improved R/T fluency and proficiency, including VFR and IFR phraseology and procedures when flying from/to controlled airports (and including R/T in French);
- a sketchy grasp of the sometimes fundamentally different modi operandi for different types of airplane;
- a somewhat better feel for weather and terrain considerations;
- several harmless but humbling and quite insightful experiences of hopelessly getting behind the course of things and how quickly this leads to errors and omissions.
I also know of several real-life pilots who use PC sims for practising IFR procedures, but that's probably only beneficial if you have received formal training and can discuss these exercises with an instructor.
On the other hand, apart from spending delightful and immersive hours, some of them in airplanes at least I could never afford (financially and training-wise) in real life, if you take flightsimming seriously, it can improve your skills in several areas, especially if you join one of the online flying networks (IVAO or VATSIM; forget any discussion about which is better, choose the one with more ATC coverage in the areas and during the times you "fly"). My personal benefits were/are:
- improved nav skills, partly from practising, partly simply from getting a better feel for how the surroundings look from above and how maps translate into actual terrain (depending on the quality of your sim scenery, of course);
- being very much at ease with VOR navigation;
- better feel for time and distances when flying;
- improved R/T fluency and proficiency, including VFR and IFR phraseology and procedures when flying from/to controlled airports (and including R/T in French);
- a sketchy grasp of the sometimes fundamentally different modi operandi for different types of airplane;
- a somewhat better feel for weather and terrain considerations;
- several harmless but humbling and quite insightful experiences of hopelessly getting behind the course of things and how quickly this leads to errors and omissions.
I also know of several real-life pilots who use PC sims for practising IFR procedures, but that's probably only beneficial if you have received formal training and can discuss these exercises with an instructor.
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Funny how your story sounds just like mine young fella. I played flight sim from time to time when I was in middle school (in my time it was the first VERY basic version) then again a few years later i bought a much more advanced version and bought a joystick so I would stop using the mouse and keyboard.
Well l can tell you that was a change in the feeling of the aircraft on my PC.
But more importantly, the instructors I had for my discovery flight, my PPL and Instrument ratings were amazed by my handling skills. And I'm talking several instructors from several countries. I finished my PPL just a little over minimum time, and was ready for my IR in less than minimum time (of course had to fly more to get to that minimum before the checkride)The only problem was when doing VFR manoeuvers, I had an over tendency to look at my instruments instead of outside! And I know of at least one other student who had a breeze through training back at my school. And this guy would play those online flying networks all the time.
So, in conclusion I would say it definately helps and will give you the edge over other students as far as basic aircraft handling and basic attitude instrument (saves hours and $$) but also basic RT phraseology.
Then again I said basic, so the rest of your pilot abilities will come through hard work, studying, and of course, real life flying.
Well l can tell you that was a change in the feeling of the aircraft on my PC.
But more importantly, the instructors I had for my discovery flight, my PPL and Instrument ratings were amazed by my handling skills. And I'm talking several instructors from several countries. I finished my PPL just a little over minimum time, and was ready for my IR in less than minimum time (of course had to fly more to get to that minimum before the checkride)The only problem was when doing VFR manoeuvers, I had an over tendency to look at my instruments instead of outside! And I know of at least one other student who had a breeze through training back at my school. And this guy would play those online flying networks all the time.
So, in conclusion I would say it definately helps and will give you the edge over other students as far as basic aircraft handling and basic attitude instrument (saves hours and $$) but also basic RT phraseology.
Then again I said basic, so the rest of your pilot abilities will come through hard work, studying, and of course, real life flying.
