6 ms·

VFR students shouldn't be anywhere near a simulator, imo. Primary training is all about stick and rudder skills, which you can't pick up in a simulator. The fee

by tjohns 6y ago

VFR students shouldn't be anywhere near a simulator, imo. Primary training is all about stick and rudder skills, which you can't pick up in a simulator. The feel of the controls isn't even close. (I guess you could use a simulator to help teach pilotage and dead reckoning... but that normally gets sprinkled in with the other lessons along the way.) On the other hand, simulators are useful for IFR training, when you're focusing on procedures. But you're not looking at the scenery in that case. ;)

mastazi 6y ago
> VFR students shouldn't be anywhere near a simulator, I agree but I wasn't talking about stick and rudder skills, I was talking about cross country VFR preparation (learning landmarks etc.). I guess you can do it just using Google Maps, but it would be fun to do it in sim IMHO. PS regarding the expression "VFR students": there is a preconception where VFR skills are just something that you learn as a beginner pilot, and then once you have enough experience, you start focusing on IFR. I think this mindset is wrong. There are some very experienced bush pilots who regularly - and sometimes mostly - fly VFR; aviation is not just airliners.
- tjohns 6y ago
  Now that you mention it, I could see MSFS being useful for general area familiarization. Foreflight has 3D mode now for the same purpose. But MSFS would certainly be more fun, and an instructor could mix in other navigation skills. It would be a good exercise to drop someone into an unknown area to practice VOR navigation. (And 100% agreed about the "VFR students" thing. Poor choice of words on my part.)
  - mastazi 6y ago
    Oh yes I love Foreflight 3D mode. > an instructor could mix in other navigation skills Yes you made me realise that my initial comment was not very clear, I said “VFR” but really I meant visual navigation.
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  > cross country VFR preparation (learning landmarks etc.) That's unnecessary since your sectional (map) has most of that. > there is a preconception where VFR skills are just something that you learn as a beginner pilot, and then once you have enough experience It's a really strange argument to make, since pilots are responsible for see and avoid, which means looking out the window, even with an IFR clearance. Since you're writing basically GPT-3-level nonsense, are you actually a pilot? Source: commercially-rated pilot.
ffk 6y ago
Pair X-Plane with PilotEdge, and you've got something that can help you with your radio skills so that you can effectively communicate with ATC. So many pilots go without flight following (asking ATC to watch your path and notify you of things you should be aware of) simply because they are afraid of the radio. Completely agree about stick/rudder skills though...
- sundvor 6y ago
  Is anyone doing anything akin to a direct drive system for HOTAS force feedback? That would be incredible. I have TM's Warthog system which is presently collecting dust due to lack of triple screen support (Nvidia Simultaneous Multi-projection or SMP, AMD has nothing) - in my space/flight titles, but hopefully not forever. It's not anywhere able to convey forces affecting the plane in the way my DD steering wheel system does for driving. The feedback I get there combined with transducers is truly sensational, especially once you've had the time to become attuned. I'm becoming half competent now and it's an amazing thing to be able to do from the home. Whilst there might be limited stuff to simulate in higher end fbw planes, for anything hydraulic there ought to be some options. I once had a Microsoft FFB joystick but considerable time had passed since.
  - mastazi 6y ago
    There are sticks, yokes and even rudder pedals with FFB, from a couple different vendors (for example the ones made by the Swiss company Brunner) but they cost thousands. Unfortunately, AFAIK, there is nothing in the lower cost segment.
    - rbanffy 6y ago
      Wouldn’t it be awesome if someone could license brand names like Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Cirrus, Garmin, or Cessna and sell reasonably priced panels mimicking instrument panels of those makers with their help? An LCD touchscreen and a plastic overlay would do wonders and still be a reasonable compromise.
      - deleted 6y ago
zeroc8 6y ago
Yes, but stick and rudder skills are the easy part (I used to be a flight instructor). The hard part is everything else.
- tjohns 6y ago
  Out of curiosity, what areas did you find were the most challenging for your students?

by tjohns 6y ago

mastazi 6y ago

> VFR students shouldn't be anywhere near a simulator, I agree but I wasn't talking about stick and rudder skills, I was talking about cross country VFR preparation (learning landmarks etc.). I guess you can do it just using Google Maps, but it would be fun to do it in sim IMHO. PS regarding the expression "VFR students": there is a preconception where VFR skills are just something that you learn as a beginner pilot, and then once you have enough experience, you start focusing on IFR. I think this mindset is wrong. There are some very experienced bush pilots who regularly - and sometimes mostly - fly VFR; aviation is not just airliners.

tjohns 6y ago
Now that you mention it, I could see MSFS being useful for general area familiarization. Foreflight has 3D mode now for the same purpose. But MSFS would certainly be more fun, and an instructor could mix in other navigation skills. It would be a good exercise to drop someone into an unknown area to practice VOR navigation. (And 100% agreed about the "VFR students" thing. Poor choice of words on my part.)
- mastazi 6y ago
  Oh yes I love Foreflight 3D mode. > an instructor could mix in other navigation skills Yes you made me realise that my initial comment was not very clear, I said “VFR” but really I meant visual navigation.
redis_mlc 6y ago
> cross country VFR preparation (learning landmarks etc.) That's unnecessary since your sectional (map) has most of that. > there is a preconception where VFR skills are just something that you learn as a beginner pilot, and then once you have enough experience It's a really strange argument to make, since pilots are responsible for see and avoid, which means looking out the window, even with an IFR clearance. Since you're writing basically GPT-3-level nonsense, are you actually a pilot? Source: commercially-rated pilot.

ffk 6y ago

Pair X-Plane with PilotEdge, and you've got something that can help you with your radio skills so that you can effectively communicate with ATC. So many pilots go without flight following (asking ATC to watch your path and notify you of things you should be aware of) simply because they are afraid of the radio. Completely agree about stick/rudder skills though...

sundvor 6y ago
Is anyone doing anything akin to a direct drive system for HOTAS force feedback? That would be incredible. I have TM's Warthog system which is presently collecting dust due to lack of triple screen support (Nvidia Simultaneous Multi-projection or SMP, AMD has nothing) - in my space/flight titles, but hopefully not forever. It's not anywhere able to convey forces affecting the plane in the way my DD steering wheel system does for driving. The feedback I get there combined with transducers is truly sensational, especially once you've had the time to become attuned. I'm becoming half competent now and it's an amazing thing to be able to do from the home. Whilst there might be limited stuff to simulate in higher end fbw planes, for anything hydraulic there ought to be some options. I once had a Microsoft FFB joystick but considerable time had passed since.
- mastazi 6y ago
  There are sticks, yokes and even rudder pedals with FFB, from a couple different vendors (for example the ones made by the Swiss company Brunner) but they cost thousands. Unfortunately, AFAIK, there is nothing in the lower cost segment.
  - rbanffy 6y ago
    Wouldn’t it be awesome if someone could license brand names like Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Cirrus, Garmin, or Cessna and sell reasonably priced panels mimicking instrument panels of those makers with their help? An LCD touchscreen and a plastic overlay would do wonders and still be a reasonable compromise.
    - deleted 6y ago

zeroc8 6y ago

Yes, but stick and rudder skills are the easy part (I used to be a flight instructor). The hard part is everything else.

tjohns 6y ago
Out of curiosity, what areas did you find were the most challenging for your students?