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If you need something FAA certified, it's going to cost you a whole lot more than a non-certified one. X-Plane flight sim is available with certification for fl
by exDM69 15y ago
If you need something FAA certified, it's going to cost you a whole lot more than a non-certified one. X-Plane flight sim is available with certification for flight instruction use. It costs more than the desktop version.
For a private pilot's licence you're not required to have any sim time, but it's a very good idea anyway. But if you just want to practice your upcoming flying lesson with an instructor in a real airplane, pretty much any modern flight simulator is good enough for basic training. Off the shelf gaming controllers are good enough. You don't need a certified sim for that.
For commercial pilots flying passenger jets, there are big simulators that are different beasts.
- bonzoesc 15y agoDelta Air Lines sells time in their passenger jet simulators, but the pricing is undoubtedly in the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" range: https://www.delta.com/business_programs_services/training/pilot_training/simulator_training_devices/index.jsp https://www.delta.com/business_programs_services/training/pi... The full motion simulators they have a picture of are intense; they feel like the real thing in motion, in controls (weighted and worn like the real thing), and in sound. I was lucky enough to try one for a C-130 last year, and I'm still a bit blown away by it.
- ajross 15y agoLast I remember, the FAA doesn't certify software. A certified simulator is a hardware installation. There's really nothing specific required of the software; early "certified" simulators were just instrument gauges and a trivially simple flight model. There are some FlightGear-based training devices too.
- exDM69 15y agoIt may be that you need a certification for each hardware installation separately. However, there are software requirements for FAA certification. This is from X-Plane Professional description: "It provides hardware and frame-rate checks required for FAA certification of the simulator".