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Yes. I passed my instrument rating earlier this year by using MSFS and X-plane integrated with PilotEdge and working my way through several I ratings on PE. Lot
by mmaunder 3y ago
Yes. I passed my instrument rating earlier this year by using MSFS and X-plane integrated with PilotEdge and working my way through several I ratings on PE. Lots of additional studying by reading the entire Jepp IR book and using Sheppard for review before the written. Also a ton of flying under foggles practicing everything in the standards and making it second nature. Checkride was gnarly in Kansas noon convection turbulence but passed. Sims with PilotEdge help big time on learning to copy clearance, departure, en route and shooting the many approaches available. Also helps to stay current and to review a challenging approach before doing it for real. And it can somewhat help with G1000 avionics programming but it’s not exactly the same - more of a general guideline.
I’d avoid Vatsim. Sorry fans. I just don’t find it’s up to the same standard in realism and professionalism. Also lots of controllers who don’t know their stuff.
Also avoid getting sucked into the gamer aspect of flight sim. You have to actually be training in real aircraft and studying and supplement with sim.
Active pause is great for avionics programming, VOR nav and more.
You can do it all with a joystick. Pedals and yoke are pointless because sims can’t simulate things like turbulence or crosswind landings.
An RTX 3xxx GPU is plenty. I used a laptop RTX 4090 and desktop 3 series gpu.
Lastly if you actually do an instrument rating, learn how to calm yourself with a slow breath in and a slow breath out and never quit during the checkride, no matter how hard it seems. You are PIC and the DPE is pushing your limits, so assume you’re alone, breath deep and work the problem. Real life single pilot IMC is intense so this is the way.
- chs20 3y agoSimulating cross-wind landings doesn't sound that hard, why do you think current sims don't do it well?
- mmaunder 3y agoBecause I practice them a lot and the dynamics of a real x-wind landing is not reproducible in a home sim. You can practice where to put the controls. But in a trainer like a 172 or DA20 you can’t practice the forces you feel pushing back at you and the other seat-of-pants aspects. One of the drills I do is to descend to 50ft over the runway and then hold the plane on centerline in a eg 20kt crosswind. The sim just can’t even come close to how dynamic and effective that exercise is. Also the feeling of putting down one wheel first, feeling the bump, then the other. The slight skid and side g forces of you mess it up slightly. Those kinds of things. There are many things that sims can’t reproduce that don’t matter that much when it comes to productive learning. But with cross wind landings, these things matter a lot. I’m specifically referring to home simulators and MSFS and X-plane specifically. I have no experience in full motion commercial jet or military sims.
- throwaway2037 3y ago> the forces you feel pushing back at you A few other posts mentioned that even the most sophisticated sim machines cannot simulate (de/)acceleration. Do you think "the forces you feel pushing back at you" here could mean deceleration?
- CaptainOfCoit 3y ago> because sims can’t simulate things like turbulence or crosswind landings Which simulators are you talking about specifically? AFAIK, X-plane is able to simulate both of them.
- pkilgore 3y agoWe are telling you that simulation of those things, particularly their effect on a pilot physically experiencing the physics of them, is so far from what you feel in a real plane.durieg high stress moments of flight so as to be nearly useless to preparing for the real live stress you are under.