Greetings Ladies & Gents, Hypothetical question - based on the realism of this sim, what is the likelihood of a GA pilot with say, a few hundred hours on PMDG 737NG be able to operate the real aircraft (from an operations perspective) to put it in an autoland configuration and bring it down? I hear X-Plane has received "FAA approval" for use as a training aid. Do you folks see the likelihood of this sim - I would guess it duplicates the 737 systems fairly well enough! Cheers! Rob NZPG National Science Foundation Mcmurdo Station

Rob,If you are talking about an emergency, when all the pilots bail out and the always eagerly awaited question is asked on board: "Is there anyone on this plane who can land it?" Then yes, you will probably be able to put it in a landing configuration and possibly do an autoland. At least this is what I came to after asking the same question from myself. For the rest, I would wait until a real pilot responds to this.But then, in FS you can f. it up as many times as you want to. ;)Cheers,

NO! Not again! This question (a simmers dream and my wife's nightmare:-lol ) has been asked over and over and over again....CheersThomas

I am a private Pilot with about 600 hours TT in Cessna 152-172 and Piper warrior. I have way over 1,000 hours in FS95-98 and just started on FS9 with PMDG. I had a chance to go down to a Major Airline Training center a few years ago and fly their 767-400 Sim a few days before it's acceptance flight. I had a Instructor and a Co-pilot pointing out where the different switches were, and telling me the speeds for rotation and approach. I taxied out to the Active from the Gate area, lined up on the runway and off we went. I leveled out a 3,000 and hand flew the plane in about a 20 mile arc, and set it up for a VFR landing. First landing I made, was pretty good and I hit the touchdown spot just about right on the centerlie of the runway. The instructor pilot's mouth dropped open and he asked me what kind of flying of large aircraft I had done. I told him that the heaviest thing I had flown up to that day was a 172 with 2 overweight people in it. I then explained all my time in the Microsoft Sims. He was quite surprised. I think if a Sim pilot had radio contact with a real pilot, was already flying the PMDG, and was in a Boeing 767-757-737, he would probably have a pretty good chance of landing the plane, even without the autoland set. The real pilot could call the speeds and tell him where the various controls in the cockpit are, but even the 767-400 instrumentation is similar to the PMDG. You just have to do a quick scan to locate everything, but it's all there. That's why I love the PMDG so much, because it seems to fly just like I remember that 767-400 did.

Greetings Rob!A sim pilot chiming in.... a sim pilot with experience of hand-flying a cessna from the RHS for ~ 16 years occasionally, and ~ 30 hours in a level D 757-200 simulator.I have no experience in a 737NG sim, but I think this is close enough ;).~ 1000 hours on PIC767. Then the first 752 sim ride. Piece of cake, only thing I had real problems with was finding the brightness controls for the various displays, flood lighting and panel lighting lol. Otherwise, it was a breeze. Getting used to hand flying the sim took a couple of minutes, but soon I became accustomed to the required control forces and the extreme pitch sensitivity of the aircraft. In the end of my first sim session I was shooting IMC ILS approaches with some crosswind, did a couple of them, and it went really well. I have many videos of those, but can't show them in public, I'm afraid (restricted by the airline).Since the first time, I've had the chance to fly the sim in a multitude of scenarios many times, from SE situations to crippled flaps and flight controls. All the flights have started at the gate, and stopped there. No crashes for me.I talked about the differences of sim-flying and real sim flying on a different thread over at the PIC forum not long ago, so if anyone wants to see my thoughts about it, head over there (or request a link :)).A serious HC simmer with excellent systems knowledge: no problem, especially with automatics.... in a SIMULATOR.Same thing in a real emergency. No one knows. No one.best wishes,Tero

I would think that for systems operation and configuration, probably the major systems are covered and the typical armchair pilot will have a good understanding of what the systems do and how they operate. It's always nice when you deplane and the cockpit door is open (that doesn't happen often these days), you get to look at the cockpit and buttons and think - hey, I know what this does!I like to think that a PC can be used as a training aid and cockpit familiarization for normal procedures and operations. Products like this, and Project Magenta, PFC and go-flight make it more realistic. Actually, glass cockpits are probably coming more naturally to us PC jockeys because we know how to use keyboards and computers.I don't think that the sim makes you ready for the real thing because I think that most of the training pilots receive, and the reason they have to put in so many hours to get the various certification levels, is so they know what to do when something goes wrong, and have no pause button. I think that as more planes automate the flight process, the easier it is for us armchair pilots to fly the machine, but, it's the things we don't know that nail us: Modeling of failures, contigencies, aircraft quirks and various other real-life factors are lacking in the sim as it exists today.One thing you don't get well in FS, no matter how good the add-ons are, is really good weather, traffic volume, and physics (g-forces, motion, etc...). The sense of speed is also completely lacking on the PC and your only "sensors" are the sound from the speakers and what you see in your relatively small field of vision.However, I do believe that you would have a significant leg up if you take up classes compared that someone who doesn't have your hours in front of a serious FS add-on. You understand the basics, theory of flight, theory of operations, general handling and behavior of the aircraft, and probably have many of the reflexes needed. Probably the same thing if you used to drive the farm tractor: you can probably get in the Ferrari and start driving on the public road, but you may be in for a serious surprise. My point is that you may also learn bad habits, make mistakes, and above all, be overconfident.Read the posts in the AVSIM conference about the guys flying the UAL 747 sim. Then again, I think it's not very fair either because the whale, because of its size, can be very docile when it comes to behavior and reaction time, but the slightest mistake is amplified ten fold, and this, you only get with experience. It's the same reason you start off as a pilot with a dinky beatup single engine plane, not the 747.So, all of this to say that yes, I'm reasonably prepared to push the right buttons in the right sequence and maybe even get the engines started, but I'm already stuck at the INS page. Ground, NG103, needs to standby while we dig up the operations manual...

Here's my take on this.If you were on a quiet domestic flight and some looney/terrorist got up and wiped out the crew then topped themselves, when there are no other pilots in transit and nobody who doesn't immediately curl up and cry in terror on board... you would do a better job saving lives in the big seat than you would sitting waiting to die.However, the amount you actually make descisions, flick switches under your own inititive will be almost non-existent.The VERY first (assuming the plane is NOT heading directly down in overspeed) thing you do, is find the "MIC ON" button on the current active com channel (find the mic!) and say, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday". If you dont get a response, look the communications plan, if you can find it and tune to one of the frequencies roughly where you think your are and again repeat Mayday! If that fails to get a response which is unlikely, how many of us will remember the Unicom or Guard frequencies when it mattered? 118.20 is it?Assuming you will get a reply, you then have to tell someone your situation, preferably by looking at your ticket for the flight number at least, but not essential, if you say "Easyjet flight, departed London Gatwick at 09:15 for Glasgow" that should be enough. Get ready for the question that will chill your bones to ice. "Do you know many souls sir?"From then until the controller can patch you through to an Easyjet pilot or instructor you will probably be questioned about the state of the aircraft, reading guages and displays back.You are wise to sit back, shut up and do as you are told, NOT say, "It's OK mister, I've flown this bird on my PC, I have it all under control."Even when you get a line pilot or instructor on a private channel and you tell him you have sim experience, you will not have time and he will not be wise to bother listening to you explain what you do know and what you dont know. He will assume you know nothing and treat you like a robot. He flys the plane, you are his eyes, ears fingers and arms.OK, since you have 1000+ in the PMDG and other add ons, you will adapt much better to the constant stream of "What does the air speed indicator read, the guage just to the left of....", "185 knots sir"."OK I need you to move the flaps lever down one notch, its over to your right just below....", "Flaps 10 selected sir".I personally believe that put in the big chair, you would do a better job having flown the sim, than a person with zero avaiation experience, virtual or real. As to whether it prepares you to jump into the big seat with 80 people in the back and go for it alone. No thank you! Without having the training and experience in the real chair, I wouldn't relish the opportunity thanks.Also, ask yourself this... How many times in the last 3 months in Fs2004 have you, while trying to make a normal flight, taking it seriously, not messing around getting bored, made a major cockup and probably killed all on board and half a housing estate? Be honest. Personally in the last week I have run Concorde off the end of the runway twice, because of failing to disco the autothottle and twice on take off, (wrong runway). When you keep a total of how many hours you have in FS, and then substract the number of virtual deaths I suspect like us all you have a negative figure.Real pilots in the big chair must be spot on 100% of the time, 2, 3, 4 flights a day, 16 hours a day, 4 days a week, 48 weeks a year, rain, hail, sleat, snow, gales, downdraft, windshear, low vis.... with 10s of thousands of lives passing in and out of their charge.ATP = Airline Transport Pilot = Always Total Proficent."How many souls sir?".Would "you" not be terrified?

Lol!What a typo here:"Same thing in a real emergency"I MEANT: A different thing in a real emergency / real jet. No one knows what would happen there.I'm not THAT arrogant.. ! ;Dcheers,Tero

Paul,True..thanks for the laugh! Well, at least I can buy the farm over Hawaii seeing the wife is having the vacation $$ is going to painting the house ;-)cheers!RobAlso, ask yourself this... How many times in the last 3 months in Fs2004 have you, while trying to make a normal flight, taking it seriously, not messing around getting bored, made a major cockup and probably killed all on board and half a housing estate? Be honest. Personally in the last week I have run Concorde off the end of the runway twice, because of failing to disco the autothottle and twice on take off, (wrong runway). When you keep a total of how many hours you have in FS, and then substract the number of virtual deaths I suspect like us all you have a negative figure.