I remember when Power Brakes were released for automobles. I had the first model, a Crysler. When you touched the brake you damn near went thru the windshield. You had to be very used to em before you drove on icy roads or you would find yourself spinning out.I then bought a Lincoln that applied the brakes smooth as silk. Yet the Lincoln would stop in as short a distance than the other car. They had a 3/16" hole thru the center of the piston that displaced the fluid in the master cylinder. The piston was about 1" in dia. The 3/16 hole had a rod in it that pushed back againt the prake pedel so the harder you pushed the more feedback you got. The pressure in the master cylinder pushed back enough to give you a signal as to how hard you were pushing on the pedel.What a difference it made.Best

Diane, I have logged over 30,000 hours in a lot of it in Boeing airliners. I am rated on the 737. The PMDG 737NG is the very best simulation I have seen. The realism, especially in the FMC and EICAS and FD/ND is expert.That being said, it took me several circuits of T&G's before I could even get the plane on the runway - let alone make a good landing. Sure, autoland is pretty easy, but that's cheating. :-)An FS pilot that really takes the time to LEARN the systems and AP/FD functions will be way ahead when transitioning to the real world aircraft. Being able to physically TO/Land with only FS experience would be about the same as my first trials with FS. You better have a real good handle on the GA mode. :-)I was also a check airman and simulator operator for a major airline. Today's full motion sims are so good that ratings are given in the simulator and the first time a newly rated pilot flies the real airplane is on a scheduled flight with passengers and an instructor in the other seat.While comparing FS to RW isn't exactly apples to oranges, the learning curve is pretty steep between the two worlds.---leo---

>>I was also a check airman and simulator operator for a major>airline. Today's full motion sims are so good that ratings are>given in the simulator and the first time a newly rated pilot>flies the real airplane is on a scheduled flight with>passengers and an instructor in the other seat.>>While comparing FS to RW isn't exactly apples to oranges, the>learning curve is pretty steep between the two worlds.>>---leo---I have been through the company that makes these commercial sims in Canada. They go to unbelievable lengths to make sure that everything the pilot experiences in the Sim is exactly the same as in the real aircraft. Switchers and knobs have the same sound and pressure and feel, even the fabric of the seats is the same. The look out the window has to be just as the pilot would see it in the real aircraft. As you stated, all the training today is done in the sim. It's safer, cheaper and better, since all kinds of emergencies can be thrown at the pilot with no danger to the aircraft, crew, or people on the ground. The check pilot told me when I flew the 767 Motion sim, that if the FAA didn't approve the reality of the Sim, that it was just a $27 Million dollar Ninetendo Game, and nothing more.

I think that the hardest part for a real world pilot would be finding the TO/GA button on the PMDG: "Where's that bl... button?!":-hmmm CheersThomas

Hi there! Yup even my dad is a real life B747-400 Captain. He also struggles with my FS2004 to try and land. I got him to fly on my PSS A320 panel as it is fly by wire and also the frame rates are not as bad as the PMDG B737NGs and thus I dun need a feed back joy stick right? SO he can land but stuggles with it more than me...Hahah!!Regards,Darren

I know, but I need to post 1 in 30Tim__757