Real pilots: How real is FS to them?

[rtodepart 761]

Well to add to the list of things already mention from others knowing that there is people in the plane and from day one in my flying career my back Sweat like a pig when on final cant simulate that at home hahahaa but anyways the real thing its something that its hard to simulate even in a lvl D sim you know u can stop the simulation at anytime and even some lvl D sims dont simulate every aspet of the flight for those of you that were thinking a lvl D was all 100% realistic.

[msalo 1]

Well.. some of this has probably been mentioned, but here is my take: - Visually, it can be pretty close, but there is a bit of depth perception that is not quite there.- Flight Dynamics, with the right addon aircraft, can be very close.- The feel......not so much. The first thing I noticed during my first few lessons was that in the sim, you don't feel anything. You don't feel any feedback on the yoke, the wind, etc... This is especially noticeable when doing pattern work in heavy crosswinds. In the sim, you can see it a little, but you just don't get proper feedback. In real life, there is nothing like getting bounced around on short final in a 172 with a howling and swirling crosswind, then get a bit of sheer and having a feeling of dropping out of the sky, all while trying to stay lined up on the approach path, keeping the nose pointed down the runway. Then as you round out to a few feet above the runway, and fighting the wind gusts as you flare, trying not to catch a big gust and balloon up, and also trying to keep it from dropping too hard. Just my thoughts! -m@

[Morganw487 2]

I am not an ATP Certified pilot, or even a Private Pilot. I am however a Student Pilot with 20 hours of flight time under my belt. I fly the C152 and C172. FSX is good replication of what goes on in the airplane. The systems and procedures match real life quite well. That being said, the real world is just not the same compared to flight simulator. For one, you didn't get the yoke pressure that thermals and other turbulent phenomenon generate. You also don't get the bounce and bump that small planes do, especially during the summer. It is different flying an aircraft in smooth air compared to flying an aircraft in very turbulent weather, which is common for small aircraft. If you want to complement your lessons, flight simulator is a definite bonus. My CFI encourages me to use it because it noticeably helps compared to the progress of other pilots. If you just use flight simulator and expect to jump into a C172 and fly a private pilot quality approach, you are sadly mistaken. Flight simulator and the real world are two different things. There is nothing like actually "being there" in a C152 as you cut the power and use the ground effect to touch the aircraft down on the runway, hearing the unique stall horn slightly blowing from the leading edge of the left wing. -Morgan W

[rtodepart 761]

Jamal i do think about WHAT IF ONE DAY thing go wrong but that usualy flys by my head quick and i stop thinking about it sometimes i wory more about crazy ground traffic drivers runing into one of the engines or a wing full of fuel. And the thing that im afraid of the must its birds , i already went tru a bird strike on takeoff we had space to stop but some other time i could already be in the air...

[Guest]

Of course FS is another planet from reality. I am not a real pilot but , an example seeing tons of you tube cockpit videos, is that manually landing on FS is much more difficult than reality, assuming clear skies an no wind. Runways on FS seem to be definitely narrower. The length seems to be correctly simulated instead. A landing on reality brings anyway the responsibility of passengers, crew and plane therefore is much much more difficult from that point of view. These are just my own feelings, not necessarily they have to be considered truths.

[captainklm 1]

I came back from holiday yesterday and must say its the gravity and brakes, acceleration and deceleration. I love takeoff when your pushed against your seat and decent when you start to feel something funny in the stomach (yes don`t forget the ear pressure during decent) and the deceleration when landing. The brakes applied when the plane is taxiing. In my opinion in one of the NGX videos the takeoff acceleration looks really realistic, anyone else notice that?

[Jordan 0]

Having asked a Delta 767 pilot if he uses flight sim, his immediate reply was, "Oh gord! I'm rubbish at flight sim!". To me, that says it. This may sound weird to you, but to me that says, 'Both real world and fligh sim are very similar, however, real world has all the elements of flying, the feeling, the 'gut instinct'.'I know I'm being very vague and am not explaining my thoughts very well... purely because my thoughts don't make sense on this subject, yet they make great sense to me.

[Guest]

Of course physics motions can't be simulated, neither smells nor temperatures or hostesses. I would stay focused on comparing aspects that can be simulated.

[clum 2]

Assuming you drive cars, how real is need for speed? If you shoot, how real is call of duty? If you kill aliens, how real is Crysis? (ok that one's a bad example ) There is no comparison between real flying and FS, although it does a great job simulating visuals and systems/procedures. It's a dam sight cheaper than real training then leasing/renting too!

[Nickdj 0]

Hey guys, I have my (F) ATPL and flying the real thing is of course a complete different world. Sitting in the aircraft, the sounds the smell and the feel compared to the calm environment of your house is so different. Moreover, the view is also very different as you have a complete different perspective. However, the PMDG has helped me a lot. I used it for IFR training and getting the general feel of the cockpit where everything is located. This was excellent for 'chair flying'. If you know flightsim/pmdg very well it will give you a great advantage and head start when going to the actual sim because you will know generally where everything is located and programming the FMS should also be a piece of cake ;). The landings i find also very different just because, as i said above, your perspective is so different then compared to your computer screen. To be honest during my training (for SEP/ME) i only used FSX to practice certain IFR things (holdings/interceptions ILS/VORDME/NDB approach) and maybe quickly practice some procedures, didn't really have the time to use the computer a lot!So basically, FSX is an excellent tool to get your self familiarized with the aircraft and learn the system at ease in the comfort of your home! cheers, Nick

[Airbus Commander 563]

Oh, another thing that FS doesn't do it the stress of real world flying, The pressure to come in on time, the pressure of whether or not to remove the bags of someone who's managed to get lost in the terminal or wait another 10 mins in the hope they show up [even worse nowadays with online check-in, you don't even know if they're in the airport] , the pressure to save fuel, the pressure of knowing if you screw up bad you and your PAX are in for it.... But I wouldn't change it for the world

[jbassue 181]

Interesting.Ship captains have it bad, slow death

[captainklm 1]

The most realistic time for me with FSX was when I was flying through some sever weather and an earthquake struck. Man that was cool

[wanabflyer 53]

So to answer the question in this topic, why not go back to that all time favourate scenario in every armchair pilots imagiation. If you were on a modern airliner,such as the 737NGX or maybe the MD-11 and the flight crew were incapacitated by a bug or food poisoning,If you were a good Sim pilot, is the realism good enough to get it on the ground and to a stop in one piece? (and i don't meen in a thunderstorm)

[Airbus Commander 563]

737NG not NGX