Hey guys,

 

It´s been a little while since I contributed to these forums but I thought I might relate to you guys the wonderful experience I had a couple of days ago in a 737NG simulator that was as close as you can possibly get to booking a session in a level-D or in the real thing.

 

I was walking inside one of Paris´ subway stations while on vacations last week when I saw a billboard advertsing this: http://www.flightexperience.fr/

 

I immediatey called the number on the advertisement and booked a two hour session. It was one of the most rewareding experiences in my life. Apart from moving like an authentic level-D sim, their simulator was absolutely complete and faithful to a real 737 flight deck. All instructors are type-rated, most actually fly the 737 NG in several European carriers, and all are extremely friendly. And thanks to PMDG, I really managed to yank a few "wows" from my session´s instructor.All in all, like most other PMDG customers who had the priviledge to have a similar experience, I felt very comfortable in the left seat of the NG and had absolutely no trouble with normal procedures and flows. Airmanship was another matter.

 

Their simulator consists of a mock-up of the right door and forward galley of the 737-800 and a complete flight deck where everything is almost exactly the same as you would find in an actual airliner. Almost all switches work and I´m pretty sure that only hardcore NGX and/or actual NG drivers will be able to tell what´s missing. Their software is FS9 (unfortunately) however complete with the most fantastic scebery add-ons you can think of. KBOS and KJFK felt like the real deal - eith heavy traffic, perfect sceneries and all sorts of peripherals.

 

My first hour was devoted to a secto flight from KBOS to KJFK. I had no trouble taxiing with the tiller, but soon afterwards, when my copilot called "rotate", I realized why they are called "heavy metals". I found the yoke to feel much heavier than the setup I have at home and the SR-20 and LSA I usually fly in Brazil. Therefore I rotated a little too late, but soon afterwards I came to grips with the plane and following the flight director up to cruise altitude was a breeze. Arriving at JFK I was a little too fast and high and had to use the speedbrakes quite a lot. A little before intercepting the localizer I disarmed the autopilot and A/T and captured the ILS manually. My first landing wasn´t that great because I flared too high and didn´t bring the thrust all the way down. Therefore I floated quite a little and ended up landing after the first third. I should´ve declared a missed approach and gone around but oh well...

 

Afterwards my instructor took me for a couple of circling approaches in St. Marteen, Funchal, and a heavy xwind takeoff and landing at Charled de Gaule. The xwind takeoff was where I had most trouble. We ended things with a spectacular night approach into infamous Kai Tak. By then I had gotten used to the feel of handflying the aircraft and it was by far my best approach and landing.

 

I was extremely impressed by the company´s setup and attitude. I thought it was money well spent and I do encourage all of you in and around Paris to visit them. You won´t be disappointed!!!

WOW sounds awesome!! :D

I wanna go there sometime!!! I wish they had that here!

Nice stuff!

 

We have a similar company here in Vancouver, its called Flight Adventures (www.flightadventures.ca). My wife and I along with 2 other friends went in on a sim session with this company back in early April of this year. They all enjoyed the experience tremendously and will gladly do it again given the opportunity.

 

I highly recommend flightadventures to those who live in the lower mainland and anybody who passes through YVR.

 

Cheers,

Chicago, IL, USA. I feel like there should be a sim of some sorts here, but I haven't been able to find anything. Truly jealous. Great post + pics.

Wow !!

there are also in Australia. You spend your QT737 ?

there are also in Australia. You spend your QT737 ?

 

Sorry mate, I did not understand you question!

Sorry mate, I did not understand you question!

you pass your QT737 on simulator (as virtual pilot) ?

Nope, didn´t go through that. I just booked a 2 hour "adventure session" to test my skills in something closer to real life than my desktop PC. I have no intention at this momento of going with my private pilot certificate beyond an IFR rating... so a 737 type rating is out of the question. Now if I had money... who knows!

COOL, Victor ! Great pics, too.

 

And actually, you gave me an idea. I found that Flight Experience still have a simulator in my hometown Auckland and when I checked out their website just then, there was a special offer of a one hour session for NZ$99 (instead of the usual NZ$289) which runs out tonight at midnight ! So after clearance from Management (aka my wife :Hug: ) I booked a session for this Sunday night :yahoo:. Can't wait, after reading your post !

Looks absolutely great. Thanks for sharing.

 

You were in Paris. Does Flight Experience conduct the flights and briefings in English or just French? Understandable if only French - you were in Paris after all! But the .fr site offers English language and Paris is only a short hop from here ...

 

Best wishes,

 

David

Looks absolutely great. Thanks for sharing.

 

You were in Paris. Does Flight Experience conduct the flights and briefings in English or just French? Understandable if only French - you were in Paris after all! But the .fr site offers English language and Paris is only a short hop from here ...

 

Best wishes,

 

David

 

David

 

I did the same thing recently in London - iPilot at the Westfield in Shepherds Bush. Looks like the same set-up as the one in Paris, just different name. 737-800 and you choose where you want to fly....

 

Terrific experience, and in many respects easier than flying on the PC.....

 

Worth every penny (although mine was a gift....!)

 

Toni.

Thanks for the tip-off. 20 minutes from home!!

 

Best wishes,

 

David

Does Flight Experience conduct the flights and briefings in English or just French? Understandable if only French - you were in Paris after all! But the .fr site offers English language and Paris is only a short hop from here

 

Hey David, the language barrier was easy to go through. I speak a little French and understand most of what´s said, so the briefing was done in French. However, I asked to have the flights conducted in English for two reasons: I´d feel more comfortable and it would be more realistic from a CRM perspective. Since all instructors there are type-rated and actual airliner pilots, all of them speak English well enough for our purposes.

 

COOL, Victor ! Great pics, too.

 

And actually, you gave me an idea. I found that Flight Experience still have a simulator in my hometown Auckland and when I checked out their website just then, there was a special offer of a one hour session for NZ$99 (instead of the usual NZ$289) which runs out tonight at midnight ! So after clearance from Management (aka my wife ) I booked a session for this Sunday night . Can't wait, after reading your post !

 

I´m really excited for you and glad that my post got you to commit to this experience. I´m positively sure you won´t regret it my friend. Keep us posted! Tip: take along with you the flightplan and charts of whatever flights yo´re thinking of doing. Originally I wanted to do Frankfurt-Innsbruck but they didn´t have those charts and flightplan ready. Maybe in Australia it´s different but it´s better to be safe than sorry!

Tip: take along with you the flightplan and charts of whatever flights yo´re thinking of doing. Originally I wanted to do Frankfurt-Innsbruck but they didn´t have those charts and flightplan ready. Maybe in Australia it´s different but it´s better to be safe than sorry!

Good idea, I'll do that. As it happens, it may not be Sunday night since although that's what I requested at booking time, this time slot may have been taken already. Should hear today, but the voucher is valid until December so not a problem if it has to be a bit later (except that I'd have to WAIT longer :shok: ). Actually, my wife has since encouraged me to book for another hour as well :Hug: :Hug: :Hug: so I'll now be doing a two hour session !