NYT story titled "Basement Pilots" related to flight 370 looks at our hobby from an angle that is perhaps somewhat misunderstood. Why would pilot of 777 go home and do virtual flying? As a RWP I do agree and there is no denying that our hobby can't replicate the feel of real world flying, however, there is so much more to this. FSX and PMDG help us connect with our passion for flying, and on some levels beyond what real world can offer.

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/sunday-review/the-pilots-in-the-basement.html?hp

 

 

 

Zoran

The NYT article was a nicely presented look at our hobby.  Unfortunately I'm still anticipating the inevitable "we need to monitor this hobby" and "flight sims will teach users how to steal aircraft" responses from the sensationalist news media, who will eventually run out of farce theories to list as breaking news each day with no evidence.

The article had much less of a negative slant than I was expecting, but I agree that there will be some negative/extreme spin put on this.

 

Mr Randazzo making national press, too. Not bad

To me the fact that the Captain on that flight was an active flight-simmer only LESSENS the odds that he was somehow involved in the disappearance of the plane.

 

To the news and the public opinion, it somehow increases those odds. But what does the public know about aviation or our hobby? Nothing.

 

I'm very frightened to see that in the coming years the global terrorism-paranoia the aviation sector is suffering will end up limiting the access to flight simulation or anything aviation related. I'm extremely worried about that.

 

That said, I liked the article. It was objective and not biased.

That would be like saying 'Hey people can hack into computers..we need to restrict access to computers internet o r not make programming languages available to people'..Yeah but thats sad that general people will not understand this hobby and will take what media pushes onto hem..but am a big happy that this article was not in a negative light..but seen people posting vague comments on flight simulator stuff on news site...

I agree there is a risk here to see the public label the flight simming as an activity that could lead to hazardous behaviour and deviance like for some FPS and role playing-games that are alledgely the cause of some real slaughters.

 

After the 9/11 where (I can't remember if it was ever confirmed), terrorists were supposed to have been trained on flight simulators, I'm afraid that our hobby may become a suspect activity. 

One thing that the article doesn't say is that any terrorist act or piratery or even most of military acts are prohibited on the virtual networks. 

It could be worth highlighting it in my opinion.

 

However, I also recognise that the article is quite well written and doesn't fall into the paranoia that will surely start about flight simmers...

It was surprisingly well written. I expected the usual calls for a ban on flight simulation programs. Truthfully what could a flight sim teach a T7 captain with 18,000 hours that he doesn't already know? Unfamiliar airports maybe but it can't duplicate the forces on the control surfaces etc. Some pilots I'm sure use flight simulators after they retire as a hobby because they'll never get to fly those a/c again. I'm sure its kind of a letdown when a captain of a heavy jet has to settle for flying small GA planes!

Truthfully what could a flight sim teach a T7 captain with 18,000 hours that he doesn't already know? Unfamiliar airports maybe but it can't duplicate the forces on the control surfaces etc

 

I know it for a fact that some real life airline pilots use the simulated counterpart of their bird in order to practice approaches to new destinations and familiarize themselves with the procedures, charts and so on.

 

Also they use it in conjunction with their manuals when studying for their type ratings or checkrides. Having an accurate simulation aside your FCOM comes in very handy. You can learn a lesson on the hydraulic system, and then go and check what you've learnt on the simulator. Interactive learning.

 

Plus, on the simulator you can fly wherever you want the way you want. Not so in real life.

 

 

 

 

I'm sure its kind of a letdown when a captain of a heavy jet has to settle for flying small GA planes!

 

No it's not! Many airline pilots love flying GA on their spare time. In fact, they refer to GA as the "real flying". I've encountered these type of pilots flying gliders, ultralight and GA aircraft.

The first guy that saw me setting at a desk with FSX on the monitor said "pacticing to take down building, huh"?

 

Michael Cubine

First, the article was pretty well written.  I was in one a while back that didn't have the same grasp of the terminology, though it seemed like it was intended to be more positive about the hobby.  The interviewer was pretty curious about the whole bit, getting glimpses into both FSX and the vSTARS (an ATC client).

 

 

 

I know it for a fact that some real life airline pilots use the simulated counterpart of their bird in order to practice approaches to new destinations and familiarize themselves with the charts and so on.
 
Plus, on the simulator you can fly wherever you want the way you want. Not so in real life.

 

Not just airline pilots.  There's some airspace around the areas I fly that you really don't want to tangle with.  It's officially called the Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ), but I generally refer to it as the "We Will [F] Kill You Airspace" (they won't unless they determine you're actually a threat, but good luck keeping your license if you wander in).  I've used the sim a few times to get a feel of what the terrain will look like when I fly through a corridor wedged between BWI's Class B floor airspace and the FRZ.

 

Beyond that, any time I'm flying to a new airport, I'll run the flight in the sim first, when possible.  It helps to get a feeling of how I'll approach the airport, at what point it might be visible, natural landmarks to help identify the route, and so on.

 

To your other point, that's definitely true as well.  The planes I fly don't get me too far, so it's nice to fly around the mountains of CO, the CA coast, or other places entirely.

I agree with you completely. My comment was actually to the conspiracy theories as to why the pilot had a sim. I agree its a helpful tool and if it helps them fly better I'm all for it. I don't see any problem with a pilot using the sim at all. I guess I underestimated pilots enjoying flying GA planes. I can see the decreased workload for takeoff and approach/landing must be a welcome break.

I've heard of golfers using golf simulators. They all must be terrorists.   :Party:

The NYT article is well written and infomative and hopefully will damp down some of the more hysterical reactions to MH370 rather than encourage them.

 

A similar reaction to home simulation happened after 9/11. We are still simming 13 years on.

Haha..taking down a building with golf stck and ball..

Objective and informative, I do agree.

 

In the basement, words can be misleading. Given the NYT visibility I wish that article shed more light on what draws as to FS world, beyond the fear of heights type comments, to Jaime's and Kyle's point.

 

This is very sensitive subject from all angles, and perhaps an overreaction on my end.