Darn, Holdit.. Now everyone here knows about my 'co-pilot'!  You promised not to tell!!

 

 

I can just imagine the punch-up in the cockpit...

 

Instant banning!

Technical answer:

Odds are there's a doctor on the flight who could help the pilot with the fainting or first aid-trained passenger

Then, there's a co-pilot. You are 100% likely to find one on a >737 commercial flight 

Then there are still good odds a real pilot is already on the flight

 

Realistically, a simmer would be 103rd on the list to take over following pilot incapacity - after 99 other pax and the 4 cabin crew - some of whom have already received training for just such an emergency.

 

But if you want to test your theory, you can always buy some simulator time and play out the actual scenario. Just once. No reset button, pause or `disable crash detection` on a real aircraft. Should cost a couple of hundred and let you know your skills or limitations, in very short order.

 

I recall the test case on the Mythbusters, but neither were pilots nor simmers. It didn't end well. 

 

That said, in the basics, particularly the location and function of the dials, buttons, gauges and instruments, a simmer has a leg-up over a non-flying, non-simming passenger and at least a fighting chance of being able to set up an autoland with the aid of ATC and emergency services. You could also read a checklist as if it wasn't gobbledegook. But I wouldn't bet my life on it. I have allowed a simmer to take controls of my light aircraft and manage not just level flight but also some gentle turns and vertical maneouvres. It wasnt pretty, but they managed it. Long way from coping with a landing though...

There's no way anyone can even start to take a stab at this question without framing the scenario in which you'd be asked to take over.

 

• How's the weather?
• What aircraft and how is it equipped?
• Where are you and/or are you familiar with the airspace (as much as a simmer can be)?
• What phase of flight are you?
• What if, as [awful] luck would have it, some sort of failure or malfunction occurs after you take over?
• Contrary to your "natural" sim environment and state of mind, can you think clearly and work well under extreme pressure and anxiety?

 

In addition to these variables, I'm sure we could add to the list...

When this question came up, I was instantly reminded of the 90's movie Executive Decision, with Kurt Russell.  Supposedly, his character had been taking flying lessons at some point and then of course, at the end of the movie, he had to manually land a 747 at Dulles...didn't turn out that way and he had to ditch it at some municipal field, the very same one he took the lessons at. If memory serves, his landing wasn't very pretty either! lol

 

-Jim

In terms of hand-flying, I think it would be incredibly difficult and not end well.

 

The only advantage I could see is that if this scenario ever happened, the simmer would at least know how to understand instructions from ATC (or whoever was contacted in an emergency) and program in an auto-land. But then you'd also have to stop correctly on the runway, etc.. Plus, you'd need nerves of steel to not panic.

 

It always makes me laugh when I watch real aviation videos on Youtube (e.g. A 737 cockpit landing video), and there are simmers in the comments section commenting on what the real pilot should have done :-). 

Practical Answer:

An airline will never let a gamer into the cockpit area, no matter how Prepar3d he/she is.

 

Lol.. I can just hear the PA call..

 

Is there a doctor in the house plane?

Is there a simmer on the plane?

Then...

Are you a P3D'er? (as you then are able to fly 'not for entertainment') VERY important! & which version?

V3 Beta users have preference please! (you know who you are)

Your name is not Rob, by the way?

Is Elaine not on the plane?

Have you ever flown with a yoke (if Boeing) & pedals?

No, this aircraft is NOT 64bit! & yes, the clouds are 3D!

Yes, ATC is very realistic.

Yes, the raindrops are realistic as well.

Yes, there is more than 1x throttle lever!

Please do not try to re-calibrate the controls...There is no FSUIPC here, nor FSRecorder!

Do you have the PMDG collection? (if Boeing)

Have you ever flown on-line?

Do you belong to VATSIM?

Please do not take selfies in the cockpit.

There is no PAUSE button anywhere.

Pete Dowson is away until 4th October.

Yes, you would be able, provided you weren't entertained while doing so. You'd risk breaking some EULA in that case.

made my day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcrpR1YI1qc

I suspect it would be possible - as long as frame rates were high enough, so as not to comporimise the flight model...

I suspect it would be possible - as long as frame rates were high enough, so as not to comporimise the flight model...

Practical Answer:

An airline will never let a gamer into the cockpit area, no matter how Prepar3d he/she is.

 

Lol.. I can just hear the PA call..

 

Is there a doctor in the house plane?

Is there a simmer on the plane?

Then...

Are you a P3D'er? (as you then are able to fly 'not for entertainment') VERY important! & which version?

V3 Beta users have preference please! (you know who you are)

Your name is not Rob, by the way?

Is Elaine not on the plane?

Have you ever flown with a yoke (if Boeing) & pedals?

No, this aircraft is NOT 64bit! & yes, the clouds are 3D!

Yes, ATC is very realistic.

Yes, the raindrops are realistic as well.

Yes, there is more than 1x throttle lever!

Please do not try to re-calibrate the controls...There is no FSUIPC here, nor FSRecorder!

Do you have the PMDG collection? (if Boeing)

Have you ever flown on-line?

Do you belong to VATSIM?

Please do not take selfies in the cockpit.

There is no PAUSE button anywhere.

Pete Dowson is away until 4th October.

 

Lol, very good Robin

:p0503:

Not having the stutters would destroy your depth perception. Besides, you can't hit pause while you try to figure out what to do next.

I've always been in the doubters camp.

 

About forty years ago I took a few lessons in a C150, including about an hour of solo touch and go time. To me the sim seems much easier on rookies.

 

After seeing this question in a prior thread I got a chance to ask it of an old friend who is former AF, a current ATP, and a user of FSX. To my surprise he answered yes. He did stress that one would need help from the ground and good weather, but he thought an experinced simmer might pull it off. I'm still skeptical, but you can't completely dismiss the opinion of someone with thirty years of flying experience.

 

So I asked him what were the chances I'd get the opportunity. That's when he LOL'd and said there is no way a member of the cabin crew would ask the passengers if anyone thought they could land the plane. He figured if both the pilots had the fish and there were no deadheading pilots aboard that they already knew about one of the cabin crew would be nominated. He thought liability alone would be enough to prohibit a nonemployee getting into the pilot's seat.

You can't press 'B' for the altimeter setting; that's one of the major bugs prevalent in real airplanes, which no RW manufacturer has yet been able to fix.

 

On a more positive note: While you're screwing up your landing and killing everyone on board, you can - for the first and the last time of your life - enjoy the most realistic wing-flex ever created.

Let's just put it this way. I can fly the sim all day then go crawl in the real thing and the two feel nothing alike. I enjoy both intensely but I have to say this without you having actually flown a plane before your going to end up in fireball. Things happen way faster in the real thing or at least it seems like it. I've never flown any heavy metal in reallife and honestly I'm pretty sure I'd dig it in too even though I am a real world pilot. The difference between a small plane and 777 or other airliner is too great.