4 hours ago, jpc55 said:

I'm beginning to get the feeling that armchair pilots are going to find out, that they are not as good a pilot as they think they are. what do you think?

 

I don’t think, I hope 😀 !

 

 

I think GA simmers are generally aware about both their own "shortcomings" but more the simulations limitations in both visual navigation capability and adverse weather

Those who only fly heavy airliners are the ones who are more in for a treat, I think. 

Takeoff, hit autopilot, fail to read SIGMETs and head right into a violent weather system at night while binging Netflix. 

5 hours ago, PilotPete99 said:

That reminds me a little bit of the Diamond DA20 Eclipse i flew a few times some years ago. That was a fun plane to fly, but then they got rid of them and it was back to the Piper Archer.

Cheers, Pete

That's what our club trains on and basically also the only cost efficient plane in our hangar. 😄

They are great. There is even a motor glider version (not really related directly, but you can see the similarities instantly) called Dimona.

As a real flight instructor, my experience has shown that simmers do benefit from their pastime in a very helpful way - understanding flight, cockpit familiarisation etc. As others have pointed out, the sensory aspect of flight is missing, but I think it is definitely beneficial. You do notice though that there is a tendency to remain "eyes down" in VFR training so many a time I have had to cover flight instruments to make them utilise the outside picture view and show that in VFR, you don't need to be staring at instruments to apply Power + Attitude = Performance 😉  

As a side note to my previous comment, from an IFR procedural viewpoint I think simming is a brilliant tool. Most IFR students struggle initially with ATC interactions - so to be able to get ahead on the procedural flying aspect relieves that extra load in flight. In fact, approved flight simulator training devices that I have used utilised professional licensed versions of P3D and XP11 👍

4 hours ago, DavidP said:

As a real flight instructor, my experience has shown that simmers do benefit from their pastime in a very helpful way

I’m studying for my CFI at the moment. Every one of my instructors urged me to stay off sims during training. I never listened to them. And while I do agree that a simmer can come into training with some bad habits that may be a little tougher to break because of primacy, I know just how valuable the home sim has been to me. This was especially true during the instrument rating. With PilotEdge to practice coms, honestly it was one of my easiest ratings. 

6 hours ago, DavidP said:

As a real flight instructor, my experience has shown that simmers do benefit from their pastime in a very helpful way - understanding flight, cockpit familiarisation etc. As others have pointed out, the sensory aspect of flight is missing, but I think it is definitely beneficial. You do notice though that there is a tendency to remain "eyes down" in VFR training so many a time I have had to cover flight instruments to make them utilise the outside picture view and show that in VFR, you don't need to be staring at instruments to apply Power + Attitude = Performance 😉  

I agree with David's comments. I wish that domestic flight sims had been available during my own training. Most of my RAF instructors were fighter pilots doing a tour as instructors, and many of them did not want to be there. They wanted to be back on their squadrons, doing what they do best, and not flying with students who often don't pick things up as naturally as they did. As a result some of them could be very impatient.

With hindsight from subsequent operational and instructional tours, I think a sim of the standard available today would have been very useful in trying to be ahead of the game during training.     A sim will not on it's own turn anybody into a pilot, but it certainly helps with giving some understanding of what is involved.

 

 

13 hours ago, jpc55 said:

.. armchair pilots are going to find out, that they are not as good a pilot as they think they are. .

I already know this. I can fly an MD-11 in FSX - care to lend me one in real life? (Oh.. go on... maybe just a real simulator session?? please?)

14 hours ago, jpc55 said:

I'm beginning to get the feeling that armchair pilots are going to find out, that they are not as good a pilot as they think they are. what do you think?

The more I deal with the systems, the more respect I get for pilots in real life