Any good training books?

[Bilbosmeggins 217]

Are there any decent, MSFS2020 specific, training books either available or on the horizon?  Back in the day, I had a superb book called Microsoft Flight Simulator X For Pilots - Real World Training, by Jeff Van West and Kevin Lane-Cummings. It had a very friendly, informal approach and led you from basic flight theory, all the way through to using Vatsim. But the real beauty of the book was that, upon purchasing it, you were given a link to download umpteen training files that sat alongside each lesson. So, for any given lesson, you had various parameters laid out for you; Departures, destinations, waypoints, wind strengths and directions etc. So, if the lesson concerned was dealing with crosswind drift, and the necessary calculations needed to navigate the old-fashioned way, then the book could be followed along nicely. 
 

It was a fantastic way to advance one’s knowledge. I’ve done a bit of Googling, and cannot see if any update for that particular book is forthcoming.  Somehow, I doubt it. And I’m not sure if files can be loaded into MSFS2020 in the same way as for FSX. Or maybe they can. Can someone clarify?  So, back to the question, is there anything of a similar vein either available or imminent? I know that there is an absolute plethora of YouTube content out there, but the book format really resonated with me.

[davenicoll 104]

Any reason why it is not still relevant ?

 

I am sure you can fly the excercises etc in whatever sim you choose...

 

Dave

[Bilbosmeggins 217]

It was the fact that it was to be used alongside the custom training files. Sure, it can still be used as a reference book of sorts. But a lot of it’s friendly usability is then lost.

Edited April 9, 2021 by Bilbosmeggins

[737_800 434]

VATSIM offers pilot ratings where you have to attain courses...

[Toneal2 6]

I have the book and do refer to it often. Whilst I haven't yet tried any of the exercises yet but the beauty of the files is that weather appropriate for the lesson. Alas the files will not be compatible with MSFS 2020.

I think some technology has advanced quite a lot since the book was published.

[Bilbosmeggins 217]

4 minutes ago, Toneal2 said:

I have the book and do refer to it often. Whilst I haven't yet tried any of the exercises yet but the beauty of the files is that weather appropriate for the lesson. Alas the files will not be compatible with MSFS 2020.

I think some technology has advanced quite a lot since the book was published.

Yes, I know tech has leapt forward. But the old, basic instrumentation remains the same. I fancied learning everything from scratch, the old way. Rather than just popping up the VFR map and following the magenta line.

[Bad_T 581]

Check maybe some presentation videos of fsacademy product, i don't have them and so i can't comment (maybe somone else reading this thread can) .. i don't really know if it's worth it and if it could replace what you got from your book, but the presentation looks cool (but sometimes it's just marketing skills 😛) , you will get some training missions and also documentation to go along, it's certainly looks interesting ... example of video review here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rMZHeXB5aA

As i said, i don't have the product so it's just an idea because i have seen those a few times in the marketplace (there are 2 different products one for ifr and one for vfr) and it caught my attention.

 

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Bad_T

[Bilbosmeggins 217]

10 minutes ago, 737_800 said:

VATSIM offers pilot ratings where you have to attain courses...

Thanks for that. I am actually registered on the Vatstar program. But it’s no substitute for the book. In fact the initial training consists of watching a myriad of YouTube videos.  And Vatsim is a long way down the road for me.

[Bilbosmeggins 217]

1 minute ago, Bad_T said:

Check maybe some presentation videos of fsacademy product, i don't have them and so i can't comment (maybe somone else reading this thread can) .. but i don't know the presentation looks cool (but somtimes it's just marketing skills 😛) , you will get some training missions and also documentation to go along, it's certainly looks interesting ... example of video review here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rMZHeXB5aA

As i said, i don't have the product so it's just an idea because i have seen those a few times in the marketplace (there are 2 different products one for ifr and one for vfr) and it caught my attention.

 

 

Thanks for the link. I shall look into it. I’m just about to start work, so it shall be tonight’s mission 😀

[DrMelanogaster 11]

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/

I'd suggest you to print out these two:

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/

[Bilbosmeggins 217]

23 minutes ago, DrMelanogaster said:

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/

I'd suggest you to print out these two:

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/

Thanks for the suggestion, but they are way too dry and formal for me to follow. My poor, old brain needs gentler, friendlier learning. Plus, I’m UK  based, so would gravitate towards the CAA if I was forced too.

[Winkle Brown 23]

https://www.caa.co.uk/General-aviation/Safety-information/The-Skyway-Code/

The UK CAA Skyway Code is designed to provide private pilots with easy, quick access to the key information they need and includes:

• Pre flight checks and flight planning
• UK - FIR
• Key Pilot responsibilities
• Airspace rules and regulations
• Aerodromes Operations
• Risks and Emergencies
• Tables and Codes
• Flying outside the UK
• Links to useful safety and regulatory resources

This is an excellent publication , recently revised also . 

This is a real world doc , not written for basic simming, but very helpful for advanced simmers and real world flyers. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Winkle Brown

[MarioDonick 752]

The mentioned FSX book is still the best.

In German language I am also "soon" publishing a book, which is covering all 4 civil sims (MFS, XP, AFS2, FlightGear).

 

[MrFuzzy 2,118]

28 minutes ago, Bilbosmeggins said:

Thanks for the suggestion, but they are way too dry and formal for me to follow. My poor, old brain needs gentler, friendlier learning. Plus, I’m UK  based, so would gravitate towards the CAA if I was forced too.

Have you ever looked into this? https://archive.org/details/MS_FLIGHT_SIMULATOR_2002_GROUND_SCHOOL/mode/2up

It's 2002 and not 2020 but the principles remain the same and it's super informal and easy to read 🙂

[Toneal2 6]

I skimmed through the CAA Skyway Code. Parts are very relevant if you want to make your simming more like IRL. As a PPL of many years ago, it made me aware of how much has changed and become more complicated.