Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Guest ExtraPilot

Bruce William flight sim as a training aid

Recommended Posts

Guest bandit18

Hi,I purchased Bruce William's training aid but can't seem to get the practice flights properly loaded into FSX. Can anyone help me? I think I've properly followed the steps on his CD to load the lessons but they are not showing up in flight sim.thanks,J

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

No problems here.Just copy the files to C:Documents and Settings{Your Name}My DocumentsFlight Simulator X Files (Windows XP) or C:Users{Your Name}DocumentsFlight Simulator X Files (Windows Vista) and they'll show up.Pat

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest bandit18

Pat,Thanks for the advice! You just ended a lot of frustration!John

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest ExtraPilot

You can always find the latest information on my home page for the book at:http://www.bruceair.com/FSasTrainingAid.htmWhen I wrote the book, it wasn't clear if FSX would support putting user-created flights in a separate folder or support sub-folders within the FSX Files folder.Both the CD and the Web site include a .pdf document InstallingPractice Flights with updated instructions.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest X15

Bruce, great book and many thanks for it. I'm trying to convince my instructor that FSX is more than a game (it's working slowly though I've still a way to go (he still sometimes chuckles to himself when I mention using the sim)!) I'll have to buy him a copy of your book I think, it has been no end of help for me during the early stages of learning to fly. Here in the UK I'm fighting a battle with the weather, so being able to follow structured learning using FSX, books and CD ROMs is keeping me going until the weather is a bit more reliable.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have to say that I was a little disappointed that the book touches a lot of basic subjects from FAA excerpts, but ultimately refers to freely available FAA publications, which renderd the above mentioned snippets in the book pretty much obsolete. Is ranges anywhere between a complete dummy guide to flight simming and very complex real-life aviation procedures without satisfying both needs. In fact most, if not all, of the information in the book can be found in the FS9/FSX digital manuals and on the FAA website.The structure of the actual flying lessons was confusing at best as the book doesn't clearly indicate where to start and leaves the first time reader almost clueless what to do next. For example, chapter 10 starts with the intruction into the VFR practice flights and then touches the "basic flying skills" by referring again to countless FAA articles and performance standards without indicating where to find the information on the CD or how the print relates to the contents of the CD -or- what practise flight to select in the simulator. The actual briefings can only be found on the CD, yet I would have expected to find exactly that in the book and not on the CD.Pat

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest X15

Pat, I have to ask, are you using the book in conjunction with real world training? (you'll probably now tell me your a 100,000 hour heavy metal pilot ;0)).I think the book points in the right directions. I'm not training in the US so the FAA excerpts are not relevant but I'm creating my own lessons and exercises using the provided ones as a guide to fit with the JAR - FCL syllabus. This I have found very useful. Mainly I like the book because it gives pointers and guidance on how to use FSX effectively as a real world training aid - I always like books where the title gives a hint to their use. My only criticism would be that it seems to be directed more at instructors, a rework directed at students would be great in my opinion, but perhaps Bruce had his reasons for this. Certainly I think it would be easier to get students to embrace FS as a training aid than it would be to get jaded instructors to do so. (said with a smile)I will be quite direct here, before I bought Bruces's book I was 'playing FSX'(badly). Now it is a valuable aid to my training that ranks along with my air pilots manuals, my actual flying lessons, CD ROMS etc. I break down specific points into set exercises and learn positive things that then translate to my real world training very well. Before I read the book I hadn't a clue how FSX could be used effectively in this way and I found some extremely helpful guidance explained in a clear and positive way.In my opinion it won't teach you how to enjoy playing a flight sim, it won't teach you how to fly a real plane. It will save a fortune in AvGas as used well it will save having to reinforce the same points over and over in the air when you can sit at home and do it using a

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I have been a PPL for 7 years and used this this book as a refresher course and to practice some flight maneuvers again that I haven't used since receiving my licence.I think that you could easily achieve the same level of proficiency flying the flight simulator with the materials and practice flights that are supplied with FS9/FSX and therefore the book seems to miss a little bit its intended purpose in my eyes.Pat

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest X15

Hi Pat,OK, I have a different perspective. I bought FSX primarily as I wanted to get in the air and learn to fly. I had flown combat simulators for years but never took it seriously. I would say my big mistake with FSX as a training aid was to think I would learn to fly a real plane in the sim by starting it up, taxiing, doing a take-off flying around and landing.The big breakthrough came from Bruces's book giving clear pointers that the sim is better used to demonstrate set pieces. I started using it this way and it became useful. Now I can combine parts, I can do an internal check (using the mouse as my 'hand') taxi (following my real world checklist), take-off and fly particular lessons. Or I can jump to one of my saved lessons where the a/c is in the air ready for a particular exercise.I found that with the guidance from the book creating my own lessons was the way. I know what to do in the lessons because I have my air pilots manual in front of me telling me what to do - or looking at it the other way they are simply flights saved that replicate my real world lessons.I guess reading back through your first post what I am saying is that I have gleaned useful things from the book that have helped me use FSX as a training aid instead of a game. I also guess having had a flip through the book again just now, that you raise some valid points and fair criticisms regarding the content. I just took the good bits onboard I think!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest ExtraPilot

You may find it helpful to review the information on the Web page for the book at:http://www.bruceair.com/fsastrainingaid.htm#Practice_FlightsIn particular, note, as explained in Chapter 6:"The goal of each Practice Flight is to make it easy to learn about and practice a specific skill or task, such as basic attitude instrument flying, VOR navigation, entering and flying traffic patterns, entering and maintaining a holding pattern, or flying a particular type of instrument approach procedure. The Practice Flights provide starting points for a wide range of situations useful in training for VFR and IFR flying. In fact, the Practice Flights are designed to complement training syllabi typically used in formal flight training."The list of Practice Flights at http://www.bruceair.com/CDContents/FSPracticeFlights.pdf and on the companion CD lists all of the Flights, the briefings associated with each flight, and suggested training uses for each flight.The CD also includes a sample IFR syllabus from the Instrument Flying Handbook. Guides to the information on the CD are included in Chapter 9 and on the Web page for the book (http://www.bruceair.com/fsastrainingaid.htm#CD_Samples).You can find a detailed explanation of the reasoning behind the book in Chapter 1, "About This Book." It grew of out my experience both as an instructor and from watching and talking with thousands of folks of all ages and levels of aviation (and experience with Flight Simulator) "flying" Flight Simulator. I still give talks to aviation groups, and even today, well into the third decade of the amazing run of Flight Simulator, it's astonishing how many pilots and instructors remain confused about, intimidated by, or wary of FS. That's why I included details about what I call "Flight Simulator Essentials."I could have written a book just for readers savvy about FS, or for certificated pilots. Instead, I chose to address a broad audience, and I also deliberately did not lay down a specific path for every person to follow. Readers of varying skill levels (both in real-world aviation and with FS) can jump in where they (and their instructors, if they're in flight training) feel using FS will be most appropriate and useful.Those decisions necessarily involve compromises, and not everyone will find all of the book useful.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you for the explanation. I just think that most readers are confused about those practice flights, because the book sometimes shows little correlation between the book and the companion CD.For example "Performance maneuvers - Steep" or "Slow Flight and Stalls", which practice flights on the CD am I to choose?Every lesson starts with: "Use the Practice Flight in this section...", gives some background information, performance standards, but ultimately does not refer to what practice flight to use? If it is was obvious there would be a flight with the same name, but there isn't. Numbering the lessons or a short reference to the files and briefings on the CD would have sufficed.Pat

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest ExtraPilot

Unfortunately, the realities of book publishing, in which deadlines for the text come months before the book appears, don't allow complete synchronization with all related information. That's why I lobbied for the CD and included details about the Practice Flights (which I continued to develop after the pages went to press) in .pdf files, both on the CD and on the Web page for the book.I think you'll find the list of Practice Flights on the CD and the Web site does list both primary and secondary uses for each VFR and IFR Practice Flight that I included. The Preflight Briefing for each flight also lists appropriate, specific references to background information you should review and understand as you use that flight.I agree the arrangement isn't ideal, but the information is readily available, and the system I adopted allowed me to include many more Practice Flights and much more background information (e.g., large, focused excerpts from training handbooks, the AIM, and other sources) than it would not have been economically feasible to include a book of this type.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Tom Allensworth,
    Founder of AVSIM Online


  • Flight Simulation's Premier Resource!

    AVSIM is a free service to the flight simulation community. AVSIM is staffed completely by volunteers and all funds donated to AVSIM go directly back to supporting the community. Your donation here helps to pay our bandwidth costs, emergency funding, and other general costs that crop up from time to time. Thank you for your support!

    Click here for more information and to see all donations year to date.
×
×
  • Create New...