How do you Fly! II?

[Guest]

My favorite part about FlyII is the realistic feel I get sitting in the cockpit. The panels are beautiful...everything works and is where it should be. Anyone Fly! II simmer knows this well. My primary use for the sim is to fly GA aircraft that I actually might be able to fly in real life. I dream of getting my pilot's license and in the meantime use Fly! II to practice and enjoy the thrill of flying (at least in a virtual world). For that reason, I don't usually fly the heavies because I am obviously not qualified to fly that kind of aircraft in the real world. Although thats one of the wonderful uses of a simulator...to do in the virtual world what you could never do in the real world.Here is my question:For any "real world" pilots out there...would you say your experience w/ aircraft in Fly! II is realistic enough to be considered serious practice for real flight? What about the behaviour of GA aircraft like the Flyhawk?Are there any others passionate about using Fly! II to achieve real world feel according to your abilities? I'm just wondering how others use Fly! II and what is most fun for them.A virtual flier dreaming of real world flight,Dan

[RandallR 444]

Dan,You might say I'm doing the opposite, in that I used to be a pilot (in the '70s), but the circumstances of life (career changes, marriage, etc.) put a halt to my flying and I wasn't able to continue. When the first wire-frame simulators came out in the '80s, I was very excited - I was able to fly again, albeit in a virtual manner.Though I had some IFR experience, I only got a taste of it and had not advanced enough in my training to be allowed solo flight under instrument conditions. I also had barely begun to fly more advanced aircraft. Fly!/Fly!II allow me to re-experience those wonderful days, even flying out of the same airports. I have been able to advance my instrument training (virtually) and shoot approaches to minimums, fly advanced singles and twins, etc. All of these things I would have done in the real world, if circumstances had allowed me to continue.

[Guest]

I too had my dreams set on Airline Pilot.I have been with FLY! since it came out. Then I got FLY!2 since it came out. Every day I practiced and read everything inthe manual as well as many other books on flying. A few monthts ago I finaly signed up for flying lessons. I took my introductory flight with the most trusting instructor ever. He let me take off, fly around a bit and then he let me do 4 circuits and 4 touch and goes. All he did was tell me when to put carb heat on, when to turn (I did not know the procedures for that airport) and when to start descent etc. I made 4 landings (they did not register on the richter scale) with all my experience coming from FLY! and FLY!2. After every lesson I went home and practiced more in FLY!2. I would say that FLY!2 is realistic enough. Unfortunately I too had to stop short of my PPL becasue Transport Canada would not give me a medical. My favourite thing to do in FLY!2 is circuits in different planes. I use FLY!2 to practice checklists, procedures, stalls spins and slow flight.I use FS2002 Pro when I want to explore excellent scenery, fly heavies with ATC and fly basicaly any plane I want. In FS2002 there is more flying atmosphere created by ATC, AI and the AutoGen scenery.I use X-Plane 6 to practice IFR flight, CAT2 landings, etc.Hope this helpsTake careMike

[Guest jrewing]

Hey Dan,About 90% of the people I give introductory lessons to have used a flight simulator. The first comment they make is how different the experience in a real plane is when compared to a simulator. There's just more sensory input in a real plane - control pressures, G forces, peripheral vision, real people talking on the radio and saying unexpected things, etc.Nevertheless, I think that using a simulator before taking flight lessons can indeed give you a leg up. It can get you used to the controls, the panel layout, and what switches and levers do what. I agree that the panels in Fly are very realistic and the flight dynamics are pretty good, too, considering the other limitations of simulators.Simulators can be a big help in learning IFR procedures, but I think you really need a teacher if you want your simulation time to apply to real-world IFR flying.One down side to simulators is that, since simulators provide less sensory input, you tend to get dependent on the instruments. In VFR flying, about 70% of your time should be spent looking outside, so this can be a tough habit to break. My solution is to cover up various instruments to help a student develop a sense for flying by visual references.My $0.02 ...John

[Guest]

That's exactly what happened to me. For the first few lessons the instructor had to keep telling me "Don't spend so much time on the instruments" I picked the habit from FLY!2. Also I was not used to the feeling of flight so I got nauseous a few times. Turbulence made it hell for me. It was awhole new experience going through some turbulenc with a small C-152.Take careMike

[Guest]

My Instuctor on Downwind would start chanting the following.AviateNavigateCommunicateSo one day after 11 hours of flight time we landed and taxing back to the departure end I told I was tierd of hearing those three words and kick him out of the right seat on to the tarmack(just kiddin I did solo at 11rs) I agree that our PC FS progs can potentialy develop bad habits I had to put mine aside until I was ready to do my cross country flights.But having FS progs do help, I got my PPL after 42hrs.

[Guest]

Right on the money - whey I first took flight lessons, my instructor had to keep telling me to get my eyes outside....The single most important lesson there - aside from not running into that other guy ;) was to "get the picture" - learn what the panel/horizon relationship looks like in various standard configurations. This works well with Fly! because I can preset my panel for a specific flight attitude where necessary.One thing, though - did my hoodwork in minimum time in LOTS of turbulence... Loved it! Yeah! Wished it would have lasted longer. Naturally, though, I didn't have good situational awareness, which must take much more practice.This is where flight simulation was invaluable - I sure couldn't tell what the plane was doing by the feel of my butt bouncing around... but those instruments sure told the story! >Hey Dan, >>About 90% of the people I give introductory lessons to have >used a flight simulator. The first comment they make is how >different the experience in a real plane is when compared to >a simulator. There's just more sensory input in a real >plane - control pressures, G forces, peripheral vision, real >people talking on the radio and saying unexpected things, >etc. >>Nevertheless, I think that using a simulator before taking >flight lessons can indeed give you a leg up. It can get you >used to the controls, the panel layout, and what switches >and levers do what. I agree that the panels in Fly are very >realistic and the flight dynamics are pretty good, too, >considering the other limitations of simulators. >>Simulators can be a big help in learning IFR procedures, but >I think you really need a teacher if you want your >simulation time to apply to real-world IFR flying. >>One down side to simulators is that, since simulators >provide less sensory input, you tend to get dependent on the >instruments. In VFR flying, about 70% of your time should >be spent looking outside, so this can be a tough habit to >break. My solution is to cover up various instruments to >help a student develop a sense for flying by visual >references. >>My $0.02 ... >>John

[Guest Wayne Smith]

Hey John,Here is an photo example of how to make experienced Flight Sim pilots look out the window on a beautiful VFR flying day (instead of looking at the panel! :-)Wayne

[Guest jrewing]

Hey Wayne,Your picture looks more like the way to strike fear into the heart of a pilot flying under the hood - partial panel! ;-)I ask students to find a bug on the windshield that lines up with the horizon and tell them use adjust pitch to keep it there. I then cover up the altimeter and VSI, let them fly for a few minutes. When the instruments are uncovered, they are amazed to find that if they have concentrated on the visual picture, their altitude hasn't changed by more than +/-50' .John