Learning to fly, or thinking of learning? Post your questions, comments and experiences here

Moderator: AndyR

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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1686454
SimFlyer wrote:I would love that challenge of learning to land with a "broken" airspeed indicator! Thanks for confirming that will be the case, @Paul_Sengupta!


Well, they might overlook it, but it was certainly part of my course. Why don't you ask then to cover it up and see how you get on?

SimFlyer wrote:where he showed that he didn't understand how airplanes fly!


Aeroplanes...

Pixies. Magic pixies.

And money.

#1686725
I have forced breaks from flying because I travel a lot for work and I'm often away for weeks at a time. I always have my flight simulator with me because it allows me to practise procedures and also to plan fly routes with SkyDemon so that when I do get back to the UK it does feel a lot more natural when I do go flying and planning routes etc. No wondering where to find things in SkyDemon, for example, or how to set myself up for a join and circuit. I do have Prepar3d with OrbX scenery and the same plane I fly in the real world and that does help with immersion. I do think it means I spend less time looking for instruments etc and I'm reminded of what to do where in the circuit etc. It feels nothing like flying, but it keeps me from feeling that I've been away from flying... I have been tempted to to set myself up on vatsim.net because radio is the one thing that I feel most stressed about when I've been away from flying for several weeks (currently it's been months due to the weather being unflyable when I have been in the UK).

Having said that, if I were in the UK I would rather spend the money on flying and would go to the airfield and sit out marginal weather in the hope I get even a circuit in...

Frank

Ps - edited to add I did find it helped me during training to practise circuits when weather meant that I couldn't do lessons but I only did that once I'd had a few lessons so I really don't think I had to unlearn bad habits. More like I was a bit more practised and confident at my next lesson because the information didn't go 'stale' when a couple of lessons in a row got canceled. I wouldn't use a sim to learn to fly!
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By JAFO
#1686855
SimFlyer wrote:@lobstaboy Appreciate the explanation @JAFO , just really confused... the best sim is the pilot's brain.... if he sits in a chair or in a standby aircraft and armchair-flies, that's fine but if he sits in a simulator and sim-flies, that's bad?


I'm sorry that you're still confused but I've tried to explain it every way I can and it does seem as though you intend to remain confused until I change what I say so I'll leave you to it and wish you all the best.
By SimFlyer
#1687158
Paul_Sengupta wrote:Well, they might overlook it, but it was certainly part of my course. Why don't you ask then to cover it up and see how you get on?

That would be interesting and would definitely be a change for me and force me to reference other items rather than just the instruments. I feel like I'll just rely on the RPM gauge instead but as that's further down the cockpit than the airspeed indicator, it may not be easily glanced at?

Paul_Sengupta wrote:Pixies. Magic pixies.

And money.

Or magic pixies with money. I need to get me one of those. :mrgreen:


JAFO wrote:I'm sorry that you're still confused but I've tried to explain it every way I can and it does seem as though you intend to remain confused until I change what I say so I'll leave you to it and wish you all the best.

Nope, genuinely confused here and I'm not asking you to change your opinion on it, simply that I cannot comprehend what you are trying to convey in the way you are delivering it.


@francoisvl, thats exactly one of the things I'm finding flight simulation to be useful for! It's not for learning to fly but rather learning what to do, where to look, what sequence of motions to perform, etc. so it's an aid to real flying lessons, not a replacement. I find myself less task-saturated or overloaded after practicing a few things in the sim and can then focus on other parts of the upcoming lesson. Vatsim.net and radio use is one of my weakest spots and even listening to recordings doesn't seem to help so I guess that'll be one of the things that'll just have to come with more and more practice.

Flight simming is no replacement for actual flying and as I only live a few minutes down the road, I always tell the flight school to give me a ring if the weather lets up and someone cancels their slot or couldn't make it and I could take the slot.... but unfortunately, no such luck yet so far.
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By T67M
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1687162
As mentioned many times in this thread, simulators give the student pilot an undue reliance on the instruments, and fail to deliver the importance of a wingtip-to-wingtip view, using peripheral vision to judge attitude in flight and height in the flare. Traffic scan is also usually very poor. "Muscle memory" is also usually wrong - pursuing "F" to raise the flaps is completely different to raising the flaps using a lever (PA28) or even a switch (most other trainers), and doesn't give the student that "seat of the pants sinking feeling" as they move which is very much a part of learning when to use the flaps, and when to leave them alone. It's not all "painting by numbers", although obviously the numbers do have a part to play.

SimFlyer wrote:... and as I only live a few minutes down the road, I always tell the flight school to give me a ring if the weather lets up and someone cancels their slot ....


If you are that close to the airfield, I'd suggest going there as much as possible, don't wait for them to call you in. Help out moving planes around in the hangar under supervision - just watching the wingtips without touching at all is incredibly useful. That way you'll learn a whole lot by osmosis for free - listening in to conversations in the office, maybe even getting backseat rides where you can watch and learn without needing to actually fly the aircraft. Go up to the tower and observe the ballet the controller is trying to create. That way you learn airmanship, not just the mechanics of how to fly.