Can Microsoft Flight Simulator help me learn to fly (or make me a better pilot)?

Question

Microsoft Flight Simulator has "flight lessons" with a virtual flight instructor, some of which teach concepts that are taught during actual flight training. These simulators are becoming very realistic, and I can see them being helpful as an introduction to a subject prior to running the Hobbs meter and paying for actual flight time. Will this experience help or hurt someone who decides to become a real pilot? Is it a tool which can help students/instructors in an actual training environment?

From my experience as a Flight Instructor, IMO the flight simulator is great tool for practice of things like instruments, navigation, even working on communications where I pretend to be the Air Traffic Controller in less stressful environment. Like Abelenky's great answer though, they may never really feel like what it does to have real airflow over the controls [or bounce off the runway]. Long story short it's great for everything (especially emergency procedures) except the real stick and rudder stuff. For that there is nothing like the real thing. — p1l0t, Commented Jan 16, 2014 at 19:24
I have always wondered what my chances of successfully stealing a plane and eventually landing safely in an emergency if all I ever had was MS flight sim. — MetaGuru, Commented Dec 24, 2023 at 17:03

abelenky · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-17 13:31:14Z

Clarification:
This was written about Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX). Parts of the answer probably apply to the new Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020 release), but that isn't what I had in mind when writing this. Maybe a new answer will be appropriate after using MSFS for some time.

@Pondlife gave a very good answer, and I'll add a few bits to that.

Even after having gotten my license, I still use flight sims (mainly Microsoft FSX and X-Plane 10) for some practice.

Before flying into an unfamiliar airport, or over an unfamiliar area, I'll often load it up in a simulator, and fly it.

Especially when I was a student, I found this incredibly helpful for my long cross country flights. You can look at a map all you want, but its still not the same as sitting in the simulator, and looking around ("I see the mountain on my left.... and the lake below me. I can follow this valley all the way to the airport..." etc). And I've generally found the simulator, with good terrain and textures loaded, can be pretty close to reality.

The night before I did a student flight from KBFI to KVUO, I flew the entire thing in FSX. The next day, it really felt pretty much like making the same flight all over again. Based on the landmarks, timing, views, etc, I knew exactly where I was, and I was confident that everything was going right.

That said, in my opinion there are some things simulators do very poorly.
Some of these are:

Takeoffs
The application of power and left-turning tendency on the ground just doesn't feel realistic at all. The climb out doesn't feel right.
Landings
Ground effect is difficult to observe in a simulator. The flare doesn't feel like reality, and touching down (or bouncing) is not realistic at all.
Cross Control, Slip, Spin & Unusual Attitudes
Anything beyond basic maneuvers up to 30 degrees bank or 20 degrees climb doesn't match reality.

This is dependent on your simulator, some perform certain things more realistically than others.

Because of these limitations, I would NOT use a flight simulator to try to learn takeoffs, landings, or certain maneuvers. (You can learn the "procedure" in a simulator... when to reduce power, when to add flaps. But the "feel" will be all wrong).

If you're going to try to incorporate flight sim into your training, there are some basic things you should do:

Spend LOTS of time configuring it
Unlike a video-game, this is not "plug-n-play". Spend time learning all the controls.
Turn on Realism
When adjusting your controls, set all "null-zones" to zero, set "Sensitivity" to maximum, turn off helpers like "auto-mixture" and "auto-rudder", etc. (However, I do keep "Gyro-Drift" turned off in my sim. Its annoying, and adds little practical value)
Turn on Weather
The flight simulators typically come pre-setup with zero wind, good weather, standard temperature, etc. Configure yours to pull from real-world weather sources, or add some clouds, a variety of winds, and don't always fly at noon. Set the timing for early morning flights, twilight flights, night flights, etc.

Another "fun" area where flight simulators can be slightly helpful is in emergency procedures.

Typically in real-world training, my instructor told me: "We're going to practice engine-out emergencies" and my mind immediately starts preparing for that... And naturally, we have to do them at a safe altitude in a safe area.

In a flight simulator, you can set up the computer to give you a random emergency at a random time. You might get the problem on short-final, or over a metro-downtown area. Something that you just can't do in reality.

I haven't had any real-life emergencies, so I don't know how accurate a flight simulator is. But I believe that some practice is better than no practice at all, and flight sim lets me fly into storms, icing, get lost in fog, fly approaches below minimums, have an engine seize up on me, etc, all without risking my butt or a $200,000 airframe.

Since @Lnafziger suggested more specifically addressing flight training:

I do believe that flight sim can help with certain aspects of training, but in other areas, it is no help at all, or actually harmful.

Training Areas simulators can help with:

Procedures
Reviewing steps and procedures before going in the air. For example, for a student, steep turns or stall recovery can be a little nerve wracking at first. It may be much easier (and cheaper) to do it in a sim with an instructor, discussing all the steps and reasons for actions. Then when the student gets in the air, they won't have the "feel" for it, but at least the general process is already familiar.
Navigation
Tuning and identifying VORs, and interpreting the needles can be done just as well be done on the ground as in the air. If the sim has good, realistic terrain (I prefer MegaSceneryEarth), it can also be used for some visual reference lessons.
Instrument interpretation
Scanning and cross-checking the 6-pack of instruments can be done in a simulator just fine, and a student can practice doing it for long periods of time for a fraction of the cost of flight time.

Training Areas simulators are very bad at:

On the ground & Outside the plane
Anything on the ground, such as taxiing and parking, or anything outside the airplane, such as pre-flight inspection, or weather interpretation, just doesn't work in a sim.
Radios
I haven't seen any flight sims that really work for the practice of talking on or listening to the radios. (I haven't used VATSIM, which might help). I don't think there's any good substitute for actually flying in a real airspace while simultaneously engaging in real radio conversations.
Feel
Even the best full-motion sim isn't a substitute for the forces a student feels in a real airplane. This is especially true on ground-reference maneuvers, takeoffs, and landings, where I feel sims fall far short of reality. No one will ever get a "feel" for the plane from a simulator.

For much more information on the topic, I recommend these books:

Scenario-Based Training with X-Plane and Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator X For Pilots Real World Training

And here's a picture of my old simulator rig.
(Its been improved a bit since this picture)
My old sim setup.

Wow, that is a nice sim rig... obviously a lot of time and effort (and dare I say dollars) invested there. Good job! — dazedandconfused, Commented Jun 23, 2014 at 13:04
You might consider editing you comments on radios considering that recent rise of PilotEdge, that's pretty darned good for practicing radios: pilotedge.net — Jae Carr, Commented Jan 7, 2015 at 4:58
@MaxHodges I say XPlane if you have neither. FSX is OK, and because it's Microsoft it's on every shelf in every electronics store that sells PC games. XPlane, however, has a much more sophisticated physics/fluid dynamics engine and overall a lot more love went into coding it than any MSFS version I've seen or used. For $60 plus shipping to use on a home setup like abelenky's it's a great buy. Biggest downside is that only the major world airports are included, so if you want to hop around an entire metro area you'll need some scenery packs which are spotty. — KeithS, Commented Jul 22, 2015 at 23:31
@Jay Carr: You suggested that I comment on radios over a year ago, and I declined. I don't appreciate you editing my answer to put words in my mouth that I never wrote. You are welcome to post your own answer, but such a significant revision to my answer is not welcome. — abelenky, Commented Jan 29, 2016 at 20:23
@abelenky Your answer is incorrect but because of historical momentum, there's little we can do to change the fact that it's marked as the correct answer. I really wish you would update the answer in your own words. I've asked on meta and chat about how to approach this and both times was told to edit your answer. So I've done, though it is, of course, your prerogative to role it back. — Jae Carr, Commented Jan 29, 2016 at 20:26

bclarkreston · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-02 21:01:55Z

It can definitely help: when I did my instrument rating my instructor used MS FS to walk through (fly through?) various procedures before doing them for real. He also used it for NDB training because the aircraft we used didn't have ADF. I found it very useful, and if I had bought it myself it would probably have saved me a lot of time and money. The main benefit for me was that it lets you run through procedures to practice getting all the steps right and in the right order; I've never used any scenarios like the ones you mentioned so I don't know how useful they are.

Another very useful simulator I've used is the Garmin G1000 PC trainer. The G1000 has so many features that trying to identify them all while sitting in an actual aircraft is difficult, even if you have the aircraft available and can pay for it. It also lets you practice various failure modes, which is often difficult to do in the real aircraft. Garmin provides simulators for their 'basic' aviation GPS units too, and they're great for the same reason: you can play around as much as you like. There's no doubt in my mind that they help very significantly.

I think that as glass cockpits become more and more common, simulation will become more and more important. They're great tools, but they also bring a lot of complexity and learning how to handle that complexity safely is a lot easier using a simulator. Of course you eventually need to go up, fly, and try out what you've learned for real, but it's no fun trying to flip through a G1000 user guide in flight.

I think that instrument training and practicing procedures is where simple simulators really shine! — Lnafziger, Commented Jan 11, 2014 at 4:40

Simon · Accepted Answer · 2014-11-11 08:31:27Z

I believe that there's an element to this question which has not been covered. This is very much a personal response.

Your question specifically asks whether it can help you to learn how to fly or become a better pilot. This is actually two questions in one.

Physical and mental limitations not withstanding, I would say that just about anyone can learn how to fly. But I don't believe that everyone who can learn how to fly could be a good pilot. Flying and pilotage are very much more than successfully operating a flying machine in order to fly. It's even a lot more than doing that and following the procedures (ATC, operating in controlled airspace etc) which accompany it.

Being a good pilot requires a certain aptitude and attitude (and I'm not talking about what you see on the AH). It needs, let's not beat about the bush, a reasonably good IQ and education.

A pilot becomes good when the operation of the machine or the following of the procedures is not enough to to produce a safe, successful conclusion. A good pilot avoids the traps and pitfalls that catch the unwary and have proved the rule, all to often, that in the ongoing contest between the earth and flimsy machines arriving in other than controlled circumstances, the earth has yet to lose.

A good pilot takes care of the machine and it's passengers. A good pilot can deal with the unexpected and make sound decisions to continue a flight or not or perhaps even to not commit aviation at all. A good pilot has situational awareness which tells them, via sixth sense, that the bizjet calling left base is a potential threat and is already looking by the time the tower calls.

But much more than this, there are some very important elements to flying which a sim can never provide.

There is the emotional response; that thrill, that feeling of privilege, that unquantifiable human response to flying that is so much more than operating the machine. There is also a set of skills and mental and physical responses without which, it is not possible to be a "good pilot" (IMHO).

Let me give a brief background of where I'm coming from and a concrete example of what I mean.

I have only a couple of hundred hours. A handful on fixed wing, the rest on helicopters. I also have about 3500 hours "flying" big tin on VATSIM (if you are serious about PC simming and don't know about VATSIM, Google for it right now!).

In VATSIM, I can operate a 777 (my favourite) very successfully including all of the related procedures which VATSIM does a remarkably good job of simulating. I can fly a SID, follow my planned route, follow a STAR and do a visual onto 26R at Heathrow without breaking sweat, talking to and complying with ATC all the way. I can deal with an unexpected hold or a last minute change of arrival without fluster. I know this all works because I have also been lucky enough to do this in a "real" sim (737) and I had no problems at all using the automatics and hand flying the machine for the first 500 and last 1000 feet to depart and arrive safely back at Heathrow.

However, when I was learning to fly a helicopter, the reality of it all was very different. Hovering is like learning to ride a bike. I would say anyone with reasonable co-ordination can learn to do it. I can hover all helicopters I've flown with ease. Without even thinking about it. Thing is, I can't really tell you how to do it and I have never been able to keep a PC sim helicopter in the air for more than a few minutes without getting into horrible shape. Try explaining to a child how to ride a bike. I reckon it's impossible.

When you switch from lurching around the sky with your instructor calling "I have control" every 20 seconds to that magical moment when you are suddenly in a steady hover, there are some things which simply cannot be simulated which your brain needs.

The beginners mistake is to focus on the ground, I think most people are looking about 15 metres ahead. You cannot succeed like that. What you want to do is focus your eyes well into the distance and let your peripheral vision do the work. It's almost subconscious and I can't even tell you how it all works but you do realise that you are moving over the ground with subtle cues coming in from your periphery.

The second, and more important set of cues, are those that come through the "seat of your pants". With a little experience, you just "know" when the helicopter moves, even before your peripheral vision has picked up the movement and you've already put that pressure on the cyclic (and it generally is pressure, not movement) to arrest the movement before the machine has deviated from it's position. There are always small movements but to an external observer, you are sitting there, in the air, without so much as a ripple.

Subtle sounds are also important. I can tell you pretty much where the rotor RPM is without looking at the tach and can certainly tell instantly when it's going down. The second cue is from the tach but by that time, I'm already on the collective to adjust. The tach just qualifies what I know and shows me that I'm doing the right thing to correct.

I'm sure that the fixed wing guys could provide good parallels.

My experience on sims tells me that you can indeed learn how to operate the machine and prosecute the procedures around it but it cannot help you to fly, nor to be a good (or better) pilot. Where a sim can help is in teaching you the operation and procedures to the point where your brain is free to concentrate on flying and pilotage and your heart free to enjoy the sensations, because the mechanical stuff has moved into your subconscious and has become muscle memory.

Flying is emotional; it's passionate; it's determination; it's personal conquest; it runs in your veins. It's many things more than a sim can ever provide.

If you don't get "Oh I have slipped the surly bonds", then you are an operator, not a flyer.

[EDIT] Am I a good pilot? I'd say I'm average, and striving to be better, but that, in reality, probably describes most pilots, since it is impossible for most to be better than average. I do recognise that I'm in that statistically dangerous zone where I have enough hours to think I'm good but not enough hours to prove it. In my experience, ego and cahonas tell many pilots that they are good pilots ;)

Excellent answer about learning to fly! You seem to have focused on one specific part of my question though. I ask if it can "help" you learn to fly and "I can see them being helpful as an introduction to a subject prior to running the hobbs meter". I did not mean to imply that someone can learn to fly solely with a simulator. Thank you again for your insight! — Lnafziger, Commented Jan 14, 2014 at 21:49
I full agree with Simon here, VATSIM helped me a lot with understanding procedures, learning about radio operation and correct phraseology, airspace structure and everything that is of theoretical nature in aviation. So the only thing I had left to do when I started my PPL, was indeed learn how to fly the plane. — SentryRaven, Commented Jan 15, 2014 at 9:48
Crisp explanation. Aptitude and Altitude will take you to that Altitude. — E.P.D.I, Commented Jul 22, 2014 at 18:54

Ed Griebel · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-09 21:42:47Z

22

I spent a lot of time (years) flying MSFS before getting into a cockpit for real. Turns out I had developed a bad habit of using the instruments rather than my eyes. When simming I probably spent 80% of my time looking at instruments and the moving map and only 20% looking outside. The biggest surprise for me about IRL flying was that these ratios were reversed, at least in VFR.

Now being a pilot it is very helpful for practicing procedures, test-flying cross countries, and, with the ground detail in FSX, practicing navigating by reference to ground features (e.g. "IFR&R": I Follow Roads and Railroads).

answered Jan 9, 2014 at 21:42

Ed Griebel

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$\begingroup$ Reading this I wonder if we are the same person. This exactly describes my introduction to flying. Took a bit of work to break the bad habits. $\endgroup$
– Ben
Commented Nov 14, 2014 at 11:50
1

$\begingroup$ Happened to me as well. I realized in my first flight I spent the majority of time (or at least much more than I should have) starring at my G1000, essentially flying IFR, but in reality I should've looked outside for the beautiful view! $\endgroup$
– kevin
Commented Nov 24, 2014 at 13:55

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jCisco · Accepted Answer · 2015-08-21 13:17:27Z

21

Sorry, I know that's not nice to read but all in all I like to answer your question with a no.

Flight simulators on your computer doesn't offer the possibility to learn how to actually fly an airplane, they even teach you to act in a different way and in my eyes this might be even very dangerous especially if you only have a little flying experience yet.

But there are exceptions: I now don't like to talk about flying but operating an airplane. A flight simulator for sure offers a good possibility to train procedures. To learn instrument approaches you maybe better go into a FNPT but other procedures and flows like organising approaches, work on a proper timing and workflow, practice briefings and even get used to some instruments. Tracking VORs and NDBs outbound from different positions, deciding for the right holding entry and all this stuff.

But once again, a PC flight simulator does not teach you flying the actual airplane and can even be a disadvantage for your initial flight training. If you get used to flying and handle your aircraft well, then it probably is a great way to learn more complex operations.

Another problem I've often observed is that people who 'trained' a lot on their computer become far too confident on what they are doing and very used to procedures which in the actual plane may not work. Always remember that you are a pilot who likes to learn and use the computer only as a helpful device to get a impression how things basically work. If then questions occur, ask your flight instructor.

edited Aug 21, 2015 at 13:17

jCisco

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answered Jan 8, 2014 at 17:31

Falk

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$\begingroup$ This is kind of a yes hiding in a no -- I agree that a sim won't teach you the same skill and finesse you need to fly a real airplane (you couldn't do 40 hours in a sim and then go take a checkride in a Cessna), but as you pointed out they're useful tools for somethings like instrument procedures, emergencies, etc. $\endgroup$
– voretaq7
Commented Jan 8, 2014 at 17:53
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$\begingroup$ You say no, but then explain that sims can help develop skills and learn advanced operations; this seems contradictory to me, especially given that the original question is "can a simulator help me learn to fly (not teach me to fly) or make me a better pilot?" $\endgroup$
– egid
Commented Jan 8, 2014 at 17:53
$\begingroup$ And I will definitely stay with this no. It can not teach you to fly. I don't have an answer to the second part of this question. As I've mentioned, in my eyes it can even be counterproductive to work with a simulator during initial flight training. Later on it's really dependent on how you work with the sim and then, that's most important, adapt this in the aircraft. I can do a lot of things on the grount sitting in my sofa hut this doesn't make me a good pilot. A good pilot is who performers well in the actual plane and I have no experience allowing me to say that a sim. helped me uo there. $\endgroup$
– Falk
Commented Jan 8, 2014 at 18:03
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$\begingroup$ @Falk I'll agree that if the panel you're training with in the sim isn't a good match to what you're working with in the real airplane you won't be able to work on flows (which is a huge part of emergency training - I learned flows with a poster the same way you describe :). My larger point is simulators are a tool (like foggles or those little suction-cup instrument covers): Used correctly they can be extremely valuable ; Used wrongly they may be dangerous. $\endgroup$
– voretaq7
Commented Jan 8, 2014 at 18:52
2

$\begingroup$ @Falk: I appreciate the points you make, although for me the ability to practice things while only risking my ego is helpful. Once with an instructor I made a terrible landing in a stiff crosswind. Then at home I recreated it, repeating it until I found and learned from my mistake, which was I failed to hold the crosswind correction after touchdown. $\endgroup$
– Mike Dunlavey
Commented Jan 9, 2014 at 0:43

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Torben Gundtofte-Bruun · Accepted Answer · 2022-12-30 13:30:28Z

16

I'm not a pilot so I can't answer the second part of the question, but a flight sim can definitely help with learning.

My story:

I've been "playing with" MS Flight Simulator ever since the first version came out for the original Mac's nine-inch black-and-white monitor. (It only had the Cessna 172, a Learjet, and a Sopwith Camel.) Many years later, while working at Microsoft, I was practically the only person in the office (not USA) able to do the product press demo at the launch of MS Flight Sim 97 (edit: it was more likely FS2000, a major upgrade in 1999). The Cessna is still in there. After the press conference (at an airport!), people were invited to try it for real; we had hired a couple of flight instructors and their ... Cessna's!

I was lucky to get the final slot, and I swear that the only thing the flight instructor ever touched was the radio, and the prop angle at take-off! I had never touched a real airplane before (except as an airline passenger, duh) but with my MSFS practice -- even without yoke and pedals -- I just felt right at home and every detail of the 10-minute flight was just as I expected it to be. My own impression is that my flight and landing was considerably smoother than the other "student" that I flew with.

edited Dec 30, 2022 at 13:30

answered Jan 10, 2014 at 21:28

Torben Gundtofte-Bruun

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$\begingroup$ Kind of an extraordinary claim, any evidence to back it up? I want to believe you but...well, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. (Example: The last guy who made this claim (that I saw) had a video of the whole flight...) $\endgroup$
– Jae Carr
Commented Sep 3, 2015 at 20:38
$\begingroup$ @JayCarr you're right to be skeptical but I can only offer you my word for it. I could probably ask a few of my then-colleagues to confirm it but you'd still have a point - I have no hard data to point to. I've just spent a while looking for press articles from the time, but let's face it - that was before the Internet really took off (pun!) and I don't have any clippings from print media. (Dang it, why don't I?) $\endgroup$
– Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
Commented Sep 3, 2015 at 20:58
$\begingroup$ In my experience memories are sometimes magnified over time. The further in time I travel from any event, the more modified the memory becomes. My first flight was a long time ago. All I have to record the event is a terse entry by my instructor in my logbook. Although I am not sure my instructor would back me up, it recall that it was an absolutely perfect flight. Regardless of the actual or perceived events surrounding your first flight, I believe your answer conveys a love for flying. I hope you are privileged to fly for many more years. $\endgroup$
– ryyker
Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 17:11

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Dan · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-10 16:37:36Z

Since I was a young kid I was addicted to flight sims. In all honesty, I think that is what really developed my passion for flying - I'm now 18 with a PPL.

What I found with MS:FS is that it really helped me in terms of understanding things. For example, how control input = output, how VOR works, and good airmanship. This led me to be 8 lessons ahead of where I should be, when I was 8 lessons in. - What would happen is that I'd go up with my instructor, and the planned lesson would be completed [well] within a few minutes, so they started the next lesson in the air.. 8 times in a row. I give this credit to flight simulator.

After what I like to call the "practical part" of flying, IE learning how to make the aircraft do as you want, MS:FS stops having a real effect.

You cannot properly learn to navigate, talk to ATC, taxi, do checks etc with a flight simulator. And, if you do it properly, you won't find any downsides with learning with one.

A common issue is that people may become obsessed with the instruments in a cockpit, and not look outside. Try and stay conscious of how much you use instruments, and I strongly suggest getting a peripheral such as TrackIR, which simulates head movement (best £100 I've ever spent). There are also online groups such as VATSIM which provide advanced tutoring to fly like a professional, with copilots and talking to voluntary certified ATCOs.

For a more realistic flight dynamics experience, I recommend Xplane 10, if your computer can handle it. I have some videos on my YouTube channel that show how sims can be useful for some things.