50
votes
Is this opinion on personal computer flight simulators too strict or is it actually true?
It isn't true, not as an indictment of the simulator software community as a whole anyway. It may be that your pilot friend doesn't have experience with modern simulators, let's take X-Plane for ...
- 36.2k
45
votes
Accepted
Do Flight Simulation Instructors stop the simulator before a simulated crash?
I would say that crashes happen fairly frequently on initial type courses where new pilots are moving up to jets, and mainly on what are called "V1 cuts", where an engine is failed right at ...
- 136k
42
votes
Accepted
What's the appropriate course of action if an airliner bounces 5-10 feet on touchdown?
Well, "5 to 10 feet" is not "slightly." One or two feet is "slightly," and in that case you can maintain your landing attitude or pitch very slightly nose-down -- really a matter of the slightest ...
- 53.7k
36
votes
How can I avoid flight simulator software reinforcing bad habits?
I posted this answer on FB a while back:
I’m a commercial pilot as well as a flight sim fan with somewhere in the neighborhood of 7000 hours logged on Flight Simulator and Falcon 4.0 games. I ...
- 75.1k
35
votes
Accepted
What simulation software do airlines use?
X-Plane offers a "Professional Level" which is mostly about licensing. However X-Plane also has an FAA certified version that if paired with proper controls is legal for certain training/instructional ...
- 102k
33
votes
Accepted
Do pilots intentionally crash in a simulator?
I've intentionally crashed Full Flight Simulators, to demonstrate to the instructors that in a modern day FFS, crashing is a non-event. Basically just a stop of the real-time equation computations, a ...
- 63k
32
votes
Accepted
How were pilots selected and trained before the introduction of simulators?
Almost every pilot learns to fly in an actual aircraft, this is one of the reasons all trainers have dual controls.
My first day out, ever, was in an actual plane, behind real controls, in the sky. ...
- 102k
32
votes
Accepted
What happens after a professional unintentionally crashes in a simulator? Can they be disciplined?
Crashing a Level D Full Flight Simulator during a training session is not good. They exist for:
Initial training, of licensed pilots who have not flown the type before and need to become familiar ...
- 63k
31
votes
Accepted
Do airline transport pilot trainees ever fly a passenger-less aircraft?
When pilots are trained for flying in an aircraft type they have not flown in before, they go through type rating, then line training. During the type rating, they learn where all the instruments and ...
- 63k
31
votes
Is center tank fuel required to start the 737-800 engines?
No, it is perfectly normal to operate without any fuel in the center tank. Until your fuel load is over about 17,000 lbs, the center tank should be empty. That’s enough for about 2 hours of flying, ...
- 53.7k
26
votes
Accepted
Why do pilots cut the reverse thrust below 40 km/h?
The question speaks of a very old 747 landing tutorial. And as such I take that to mean it would be of a 747-100/200 aircraft, and that's the reference point I'm answering from.
First, concerning the ...
- 39.2k
26
votes
Accepted
Is it right to call out out “50...40..30..RETARD” in a C172 simulator?
It is not common to call out the height above ground level when landing in a small aircraft. The main reason for this is that there simply is no way to measure it:
A radio altimeter, which could ...
- 58.3k
26
votes
Do pilots intentionally crash in a simulator?
One reason to deliberately crash in a simulator is to reconstruct an accident.
This happens once in a while during an accident investigation, as it's less dangerous (obviously) than trying to ...
- 16.3k
25
votes
Accepted
Does a large simulator bay have standard public address announcements?
My experience with the military is that loudspeaker announcements like this do NOT occur in simulator buildings. They would be both distracting and largely unnecessary when there are land lines and ...
- 27.3k
25
votes
Accepted
Is there a somewhat realistic FOSS flight simulator for Linux?
From Wikipedia:
FlightGear Flight Simulator (often shortened to FlightGear or FGFS) is a free, open source multi-platform flight simulator developed by the FlightGear project since 1997.
David Murr ...
- 1,083
24
votes
Accepted
How "full-motion" is a full-motion simulator?
Full Motion is full in the sense that it can generate cues in all 6 Degrees Of Freedom: fwd/aft, left/right, up/down, pitch, roll, yaw. The term came in use to distinguish between 6-DOF systems and ...
- 63k
23
votes
Accepted
How can I avoid flight simulator software reinforcing bad habits?
The best recommendation I can give you is to get a VR headset. Yes, they're a bit pricey, but not bad at all compared to actual flight hours in a real airplane. Practicing for visual flight just isn't ...
- 19.6k
23
votes
Does a large simulator bay have standard public address announcements?
My answer applies to the 141 training programs I've been a part of; Michael Hall's answer is correct - there are no loudspeaker announcements made, with one rare but important exception:
"FIRE ALARM ...
- 23.3k
22
votes
What simulation software do airlines use?
Computer games try to model the aircraft based on generalized aerodynamic and physical principles and at best "feel". FAA and EASA certified full flight simulators are built with a data package ...
- 8,210
22
votes
Do Flight Simulation Instructors stop the simulator before a simulated crash?
In the rare cases in the Shuttle Mission Simulator when a training session entered a loss-of-control or other irremediable situation, it was standard practice to freeze the sim rather than run the ...
- 2,912
22
votes
What happens after a professional unintentionally crashes in a simulator? Can they be disciplined?
Crashes, or at least wing tip strikes, are not uncommon on an initial jet type course during engine failure training on take off, on what are called "V1 cuts" (engine failure just before or ...
- 136k
20
votes
Is this opinion on personal computer flight simulators too strict or is it actually true?
No, that is not true.
There are two concepts here: being close to reality and being certified for training. They are not the same thing.
Certified is in essence an insurance policy. It means "sue me ...
- 39.8k
20
votes
What's the appropriate course of action if an airliner bounces 5-10 feet on touchdown?
Your first reaction should be to advance the throttles. Not all the way, but to around 40%. This keeps the plane flying and avoid it sinking onto the ground in an impact that might collapse the ...
- 39.8k
19
votes
What simulation software do airlines use?
Yes the PC software that OP mentions can be used for professional flight training - if it demonstrates to the authorities that it matches aircraft data, and that is where the distinction lies. It has ...
- 63k
18
votes
What do the letters "h" and "i" next to TCAS ND symbols mean?
They mean the simulator or mockup is buggy and Wingdings 3 was missing / broken / not selected. There should be trend arrows there instead.
First smoking gun: this appears to be a photo of either a ...
- 14.4k
16
votes
Accepted
Did any aircraft ever use stick twist for rudder control?
Yes, the RAH-66 Comanche FBW system used a twist control for the yaw channel.
The RAH-66 Comanche used a twist in the pilot's stick to control the rudder/yaw inputs. It had no rudder pedals. (Yes, a ...
- 4,211
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