Instrument Flight Simulator - FAA Approves of Flight Simulators As Credit Toward Instrument Rating
If you happen to be a private pilot who is looking to add an Instrument Rating to your certificate, then you may already be aware of the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allows you to apply up to a maximum of 20 instructor-led hours of time in training in an instrument flight simulator to be applied as credit toward your instrument rating.
Of course you can spend more than 20 hours training on a simulator, but only the first 20 hours will apply, and all of those 20 must be spent with an instructor and not solo, using an FAA approved flight simulation program. (You are of course free to spend as much time as you want on a home-based simulator for the PC to maximize the amount of time you get to practice and perfect your techniques.)
There are many reasons why the FAA allows you to use a flight simulator to log instrument training time in lieu of time spent in an actual aircraft.
Among those reasons is because instrument flight simulator software is able to replicate the behavior and performance of an actual aircraft down to the minutest detail. Thus, training for instrument flight in a simulator is virtually the same experience as training for instrument flight in an actual airplane under the hood.
The only difference between the two experiences of simulated versus actual flight (with respect to instrument training) is that you will not be able to experience the sensations of movement that could otherwise deceive you, causing spatial disorientation, during certain maneuvers in flight such as climbs, turns, and descents (which you are taught to ignore anyway, since you must trust the instruments and not what your five senses are telling you).
Among other reasons is the cost. Using an instrument flight simulator is no doubt a lot cheaper than renting an aircraft.
Showing posts with label Simulators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Simulators. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Aviation Simulators: Having Fun With PC Flying Simulators
Aviation Simulators: Having Fun With PC Flying Simulators
Aviation simulators, also known as flight simulators, are one of the most popular category of computer games and are a source of great entertainment right in the comfort of your own home. Doesn't it sound inviting to be able to soar above the clouds for a night of pure imagination and flight?
Aviation simulators are available online for download, straight to your PC, and you can begin learning how to fly in a matter of minutes. There are many to choose from and each contains hundreds of air crafts and airfields. People can choose from many models, including Boeings, simple planes like a piper cub or a fighter jet. It all depends on the interests of a person and the challenges one is willing to take.
I think that the more realistic it is the better. I just love the look and feel of flight simulator programs that actually make you feel that you are the pilot and that you are actually flying.
What do I mean by that? There are some aviation simulator games that let you see urban concentrated areas with all the ground lighting associated with them. See car headlights driving the roads, and accurate airport approach lighting. Fly past the Golden Gate Bridge or buzz past the Eiffel Tower, or even fly along the Great Wall of China. Some of the better aviation simulators feature highly detailed time of day modeling. It correctly places the sun, moon, and stars, etc. in their current and proper places relative to the earth. These simulators also take into account seasonal effects as well. Plus, you get to control the weather. Fly through wind, rain, snow, and lightning. Some will even find the nearest airport to you, and download the current weather conditions from the NOAA weather service.
Aviation simulators are more popular than ever thanks to the continuous developments in playability and software technology that have really advanced the game playing experience. These games are very accurate with regards to matching the technology and features of the actual aircraft. The gamer can really feel like they are flying the airplane, just as if they were sitting in a real cockpit.
Just how accurate are these games? Realistic enough that actual pilots and the aviation industry are using PC airplane video games. Also, the demand for these games is increasing each and every year. A pilot is able to train and practice particular techniques right from their home computer. Even you are able to get at least a flavor of flying in all sorts of nations and conditions but at a fraction of the cost and time. You can even fly in and out of the airport closest to you. A good flight simulation game tries to create each and every aspect from the game as realistic as possible.
Aviation simulators, also known as flight simulators, are one of the most popular category of computer games and are a source of great entertainment right in the comfort of your own home. Doesn't it sound inviting to be able to soar above the clouds for a night of pure imagination and flight?
Aviation simulators are available online for download, straight to your PC, and you can begin learning how to fly in a matter of minutes. There are many to choose from and each contains hundreds of air crafts and airfields. People can choose from many models, including Boeings, simple planes like a piper cub or a fighter jet. It all depends on the interests of a person and the challenges one is willing to take.
I think that the more realistic it is the better. I just love the look and feel of flight simulator programs that actually make you feel that you are the pilot and that you are actually flying.
What do I mean by that? There are some aviation simulator games that let you see urban concentrated areas with all the ground lighting associated with them. See car headlights driving the roads, and accurate airport approach lighting. Fly past the Golden Gate Bridge or buzz past the Eiffel Tower, or even fly along the Great Wall of China. Some of the better aviation simulators feature highly detailed time of day modeling. It correctly places the sun, moon, and stars, etc. in their current and proper places relative to the earth. These simulators also take into account seasonal effects as well. Plus, you get to control the weather. Fly through wind, rain, snow, and lightning. Some will even find the nearest airport to you, and download the current weather conditions from the NOAA weather service.
Aviation simulators are more popular than ever thanks to the continuous developments in playability and software technology that have really advanced the game playing experience. These games are very accurate with regards to matching the technology and features of the actual aircraft. The gamer can really feel like they are flying the airplane, just as if they were sitting in a real cockpit.
Just how accurate are these games? Realistic enough that actual pilots and the aviation industry are using PC airplane video games. Also, the demand for these games is increasing each and every year. A pilot is able to train and practice particular techniques right from their home computer. Even you are able to get at least a flavor of flying in all sorts of nations and conditions but at a fraction of the cost and time. You can even fly in and out of the airport closest to you. A good flight simulation game tries to create each and every aspect from the game as realistic as possible.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Airplane Simulators: Three Keys To Success
Airplane Simulators: Three Keys To Success
Flight simulators were some of the earliest games available for desktop computers; subLOGIC's FS1 Flight Simulator, later released as Microsoft Flight Simulator, hit computer screens in 1979. While Flight Simulator is arguably the granddaddy of personal aircraft simulators, other, much more expensive flight simulators were available to professionals as early as the 1960s.
Unlike the early days of flight simulators, when there was really only a single product choice, now there are so many choices it can be confusing to choose the correct software to fit your needs. Below are three things to think about when choosing the airplane simulator that will satisfy your needs:
1: Scenery packages. Does the flight simulator offer a high level of scenery realism? The first aircraft simulator programs had blocky graphics and only the barest hints of scenery outside the cockpit. They included "scenery" for four cities, including a few simple buildings, and fewer than 25 airports. Buildings, roads, houses, trees, airports, mountains-everything was rendered in simple tones of color and dotted lines.
Some of today's flight sims have incredibly detailed scenery packages for virtually the entire world. Roads, airports, rivers, trees, mountains, cities, rural areas: all are shown in meticulous detail. The sense of realism in the new airplane simulator packages is truly astonishing.
2: Cockpits and control response. Although the basic cockpit layouts for the planes included in the first flight sim packages were surprisingly complete-with gauges, radio stacks, power settings and more-stick response was negligible. Control response is an important factor in how the plane reacts to your inputs. With the early flight sims, there was too much lag between entering a control input and the aircraft response.
Today's flight sims respond smoothly and quickly to control inputs, and the sense of aircraft control is greatly intensified. Just as with real planes, if you haul back on the yoke and keep it there, the plane will stall...unless you're flying a military jet or an Extra 300 acrobatic plane. The simulator you choose should respond smoothly to your control inputs through a joystick or yoke; rudder pedals add even more realism to the simulator experience.
3: Added features. Realism in today's flight simulators goes far beyond just the aircraft controls and scenery. You can choose the time of day and the weather, with everything from a sunny, cloudless day to a thunderstorm. One popular airplane simulator for both the PC and the Mac has a default setting that reads your computer's clock, pulls the current conditions from the Internet, and sets the current conditions in the area you're "flying" through.
In other words, if your route takes you from Denver, Colorado, to Salt Lake City, it's 8:30p.m., and the actual meteorological conditions are unsettled late spring rain showers, your flight display will show dusk over the Colorado Rockies, and rain will be striking the plane's windshield. How's that for realism!
A flight simulator can be a lot of fun and a good source of flying knowledge. Airplane simulators can provide hours of fun, learning to fly your own aircraft from the comfort of your own desk. Look around at the software available, and compare the control response and the realism in the aircraft and scenery packages available for each simulator. Then launch for the skies with a flight simulator that fits your needs!
Flight simulators were some of the earliest games available for desktop computers; subLOGIC's FS1 Flight Simulator, later released as Microsoft Flight Simulator, hit computer screens in 1979. While Flight Simulator is arguably the granddaddy of personal aircraft simulators, other, much more expensive flight simulators were available to professionals as early as the 1960s.
Unlike the early days of flight simulators, when there was really only a single product choice, now there are so many choices it can be confusing to choose the correct software to fit your needs. Below are three things to think about when choosing the airplane simulator that will satisfy your needs:
1: Scenery packages. Does the flight simulator offer a high level of scenery realism? The first aircraft simulator programs had blocky graphics and only the barest hints of scenery outside the cockpit. They included "scenery" for four cities, including a few simple buildings, and fewer than 25 airports. Buildings, roads, houses, trees, airports, mountains-everything was rendered in simple tones of color and dotted lines.
Some of today's flight sims have incredibly detailed scenery packages for virtually the entire world. Roads, airports, rivers, trees, mountains, cities, rural areas: all are shown in meticulous detail. The sense of realism in the new airplane simulator packages is truly astonishing.
2: Cockpits and control response. Although the basic cockpit layouts for the planes included in the first flight sim packages were surprisingly complete-with gauges, radio stacks, power settings and more-stick response was negligible. Control response is an important factor in how the plane reacts to your inputs. With the early flight sims, there was too much lag between entering a control input and the aircraft response.
Today's flight sims respond smoothly and quickly to control inputs, and the sense of aircraft control is greatly intensified. Just as with real planes, if you haul back on the yoke and keep it there, the plane will stall...unless you're flying a military jet or an Extra 300 acrobatic plane. The simulator you choose should respond smoothly to your control inputs through a joystick or yoke; rudder pedals add even more realism to the simulator experience.
3: Added features. Realism in today's flight simulators goes far beyond just the aircraft controls and scenery. You can choose the time of day and the weather, with everything from a sunny, cloudless day to a thunderstorm. One popular airplane simulator for both the PC and the Mac has a default setting that reads your computer's clock, pulls the current conditions from the Internet, and sets the current conditions in the area you're "flying" through.
In other words, if your route takes you from Denver, Colorado, to Salt Lake City, it's 8:30p.m., and the actual meteorological conditions are unsettled late spring rain showers, your flight display will show dusk over the Colorado Rockies, and rain will be striking the plane's windshield. How's that for realism!
A flight simulator can be a lot of fun and a good source of flying knowledge. Airplane simulators can provide hours of fun, learning to fly your own aircraft from the comfort of your own desk. Look around at the software available, and compare the control response and the realism in the aircraft and scenery packages available for each simulator. Then launch for the skies with a flight simulator that fits your needs!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Airplane Simulators Online
Airplane Simulators Online
Would you like to know what to look for when searching airplane simulators online? The first thing you should be concerned with is the price. The second should be how realistic the flying is in the simulator is. The third should be what is included in the sim. Lastly, you should want one that comes with great support in case you have any problems. It is very important to consider all of these things when looking for a flight simulator.
1. The Price: When looking at the prices is not really important how much the starting price is. It is important to look and see if the charge for additional things. Some companies may charge you per airplane or helicopter. Some may charge you for each airport. That's bad enough, but some will even charge extra for scenery, like cities and what not. So, you might buy the game for 50 or $100, but by the time you add planes, airports, and scenery you could be paying close to a thousand dollars. This is something you have to watch out for. I fell for this once, and I will never do it again.
2. Realism: When looking for airplane simulators online, you should always be able to see a preview video before you buy. The good companies will almost always include a video on the buyer's page. When looking for realism, you don't want just good graphics; you also want the game to include real cockpits. You want the inside of a F-16 fighter jet to be an exact duplicate of a real one. You will also want the plane to have the same controls and fly just like it would in real life. A lot of the flight simulators will not take the time to replicate the inside of the planes correctly.
3. What's included: There is a lot of airplane simulators online, and you need to know what you are going to get before you buy it. If you're looking to buy one and the website doesn't tell you how many planes are included, or how many airports you can fly to, chances are they will be trying to sell these things to you separately. So make sure you know how many airplanes, airports, and double check to make sure the game comes with scenery.
4. Support: Its always a good idea to make sure the company offers some sort of support, or at the very least has a money back guarantee. If you can figure out how to fly the planes, you are going to want someone to be able to help you out. If they do not provide support just make sure they have a money back guarantee. Worse case scenario, if you can't figure out the game, you can at least get your money back for it. I will admit, I have never had to get a refund from a flight simulator. They normally come with detailed instructions that tell you how to do everything. The flight sim that I use has a built in feature that lets you hit a key and it will tell you what you need to do next if you're stuck.
Would you like to know what to look for when searching airplane simulators online? The first thing you should be concerned with is the price. The second should be how realistic the flying is in the simulator is. The third should be what is included in the sim. Lastly, you should want one that comes with great support in case you have any problems. It is very important to consider all of these things when looking for a flight simulator.
1. The Price: When looking at the prices is not really important how much the starting price is. It is important to look and see if the charge for additional things. Some companies may charge you per airplane or helicopter. Some may charge you for each airport. That's bad enough, but some will even charge extra for scenery, like cities and what not. So, you might buy the game for 50 or $100, but by the time you add planes, airports, and scenery you could be paying close to a thousand dollars. This is something you have to watch out for. I fell for this once, and I will never do it again.
2. Realism: When looking for airplane simulators online, you should always be able to see a preview video before you buy. The good companies will almost always include a video on the buyer's page. When looking for realism, you don't want just good graphics; you also want the game to include real cockpits. You want the inside of a F-16 fighter jet to be an exact duplicate of a real one. You will also want the plane to have the same controls and fly just like it would in real life. A lot of the flight simulators will not take the time to replicate the inside of the planes correctly.
3. What's included: There is a lot of airplane simulators online, and you need to know what you are going to get before you buy it. If you're looking to buy one and the website doesn't tell you how many planes are included, or how many airports you can fly to, chances are they will be trying to sell these things to you separately. So make sure you know how many airplanes, airports, and double check to make sure the game comes with scenery.
4. Support: Its always a good idea to make sure the company offers some sort of support, or at the very least has a money back guarantee. If you can figure out how to fly the planes, you are going to want someone to be able to help you out. If they do not provide support just make sure they have a money back guarantee. Worse case scenario, if you can't figure out the game, you can at least get your money back for it. I will admit, I have never had to get a refund from a flight simulator. They normally come with detailed instructions that tell you how to do everything. The flight sim that I use has a built in feature that lets you hit a key and it will tell you what you need to do next if you're stuck.
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