In the future, perhaps Microsoft Flight Simulator can implement two instructional guide settings according to simmers’ experience level - one for newbies who need hand-holding each step of the way and another for independent simmers who can’t stand micromanagement.
However, those who want to be told how to control the plane at every step of the way will find themselves feeling vulnerable several thousands of feet in the air. However, I can admit that my landings are still a little rough (and that’s an understatement).įor learners who love autonomy and enjoy being left to their own devices, they’ll love Microsoft Flight Simulator’s style of teaching.
At this point, there will be no instructions - you’ll just have to tap into your knowledge of physics to regain equilibrium.ĭuring my first attempt at flying the Cessna, I made some near-fatal mistakes, prompting my Jess to yell “You’ve left the training airspace! You need to go back!” But after a few more practice sessions, I started to get the hang of it. For example, Jess may tell you to pivot your aircraft downward using the yoke, and soon after, she will command you to “level out” the plane (or else you’ll end up crashing). The average flight duration of these classes is 11 minutes.Īlthough Jess coaches you through flying the aircraft, she will not hold your hand. Microsoft Flight Simulator offers seven other training courses, including Altitudes and Instruments, Take-off and Level Flight, Landing, Traffic Pattern, First Solo Flight, Navigation and First Solo Navigation. After mastering the ailerons, you’ll get an encouraging “nice!” from your virtual flight coach. The yoke controls the aircraft’s ailerons, which allow the plane to pitch (upward or downward movement of the aircraft’s nose), roll, and bank into turns.
(But you may be able to activate an autopilot, which is almost as good.) Very high end sims have radios that work just like the radio stack in a real airplane.įinally, another good and very comprehensive source for information about flight simulator software is AVSIM Community Forums which calls itself the largest repository of flight sim information available as it has over 2 million messages and over 200 forums.Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (Image credit: Microsoft)Īs I hovered thousands of feet in the air, one of the first aeronautical steps I learned in Microsoft Flight Simulator was how to operate the yoke, which is the aircraft’s steering wheel. You can’t pull over and stop while you twiddle knobs. Sometimes there isn’t a lot of spare time to do this. In real IFR flying, radios must be retuned in real time. He had also tried XPlane but he didn’t like the user interface while trying to get it to work with his pedals and other accessories was “way too difficult.” Of course, Microsoft has ceased development on the Microsoft Flight Simulator but Carl still thinks its a great piece of software and perfect for practicing those IFR approaches.Ī quick Internet search reveals a few other sources for commentary about flight simulators for IFR practice, including a Best IFR Sim software thread from the Pilots of America Message Board and another webpage entitled Using Flight Sims for IFR Practice which appears to date from over a decade ago but made the interesting observation that:
My set up now is CH ruder CH yoke CH avionics panel windows XP.ĭon’t care about the big airplanes just single engine steam gages user friendly.Ĭarl Tyler responded by writing that he personally uses Microsoft Flight Simulator (FSX) because it supported all his plugin accessories right out of the box e.g. A pilot named George has recently posted a question on on Ask a CFI about what the best flight simulator software to buy for home computer use: