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Flight-Simulator Enthusiasts Confident of Real-World Skills (wsj.com)
Two anonymous readers share a report: When the ground-services employee who stole a turboprop airliner last week declined air-traffic controllers' piloting advice, saying he had played videogames, it was no surprise to some devotees of intricate home flight-simulation programs [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; an alternative source wasn't immediately available.]. Such software can mimic many phases of aircraft operations, including takeoffs, as well as how to respond to heavy weather and emergencies, pilots and software makers say. The simulators are also more affordable than pursuing a pilot's license and can help satisfy a lifelong obsession with flying.
Last year, two million units of vehicle-simulation games for PCs and consoles were sold world-wide, the most common being flight simulators, according to the market-research firm NPD Group. Home programs have evolved over more than three decades. They can represent all types of aircraft, from wartime bombers to modern-day passenger airliners. A setup can cost a few dozen dollars for a videogame to thousands for software with intricate renderings of cockpits and real-world environments. A new conference called FlightSimExpo held in Las Vegas in June drew around 1,100 people, its organizers said. FlightSimCon held its sixth annual gathering in Dallas in June, according to its website. Many hobbyists say they don't think of simulators in the same vein as traditional videogames, because they aren't trying to rack up points or compete. They simply focus on flying.
Last year, two million units of vehicle-simulation games for PCs and consoles were sold world-wide, the most common being flight simulators, according to the market-research firm NPD Group. Home programs have evolved over more than three decades. They can represent all types of aircraft, from wartime bombers to modern-day passenger airliners. A setup can cost a few dozen dollars for a videogame to thousands for software with intricate renderings of cockpits and real-world environments. A new conference called FlightSimExpo held in Las Vegas in June drew around 1,100 people, its organizers said. FlightSimCon held its sixth annual gathering in Dallas in June, according to its website. Many hobbyists say they don't think of simulators in the same vein as traditional videogames, because they aren't trying to rack up points or compete. They simply focus on flying.
Not only did he manage to do a few barrels roles, but he really stuck the landing!
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Of course they are useful to non-pilots for training, real pilots train in simulators, especially for practicing the dangerous or simply procedural things. I learned how to fly various IFR approaches, going though the procedures at home instead of paying for flying hours in real aircraft. Saved me a bundle.
However, they do not train you on what it really looks, sounds and feels like when you fly. There is a lot of information you need when flying that comes from the seat of your pants and though the windscreen that is really hard to simulate at reasonable cost at home. Also, it's really hard to accurately simulate the visuals during approach and landing, especially when you get into the ground effect just before touch down. It's just not the same.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
I'm sure people who jack-off a lot to porn think they'd be pretty good at sex, too.
You are welcome on my lawn.
ok cant eddit my last post and it screwed it up... https://www.youtube.com/watch?... this is pro gamers vs vets on call of duty. they also did this vets vs gamers gun range https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
He is a snapshot of the state of society. For that hour, he was more free than any of us will ever be.
Flight Simulators include training on the controls, mechanics, and physics. The goal of flight sims are to be as true to life as possible. The interfaces used by Flight Sim players are typically very similar to the real thing. All of this means that skills acquired in a flight sim are supposed to translate to skills in actual aircraft, that is the point.
Most shooters are not simulating the aiming and firing of a weapon. They are merely doing an entertaining "arcade" variation where a targeting cursor appears in the middle of the screen. At best you might argue that there is some training in maneuvers and teamwork, but these are most often against unconventional enemies which require different tactics. Furthermore, most tactics are, over the course of time, highly optimized for specific situations or maps, and are not designed to improve survival and success outside of that specific scenario. This is kind of like the difference between studying for a test and studying for success. Additionally, the "respawn" mechanic drastically reduces the cost of "death", encouraging extremely risky tactics on the battlefield (such as using explosives to achieve greater height when jumping).
TL;DR, Flight Sims are documentaries, FPS games are unrealistic action movies.
All of this means that skills acquired in a flight sim are supposed to translate to skills in actual aircraft, that is the point.
Except that it doesn't really do that. I hold a pilot license, a PPL. I also have an elaborate FSX setup with pretty much all the gear Saitek sells, including 9 of the little LCD screens. Yes, it's fun to "fly" a 737 in the Alps in the fog. Yes, it's fun to position a fighter jet at 60,000ft and see it tumble until the "air" is dense enough to create some lift.
But nothing on a consumer grade flight sim will provide you with any skill. I once had to land with a pretty decent crosswind in a 172. About 6 months after earning my license. Me and the pregnant misses on board. No FSX will be able to recreate the stress-induced focus that I needed to put that plane down safely. Just me, one hand on the throttle, one hand on the yoke, two feet on the pedals, and the runway in front of me.
The one and only exception to that would be that the sim helped me with my ground school. Ground school you say? Yes: especially navigation. Have your wife, bf, gf or friend position your plane in a random position in the country at 5000ft, and try to determine your position using ADF or VOR/DME. It really helps you understand those navaids.
To me, FSX/X-Plane is just for fun.
I'm not a complete idiot... Some parts are missing.
That only gets you so far. I've flown in a few different varieties of light aircraft and had a chance to "take the controls" several times and have been able to manage to keep the plane level, do basic turns, etc with no issue. One of the people who took me up for one of the flights remarked that I was doing better than the expected for a full novice and I mentioned that I'd used a lot of flight sims/sim-ish games and the basic skills seemed to translate fine.
That said - these flights were in a small aircraft with basic controls, at relatively low speed in uncrowded airspace, and on days with calm, near perfect weather. Under those conditions I would expect anyone who can drive a car could fly those types of plane in a straight line or a gentle turn with very little coaching. I would NOT expect that they would be able to land easily without someone experienced sitting idle at the controls right next to them talking them through the process. Also on flying in a straight line, add any inclement weather or heavy turbulence to the mix and the novice will probably commit some sort of fatal mistake not long after.
So yeah, getting the plane in the air under good conditions isn't really hard. It's the stuff that comes after getting it up there that is where the issue lies.
Hmmmmm...I've done many simulations of sex with stewardesses online. I think I will be good at it too!
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
At best you might argue that there is some training in maneuvers and teamwork,
The US Army evaluated first-person shooter games for any real-life skills they might teach, as part of making their own game. They found that the only useful skill learned was to be mindful of ammo remaining, and reload as soon as practical.
The America's Army game was designed to emphasize teamwork and communication, hoping that could be helped as well. You do see that in normal games as well, but it's pretty rare. Competitive play in CS was all about teamwork and communication, as least when I used to follow it, but competitive CS play looks nothing like normal CS play. Even in those two, though, they miss just how hard it is for the human voice to be heard over gunshots.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
When I decided to become a commercial helicopter pilot, I first spent a few months reading books and practicing in Microsoft flight simulator and X-plane. ...it was an effortless transition. In fact, flying a helicopter IRL is way easier because you can rely more on proprioception.
On my first day of flight school, the instructor gave me the controls and I could fly. End of story.
I never went through the rodeo
The flight school thought I was an undercover FAA inspector doing a safety audit.
And this is not wanton self aggrandizement- anyone can do this...its how I started teaching MY students, and it works like a charm...its also dirt cheap.
I'm also a private pilot. Flight simulators these days are remarkably accurate and have the "feel" of flying. I'm not talking about flying a 737 through the Alps in the fog--just basic VFR flying. It is insanely easy to get an airplane off the ground and a flight simulator does a good job of teaching you how to do it.
It's the landing that is tough.
How about a moderation of -1 pedantic.
pro gamers vs vets at call of duty is pretty meaningless. Sure the teamwork, strategy, and squad tactics generally translate, but the game world of call of duty is still going to heavily favor experienced gamers. Everything from how the guns work to how to land a grendade where you want it to injury mechanics & hit boxes, cover, crouching/prone, etc are all going to give an advantage to the people who spent hundreds of hours playing soldier in that 'world'.
the followup video is equally dumb; for the same reasons. lining up a reticule and pressing the mouse button is no substitute for actual experience actually firing actual firearms. Sure some of the theory will translate, and well rounded game experience will at least give you some foreknowledge that recoil is a thing; and that multiple successive shots are going to be inaccurate, that breath control matters, that bullet drop is a thing, etc... how much value this gives you in the real world i couldn't say.
Probably not a lot. Lol, I know the very first time i fired a pistol i was shooting into the ground because i wasn't using the sights properly... i was holding it angled down just enough that the front sight wasn't in view, and i didn't even realize it was missing... and i was just lining up the target between the rear sights. That issue never came up in a game.
Reminds me of my first high flight in a hang glider. Unless you're quite light, you generally don't have the luxury of flying with an instructor. So you learn control of the glider on small hills. You do hundreds of takeoffs and landings, concentrating on straight flight, crosswind, flare, etc. But when the time comes, you find the highest mountain you can (to give you maximum time to figure things out before you have to land) and go. Standard at my school was a 3000 foot peak, which gave you about ten minutes to learn how to turn, before you had to get serious about flying an approach, and a giant field at the bottom so you didn't have to be too exact on that approach.
We didn't have a computer simulator, but we did spend a fair amount of time hanging from rafters going through the motions. And practicing weight shift control while piloting shopping carts.
Simulators can't teach you everything, but they can teach you quite a bit, and that makes learning the tactile bits easier when you're in the air.