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.

Comments

Real Pilots train in them...

[bobbied]

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.

Re:Real Pilots train in them...

[Solandri]

Someone who was learning how to fly hired me to put together a computer system for him to run X-Plane as a trainer/simulator, complete with touch-screen for the instruments and controls, a second monitor for the view out the window, and stick and pedal controls. I put it together and got it all running, but for the life of me I couldn't get the joystick calibrated right. It kept wanting to pull to the left, and the amount of x-axis offset adjustment to the joystick necessary to keep it centered seemed to keep drifting.

After struggling to fix the issue for two days, I called the client and told him I would miss the delivery date and that he'd have to wait a few more days while I exchanged some defective hardware. He asked me what the problem was, and I explained how it was pulling to the left. He swore, and said he didn't realize the simulator was going to be that realistic - the real plane he was training on did the same thing. That's when I realized the torque and gyroscopic effects from the single-engine plane was what was causing the yaw to the left, and X-Plane was faithfully simulating it.

Re:RIP Skyking

[Anonymous Coward]

Disagree. He was one of the many people of the present day who think that being sad is a legitimate excuse to commit a serious felony and cause a massive public calamity. Let's not forget that he destroyed a multi-million dollar piece of machinery because he was sad and wanted attention, in a way that could have killed hundreds of people.

Not to be a dick, but I don't think we should be condoning behavior that essentially boils down to "if you're ready to end your life, then it's totally fine to turn life into a game of grand theft auto and cause a massive and absurdly dangerous calamity that might kill people."

Re:Trainers

[mschuyler]

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.