Todays Flight Simulators Can Easily Recreate What It Is Actually Like To Be A Pilot

Flight simulators bring massive levels of realism and fun to any home based flying enthusiast. They are setup to emulate multitudes of different aircraft and locations around the world. Flight Simulator development over the past thirty years has been nothing short of astonishing. Starting with a simple black and white program in the early 1980's to lifelike scenery and perfect flight models in 2012 they have certainly come a long way.

If you are interested in finding out exactly what it takes to be a pilot in the real world, then a modern flight simulator will give you a great insight to the challenges pilots face.

I am going to have a look at some of the challenges pilots face in the real world, and then compare those challenges to what we can emulate on a flight simulator.
Training for any pilot is obviously the first challenge they will encounter. Training to become a commercial pilot takes many hours of flying training in many different aircraft and in many different environment types.

Training is something we can easily recreate in most flight simulators, all you really need is a training guide and some goals relevant to what you are looking to achieve. Flight simulators will easily recreate many aspects of a typical pilot training course.

You will start with basic flight dynamics and aircraft handling followed by circuit after circuit to hone those landing skills. Your next challenge will be navigation, this is arguably the most complicated part of any training schedule yet this is also the easiest to recreate on a flight simulator. Instrument flying is completed with little or no reference to the outside environment, instead pilots will spend their time with their heads 'inside' the cockpit, ie; looking at instruments. Once you have achieved both aircraft handling and mastered the art of navigation you can essentially take an aircraft anywhere you like. This training in real life will award you with a private pilot's licence and the ability to carry passengers (non paying) anywhere you like.

Once you are a fully fledged pilot the challenges you face will shift slightly, whilst everything you have learned in training will be extremely relevant to your day to day tasks, the focus is now on a successful flight with an aircraft of paying passengers rather than a successful flight check and additional study towards the next training module.

Typically pilots will face ONE considerable challenge on a day to day basis. This challenge is simply the outside environment. If weather did not exist on our planet flying an aircraft would be a completely different job and loads easier. Pilots face numerous challenges daily due to weather, visibility departing or arriving at airports can provide a challenge as can the wind on a final approach.

Recreating environmental challenges within a flight simulator can be a bit harder, however, it has got much easier as flight simulators have developed. In 2012 with a leading flight simulator you can expect to see realistic scenery and weather effects outside the cockpit, and you can also expect to experience realistic environmental effects on the aircraft you are flying.

I love the challenge of an ILS approach and crosswind landing on my home simulator, the elation of completing this task successfully and knowing that it is close to what real aircraft and pilots endure on a day to day basis is fantastic.

If you are interested in setting up a realistic simulator and need some help, I am happy to point you in the right direction, from finding the best flight simulator to setting up your flight simulator hardware and finding training guides to follow. The above links will give you access to a free pilots mini course I have also created.

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