IFR Flight Simulator - Making Aviation Training Less Expensive
Posted: Thursday, May 27, 2010
by Jacques Pontier
IFR Flight Simulator - Making Flight Training Affordable
The way the economy is headed these days, there is no doubt that the dream of being able to accomplish something with your pilots license, is ever-so-slightly falling out of reach for many hard core aviation enthusiasts.
If you already hold a private pilot license and you are looking to acquire your Instrument Rating, then you will want to gain access to a good IFR flight simulator.
1. Save money
Flying is not inexpensive. With all the aircraft rental fees, fuel surcharges, and flight instructor fees, the costs can add up to the hundreds .
Making use of an IFR flight simulator is definitely one way to lower the costs of your instrument training and your routine instrument proficiency check rides.
The cost of a simulator is much cheaper than renting an actual aircraft.
Thus if the Federal Aviation Administration allows you to log up to 20 hours of dual instruction with a simulator towards your instrument rating, then it would be ridiculous not to take make use of it. In the current economic crisis, it is advisable to be cost conscious.
2. Save time
Making use of an IFR flight simulator not only saves you money, it also saves time. It is much easier to hop onto a PC, launch the simulator program, and become "airborne" within minutes. Whereas, an actual flight requires checking out the airplane, refueling, and performing a preflight inspection every time you go flying.
Bad weather can hinder your acquiring your Instrument Rating. Rain, snow, overcast clouds, and excessive winds might all result in canceled pilot training sessions. This can hinder your progress.
3. Getting In A Little Extra Practice
An IFR flight simulator also facilitates you to get plenty of extra practice. You aren't restricted to flying only when the instructor and aircraft are available. Thus you can spend extra hours operating the simulator in addition to your standard training sessions.
These are the benefits of having access to your own IFR flight simulator.
With respect to all of the sophistication in computer technology that we have available these days, in the 21st century, one of the greatest and most essential resources that every pilot, regardless of whether he or she happens to be a newbie pilot or a veteran pilot, must have at his or her disposal, is a reliable flight simulation program.
A flight simulation program can help to bridge the gap during those unforeseen periods of indefinite downtime between flights.
It may also empower you to improve on your skills, help you maintain proficiency, and may even enable you to get some more experience in those areas in which you could see some improvement.
Flight simulator software can help you become a safer pilot.
They can also help you to save money, as well as time, on unnecessary training or unnecessarily having to repeat flying the same practice maneuvers over and over again.
The good news is that, flight simulation technology is so sophisticated, that flying a simulator is almost every bit as realistic as flying the real deal. The instrument panel is identical. The control inputs are the same. The "map" built into the simulation is based on real life cartographic data points. The way the aircraft behaves to various internal (weight and balance, fuel, aircraft performance) as well as external (weather phenomena, air temperature) forces is designed to imitate real life scenarios.
For a number of people, a flight simulation program is simply a very high-tech video game. And on many levels, it can be enjoyed in that capacity. After all, you never have to concern yourself about crashing the airplane in a simulation program!
But for many others, a flight simulation program is a heavy duty learning tool, and for many professional pilots, it is fundamental part of their aviation career.
Download and start flying your very own IFR flight simulator today.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Can a person learn to fly from scratch on a simulator, Jaques? I mean without having any experience at all?
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