plane for practice?

[Austin90]

I was wondering what is the best plane to use for practice because i've been using the trike and its not that great, and also i want peoples opinion's aswell.

Thanks

[opaplano]

I was wondering what is the best plane to use for practice because i've been using the trike and its not that great, and also i want peoples opinion's aswell.

Thanks

If you work your way thru the Lessons (which are built into both FS2004 and FSX) I believe they start you off in a Cessna (if memory serves).

Once you get familar with the Cessna and learn the basics of navigation and handling via a good deal of practice (and that will take some time) , then the Lessons will move you up to more complicated craft.

Bottom line, practice at first with the Cessna is my advice.

[cianpars]

Yep. Real world or flightsim. The Cessna is the place to start.

Plus as David says, the early lessons are inthe Cessna 172.

IAN

[Austin90]

actually, i've just had a look and firstly (not including trike) is the Piper J-3C-65 Cub then its the Cessna 172SP Sky hawk.

I'll jump in the Cessna, just hopefully my passenger (kitten) sits down and holds on tight

Cheers for the advice/ opinion's

[gandy]

Austin, trust me on this one, the best trainer for fsx is the Cessna 152. There is only two version of it one is free and one is payware. I started with the free and i thanked the flying gods of the payware one.

Using the trim is one of the most important parts of flight sim when flying GA aircraft and as the 152 has no auto pilot it will help you to learn to use the tirm in a very good way ( trust me on this one )

Now for the free 152 for FSX, Although the flight model is not that great it looks the part and it will give you many happy hours of flying
http://www.justflight.com/microsoftc152.asp

For the best payware version of the 152 then look here. You can buy it from UK retailers
http://www.carenado.com/ecommerce/bu...id_producto=56

Now i would recommend that you download the Orbx PNW or AU demo's and set your flight sim season to summer and go and enjoy the beauty of flying low and slow in those area's as they are epic.

[fxsttcb]

I gotta agree with Gandy the little 152 is a great trainer.
I use the FS Insider freebie from his link, it looks good(imo), flys OK, and will challenge you to fly it correctly...Don

[NikeHerk67]

Hi Austin90,

I agree with flying the Cessna which is the plane used when taking the Lessons in FS. If you were going to learn to fly in the real world you would start the very first day with a CFI (flight instructor) sitting by your side instructing you on each phase of flight and learning to fly properly. You don’t just go down to the airport and rent an airplane, and go up and fly around until you feel comfortable.

There is nothing like having a real world CFI sitting next to you explaining, step by step, the proper procedures for each phase of flight. It’s not about flying straight, it about how to fly straight. It’s not about making a 90 degree turn, but also when to start straightening out of the turn. There are proven steps on just how to learn to fly. First you learn how to fly straight. Then you learn to turn then you learn to take off and finally after that you learn to land. It’s a proven method dating back to the Wright brothers. They were just about the only ones who took off, flew level and landed on their very first flights.

That’s why MS spent all the time, effort, and money to provide instructions by real world CFIs who adapted the real world methods to the somewhat limited capabilities of the flight simulator. No, you can’t learn spins in the FS or feel what a power on and power off stall really feels like in a real aircraft, but short of the feeling, FS does a does a great job teaching flying basics. If you’ve ever ridden a roller coaster at an amusement park you have a pretty good idea what a stall feels like in a real aircraft.

Once you learn the basics, you’ll feel a lot more comfortable about flying any aircraft in FS for years to come. There's plenty of time to learn about flying with the auto pilot, GPS, or FMC. Flying by hand is all you all of the time and can be both fun and rewarding at the same time.

As the saying goes, anything that is worth doing is worth doing right.

I can say this because I have taken the lessons in both the real world and in the flight simulator. You'll see the great many simularities if you ever decide you want to become a pilot. Personally, I decided to stick to the FS. It's cheaper.

[mallcott]

The cub is a twitchy little beast on the ground, and a taildragger. Best to start with the default Cessna 172 or with a 152 as suggested above.

[cianpars]

Yeah. Very little difference between the 152 and the 172 actually. I've flown a 152 loads in the RW, but when I was training, I had one flight in the 172. Apart from being a bit heavier on the controls and the fact (as I recall) that all the speeds were about 5 kts faster, there was really little difference.

IAN

[lnuss]

The cub is a twitchy little beast on the ground, and a taildragger. Best to start with the default Cessna 172 or with a 152 as suggested above.

The FS Cub doesn't handle like a real one, or like any real airplane. Once on the ground, if you apply rudder for a correction, it makes things worse instead of better. There are many other faults, but that's the worst part.

And if you don't need correction in a taildragger (and to a lesser extent in a nosedragger), it's not real world.