Recommendations for IFR training

Hey guys, I'm new to the site, so I hope this is in the right place.

I'm looking to put together a flightsim package to help with my IFR training.

I haven't flown in a few years and would like to get back in the air and finish my instrument rating. I am currently MEL with about 500 PIC. My plan is to get current and start IFR training in a rental, probably a 172. When I can afford it I would like to buy or join a partnership in a Twin Bonanza.

So I would like a sim package that I can do IFR training in a Twin Bonanza.

Where should I start? X-plane? MSFS X?

James

Welcome to the Forums! Since you seem to meet the qualifications (Not being just a Flight Sim enthusiast) I would recommend that you check out P3D from Lockheed Martin.

http://www.prepar3d.com/product-overview/

Welcome to the Forums! Since you seem to meet the qualifications (Not being just a Flight Sim enthusiast) I would recommend that you check out P3D from Lockheed Martin.

 

http://www.prepar3d.com/product-overview/

Yeah P3D is the way to go!

David

Great, thanks for the advice. I have never even heard of P3D.

That's why I come to the forums!

More comments are welcome! - I would eventually like to build a very nice cockpit based simulator.

JH

If you're going to build a cockpit, might as well put the cash towards doing the real thing. Both are very expensive to do if you want it done throughly. Especially if you intend to log the sim time.

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Here's a couple or recommendations you may want to look into-

https://www.pilotedge.net/ is a great service for both IFR and ATC radio training to get you refreshed- worked great for me!

Another good site for high-end hardware and software is http://www.my737ng.com/articles/overhead-overload/ he's got some great information on avionics and software packages.

You cannot do IFR training in a desktop sim. You can however do a lot to learn instrument flows, operation of certain Garmin systems, procedurals, navigation, comms (to a certain extent) or putting booksmarts into practise without paying in-flight prices.

Learn on the ground so you can practise what you learn in the air.

Redbird simulators (which in some circumstances ARE approved for IFR training as a `Basic Aviation Training Device` which can contribute to your flight hours) currently use Prepar3d (or P3d as we call it here). The similarities in sight picture can be beneficial in transitions from desktop to simulator and P3D is actively being developed, unlike the snails' pace of X-Plane or the dead-as-a-dodo FSX.

This should be your first choice.

We use our desktop simulator for in our flying club is for re-familiarisation with complex systems (the aforementioned Garmin being a case in point) and increasingly - given the accuracy now inherent in aftermarket addons - for basic understanding of unfamiliar airfields for which it is really, really good. A recent group tour of France `flew` to each of the airfields and alternates before leaving the ground in the UK.

Shockingly (given that P3D is expressly `not for entertainment` use!) we also use it to give schoolkids and others an opportunity to get some fun `flying`in while RW flying goes on out the window. At least 3 of the instructors here have used the desktop to teach the basics of flying controls on the ground to speed up the learning curve with students in the air, although no desktop simulator is any good at the real use of ailerons, rudder and elevator but it's better than hand-held models and `woosh` noises at the front of the class...

P3D is available with a 60-day money back guarantee so you can purchase the hardware and then try it with the software before you need to commit. No other sim product currently offers refunds.

or the dead-as-a-dodo FSX.

Just because Microsoft isn't changing the root .exe any longer, doesn't mean it's "dead". Lotsa folks use FSX still. And given Steam's prices, $25.00 normally, and $5.00 on sale fairly often, a refund isn't real critical. I figure, if *I* can afford $5.00 for a sim as complex as FSX, anyone can. If you don't like it, or it's not what you "need" for your use, delete it. You're not out all that much. Heck, a light lunch someplace will cost you more.

Alsp, there are new sceneries, planes, gauges, etc etc being developed for FSX all the time. Personally, and of course this is just my own, personal opinion, for what it's worth, FSX is hardly "dead as a Dodo."

although no desktop simulator is any good at the real use of ailerons, rudder and elevator

The biggest problem is the lack of "feel" with a sim. ANY sim, unless you can afford a full motion job, and not many can. You don't get that "seat of the pants" feeling. Having said that, you can't always trust that feeling. How many Class A mishaps have been caused by someone saying "All those instruments are obviously mistaken, my body tells me I'm straight and level, not banked over at 55° and descending like a stone!". At the very least, a sim can help teach reliance on instruments in IFR conditions, rather than your butt. Good scan patterns as well. If you get into those two patterns, rather than your inner ear for what the plane's doing, well, isn't that a good thing? Especially in IFR.

I am far from an Instructor Pilot. Heck, I haven't even sat in a plane in 30 years. This stuff just seems logical to me. For what all that's worth.

Heck, if nothing else, a sim is great relaxation in the evening, decompressing after a long day of getting flight instruction and experience pumped into your head. Better than going to a bar and sucking down marguerita's by the quart. And no hangover :)

Just my pitiful little opinions...

Pat☺

 

 

 

 

Heck, if nothing else, a sim is great relaxation in the evening, decompressing after a long day of getting flight instruction and experience pumped into your head. Better than going to a bar and sucking down marguerita's by the quart. And no hangover :)

 

Just my pitiful little opinions...

Pat☺

I'm more than happy to suck down tee martoonies while flying in FSX! And with a beer chaser;) What's a hangover??

Wow, thanks for all of the great info guys! I can tell I'm on the right track.

I understand that you can't log sim time. It's really just for practice, and goofing around, but I would like it to be as realistic as possible to gain as much practice as I can.

I'll keep you updated as I continue this journey.

JH

What's a hangover??

Heck, I'm such a lightweight, I take two sips of Lite Beer, and I am plastered, and my head feels horrible the next day. :D

JH: I wish you the very best of good fortune as you take this journey. It's a never-ending quest to get better at flying, day after day :) No pilot ever fels he, or she, is as good as they should be.

Above all, have fun!

Pat☺

Wow, thanks for all of the great info guys! I can tell I'm on the right track.

 

I understand that you can't log sim time. It's really just for practice, and goofing around, but I would like it to be as realistic as possible to gain as much practice as I can.

 

I'll keep you updated as I continue this journey.

 

JH

I wasn't sure if that was your goal. I know some flight schools use it for bad wx days and for students who still can't understand basic navigation concepts after a few attempts. Also cheaper and Eco-friendly to fly a desk than burn avgas. However, you're swallowing lots of money for a cockpit setup to have that function to log it.

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I wasn't sure if that was your goal. I know some flight schools use it for bad wx days and for students who still can't understand basic navigation concepts after a few attempts. Also cheaper and Eco-friendly to fly a desk than burn avgas. However, you're swallowing lots of money for a cockpit setup to have that function to log it.

 

 

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One can easily save that money EVEN ON A DESKTOP, taking to the air already fully-conversant in the workings of the nav and comms devices on the aircraft, physical locations of switches, flow patterns and procedures. Time in the aircraft is very, very pricey (In the UK hourly rates start when you start the aircraft, save 10 mins on the preflight and setup and every six hours that's another hour for actual flying paid for). Instructors note those trained that way spend less time internally looking for locations and switches, more time `eyes out` for traffic, VRP's and ground features for nav reinforcement. That's a simple safety benefit - as well as time saved when it doesn't need be taught.

Developing a competent instrument scan can take some folks hours when it's buried among the overload of tasks.

At £199 /hr for a 172, it doesn't take long before you cover the cost of that desktop. Especially if its the hours you don't need to fly to develop that competency. And it's not just in the air - ground school exams are expensive to re-take if you stuff 'em up the first time!