FS Academy - learning how to fly IFR Review

[LeonZitron]

Hi!

 

first let me state that I am by no means in relation to that company, I purchased the FS Academy IFR school a couple of week ago and would like to give you my impressions.

 

You'll find the add-on here https://www.fsacademy.co.uk/ifr

 

So, first what do you get? After downloading the package you will have 12 missions that appears in the Bush Trips. Those missions, or lessons as they are, will guide you through all the steps to perform the IFR flight. In order, you get

 

 

BASIC IFR

PARTIAL PANEL

VOR/NDB TRACKING - ANALOG

VOR/NDB TRACKING - GLASS COCKPIT

HOLDING PATTERNS

VOR APPROACH

APPROACH

ILS APPROACH

DEPARTURES

ENROUTE NAVIGATION

CIRCLING

IR CHECKRIDE

 

For your help you get one training manual, with explanations, charts, pictures that you have to study before the lesson. During the lesson you get your own private instructor explaining what to do and when to do it. All lessons are 10-15 minutes long, but you may need to take them 3-4 times to really get a grip of what is going on.

 

The concept is very interesting and much better than the short training to fly VFR. No need to say that a prerequisite to this add-on is that you must know how to fly VFR, how to handle your aircraft, trim it, fly level, bank etc. With that knowledge behind you and if you want to finally understand how to fly IFR and navigate, this is in my mind a so much better tool than all those videos on Youtube.

 

The package will cost 25 Euros, honestly I think it is worth every cent in it. The training is really effective and the feeling of being taught by someone who knows is just great. So much better than this overly exited American woman in the MSFS training. There are some few minus points to consider. The timing of the actions is a bit approximate, I guess this is depending on how the package is designed, and sometimes, the CFI will just disappear since you are lost. It would be so great if that could be corrected, giving even more realism to the training. The other thing I miss is trainings, other locations to train on the things that I have just learnt.

 

All in all, if you are looking for improving your sim skills, buy that add-on, you will definitely not regret it and look differently at you simulator, understanding how amazing it is.

[daspinall]

I'm brushing up on my skills after years away from the sim... after reading your review I may get this I have more time on my hands now to fly be the book ha, cheers.....

[Srock]

I'm brushing up on my skills after years away from the sim... after reading your review I may get this I have more time on my hands now to fly be the book ha, cheers.....

 

I purchased the IFR and enjoyed it so much that I purchased the VFR when it became available. Very useful even for skills that I thought I already had. The lessons let me do some tasks over and over until I get them right. For example timed turns etc, etc

 

Both recommended

[neilends]

Reviving this old thread to ask anyone: How do you load up these "missions" into MSFS? I am having trouble figuring how to do so. I've dropped a specific mission folder into the community folder like we normally do for other add-ons. Then what?

[tiger1962]

In LeonZitron's original post, paragraph 3:

 

"So, first what do you get? After downloading the package you will have 12 missions that appears in the Bush Trips."

[neilends]

In LeonZitron's original post, paragraph 3:

 

"So, first what do you get? After downloading the package you will have 12 missions that appears in the Bush Trips."

 

I did read it. They don't appear in the Bush Trips.

[tiger1962]

Sounds like it's not installed properly. Are there any install instructions in the readme file or manual?

[neilends]

Nope, there aren't, which prompted me to complain to the developer but they haven't responded. I appreciate your response though as it looks like I've done everything normally, and something abnormal is the problem. ;)

[tiger1962]

There's a support page with install instructions here: https://www.fsacademy.co.uk/support-ifr

[nsproles]

I purchased the VFR tutorial before purchasing the IFR. The VFR tutorials were challenging but I got through them and it improved my VFR flying considerably. I would recommend them to anyone wishing to improve their MSFS flying. I am up to the fourth lesson of the IFR and am finding it much more of a challenge. Not only must you keep the aircraft on heading and speed and altitude but you must absorb the lesson which does not always seem clear. It is a bit stressful in fact, probably like the real thing. I believe a copy of the instructor's script along with the manual would be useful as there does not seem to be enough time to follow one instruction, find the necessary knobs to twirl or press, and the next instruction. I am certainly repeating lessons much more than I needed to do with the VFR tutorial. I am also finding it necessary to search the web for clarification on some of the issues brought up in the tutorial and I am not sure that this is a good thing to have to do.