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Can Microsoft Flight Simulator's 2020 reboot solve the pilot shortage?


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Agreed. Airlines around the world are shooting themselves in the foot with "pay-to-fly" recruitment of trainee pilots, which they introduced when the previously plentiful supply of experienced ex-military pilots all but dried up. Students leaving University with hefty loans these days aren't looking for further massive debt to join an industry which can no longer guarantee the returns it used to - airlines around the world are going bust every other week it seems.

Tim Wright "The older I get, the better I was..."

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Can Microsoft Flight Simulator's 2020 reboot solve the pilot shortage?

 

Of course not. It may help, to a limited degree, in interesting some young folks in aviation, and it may help, to some degree, to let non-pilots learn about aviation and, particularly, about flying an airplane and operating some systems. It also will, as have those versions before it, provide a way for pilots, new and old, to get some practice in various kinds of procedures (instrument, VOR, NDB and more).

 

But it won't teach a lot of what even a Private Pilot needs to know, it won't even come close to preparing a person for any flight test, or even a written test, for any certificate or rating. It won't do that even with a CFI on hand all the time, though that would add benefit to FS use, but that's just as true of previous versions (X-Plane too).

 

Of course it won't address what Dave mentioned at all, and most other problems it'll be of very limited assistance. However, it might help some folks to maintain their interest in flying, so that's a plus.

 

Larry N.

As Skylab would say:

Remember: Aviation is NOT an exact Science!

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  • 9 months later...

But what would be the cause of a (future) pilot shortage?

 

Not enough people interested in a flying career at all?

A flightsimulator game can help spark people's interest and keep the fire burning.

 

Or not enough enough people interested in a flying career as envisioned by the airlines?

(pay for your own initial training, pay for your first job, all work and no pay)

It seems that they are relying on pilots being so passionate about flying that they will even pay for a chance to do it.

Again, a flight simulator game can get people interested but I'm not sure if it can get people that interested that they will accept such bad deals.

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From CNN:

 

Can Microsoft Flight Simulator's 2020 reboot solve the pilot shortage?

 

I don't think a new flightsim will address the life-crippling debt from expensive pilot training, the low starting pay, or terrible working hours of new pilots.

 

But a good read.

 

 

It probably will for career pilots might decrease the amount of hobby pilots..no reason to fly in the real world anymore unless you actually have to get somewhere. Why take the inherent risk, cost etc for just a hobby when you can fly online. I enjoy flying in the sim but have zero interest in getting a pilots licence. Can't wait to fly around in MSFS 2020!

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But what would be the cause of a (future) pilot shortage?

 

Money? I remember reading Patrick Smith (of Ask The Pilot fame) who asserted after paying the crippling fees to train for and acquire a commercial pilot licence, F/O jobs at a regional carrier paid less than driving a truck or bus.

 

Also it still remains to be seen how Covid 19 will reshape the future of passenger aviation. I certainly have no desire currently to get on a plane and jet off somewhere for a holiday - 5 hours in a hermetically sealed aluminium tube wearing a face mask and touching surfaces which could be contaminated by an asymptomatic fellow traveller. Oh plus the ever present risk of finding yourself subject to quarantine on return - not such a biggie if retired like me but certainly a logistical problem if you come home to an empty pantry and fridge then not allowed out to the supermarket.

 

I digress, the point being there are likely to be fewer commercial flights overall as we go forward beyond Covid, certainly for a few years until confidence improves and/or the disease is totally eradicated.

Vern.
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I digress, the point being there are likely to be fewer commercial flights overall as we go forward beyond Covid, certainly for a few years until confidence improves and/or the disease is totally eradicated.

 

Exactly Vern, and we're seeing this already with some of the major airlines starting to convert a few of their passenger planes to cargo planes: https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/current-generation-aircraft-ready-for-cargo-conversions/138863.article

Tim Wright "The older I get, the better I was..."

Xbox Series X, Asus Prime H510M-K, Intel Core i5-11400F 4.40GHz, 16Gb DDR4 3200, 2TB WD Black NVME SSD, 1TB Samsung SATA SSD

NVidia RTX3060 Ti 8Gb, Logitech Flight Yoke System, CH Pro Pedals, Acer K272HL 27", Windows 11 Home x64

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But what would be the cause of a (future) pilot shortage?

 

Not enough people interested in a flying career at all?

A flightsimulator game can help spark people's interest and keep the fire burning.

 

Or not enough enough people interested in a flying career as envisioned by the airlines?

(pay for your own initial training, pay for your first job, all work and no pay)

It seems that they are relying on pilots being so passionate about flying that they will even pay for a chance to do it.

Again, a flight simulator game can get people interested but I'm not sure if it can get people that interested that they will accept such bad deals.

 

I've been keen on flight sim for many years.

Other than sample flights, I've no interest, nor desire, to fly commercially...

I settled for IFR and I have no desire to fly jets for money. And I have P3Dv5HF2.

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I've been keen on flight sim for many years.

Other than sample flights, I've no interest, nor desire, to fly commercially...

I settled for IFR and I have no desire to fly jets for money. And I have P3Dv5HF2.

Well, some may get interested -or confirm their interest- in flying and some might not.

 

Money? I remember reading Patrick Smith (of Ask The Pilot fame) who asserted after paying the crippling fees to train for and acquire a commercial pilot licence, F/O jobs at a regional carrier paid less than driving a truck or bus.

But appearantly they still get into this, going by the stories of people paying an employer for the opportunity to do a job.

Or is this coming to an end as prospective pilots are taking a more business like attitude?

I digress, the point being there are likely to be fewer commercial flights overall as we go forward beyond Covid, certainly for a few years until confidence improves and/or the disease is totally eradicated.

Then will there be a pilot shortage at all in the near future?

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Then will there be a pilot shortage at all in the near future?

 

Possibly, it will depend on what types are to be flown and how many pilots are current on those types, e.g. 777's, 737NG's and A330's.

Tim Wright "The older I get, the better I was..."

Xbox Series X, Asus Prime H510M-K, Intel Core i5-11400F 4.40GHz, 16Gb DDR4 3200, 2TB WD Black NVME SSD, 1TB Samsung SATA SSD

NVidia RTX3060 Ti 8Gb, Logitech Flight Yoke System, CH Pro Pedals, Acer K272HL 27", Windows 11 Home x64

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Unfortunately COVID-19 fixed the pilot shortage. I have a number of young commercial pilot friends. The youngest got signed on with Air Canada about 2 weeks before this pandemic hit. He was told that it will be 2-3 years before he will sit behind the flight deck. On the other side, I have a friend with top seniority who was flying the 787 Dreamliner regularly before COVID. He is now flying 1 or 2 times a month! Big changes in the airline industry! Edited by doering1
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