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Looking for ideas for simulator training school


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Hi everyone,

 

I am setting up a purely flight simulator based training school to facilitate a real world experience to budding pilots and aviation engineers Air Traffic Controllers etc. I am building a cockpit with image projection on a screen and that will have cockpit panels and controls. Of course the software will be X-Plane 11.

 

I am looking for ideas on the following:

 

1. Various course durations (like ranging from 2 hours to 3 months or more)

 

2. What could be the content/ syllabus for these?

3. How could I use the simulator to make these courses fun and practical?

 

I have tried some of the virtual flight instructor programs that come as add-ins of X-Plane but didn’t find them up to the mark.

 

I look forward to ideas from you all.

 

Thanks.

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It is not entirely clear from your original post whether you want this to be a school for training (or, in the case of PC based flight simulation like this site supports, augmentation of training) for real world students, or a school to train people to use PC based flight simulation. If the latter, the sky is the limit, but in the case of the former goal you will run up against many regulatory hurdles,

 

First of all, where do you live? In the USA this all comes under the authority (and some would say the thumb) of the FAA. Other countries have their own regulatory agencies, but it is safe to say that there has been very little movement, even recently, in the direction of large integration of PC based flight simulation into real world pilot training. In the USA, Redbird, the makers of a line of FAA certified training devices (which is what devices at this level are officially called) had done some work in that direction, on something of an experimental basis, using their own product line. Apparently without much success. Many flight schools now have Redbird trainers, but are quite limited in how they can use them, and for what (at least officially, in the sense that using them can satisfy one or another regulatory experience requirement). The purpose of all of this was to move toward an environment in which low cost (at least relatively speaking) trainers could be used for far more in a Private Pilot program than they are now allowed to be used.

 

Nothing that you could do with a sim powered by XPlane (or P3D for that matter) can be much more than a small adjunct to an aviation training operation. Of course, you could do whatever you wanted in terms of setting up some sort of "flight experience" attraction (look up Dream Aero in the Washington DC area as an example, and a good one at that!). But none of it would be acceptable to the FAA as part of the required experience for any license or rating. For that you need certified hardware and software (Redbird, Frasca, etc) and licensed instructors (FAA CFI or FAA Ground Instructor).

 

If you want to set up this "flight experience" operation, check out the flight training syllabus of any major training material supplier - Sporty's, Jeppesen, and the like. That will give you an idea of how the industry is structured in terms of what they teach. They all have to teach the test...

 

By the way, if you are going to charge money for any of this, you will need the Pro version of XPlane, which is a hefty bit more than the entertainment version costs!

Edited by avallillo
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I'm no expert but do you have any FS9 or FSX sims installed, if so look on their flight school ones, they may provide you with a few ideas as well.

 

Col.

 

 

Thanks. I am using/planning to use X-plane 11. I have tried a couple of virtual tutors, but didn't quite like them

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Hi Avallillo,

 

thanks very much for the wonderful response to my initial post. I am placing below answers to your questions

It is not entirely clear from your original post whether you want this to be a school for training (or, in the case of PC based flight simulation like this site supports, augmentation of training) for real world students, or a school to train people to use PC based flight simulation. If the latter, the sky is the limit, but in the case of the former goal you will run up against many regulatory hurdles,

 

Yes i am firstly think of the latter, that is, "a school to train people to use PC based flight simulation.". Though at a later stage i will for sure try to get the simulator(s) certified/approved for student pilots>

 

First of all, where do you live? In the USA this all comes under the authority (and some would say the thumb) of the FAA. Other countries have their own regulatory agencies, but it is safe to say that there has been very little movement, even recently, in the direction of large integration of PC based flight simulation into real world pilot training.

 

 

In the USA, Redbird, the makers of a line of FAA certified training devices (which is what devices at this level are officially called) had done some work in that direction, on something of an experimental basis, using their own product line. Apparently without much success. Many flight schools now have Redbird trainers, but are quite limited in how they can use them, and for what (at least officially, in the sense that using them can satisfy one or another regulatory experience requirement). The purpose of all of this was to move toward an environment in which low cost (at least relatively speaking) trainers could be used for far more in a Private Pilot program than they are now allowed to be used.

 

Nothing that you could do with a sim powered by XPlane (or P3D for that matter) can be much more than a small adjunct to an aviation training operation. Of course, you could do whatever you wanted in terms of setting up some sort of "flight experience" attraction (look up Dream Aero in the Washington DC area as an example, and a good one at that!). But none of it would be acceptable to the FAA as part of the required experience for any license or rating. For that you need certified hardware and software (Redbird, Frasca, etc) and licensed instructors (FAA CFI or FAA Ground Instructor).

 

If you want to set up this "flight experience" operation, check out the flight training syllabus of any major training material supplier - Sporty's, Jeppesen, and the like. That will give you an idea of how the industry is structured in terms of what they teach. They all have to teach the test...

 

Thanks, I am checking these names

 

By the way, if you are going to charge money for any of this, you will need the Pro version of XPlane, which is a hefty bit more than the entertainment version costs!

 

Yes I am aware of this, for sure will be going for the commercial license of XPlane

 

Also any ideas what i can include (like exposure to navigation, communication with ATC, etc. to make this a real world experience for both, college kids as well as for others?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Everyone,

 

Thanks so much for your responses. I am sorry, i got delayed in responding to you all.

 

As you all experts know that there are so many add ons with X-plane, Based on those i look forward to ideas from you as to how i can tweak Xplane, that it becomes a good learning experience for the guys who don't have much idea about the aviation world.

 

I am getting a home cockpit kind of simulator built with 2 projectors projecting on a large external screen. I also have in mind to setup separate PC consoles to also simulate an actual Air Traffic control. I am roughly planning to keep training sessions like an hour, half a day, full day, 2 day a month (about 40 hours per month) and a 3 month training sessions.

 

I also looked for some automated flying instructors, but all that i find don't really track and advice if the student pilot goes wrong. The basic ones in MSFS2020 do really a good job of it, but they are inadequate and obviously i need something like that for X-plane.

 

Looking forward for ideas from all of you, thanks very much for the same.

 

Regards

 

Ajey

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  • 1 year later...

You are trying to force the simulator beyond its intended use, which is for home use. Maybe the PRO version would better satisfy your expectations. 

If you are a licensed pilot with over 500 hrs. you could try being a guide for virtual pilots but, in that case, I would strongly recommend MSFS.

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