Simmers in simulators :D

[Efe Cem Elci]

This past week a company in Istanbul (Turkiye) that operates an A320 and a B737 Level D certified simulator opened their doors to flight simulation enthusiasts through discounted pricing. Not as low as we would like but the hourly rate is €315 (appr. USD $460 or £250) which comes out to €157.5 (appr. USD $230 or £125) per pilot per hour.

So the other day the first 'pilot' duo from our VA went to check out the simulator and give it a go. These were two seasoned individuals that don't have a 'pit but have had there share of virtual flight experience so suffice to say they didn't stick out like a sore thumb in the cockpit of the simulator. They were able to get in a couple of take-offs and landings (I think one of each per pilot) before time ran out.

I just watched the second (shorter) video they made and it ends with the puzzled technician, who is the company employee that stays with the simulator and puts in the required data for the conditions, asking them

"Aren't you real pilots?" :D :D :D

Just thought I'd share that tidbit for a laugh.

[Michael Carter]

That's a great story. I'd like to find an operating level-D 727 sim somewhere near me.

[Efe Cem Elci]

That's a great story. I'd like to find an operating level-D 727 sim somewhere near me.

:( Well, if you are ever on this side of the pond and I'm back home give me a buzz and I'll take you to one.

[Matt Olieman]

:( Well, if you are ever on this side of the pond and I'm back home give me a buzz and I'll take you to one.

There goes Mike.... swimming the pond :p:p LOL

Matt Olieman

[DarrenBe]

Great story.

Over here in the UK the Royal Air Force, at one of the bases, allow a small number of enthusiasts to spend approximately 30 minutes in a Tornado F3 sim for around £80 (its usually offered as part of an airshow package - so only happens once a year).

The great thing about it, is you fly the sim solo - the instructors are through in the control room. I had my third trip a few weeks back and after finishing the sortie, one of the instructors had difficulty believing that I was not a qualified pilot. The comment was on how polished and professional the sortie went.

This sortie consisted of a normal departure from the airfield, transit to a nearby civil airport, do a talkdown approach culminating in a 'roller' aka 'touch & go', do some formation flying with other aircraft (fighters and a tanker), head back to the start airfield, conduct another talkdown approach, touch and go into a visual circuit to land.

To be fair, anyone with a decent amount of pc sim time can fly these things - obviously for those with zero real flight experience it can take a few moments to get used to the control forces.

Couple of pics from a previous trip back in 2006
Simulator cockpit
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/DarrenBe/F3%20Simulator/F3Sim_01.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/DarrenBe/F3%20Simulator/F3Sim_02.jpg

Control Room/Instructors consoles.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/DarrenBe/F3%20Simulator/F3Sim_04.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/DarrenBe/F3%20Simulator/F3Sim_03.jpg

[luk737]

Great.=)
I had the experience of a couple of reall 747 400 training sessions here at lufthansa (good family friend is a senior captain and sim check ride instructor). Amazing to see the realisim our sims can provide.Playing a little with the pmdg 747. i could do a full startup and shut down. i did full on approach and touch and go along with a STAR to return to base. He asked if he should do the throttle. to that i replied NEGATIVE.. anyone who has a chance to feel the full force go for it. its worth it and more. happy flying

luk737

[Efe Cem Elci]

Yeah for us and other who are more into the realism and have home 'pits and use systems like PM its not too hard to adjust but for those who are more in the direction of desktop flyers it definitely can be overwhelming at first. Especially a cold start, if you don't know where things are you are probably going to spend most of your time (and money) trying to locate switches and buttons.

[warvet]

Well speaking of sims guys today I just took a flight in a brand new CAE sim for a DA20 this afternoon in their Mall simulator centre, with full CAE 200 degree screen it was SWEEEEEEEEEET!
This airplane is a dream to fly. Cost me about $60 but well worth it. The instructor was pretty impressed how well I seem to fly it, seeing as I never flew any aircraft even close to that style even though I am a real world pilot. The G1000 Glass G/A cockpit was insane. Overall it was a beautifully handling aircraft and after seeing their setup i know how to duplicate their results :)
Heres a couple pics and their website. www.sealandair.ca


Tim

[Tomlin]

Great stories guys!

A few years ago when I still worked at NAS JAX, I met a guy who worked where the C40's are kept (the Navy 737NGs) and so eventually he got me about 30 minutes in the 'deck of one. While sitting there he started up the APU so he could turn all the avionics on and have it all lit up for me. The guy was blown away when I sat in the Left seat and went thru the Start up sequence from memory. I then explained that I learned it all from a little package known as the PMDG 737NG !

Needless to say, he was a bit impressed!

The icing on the cake was when he allowed me to fiddle with the CDU and I programmed in the field info and brought up a flight plan!

[BlackWidow]

Those are some really cool stories. I would love to hear more so if anyone else has any please tell us. Awsome

[WJH308]

That's a great story. I'd like to find an operating level-D 727 sim somewhere near me.

Come down to Miami, there should be a few on 36th NW street just north of the Airport. Think Alteon has one, and theres another right next door next to Curtis Ave that has some classic level C and D sims(dc10, 747, etc)
Theres also Pan Am, and Airbus. Alteon is owned by Boeing.
I flew the Level C and D 757 sims at Alteon, time of my life.

[Michael Carter]

If they have one, they're not advertising it any longer.

I guess Fed-Ex and UPS train at another facility. Unless they have their own.

[Efe Cem Elci]

It seems I will be flying at the Swiss Aviation Training A340 simulator at Zurich Kloten on the 8th of November. Thanks to the organization of ILS, approximately 33 pilots will be part of this experience for an hour each (actually an hour per group of two pilots) for the bargain price of 200 CHF (around 170 USD).

Quite a good chance compared to their usual prices:

Airbus A330/340 Simulator
1 Hour 1.5 Hours 2 Hours
1 200,- 1 650,- 2 100,-
All prices are in CHF


Some photos of the simulator:

http://www.ils-online.ch/events/rueckblick/sima330/6654.jpg

http://www.ils-online.ch/events/rueckblick/sima330/6692.jpg

http://www.ils-online.ch/events/rueckblick/sima330/9.jpg

http://www.ils-online.ch/events/rueckblick/sima330/8.jpg

http://www.ils-online.ch/events/rueckblick/sima330/6708.jpg

http://www.ils-online.ch/events/rueckblick/sima330/17.jpg

[Tomlin]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing the pics.