Sim

[toddnorrish]

Been out of the airplane for several years. Wondering if MS Flight Sim would be helpful in brushing up before spending a bunch of money on the real thing. If so, what A/C would be the most helpful, or realistic when comparing to regional flying, and should I get rid of my joy stick for yolk and rudder peddles?

[bike21]

I think it would help to brush up on instrument procedures. 'Fly' whatever you are familiar with and do lots of approaches with full procedures and picking up/tracking radials/NDBs etc. Brief and talk yourself through approaches and look through your charts to find approaches that would challenge you. Also find some obstacle DPs to mess around with to get back in the groove. I think a few hours of that would help get your instrument knowledge back up to speed before jumping back in a real bird.

Have fun and welcome back to the skies!

[Nihon_Ni]

The 2 things MSFS doesn't do well is stall and land. Actually, it lands well, but you have a hard time seeing the clues you need to land correctly. I can always tell when new students show up to an airplane after a lot of MSFS because they tend to land flat. Other than that, it's a really good simulator, especially for instrument work.

Welcome back!

[PatrickCPS]

For actual flying, I'd say "no." For instrument work, I'd say "absolutely yes." Fly whatever model you want to fly and are familiar with, use the autopilot and fly approaches, "talk" to ATC, etc.

It won't help you fly the plane, but it will help you work within the NAS system.

[imasaluki]

Originally Posted by toddnorrish

Been out of the airplane for several years. Wondering if MS Flight Sim would be helpful in brushing up before spending a bunch of money on the real thing. If so, what A/C would be the most helpful, or realistic when comparing to regional flying, and should I get rid of my joy stick for yolk and rudder peddles?

When you say "regional flying" do you mean the type of aircraft you would sim for a regional airline interview? If that's the case, the Baron would be a good choice. Dial the vis. and ceiling down, pop the IFR panel up and hash out those IFR procedures. MSFS is great for this kind of stuff. Happy simming and welcome back!