I agree. Flight sims did not teach me how to fly. But they DID teach me
about maintaining a sensitive touch and how powerful small adjustments can
be. The first time I got behind the wheel of a car with an instructor, he
was amazed at how smooth my control inputs were. I didn't swerve while
alternately jamming on the gas and brakes. He asked "are you SURE you've
never driven a car before?" While I certainly wasn't perfect, I credit
flight sims with giving me that smooth touch.

In addition, flying different aircraft in MS Flight Simulator had me
constantly trying different sensitivities so that I didn't get locked into
believing that "when I push the joystick this much, I will bank this much."
Instead, I would learn to adapt to each aircraft and see that there was no
single way of flying the sim. When I first took the controls of a real 152
in February, it was the same basic idea. This was a new set of controls, and
I'd have to explore them.

Now, I'm not sure if I can give the following credit to FS or not, but I
seem to have a good sense of direction these days. I always seem to know
which way I'm heading and where things are in relation to me. My instructor
has asked where we are at random points on x-c's, and I tell him. Maybe
that's just something built into my mind, or maybe it's the result of 6
years of flying above a virtual Los Angeles. Maybe it's a bit of both.

In summary: Flight sims taught me that before I could learn a vehicle's
controls, I would first have to explore them with a careful hand. A good
sense of direction may have been at least partly the result of the sims.


-Tony
Student Pilot
31.3 Hours




"Jay Honeck" wrote
Another point of view:

I learned to fly ten years ago in 1994. I started "flying" sims in the
mid-80s, when they were little more than wire-frame depictions of flight.
(Anyone remember Atari STs?) By the time I could afford real flight
lessons,
I had a zillion hours of sim time.

At least partially as a result, I took to flying immediately, and soloed
with just 6.4 hours in my logbook.

Quite frankly, I'd be willing to bet that my time riding motorcycles was
just as helpful in learning to fly (the physics of riding and flying are
nearly identical) -- but my instructor (who, by the way, was an older
gentleman and quite the technophobe. He believed that computers were evil
devices from Day One.) figured that all my sim time really helped --
especially in the early stages of flight instruction.

Your mileage may vary, of course.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"