This is my last post on the subject.

I believe you grossly underestimate the capabilities of good cockpit simulators. Even the air combat, carrier landing, etc simulators of the 1970s far surpass the capabilities of a PC based system.

If you had flight experience the view from the cockpit flying one-on-one or two-on-one with pilots in adjoining simulators could even convince you that you were experiencing high Gs. Without flight experience the G suite inflations merely caused discomfort.

The same was true with a night carrier landing simulator. As the simulated weather deteriorated and the fuel state became critical your heart beat would increase, palms would sweat, etc. A non-pilot didn't relate the flight conditions with death; therefore, did not experience the same physiological symptoms; therefore, gaining little form the training other then a bit of hand/eye coordination. In fact in many cases it actually caused complacency instead of developing skill under stress.

This is why I consider a non-pilot in a simulator simply playing a game with only minor aviation training relevance.

Respectfully,

Wayne, USN Retired.


"Mxsmanic" wrote in message ...
Wayne Paul writes:

In my real life experiences the simulators were exact replicas of
the aircraft cockpit.

An exact replica would include pressure changes from altitude changes or
pressurization, and I rather doubt that the simulators you used had that
feature.

The point being, of course, that different simulators serve different
purposes. Each simulator is adapted to simulate whatever is relevant to its
purpose.

Some full-motion simulators have visuals that are worse than Microsoft Flight
Simulator, simply because visuals are not relevant to their purpose (which
often emphasizes instrument flight or procedures, not pilotage).

Its' purpose was to provide a platform for developing emergency procedures,
crew coordination, thus enhancing flight safety.

Then presumably it simulated aspects of the real aircraft relevant to these
purposes. How well did it simulate magnetic compass anomalies?

If "simmers' don't fly then a simulator is nothing more then an aviation
related toy with which they can play with while pretending to be pilots.

You're entitled to your opinion.

P.S. You use the term "aircraft" which in the U.S.A has a broader
definition then the term "airplane."

Yes, I know, thank you.