Evolving from the original Link models dating back to pre-World War II days, today's flight training devices and simulators (the term simulator means a flight training device with at least three axes of motion and a night visual display) are invaluable teaching tools for basic instrument flying and the more demanding instrument flying required for instrument-rating candidates.
Simulators and less sophisticated flight training devices (FTDs) are best used as a tool to improve pilot proficiency, and any use of a simulator or FTD will help to hone and sharpen your instrument flying skills. Only recently has the FAA authorized the use of PCFTDs under the guidance of a flight instructor to log some of the instruction required for the instrument rating.
You may find yourself flying a simulator or FTD as you work on your instrument rating, and later you may fly one as part of the job interview for a corporate flight department or airline. Once you get that pilot position, your future will include initial training in a simulator followed by an annual proficiency check as a first officer and proficiency checkrides every six months as a captain. So, now that we're strapped in and ready to "fly," let's take a look at some of the tricks of the trade that can help you to garner the most out of your simulator or FTD training.
When flying a simulator or FTD, you must give your mind permission to accept all that is happening as real; otherwise the most you will get from the exercise is practice conducting procedures. That's something you can do almost anywhere just by sitting in a comfy chair and visualizing the procedure - another time-honored form of simulated training. You might be surprised by how useful it is to fly an ILS approach in your imagination as you sit in your favorite easy chair.
A good rule of thumb is to avoid doing anything in a simulator that you wouldn't do in an airplane. Once you have properly adjusted the seat, organize your instrument approach plates in front of you and have a pen and pad of paper ready on your knee or yoke clip to write down weather and clearances. Do everything that you would normally do during a cockpit preflight check. Communicate with ramp personnel, clearance delivery, tower, and departure controllers (this should be the voice of your instructor).
Relax. Simulators are, in a word, sensitive. The positive side of this is that if you can fly the simulator or FTD with precision, then you can be assured that your flying of the aircraft will be just as precise if not better.
While maneuvering the simulator and flying approaches, set limitations. Limit your bank to 15 degrees (unless the maneuver requires more, such as a 45-degree bank steep turn demonstration). Limit your pitch to 10 degrees for climbs and descents. Limit your vertical speed to plus or minus 1,000 feet per minute. Limit your airspeed to your simulated aircraft's maneuvering speed (VA). Fly at 1.3 VSO, especially on the final approach segment.
Make small control inputs and small corrections. When flying an ILS approach to minimums, resist the temptation to use large aileron inputs for heading corrections. Small heading adjustments should be made using the rudder only as this will help you to stay locked on the localizer course. Do not accept large excursions in altitude, heading, or bank. Take these learned skills with you to the airplane next. You'll be very pleased with your increased precision when flying.
Remember that instrument flying is, by its very nature, precise and is more of a mental flying task than anything else. Continually ask yourself, "Did I miss anything?" This is especially important during those brief idle moments during the approach when you are nicely established on a segment. Always accomplish your checklist items with precision as well.
The more emergency situations that you can add to your simulator sessions, the better. Have your instructor simulate a carburetor icing condition, an airframe icing encounter, an electrical abnormality, loss of communications, engine failure, or a vacuum pump failure. These are definitely situations you want to experience in a simulator or FTD first.
Now comes the question as to the value of these devices. This is where your own approach to the training becomes critical. Simulators are very valuable to pilots because of the numerous emergency tasks that just cannot be performed in an airplane. For instance, you can simulate a total electrical failure while in IMC conditions, or an engine failure and restart while on an approach. You just cannot practice these scenarios in a real airplane, although it certainly can happen out there and has. But when comparing a simulator or FTD to an airplane, there really is nothing like the real thing when it comes to feeling aerodynamic forces on the flight controls and seeing real atmospheric phenomena, coupled with knowing that it is not possible to "freeze" the airplane in the air, as you can do in a simulator if things go wrong.
Logging time in a simulator or FTD should be a supplement, not a substitute for real airplane time. Log both simulator and aircraft time with your instructor, and then practice at home on your computer. (You cannot log the time at home.) The hours you spend in the land of simulator make-believe could be among the most valuable in your logbook. I know you'll agree after you have skillfully worked your way through an emergency in the real thing.
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