The Virtual Blue Yonder

Whether you're a student pilot, a serious instrument student seeking FAA certification to fly in the clouds, an occasional instrument pilot focused on maintaining your hard-won IFR skills, or a seasoned instrument pro, a flight simulator could save you a lot of money, time, trouble, and grief.

But you've got to take care in choosing and using the one that best suits your individual needs. Don't plan on doing that overnight. It takes some research and thought.

Personal computers have revolutionized the way Americans work and play today. As a society, we depend on them for everything from our paychecks, business organization, financial management, communication, and primary access to what's going on in the world. For many people, computers have become indispensable.

More and more pilots are also using PC-based simulator programs to save money (an airplane with an instrument instructor typically costs $100 an hour or more), learn IFR procedures, maintain proficiency on the gauges between instrument flights, and familiarize themselves with unfamiliar approaches before the next IFR cross-country. There are lots of other uses as well.

If you're serious about instrument flying but haven't yet jumped into the desktop PC simulator scene, here's a plan to help you do it. The right desktop PC, properly equipped, will help you to learn and maintain your instrument skills while saving you big bucks. We won't tell you which flight simulator to buy, but we will show you how to determine the one that best fits your needs.

Here's The Plan

Every serious project needs a plan, and picking the right desktop flight simulator is definitely a serious project. Nothing is more frustrating than buying a flight simulator that doesn't work on your PC - and that's not hard to do. Hardware requirements for each flight simulator software package are different. A little up-front research and some decisions about what will best satisfy your requirements can save you a lot of headaches.

So develop a plan to determine what you need, try out your ideas, and only then jump in to buy what you selected. An organized approach will pay dividends.

This checklist will guide you through the process. Check off each item as you complete it.

• First of all, resist that impulse to go out and buy something right now! Just say "No" until you complete your evaluation.
• Decide what you really want to do with your new "flying desktop." This is a key step that influences everything to follow. What applications are most important to you? How and for what purpose(s) do you want to use your computer? Be sure to check out the federal aviation regulations (FARs) to ensure that what you have in mind is legal, too. Remember that you can log time only if using an appropriately FAA-certified simulator and an instructor accompanies you - but when any program is used properly, your skills will benefit even if you can't log the time.
• Translate goals and objectives into specific features and capabilities that your chosen package must (or should) have. What do you specifically have to be able to do with your computer? Which bells and whistles are absolutely necessary?
• Study various aviation software vendors' product descriptions on both their Web sites and product packages in computer stores to decide which ones appear to best provide the features you really need and want. Question salespeople and others. But don't worry. There are only a few suitable products and vendors. They're listed in this article.
• Do your homework to clearly identify each manufacturer's list of minimum and recommended hardware requirements for the software that appears to offer you what you need. Seriously consider having the recommended hardware - and not simply the minimum.
• Evaluate your computer's ability to support the requirements specified in the software you have tentatively chosen. This is one of the most important steps in your plan. It's easier to do than it may seem at first, with a little help. Demonstration versions of some packages can be down- loaded so you can try before you buy.
• Determine your future computer plans. What's the next generation of the product you want to buy? What other kinds of computing might be in your own future? This kind of thinking might lead you to get another computer - now - or at least plan now for future memory and capability upgrades.
• Once you've done the required homework - and only then - go and buy what you need.

Let's elaborate on the plan.

Resist The Impulse

The promise of having your own magic machine right there on the desktop is almost irresistible, isn't it? But resist the impulse! The latest, most popular, and best-rated product just might not suit your particular needs. The trick is to delay picking an instrument training or proficiency package until you've rationally decided what you really need and also understand what will work best on your computer and allow you to do what you want to do.

Talk to other pilots, instructors, friends, and students to get a feel for their preferences - and why.

If you want to fly instrument approaches at home instead of in the airplane to satisfy recency of experience requirements for FAR 61.57(c) currency, forget it. That can't be done at home without spending considerable bucks. It takes at least an "approved" flight training device (FTD). That and other pertinent info will all become clear in your research, but the illustration points out one of the myths about desktop PC flight simulation.

Why Even Have A Flight Simulator?

What do you want to do with your desktop flight software, anyway? That's a key question. Do you want to play games? Be in the cockpit of an F-22 closing in supersonic on the bad guys? Experience the thrill of shooting down the Red Baron in his Fokker triplane? Get some VFR practice flying through valleys and over lakes? That's purely up to you.

If, on the other hand, your goals are to maintain a solid instrument crosscheck and keep your instrument procedures sharp, that's quite a different set of objectives. Having your own "package" where it's easy to practice is of great benefit. But what do you want to do? Do you want to learn to hold and fly approaches in a 15-knot crosswind? Offset training costs in an approved training course by substituting instrument trainer time at home for actual in the airplane training? Maybe even more?

We all have aims and goals. Clearly define yours, carefully review the regs and advisory circulars, translate them into actual requirements, and carefully check out various products before you buy anything.

What Features Do You Think You Need - Or Want?

With a clear purpose in mind and a little research, you can use the following list to zero in on various product features and group them in terms of "Must have," "Nice to have," and "Don't need" - determined strictly by the uses and criteria you developed above.

Once that's done, rank your preferences in order, from most important to least important.

• Specific aircraft offerings (models, types, cockpits, controls, options, etc.)
• Accuracy, availability, and "real world" comparability of IFR databases and frequencies
• Ability to edit, tailor, update, or modify the IFR database
• Availability/changeability of various instruments/radios on the panel
• Availability of generic vs. specific GPS units on the panel
• Ability to play back/print out aircraft track, heading, airspeed, control positions, and other performance parameters
• VFR mapping capability
• Update capability of various features, components, and databases
• IFR mapping capability
• Outside-the-cockpit graphic realism and fidelity
• Inside-the-cockpit instrument/ panel realism and fidelity
• Price
• Aircraft performance and control response
• Hardware compatibility to run both basic and advanced options
• Flight control feel and fidelity
• Built-in instrument approach chart capability
• Multiengine options (with single-engine performance and fidelity)
• Built-in IFR lesson offerings
• "Instructor's station" capability (providing a separate means of monitoring, simulating emergencies, etc.)
• Ability to vary weather conditions
• Ability to randomly or specifically fail various systems, components, and instruments
• Comprehensive (national, international) databases and IFR approaches
• Availability of a downloadable demo
• Unique software or hardware restrictions that limit use/options
• Overall cockpit realism and feel
• FAA certification as a personal computer-based aviation training device (PCATD)
• Other factors of importance to you

Depending on your personal objectives, some of these features will vary in importance from extreme to insignificant. Be brutally frank about what you need. Only you can make the final choice, but talk to your instructor and others who actually use the products you have in mind. Outside opinions can help.

If your aim is to use the simulator for serious IFR practice and cross-country preparation, checking out terrain features at distant airports, and practicing real instrument approaches, you need cockpit instrumentation and complete, current, accurate instrument approach data and other specific features. So select a simulator package that maximizes those features.

When you've ranked all the options, recheck your list of required features according to their importance to you. Only then you can seriously investigate who really offers what you need.

Who Offers What I Need?

Technically, the term flight simulator officially applies only to those multi-million-dollar, top-of-the-line professional devices with full-motion and elaborate response, handling characteristics, and instrumentation. We're talking here about Boeing- and Airbus-type boxes in which an airline captain can officially "certify" without ever even landing the actual airplane.

Then come flight training devices (FTDs) that are built to look and feel very similar to real cockpits, but which have no motion. Actual cockpit instruments, controls, and similar devices are incorporated. FTDs are typically used in flight schools and other formally certificated courses of instruction. The FTD price tag can run from $80,000 to over $1 million. Just a few short years ago, one popular flight school FTD sold for $150,000. Elite now offers a professional computer-based alternative for less than $17,000.

Next on the ladder of FAA approval come personal computer-based aviation training devices (PCATDs), described in FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 61-126. They typically cost from $3,000 to $20,000. In contrast to FTDs, PCATDs cannot be used for logging instrument currency requirements (six months, six approaches, etc.). Most of us still have to do that in the airplane.

The popular and useful "little cousin" derivatives of PCATDs are what most of us generically call simulators. They provide the kind of inexpensive but reliable computer software you and I need for instrument training and proficiency. Although few pilots need a full-blown PCATD, AC 61-126 lists the kinds of capabilities you should look for.

Don't worry about getting bogged down in a lot of technical mumbo jumbo here - relatively few vendors offer what you want. ASA, Elite, and Jeppesen Sanderson are the principal manufacturers of the PCATD simulator software most used by accredited and approved instrument flight schools. That same flight simulator software will probably run on your PC - but just doesn't use the additional hardware (mandatory rudder pedals, control yokes, throttle quadrants, approved syllabus and training plan, etc.) required to "legalize" them as PCATDs.

All of these manufacturers provide good documentation with their products, and technical assistance is available to users. Purchase price varies considerably.

Though Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition is not FAA-certified as an approved PCATD, it has some attractive features, including an instructor's station, a variety of aircraft already loaded as well as those available from third-party developers, and user-definable terrain modeling. If you're comfortable with the features of this popular product, this may be the right choice for you.

The only way to really get the data you need for an adequate evaluation is to investigate each product. Check out manufacturer Web sites, read frequently asked questions and brochures, talk to salespeople and other users, understand the features of each product - and clearly identify the minimum specifications, as specified by each vendor, that you must have.

Compare Specifications

Minimum requirements specified by flight simulator manufacturers are listed in the table that accompanies this article. Check them out (along with any updated specifications on the products' Web sites). They can vary considerably from package to package. Minimums are expressed in terms of processor speed (100-450 MHz), available hard disk storage space (20 MB-1.2 GB), amount of installed RAM (random access memory: 8 MB-64 MB, depending on operating system, software, etc.), video cards, sound cards and accelerators (some very specialized), computer screen resolution (800 by 600 vs. 1024 by 768) and a number of other factors like speakers, additional drives, downloadable additional software, and other items.

Detail is very important, and some specific requirements for various products could be "showstoppers" for you, depending on what they are. You're probably in good shape on most things if you have a near-new PC, but check them all out - every word - and list exactly what your chosen software package requires, because that's exactly what the term minimum requirements means.

Also, keep in mind that the minimum requirements will allow you to run the software, but possibly at a slower loading rate, which can be frustrating if you're looking for simulation fidelity and realism. A simpler package for which your system meets recommended levels may be the better choice.

Now, Can I Run It?

Now comes one of your most important tasks, but one that's pretty easy to do once you've identified your manufacturer's minimum requirements. With this list of those requirements in hand, ask your computer manufacturer (by providing the model and serial number of your computer) to see if your box contains the bells and whistles required to actually run the software you need. There's probably a toll-free number you can use or you could refer to the Web site for contact information.

Even computers within the same model series can vary considerably, so your serial number is needed or the manufacturer can't help you.

Another option - and one you might prefer - is to locate a reputable local computer repair shop and ask the people there. Check with them by phone before you go in. Any reputable computer shop (large-volume dealers excepted) will probably be happy to open up your computer and tell you - for free - whether the components of your computer match or exceed the specifications your software manufacturer requires to adequately run the package you've selected. If not, modifications are probably possible.

Then get the software you need (or have your computer modified to run it), study the documentation, learn to use the product, ask questions, tailor the sub-programs to suit your needs, practice, and enjoy your purchase.

What's Next?

Before you buy, consider your future computing needs. If a new computer is definitely in the cards, consider upgrading now instead of later for the increased capability a new machine might offer. In the long run this could save you money as well as give you more capability.

Personal computing, for a pilot, has the potential for considerable cost savings, increased proficiency, and just plain fun. If you approach it thoughtfully and do your homework, the benefits can be great.