First time flying the RedBird sim...

Twin_Flyer

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Oct 14, 2010
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Hampton, VA
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Twin_Flyer
I was hanging out at the Flight school today and decided to give the sim a try. Omg, that thing is wild. No feeling so it was all about the gauges. I did some holding, a couple of Rnav approaches and an ILS. Of course the ILS ended up with a failed AI and HSI so it was a no gyro approach. Had me sweeting. Fun times... l learn to appreciate this tool and would recommend its use to anyone that wants a good workout.
 
Were you flying a twin in the simulator?
Our Redbird has the package for a Seneca II, which is close enough to the Aztec to make for some very useful procedures reviews. I try to book time on it in the dead of our winter when the weather is crap to stay current.
 
What does the Redbird use for physics? I flew a MSFS based sim today and the physics were totally bollixed. Everything had to be fixed 3 or 4 times before the inertia was out of the system.
 
What does the Redbird use for physics? I flew a MSFS based sim today and the physics were totally bollixed. Everything had to be fixed 3 or 4 times before the inertia was out of the system.

IIRC, it uses Lockheed’s Prepar3d which is an updated version of FSX. I’ve got 17 hours of Redbird FMX time (182 with the G1000 panel) during my IR training and found it challenging to fly mainly because I couldn’t ever get it in trim. So the moment my focus shifted to navigation, avionics/radios, a dropped pencil, etc, it was off to the races. Otherwise, for IFR work the physics model was just fine. It made flying the transition to the real plane a breeze plus it was half the rental cost.
 
What does the Redbird use for physics? I flew a MSFS based sim today and the physics were totally bollixed. Everything had to be fixed 3 or 4 times before the inertia was out of the system.

Getting ready for the next airplane now that the Dakota is under contract? :D
 
Were you flying a twin in the simulator?

No, they had it set up for a PA-28/32. That was challenging enough for a first attempt. I am curious, so next time I'm there I'll ask if it can be setup as a twin. I could see using it in the dead of winter to help keep the rust at bay and other times as well.
 
No, they had it set up for a PA-28/32. That was challenging enough for a first attempt. I am curious, so next time I'm there I'll ask if it can be setup as a twin. I could see using it in the dead of winter to help keep the rust at bay and other times as well.

The full motion Redbird we have is a modular system with a software/hardware pack for each airplane. We have the modules for our 172s, Seminole (no longer in the fleet) and the Senecas. It takes only a few minutes to switch planes, including the single to twin throttle quadrant.
 
Never seen a full-motion Redbird sim, that must be cool! I've only tried the little toy sims on rails that just shake, rattle and roll.
I'd love to try out a full-motion sim. Can you roll the PA-28/32 in it? If you invert it, will the seatbelt hold you in the seat? Do they offer helmets for protection?

I have a funny experience from the last time I tried the Redbird sim, they put me in a 172 but it felt very weird. On climbout, I noticed I reached the TPA in maybe 15 seconds. Actually, I didn't reach it, I was happily climbing, expecting to get to TPA later (in maybe 1 minute total) so I blew right through it. :) It sure didn't feel like a stock 172. So I inquired and the sim admin mentioned something like "them boys have been playin' with them parameters". It was interesting but hey, it cut down the time and I could squeeze more TnGs in. :)
 
I have 10 or so hours on one of those. I’m not sure how much it gets used at my home field, but I typically never see anyone in it. I’ve played all the home sims and I think they all fly a bit like crap.
 
Sims we typically see at the low end are great instrument procedures trainers and scan builders. They suck for VFR even if they’re full motion and all that rot.

Can save someone a bit of money on the Instrument rating when they’re used for the things they’re good at.

The airlines and jet folk have the cool sims. :)

You know it’s a really cool sim when you can earn a type rating in it and never have once set foot inside the real airplane. :)
 
Help me out here... is that classified as a level C sim?? I assume it’s not a level D, but I could be wrong.
 
Help me out here... is that classified as a level C sim?? I assume it’s not a level D, but I could be wrong.
A simulator has to have all systems, displays, and controls exactly as the airplane it is simulating.
 
Im a big fan of the redbird and sims in general (even PC ones) for IFR training, as far as the redbird it's great, I just didn't use the motion as I didn't think it was as dialed in and was more of a annoying gimmick, I can fly acro all day and not have it get to me, I can spend a chunk of time in a level D sim and be fine, but the full motion redbird didn't get me quiezy as much as it just got really annoying.
 
Sims we typically see at the low end are great instrument procedures trainers and scan builders. They suck for VFR even if they’re full motion and all that rot.

Can save someone a bit of money on the Instrument rating when they’re used for the things they’re good at.

The airlines and jet folk have the cool sims. :)

You know it’s a really cool sim when you can earn a type rating in it and never have once set foot inside the real airplane. :)

Or are able to count some of it like actual flight time.
Personally I just log it as sim time and I only log the checkride part so I can tag it in foreflight so it's tracked for currency.
 
I did some time in a motion Redbird; I didn't find it superior to home-based sims, really. The panel display was pretty low-rent, not very impressive. The CFII said they usually didn't bother with the motion feature, as it was more distracting than realistic. It did have value, in that you can get a lot done in a little time, and with an instructor with you, a rusty IR pilot can use it to prep for an IPC with a CFII, which is what I was doing. But don't expect it to compare to airplane specific full-motion sims.
 
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