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Dave Grundgeiger

Dave Grundgeiger

Filing Flight Plan
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Aug 24, 2018
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Dave
Hello, I just signed up and wanted to introduce myself.

I'm currently studying on Sporty's online ground school, and I'm practicing all maneuvers in X-Plane with a yoke, throttle, and rudder pedals. When I've passed the written test and feel confident in X-Plane, I'll switch over to training in an airplane. I've been wanting to do this for a long time. My daughter recently bought me an intro lesson, where I logged 0.6 hr in the plane. I was able to taxi, climb, turn, and descend pretty confidently. I've purchased a POH for the airplane I flew (1981 Piper Archer), and I'm flying the same model in X-Plane. I'm looking forward to flying more after my self-training.

I'm looking forward to meeting folks here, learning from you, and eventually paying it forward!

Dave
 
Just start flying! I just passed my written yesterday and will finish my formal training tomorrow (1.4 of simulated instrument). If you have the means and time to start actually flying, go for it. While I managed three months from start to 45 hours and a checkride endorsement, it was 8 months to find a plane, flying club, and instructor. It may take longer than you think so get started.
 
Matthew Rogers said:
Just start flying! I just passed my written yesterday and will finish my formal training tomorrow (1.4 of simulated instrument).
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Congratulations!

Matthew Rogers said:
If you have the means and time to start actually flying, go for it. While I managed three months from start to 45 hours and a checkride endorsement, it was 8 months to find a plane, flying club, and instructor. It may take longer than you think so get started.
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I've already found an instructor and flight school -- I was very satisfied with the instructor who took me up for the intro lesson that my daughter bought me. That flight also showed me that time spent in X-Plane is an effective way to train. So I think I'll be able to start actually flying as soon as I want. Lower cost is more important to me than quickest to done. So self-study and X-Plane are good options for me.

It's nice to meet you!
 
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Dave Grundgeiger said:
That flight also showed me that time spent in X-Plane is an effective way to train.
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My advice would be to put the X-Plane down, and focus on the Real Thing. The skills do not translate as much as your first 0.6 hours might have suggested.

I know that the cost savings of "training in the simulator" seem very compelling and tempting, but there are lots of habits and important "muscle memory" things that are best learned in a real airplane, without simulator distraction. Things like: knowing where everything is on your panel, reaching without thought for the flaps, or the radio... "Feeling" out the wind and its gusts on final... "Feeling" the mushiness of an imminent stall... Multitasking with radio calls and adapting to changes in traffic (I see from your other thread that you're based at a very busy regional airport!)... Scanning the sky for traffic, out all of the windows... Learning how to handle in-flight emergencies... The list goes on and on.

If you *do* bust out the X-Plane, think of it as an occasional and casual supplement to your Real Airplane training, and not the other way around. My $0.02.

Best of luck, and KEEP US POSTED!
 
have fun with it.

But a note of caution: Very few (if any) flight sim rudder pedals have the real feel. Be careful about muscle memory or habits based on those. Could take longer to un-learn what you've been doing to center the faux ball.
 
Welcome!

The home sims are ok for (1) getting more familiar with checklist use; get the checklist from the POH and get used to using it, and (2) when you start doing hood work for your whopping 3 hours of intro to instrument training ; nice to practice keeping your eyes moving for the scan.
 
Dave Grundgeiger said:
Hello, I just signed up and wanted to introduce myself.

I'm currently studying on Sporty's online ground school, and I'm practicing all maneuvers in X-Plane with a yoke, throttle, and rudder pedals. When I've passed the written test and feel confident in X-Plane, I'll switch over to training in an airplane. I've been wanting to do this for a long time. My daughter recently bought me an intro lesson, where I logged 0.6 hr in the plane. I was able to taxi, climb, turn, and descend pretty confidently. I've purchased a POH for the airplane I flew (1981 Piper Archer), and I'm flying the same model in X-Plane. I'm looking forward to flying more after my self-training.

I'm looking forward to meeting folks here, learning from you, and eventually paying it forward!

Dave
Click to expand...

Welcome to the joint.
 
Hello Dave, welcome! As others have mentioned about flight sims you really don’t get the tactile feedback (control inputs, sounds, etc) that flying the real thing does. So I’ll go ahead and mirror the above responses: don’t wait if you don’t have to! Get started on the real deal!

That said, I used MSFX frequently during my training, but I could not afford to fly weekly. Every other week at best, sometimes several months in between lessons. What I did was use a digital recorder to get audio of what my cfi was saying (as well as communication with ATC). Then, at home with the audio file uploaded to my computer I would refly the training flight on MSFX. I also have the yoke, rudder, and TPM add ons. Additionally, go in to plane settings and fiddle with load weights and/or fuel on board and you can get nearly an exact match in simulated performance. It was a really good way to practice on the cheap. Great for running emergency checklists also. But it’s not a substitute. Like Kath said, use it as your secondary learning tool.

In any case, keep us updated on your aviation journey!
 
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