Prepar3D IFR setup

[OkieAviator]

I posted this over on the Red Board but there doesn't seem to be much traffic in that section so dropping it here.

We've talked about Sims vs Real flying plenty of times on this board, so I'm not trying to replicate the feel of really flying or doing maneuvers (Constant rate turns, climbs, stalls, ect). What I'm looking for is having my copy of Prepar3D emulate as best as possible in conjunction with my GTN 650 and Ipad a somewhat accurate IFR flight. I'm already committed to Prepar3D, don't care if FSX, Xplane or War Thunder have more 'realistic' flight dynamics.

Here's what I have:
- Active Sky Next weather app so I can fly in simulated dynamic weather or set conditions as I want.
- Orbx FTX and Vector so the graphics are pretty.
- Yoke, Pedals, Throttle Quadrant cheap Saitek ones but they work.
- FSUIPC for setting up controllers and response curves.
- TrackIR because the Oculus Rift made me sick but I like the head movement bit.
- Flight1 GTN 650 because my 172 has a 650 and thats what I need to master.
- FSXFlight which is some app to let WingX work on my Ipad with the game.

What I'm looking to add:
- Pilots Edge to do actual filings and flights with ATC assistance.
- Additional Quadrant to allow me to fly a light twin giving each engine it's own controls.
- New Plane is the big unknown*

* I have a mess of planes, some I took from my dad's FSX install, some were free and I even bought a few. But I really need an IFR specific plane that I know is an accurate representation. I've read that some planes autopilots are skewed or compass correction doesn't work right or has some other twitch that doesn't reflect a true flight.


So my question is to check to see if there are any addons I'm missing that could benefit me in the learning/practice process. I'm also open for plane suggestions either Single Piston or Light Twin with steam gauges that are known to be accurate in terms of instrument flying. Right now I'm leaning towards the Milviz B55 with 650 integration, just not sure if everything works as it should.

 

[OkieAviator]

I ended up buying the Milvis Baron E55 with the 650 integration. I found a swanky retro looking livery, installed my 2nd throttle quandrant and became a virtual twin pilot.

I'm speculating the instruments are working correctly. I won't know until a handful more hours with my CFII. Was doing my 5 ts though... Morse code hurts my head.

 

[Tj1376]

A2A has the best 172, 182 and Cherokee 180 on the market. The 182 reminds me of the 182 I fly IRL. It's spot on. Will integrate with your F1 650.

TJ


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[OkieAviator]

The next fake plane I buy will probably be the A2A 182. Unfortunately the real 182 I have access to is a 1978 model so will probably look a bit different in the game.

 

[OkieAviator]

I linked this thread in another post so thought I would close it out with some final information for those that are interested. It took me just under 6 months from first Instrument lesson to pass the checkride, which I did mid August.

The above setup helped immensely in the concept and procedural reinforcement of things I learned. At a bare minimum if you're going to use a home flight sim as a training aid then try to get a set of instruments, radios and GPS similar to the plane you're flying.

I ended up buying the A2A 182 because it has the same CDIs and radios I have in my plane. Added the GTN 650 and that was about as accurate as I could get it. So when tuning and twisting in the game, it looked the same as what tuning and twisting looks like in my plane.

The other key piece is subscribing to PilotEdge for at least a month or two. They'll correct you if you're saying something wrong, they also have some lesson type things you can do with them. After a few months you get pretty proficient in using the radios and understanding when to say what or how to take down clearance info.

Lastly if you use an EFB, make sure it can interface with the game. I was able to use WingX complete with situational awareness georeference charts in the game. Again, better to get familiar with your EFB on the ground than in the air.

The rest of the stuff is just fluff... you don't need the controls, or the TrackIR for a virtual cockpit or any of that stuff.

 

[coma24]

Thanks for the followup. A couple of questions, if you're up for it...

Did you do a lot of self-study prior to the formal IFR training, or did you simply use the sim to reinforce what you were covering at the time in your formal IFR training?

Did you do all of your 40+ hours of simulated/actual time with an instructor, or did you do a portion with a safety pilot?

How much of your 40+ simulated/actual time did you do in a BATD/AATD vs the airplane?

How much simulated/actual time did you have when you went for the checkride?

Lastly, did you pick up any bad habits from the sim and/or your self-study efforts (assuming you were sim flying 'ahead' of your formal training) that needed to be later corrected during formal training?

Thanks for the info. Selfishly, I'm glad to hear that PilotEdge helped out since I'm associated with that company. I'm also not at all surprised to hear that the controls or TrackIR were not particularly important for the training.

What are you doing now to stay sharp?

 

[OkieAviator]

Did you do a lot of self-study prior to the formal IFR training, or did you simply use the sim to reinforce what you were covering at the time in your formal IFR training?

Prior to my first lesson I watched through about 3 hours of the Sporty's IFR DVD series. Throughout the 6 months though I watched the series a total of 3 times, spaced out a few months apart.

Did you do all of your 40+ hours of simulated/actual time with an instructor, or did you do a portion with a safety pilot?

Just over 3 hours of simulated was during my PPL, maybe another 5 was with another CFII that I'm also related too. So maybe view this as a really competent safety pilot. We did a night time 3 hour XC flight with 4 approaches, so found it very beneficial.

How much of your 40+ simulated/actual time did you do in a BATD/AATD vs the airplane?

I did 13.4 in a Redbird FMX. Those are pretty neat, but the cockpit setup was a Cherokee and my CFII liked me to hand fly it which I found frustrating, not because of multitasking but I truly believe being good at hand flying a sim only makes you good at hand flying a sim. The last 4 hours or so in it I insisted on using autopilot.

How much simulated/actual time did you have when you went for the checkride?

Believe it was 40.7 total with just under 2 hours being in actual. Also 'suggest' people get into actual if they can... as well as try night under the hood. Good self esteem booster.

Lastly, did you pick up any bad habits from the sim and/or your self-study efforts (assuming you were sim flying 'ahead' of your formal training) that needed to be later corrected during formal training?

I've seen people post that people who play the video games have to unlearn habits. For example on PPL they'll spend a lot of time fixated on instruments and not enough time actually looking out the window. That wasn't the case for me because even playing the games/sims I never really paid much attention to the instruments.

In regards to instrument training even though I had played on Flight Sims for 30 years I never flew an approach. During my PPL I started tracking VORs with the radio and CDI but that was it. So I didn't have any procedural things ingrained that had to be unlearned.

Selfishly, I'm glad to hear that PilotEdge helped out since I'm associated with that company. I'm also not at all surprised to hear that the controls or TrackIR were not particularly important for the training.

PilotEdge has that level of professionalism that you can't get on VATSIM so it is great for learning. There were times that your guys were off on something, but that's no different than actual controllers. If you ever get to a point where you make it nationwide I'll probably reup it for my weekly flights, I'll pick airports all over the place, not just west coast.

Controls, TrackIR, ASNext, the Baron 55..... are all just fun things to add on. Makes it more interesting when I do the flight, even though in reality I've never flown a twin.

What are you doing now to stay sharp?

I'll file and fly an IFR plan on any XC trip I do longer than an hour or so. However even as much as I fly that's usually only about 1 a month... not a lot to keep fresh.

So again I use the simulator about once a week. If there's some cruddy weather out somewhere I'll pick a few airports in that area and plan a flight with WingX. Then I'll get on Lockheeds site and actually file an IFR flight (Not activate it though) and go through all the weather briefing tools, plan an alternate if need be ect. Review the departure and arrival airport charts, ect. ActiveSky Next will pull real weather to use, but if there's no IMC then I'll just do a local flight and manually set to minimums.

For the flying part I keep it down to less than an hour. The reason is because once I start it's my goal to complete the entire flight in real time, while never getting up from my chair. This forces me to mentally go through flow checks and be focused on the fake flight, rather than treating it like a side activity.

For the actual flight I skip preflight, but will use the ingame radio to request any clearances. Verbally saying it aloud will help you retain the info as well as practicing copying it down. Fly it just as you would in real life... staying ahead of the airplane, watching guages, EFB ect. You can request specific approaches in the game so you have the ability to focus on what you want to practice. Once you land I just stop and turn the game off... I don't taxi back, shut the plane down ect.

If you don't fly for a living I would suggest the above to anyone instrument rated and trying to stay proficient.

 

[fiveoboy01]

The sim has helped me quite a bit for IFR practice. While I don't find the flight dynamics to be accurate, that's not really why I use it. Working on scan while spinning knobs and reading plates really helps you to get all your task management ducks in a row.

And yes, you can pause the simulator, which can be a plus during the learning process.

I did get FSXFlight which really adds another dimension to it. Having foreflight up and running while using the sim really does add to the realism.

One of these days I need to go all out and see if I can replicate my airplane's panel, or at least close. It would make it even more fun and realistic.

 

[OkieAviator]

One of these days I need to go all out and see if I can replicate my airplane's panel, or at least close. It would make it even more fun and realistic.

Someone pointed me to a 2D panel maker once... http://www.fspanelstudio.com/

If you just want a panel on the screen you might be able to match it to your plane.

 

[BigBadLou]

That looks like a great editor, it sure would make things easier if you want to modify your panel (I have always done it by hand and it is not exactly easy - depending on your sillset, discipline and patience).

 

[OkieAviator]

I spent a few days customizing the virtual cockpits of some planes trying to put things in them that clearly didn't belong. For example the radar from an F14 into a J3. Never got it looking right though. But I was able to put the GTN 650 in the A36.

I might trade in my yoke and throttle for the Warthog replica joystick. It's a $350 stick though.... But has lots of switches and lights!