X-Plane vs Redbird/Real

[warthog1984]

Hi All,

I'm the poster previously known as "Unregistered". I am restarting primary training soon and had a question RE: sims.

I will be training in 150/152/172s. My soon-to-be instructor has a Redbird with a fixed-gear normally-aspirated 182 that we'll be using for the initial eval (it's been 13 years since I've seriously flown).

I got a copy of X-Plane to familiarize myself with the airport, pattern, sight picture, procedures, etc... I also downloaded a 182 model from the .org (Turbo 182 RG, which I'm flying gear down for pattern work).

My question is this: is it normal for a 182 to start out heavy on the controls but get "twitchy" in pitch and move like a scalded cat once the MP comes up? If not, is this a real difference between the Turbo and normal Skylanes or a modeling issue?

Thanks!

 

[MAKG1]

If you're training in a 152 or 172 stay the heck away from a 182. They are similar to a seasoned pilot, but NOT a green student. Especially, the CS prop is quite different from fixed pitch during changes in airspeed and climb/descent rate.

The model is wrong. 182s aren't twitchy. Quite the opposite. And the MP should be up pretty fast on takeoff. Virtually instantaneously on a naturally aspirated engine, still on the ground with a turbo; you'll get some lag, but if it really takes a big hunk of a takeoff roll, you abort the takeoff.

The value of a sim in any of this is questionable at best. Get in a real airplane. Sims make for bad habits. The first really obvious one is flying the pattern in a retract with the gear down. That's training for a gear-up landing. Cheap in a sim, really expensive in real life.

If you're depending on a sim for the airport environment and sight picture, you're wasting your time. Both will be quite different. Just how does that seat adjustment work on your sim? In a real airplane it's good practice to line yourself up with the cowling using fist at arm's length. But you can't see the cowling in a 182 like you can in a 172 or 152, unless you hide the wingtips (something else you need for real primary training).

Also, pick an airplane to train in. Switching between 150s and 152s is a small change. 172s, not terribly large, but it will cost you a few hours as a student (less afterward). It's OK to switch between airplanes, but I'd suggest not making the switch too big -- say, between a 172N and 172SP might be on the outside; there are several differences in limitations and procedures, though they handle similarly in the air.

 

[AggieMike88]

I agree about keeping simming to a bare minimum while completing the first bunches of hours flying. Nothing replaces the real thing at this stage.

Through the first solo, you need to be learning how to do this with eyes outside, the "feel" in your core and butt, and the sounds the airplane and wind make. X-Plane and simming do have their uses in training, but not at this stage.

I also agree with selecting a single air frame and staying with that through at least solo, if not all the way. You'll definitely safe some money and time with that tip.

 

[JimNtexas]

The control feel of just about any simulator priced at under a million dollars will not resemble a real airplane at all.

 

[Skylane81E]

Skip the sim