Instrument Flight Simulator - Faa Endorses Use Of Flight Simulators As Credit Toward Instrument Flight Rating

If you are a private pilot who is intending to add an Instrument Rating to your ticket, then you may already be informed of the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) permits you to apply up to at most 20 hours of dual-instruction time in training in an instrument flight simulator to be used as credit towards your instrument rating.

Of course you can spend greater than 20 hours training with a simulator, but only the first 20 hours will apply, and each of those hours must be spent with an instructor and not solo, using an FAA approved flight simulation program. (You are entitled to spend as much time as you wish on a home simulator for the computer to maximize the amount of time you get to practice and perfect your techniques.)



There are many reasons why the Federal Aviation Administration encourages you to use a flight simulator to log instrument training time in stead of time spent in an actual airplane.

Among the reasons is that instrument flight simulator software is able to mimic the behavior and performance of a real aircraft down to the minutest detail. Thus, training for instrument flight in a simulator is practically the same experience as training for instrument flight in a real plane under the hood.

The one difference between the 2 experiences of simulated versus real flight (with respect to instrument training) is that you won't be able to experience the sensations of movement that could otherwise fool you, causing spatial disorientation, during certain maneuvers in flight such as climbs, turns, and descents.

With regard to all of the sophistication in computer technology that we have available to us at our disposal these days, in the twenty-first century, one of the greatest resources that every pilot, without regard to whether he or she is a newbie pilot or an experienced pilot, must have available to him or her, is a trustworthy flight simulation program.

A flight simulation program can help to close the gap during those unforeseen periods of indeterminate downtime in between flights.

It may even empower you to brush up on your skills, help you maintain proficiency, and may even help you to earn some supplemental time in those areas in which you could see some improvement.

Flight simulators can help you become a better pilot.

They can even help you to save money, as well as time, on extra training or unnecessarily having to repeat performing the same practice maneuvers over and over again.

Fortunately, flight simulator technology is so sophisticated, that aviating a simulator is practically every bit as realistic as aviating the real deal. The instrument panel is identical. The control inputs are the same. The geographic "map" programmed into the simulator is based on real life cartographic information. The way the aircraft behaves to various internal (weight and balance, fuel, aircraft performance) and external (weather phenomena, air temperature) forces is designed to mimic real life scenarios.

For some people, a flight simulation program is simply a very high-tech video game. And in many ways, it can be enjoyed at that level. After all, you'll never have to concern yourself about crashing the plane in a simulation!

But for many others, a flight simulation program is a serious learning tool, and for numerous professional pilots, it is an integral foundation of their aviation career.