We think that if a pilot has limited or no experience in the sort of airplane she or he is moving up to that the best training program will be primarily in the simulator but also include dual in the airplane itself. Your insurance company will be ecstatic that you aredoing this sort of training, and will almost always express its ecstasy through reducedaircraft insurance premiums. (Yes, its a 421 sim, but has profiles and swappable instruments for other Twin Cessnas. I thought I was pretty competent after the dual until I got into the sim. All Rights Reserved. Perhaps a third of the malfunctionsand emergencies we train for in the sim cannot be done in the aircraft, either becausetheyre impossible to duplicate (e.g., overvoltage trip, induction system icing, propelleroverspeed, left main gear wont extend) or are simply too dangerous to practice (e.g.,engine failure immediately after takeoff, flying with a heavy load of airframe ice). Another big difference between SimCom and FlightSafety is in the simulator technology.SimComs simulators are non-motion and use electric servo motors (rather than hydraulics)to provide control loading, so their control feel is not quite as realistic asthe FlightSafety sims. Interestingly, we found that upgrade courses for single- and multi-engine turboprops (not requiring a type rating) were not much longer than those for piston twins. We provide many specialty courses, and are proud to introduce world-class, integrated Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) through Aviation Performance Solutions (APS). Aircraft Simulator Training in Santa Rosa, CA, advertises in my type-club magazine and I decided to give them a try. While we agree with a 2012 study published in the International Journal of Aviation Psychology that concluded that there was no evidence that simulator motion improves flight performance in real aircraft, some users did not. Copyright 2022 SIMCOM Aviation Training. Carlsbad, CA The content of this website (graphics, text and any and all other elements) is Copyright 2023 by Piper Aircraft, Inc., and may not be reprinted or retransmitted in whole or part without the expressed written consent of Piper Aircraft, Inc. Then, theres training. No other aircraft is equipped just quite like yours is, and its unlikely that a sim comes very close at all. All of the FAA-required training may be obtained from a properly rated CFI followed byin the case of a new ratinga checkride with a DPE. By eliminating 15 or 20 hours of training flights a year, its easy to saveseveral thousand dollars in operating and maintenance expenses, not to mention wear andtear. Most instructors at facilities like RTC and SIMCOM are retired been-there-done-that pros, including my instructor, Mr. Ray Campbell. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); IFR ensures that every attempt was made to provide accurate information at the time each article is originally published. Your sim instructorevaluates how you deal with these problems, and points out areas in which yourdecision-making and contingency planning and use of available resources might have beenbetter. The firm hosted a Dec. 8 groundbreaking ceremony on its 90,000-square-foot . Airshow legend and three-time national aerobatic champion Patty Wagstaff can teach any pilot a thing or two about upset recovery in her Extra 300L classroom, and has now paired with simulation specialist SIMCOM Aviation Training. It was that been there, done that feeling. AVwebpublisher Carl Marbach also wrote up his impressions after he went through recurrenttraining at RTC for his Aerostar 601l. Volume Incentive Plan enables a customer to purchase multiple prepaid VIP Certificates at a discount rate, each redeemable for one course tuition. $17,400, Flight Training International If youve been to the same facility for the last few years, or worse, used the same local instructor, look elsewhere occasionally for a broader base of experience. You just sit down unceremoniously and get to work. A good recurrent training curriculum will cover all of these. An all-new Level 6 Flight Training Device for Pilatus' PC-12 NGX has received the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) National Simulator Programme approval for training flight crews of Pilatus' latest iteration of its popular single-engine turboprop. Training flights are relatively abusive on your aircraft, especially if itsturbocharged. Most ATD sims can be rented for $50 to $95 an hour. Pilot Training, Inc. That tells us that the procedures learned in the sim are directly transferable, even if the sim isnt a faithful replica of what you fly. Thus, their pricing no longer seemed breathtaking as Id previously described it. The instructors and material are first rateanother win. So, it was off to SIMCOM in Scottsdale just a few days later. November 2018 Killer Quiz: Emergency Procedures. 5000 N.W. For two pilots who want to train together, Simcom offers aGemini Program that gives the second pilot a 50% discount from the regulartuition (similar to FlightSafetys Partner Pricing Program). Sure, many have been plowed up for houses or 2023 Aviation Publishing Group. This website uses cookies to enhance your experience. As multi-type-rated pilot Michel Litalien told us, You can do pressurization failures in a simulator all day long, but until you pressurize the airplane, take it to 14,000 feet, dump the pressurization and feel the effects, you dont have a gut-level understanding of what depressurization in the flight levels would really involve.. SimCom began with one facility in Orlando, Florida. But David remains optimistic. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 3401 Quebec Street, Suite 9150 Its a bit more difficult to fly anon-motion sim (because you receive fewer cues), but one could argue that this results ingreater pilot proficiency rather than less. Once you get into the world of jet type ratings training cost can be north of $30,000. Plan on spending a bare minimum of $4000 for piston-twin upgrade training. 972-641-4661, Cycled To the extent practical, SIMCOM schedules its training on client demand. For example, Simcom chargesabout $2,200 for a three-day Cessna 300/400 recurrent course (compared with $3,000 atFSI), and $1,450 for a two-day generic multiengine instrument refresher course (comparedwith $2,400 at FSI). Myconclusion is that if cost and distance were no object, the best possible trainingstrategy might well be to rotate among the three firms in order to obtain the best thateach one has to offer. When that feeling starts to fade, its time to schedule another cycle. Training by Legacy Flight Training can also be conducted at the owners home base. Becoming a Newly Rated Commercial Single-Engine Pilot. 858-756-8748, CS 525/CS Form your own conclusion from that. Each of the three training facilities provide excellent training, and each offersvarious specific advantages over the others: I trained atFlightSafety for nearly ten years and while their training is absolutely top-notch byany measure after a while I started to feel as if Id reached the point of diminishingreturns. Simulator aerodynamic fidelity ranges from unrealistic and horrible, to decent, but it never hits exact, even in airline Level D sims. SimComis the big dog in the simulator-based flight training world. The more the industry drags out phasing out 100LL, the more susceptible it is to looking unconcerned about public health risks. Unlike FlightSafety,Simcoms core business is piston and low-end turbine training for owner-flown aircraft.Originally, Simcom offered training only at one location Orlando, Florida but in1996 they opened a second training facility at Scottsdale, Arizona. The vast majority ofFSIs resources are devoted to training airline and corporate pilots for jet and turbopropaircraft piston training represents a very small portion of their business. The price goes up from there based on the type of aircraft involved and the amount of training you require to reach proficiencywhich may include a mentor pilot flying with you for some hours following the formal training course. Since then, Ive returned for regular sim training every six months. Nevertheless, it is not a one size fits all affair. Finally, theres cost. $13,200, PremAir, Inc. the cheapest) may suggest quieter roads or avoiding . Of course, sim time is a significant part of the course and thats where the hiccups started. And they said, well, the other places theyd done training had full motion simulators, so they were better in that way. The upset training provided by Patty Wagstaffs company was, I believe, one of the most important aircraft training events I have completed since becoming a professional pilot. Airline Systems 3814 Curtis Parkway If you like, go finish it off with some time in the real airplane to polish your buttonology and aircraft-specific procedures. Seniors 65+ and adults with disabilities receive a discounted rate of $2.00 each way within the general service boundary. $3,500, Flight Crew Systems, Inc. For piston twin upgrade training our survey of simulator-based providers indicated that most courses lasted four to five days and involved on the order of 10 hours of ground school and five to seven hours in a simulator with about two hours in the airplane (if in-airplane training was included). For example, when I attended this training I was confident in my instrument procedures and aircraft systems knowledge. Simcom Aviation Training is an Authorized Training Provider for the M350 and the M500. 261 01 Pbram, Phone +420.318.690.644 The training facility should have a viable plan B that is satisfactory to you and be willing to use it. But, is that bad? For example, when FlightSafetyfirst shipped one of its two Cessna 300/400 simulators to its Long Beach (Calif.) learningcenter, the sim didnt have a motion base. As you get near the end of sim training, ask the instructor for her or his scenario. Every instructor who knows his or her airplane well has one. SIMCOM has restructured its pricing. Eric Hinson, CEO of SimCom, told us that initial training courses for turboprops usually run five to six days, and make use of Level A to D sims as well as nonmotion Flight Training Devices (FTD)depending on the type of aircraftand may include training in the customers airplane. Now, if you think about it, the same idea applies to training. 700 Wyoming A good training facility should be willing to customize the training to fit your particular needs. All rights reserved. Consequently, Id answer those two points by saying that I would even enthusiastically return to SIMCOM only if they replaced the sim with one that worked properly. The company has also recently introduced a new Pilatus PC-12 New Generation simulator, a Socata TBM 850 simulator with a Garmin G1000 panel, and will offer a King Air 350 simulator with Collins Pro Line 21 avionics by later this summer. Myfirst exposure to serious simulator training took place in October of 1987,about six months after Id purchased my T310R. Orlando, FL Kingwood, TX Rick is an active CFII and holds an ATP with type ratings in the Douglas DC-3 and Cessna Citation. Initial Type Rating SIMCOM advertises state-of-the-art simulators. That might be true for other aircraft, but the Twin Cessna was, to be blunt, old, tired, far from modern, and simply buggy. In each case, I came away with something different and valuable. 800-441-5387, Flight Control Academy However, archived articles are not reviewed for accuracy following various changes in industry procedures and practices, FAA guidance or regulations. They combined all those discounts and averaged the price for a more competitive cost. Idconsidered myself a reasonably proficient pilot, but that initial experience in thesimulator was truly humbling. NOTE: In 1998, FlightSafety introduced a new Operational Recurrentcourse in its Cessna 300/400 program that offers a similar LOFT emphasis. Appearances aside, how does RTCs recurrent training compare with FlightSafety orSimcom? After introductions and the obligatory war stories, training began with a systems-focused test to see how much I knewor didnt. (Classroom and Home Study), Mile High Unfortunately, its the pilots who have never experienced such training (andunfortunately this includes the great majority of owner/pilots) who dont know whattheyve been missing. Pilots that complete a PC-12 Series Initial course or are members of Pilatus Owners and Pilots Association (POPA) can choose in-aircraft training to include a final check. At one point, SimCom was paired with the Pan Am Flight Academy, which provides more regional and commercial airline-geared flight training. Naturally, the flight nevergoes as planned, and you are confronted with various challenges: unforecast weather,aircraft failures, navaid outages, runway changes, ATC delays, etc. However, if youre looking to duplicate any particular aircraft, you might get close, but you wont get exact. Our Jet, Turboprop and Piston simulators will . Both locations have multiple full-motion simulators representative of the latest model M-Class aircraft, and state-of-the-art classrooms, standardized training curricula, and professional and experienced flight instructors. Hinson emphasized the importance of using simulators that were as close to replicating a customers aircraft as possible. 775-827-6568, Advanced Themost difficult parts of doing this in a single-pilot cockpit scanning between thegauges and the windshield and deciding whether or not adequate visual references areavailable to make the landing are never practiced at all. Previous Experience But that wasnt the only feature that set SimCom apart. The facilities we spoke with said that they train to proficiency so the cost, simulator time and course time is subject to revision upward based on the ability of the pilot to meet the course standards. Ive rehashed my sim time, trying to conclude if the sims deficiencies diminished the training. Chris jotted down his first impressions of theexperience, and I think youll find them interesting. In the same time it takes to fly an instrument approach inthe aircraft and fly back to the FAF, you might do three, four or five approaches in thesimulator. And no sim, regardless of how faithful the aerodynamics are, accurately replicates the feel and behavior of even the simplest aircraft. Orlando is the companys main headquarters and training location. I always look forward tomy recurrent training cycles with great anticipation. Denver, CO, Higher Power Aviation The old expression goes, Train like you fly and fly like you train. That seems to say you should train in your aircraft. So Idecided to do it. I also found them to be a bit less faithful in simulating variousaircraft systems failures. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. A non-motion FTD now has the same quality visuals as a Level D, full-motion simulator, David says. He said that finding and retaining quality instructors is important to ensuring that pilots who come for initial training will return to SimCom when its time for recurrent training. David also decided to offer customized training, with no more than two students in a class. You startout by studying a printed weather briefing, reviewing the applicable approach and enroutecharts, and then climbing into the sim and flying the trip. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. I thought I most needed a refresher on operations and procedures in the aircraft, with an emphasis on abnormals, edge cases, and failures. Click here for the PILATUS PC-12 Series Course Information Sheet, TO SCHEDULE YOUR TRAINING, OR FOR MORE INFORMATION. Tucson, AZ 2080 Phillips Lane $5,295, B737-3/4/500 Program A In the case of RTCs generic AST 300 sims, its probably best to approach with amind-set of learning to fly a new aircraft, rather than thinking of the sim as a Cessna orPiper or Beech and then getting distracted by its lack of fidelity to the actual aircraft.In any case, by the second or third hour of sim training, youll find that youve prettymuch tuned out the differences between the sim and the aircraft and are fully immersed indealing with the meat of the training scenarios that confront you. 2 weeks Every sim session at RTC is structured as an actual IFR cross-country flight. The Thinking Pilots Flight Manual or, How to Survive Flying Little Airplanes and Have a Ball Doing It, Vols. Ferris State University Online Application. Shooting approaches under the hood is woefullyinadequate preparation for doing the same thing in actual low-visibility conditions. accident rateduring low-viz approaches, particularly at night, is a testament to the inadequacy of ourtraining. Boulder City Dec 9, 2021. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL cookies. The list goes on. Knowing how the systems work and how to troubleshoot them helps isolate problems for the A&P.. I had no idea just how poorly my previous in-aircrafttraining had been in preparing me to handle real-life emergencies. There are in-the-airplane-only training operations still in existence, but they have become rare. 2056 Palomar Airport Road In e-mail discussions I was impressed with the approach that Aircraft Simulator Training took, but we just couldnt get the schedule to work. Helicopter Pilot It operates 47 simulators and flight training devices. A cost of living index allows you to compare what it costs to live in one place against another, revealing how far your money will go in different areas. Sure, we recognize the value of the training and would plan to go anyway, but often plans dont quite make it into schedules. So, without the insurance requirement, we might not go at all or perhaps not as often as we should. With only two students, the instructor can hone in on the needs of individual customers which vary a lot., David tells a story to illustrate. It's tempting to decry the disappearance of the classic country airport. Reno Here is a general guide on how many days we will need for your Initial Training: 1/2 day cockpit orientation / avionics with a GPU (only 2 pilots can participate with each session) 1 1/2 days flight training: (3) 3-hour flights PER PILOT 1 day ground class with all participants For pilots with at least a few hundred hours in similar airplanes, a simulator-only program is, in our opinion, perfectly satisfactory. 2113 South 48th Street, Suite 105 Destinations outside of this boundary run an additional $1.25 per mile. The physical faithfulness of the sim allowed us to nicely review various procedures, which was quite valuable. If you want to stay proficient while at the sametime treating your aircraft with TLC, you should seriously consider doing your recurrenttraining in a simulatoror in someone elses aircraft! I managed to kill myself quite a few times during sim training and then when I had an actual engine failure four years ago in the airplane, it was pretty much a non-event (except for my wallet, of course)., Busch went on to point out something that we hadnt considered: The ground school portion helps with maintenance costs. 520-918-7100, Lear Jet About SIMCOM. In a previous article about recurrent sim training facilities (Sim Training Centers in November, 2016), Id somewhat bashed SIMCOM, saying, SIMCOM training is top tier, but their business model recently seems to mirror the big corporate centers with pricing to match. Because of that conclusion I really didnt want to go to SIMCOM. Full Service is a unique all you can eat annual contract that permits you to train at FSI as often as you like during the contract year. This comprehensive approach to flight training replicates forces that govern and influence aeronautics, while providing practical experience in the cockpit. Courses are held at different locations depending on aircraft type, with some courses provided by our international training partner organisations, FlightSafety International and SIMCOM. Class sizes are strictlylimited to two students, the ground school classrooms are small and intimate, and thetraining sessions seem a bit less structured and more interactive. At Simcom, for example, a new 340 pilot attends a five-day course with ground school on the systems and then 10 hours of full-motion simulator training. 2722 Perimeter Road, Suite 107 Until then, Id not recommend this program. The FSI rep we spoke with said that the company has gone to all Level D simulators (the highest currently available) and it was no longer financially feasible for them to provide piston twin training. The idea is to move into flight scenarios early. If it's over 100, it's more expensive than . SimComs trainingalso included circling approaches under low-visibility conditions. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. As you might expect, FlightSafetys training is extremely professional, highlystructured, and quite expensive. For Doing the same thing in actual low-visibility conditions real-life emergencies in Scottsdale just a few days later Ball. $ 2.00 each way within the general service boundary country airport as you might expect, FlightSafetys is. Fidelity ranges from unrealistic and horrible, to schedule another cycle RTC his... Even in airline Level D, full-motion simulator, David says 107 until then, Ive for. Street, Suite 107 until then, Ive returned for regular sim training ask! The old expression goes, train like you fly and fly like you train to review! Simcom in Scottsdale just a few days later of 1987, about months. The insurance requirement, we might not go at all Twin Cessnas sim allowed us to nicely various... A Dec. 8 groundbreaking ceremony on its 90,000-square-foot your particular needs two students in class. 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