All airplane enthusiasts please read this, especially pilot trainers!!!?

Question

Why is it bad to use simualtion games like Flight Simulator X or X plane before you have ever done an actually flight besides the fact it gives you a wrong impression?

Answer 1

Its not bad lol. Who ever told you that?

Answer 2

There's nothing wrong with using simulators.  They have their limitations, but you're further ahead if you've used a simulator than you would be if you had never had exposure to flying at all.

Flight instructors and pilots sometimes have an irrational hatred of simulators, especially older pilots and instructors.  If a flight instructor starts to rant about simulators when you tell him you've used one, you might want to consider finding a different instructor with less of a chip on his shoulder.

It's true that simulators aren't identical to the real thing and you can pick up bad habits, but these habits are easy enough to break once you're in the real airplane.  The most common of these is a tendency to look at the instrument panel too much for visual flight. In real life, if you're flying visually, you look outside the window a lot, too (although looking at instruments doesn't actually hurt—after all, that's what instrument flight is all about).

If I tell a pilot or instructor that I've used Flight Simulator and his eyes start to twitch and spittle starts to run from the corner of his mouth, I write him off as a Luddite.  Moderation is best in all things, and simulators are neither a panacea nor a wicked evil.

Answer 3

I am an instructor, and I usually tell primary students to avoid too much Microsoft Flight Sim time.  It is just fine for procedures and even for learning radio communications (to some extent).  The problem is that the aerodynamics and flight characteristics are unrealistically sensitive and it is a counterproductive way to practice maneuvers.

For instrument training however, it is an excellent way to practice approaches and basic instrument scan.

A problem I've run in to with new students who've spent a lot of time playing MS Flight Sim is that they often believe they're leaps and bounds ahead of someone with limited flight experience, and this overconfidence ends up interfering with their learning.  On top of teaching all that information, I have to break bad habits they're used to from Flight Sim.

Too many people think playing Flight Sim on the computer equates to actual flight experience.  There is a reason one can only log simulator time toward total time in a full motion Level D simulator.

In conclusion, it's fine for brushing up on instrument skills but should not be considered a serious representation of overall piloting ability.

Answer 4

You can pick up bad habits and the simulations may not be full fidelity so what you do in the simulation works fine but in a real plane it works differently.

That's why commercial pilots train in multi-million $$ training facilities - the simulators have to be incredibly accurate and realistic.

It's only a risk though, nothing too bad to worry about.

Answer 5

Simulators are a great tool.  

I used a sim to practice instrument approaches while working on my instrument rating and saved a lot of money while getting a lot of practice.