ASA Microsoft Flight Simulator [MSFS]

Perhaps you're a student, a private pilot working on an instrument rating, or an IFR pilot who wants to stay proficient. Maybe you're an instructor trying to find new ways to teach students. In short, you're ready to get serious about flying. Can flying Flight Simulator help when you take the controls of a real airplane? The short answer to that question is yes.

Today, Flight Simulator is being used to help train pilots. The U.S. Navy issues Flight Simulator to its student pilots. As part of the Career Pilot Program at the FlightSafety International Academy in Vero Beach, FL, students must complete 27 hours of instruction in a Microsoft Flight Simulator lab. Working under the direct supervision of FlightSafety instructors, the students practice running checklists, following ATC clearances, performing basic flight maneuvers, and polishing IFR flying skills.

Flight Simulator includes several features including enhanced flight analysis and an instructor's station that make it an excellent training aid. You can replay any flight and see both horizontal and vertical profiles. More importantly, an instructor can monitor another Flight Simulator pilot over the Internet or a local area network to offer help, change the weather, or to cause failures in the plane's engine, an instrument, or an aircraft system.

Like any tool, however, Flight Simulator is only as useful as you make it. I'll pass along tips on how you can take advantage of specific features in Flight Simulator and make it an effective training aid.

The book includes a bonus CD with more than 150 VFR and IFR practice flights that make it easy to use Flight Simulator to practice specific skills, from basic flight maneuvers to instrument approaches. The CD also includes reference documents, charts, and other tools to transform virtual flying into an inexpensive, flexible, and effective learning experience. Softcover, 8.5" x 11", 256 pages.