The use of flight simulation in the real-world flight training has played a vital role aviation training. Simulating events that pilots may face in their role, creating habits and building skills. Without full-motion simulators, aircraft-specific training would be very hard to complete. Companies would have to take aircraft off the line and use them as training aids. In addition, it is much easier to practise engine failures and other serious incidents in a simulator than in a real aircraft... This said, the simulators that you and I use (MSFS, XP, P3D...), lie in a grey area between fully realistic regulated simulator training and a ‘Computer Game’. When MSFS was announced a big stipulation was put forward that it could end up being a ‘Game’ rather than a simulator. However, since being released a lot of developers have invested in transferring addons into the sim. This has moved it away from the ‘Game’ aspect allowing it to grow with flight-simmers. 

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One question we as simmers always think when flying in real life is, would I be of help if there was ever an issue up front? 

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Desktop simulators may not provide the most accurate physics of the aircraft. Users who have not flown the real aircraft, may never know what it truly feels like. However, I feel the systems and operations of the aircraft are something we can take into the real world. With real-world pilots' help, the systems' quality is increasing massively. Some of these systems are so well developed that it may be possible to go straight onto the real aircraft and utilise them in real life. This has its issues as I will discuss below and it could get into the wrong hands. However, for training purposes, this serves a major role. As a student pilot, I have practised the G1000 on my desktop simulator and was able to arrive at the real aircraft and apply that knowledge and reduce time spent learning in the aircraft. This has helped speed up basic fundamental training and improve the quality of lesson time. 

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Habits can be good and bad when it comes to flying. Having a strong memory of flow items will never be a bad thing on the flight deck. Desktop simulators and checklists are a great way to practise these flows, users can see the effect that each item has on the state of the aircraft. However, simulator time may generate bad habits, in one of my first lessons the instructor could tell I had done flight simulation. I was hoping it may have been from my knowledge but it was actually because of the time I spent looking at the instruments. He thought I spent too much time looking at them and not enough out the window during trimming. He mentioned that I should try to keep the nose level by allowing a certain amount of fingers above the horizon. This is something that I never thought about during flight sim. I would instead be looking at my gauges and worrying that I am not keeping the nose level when the VSI starts to flicker around 0. This was a habit that I needed to leave behind as I progressed through basic flight training. 

Desktop flight simulation also helped me massively with my ATPL ground school exams. In the UK we have to complete 13 theory examinations to unlock the ability to hold an ATPL. Having even a rough knowledge of systems, principles of flight, METAR reading or VATSIM communication helped. This was something I kept telling my friends and it was so useful when it came to developing my knowledge further. One subject in particular was Advanced Instrumentation. Having flown aircraft such as the Fenix A320 for some time before starting, I had a great understanding of the PFD, different automation modes and how the TCAS system operated. This also meant I enjoyed the subject the most and it ended up being one of my best results. Furthermore, having the ability to test and use my flight sim as a revision aid while learning, helped massively if there was a topic I didn’t fully understand. 

There is a downside to the level of quality of some of these flight sim addons. If they enter the wrong hands they could be used as a tool for the wrong needs in real life. An Accident that comes to mind is the 2018 Horizon Q400 event. A Horizon Ground Employee managed to hijack a company Q400 of the apron and fly it around the area performing dangerous manoeuvres. He stated in one of his radio calls that he “Had played video games before” so he knew was doing a “little bit”. Now, whether this was from a desktop flight simulator or just a ‘video game’ we may never know. It is fair to say that a video game may not have provided the level of detail needed to fully operate a real aircraft. He was a ground crew, so he may have had a load of experience with the aircraft and wanted to test his skills. Either way, it sadly ended in a tragedy. This may have had nothing to do with desktop flight simulators, however, you never know and with the level of detail on these simulators, something like this may have occurred. 

Overall, I believe that desktop flight simulators play a very important role in real-world flying. I think the understanding of systems in a flight sim will translate well to real life and help develop aircraft operations. There are some parts that we as flight simmers will never be able to take across to the real aircraft but the majority of the systems work well. To conclude, I always recommend training pilots to purchase a desktop flight simulator and use it as a learning tool. Habits will form but most of the time you can take real-world lessons into the sim to try and iron them out. The knowledge gained will positively affect your flight training in many ways. 

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