Want to Save on Training? Make Better Use of Flight Simulation

CFI Michael Wildes says one of the best tools to train pilots often goes greatly underutilized.

Michael Wildes

Monday, December 06, 2021 at 09:43 AM ET

Verified

Michael Wildes believes that flight simulators can be used more effectively in some circumstances. Credit: Adobe Stock

Key Takeaways:

Flight simulators are highly effective tools for pilot training, demonstrated by an untrained individual successfully flying a plane after simulator experience and by the author's improved student performance.
Despite their proven historical and current value in high-level aviation, simulators are often underutilized in general flight instruction, with many failing to leverage their low-risk, high-impact learning potential.
To maximize simulator training, a progressive approach is essential: starting with foundational knowledge and procedures in basic devices, then advancing to practicing advanced techniques and handling complex malfunctions in a safe environment before actual flight.

See a mistake? Contact us.

One Friday afternoon in 2018, around 8 p.m., news broke that a young man, Richard Russell, a Horizon Air Service agent, gained access to a parked Bombardier Q400 and—with no previous pilot experience—stole the airplane. After departing the Sea-Tac airport via Runway 16C with no clearance, a puzzling sequence of events followed.

Russell, acting alone and—as it became clear to authorities later—suffering from a mental breakdown, flew the otherwise two-pilot aircraft for nearly 75 minutes around the Seattle area. At one point, he completed a barrel roll, barely 10 feet above the water before ultimately choosing to crash the airplane on Ketron Island.