A Fresh Look at SIMCOM

I recently learned of a facility Id not previously known. Aircraft Simulator Training in Santa Rosa, CA, advertises in my type-club magazine and I decided to give them a try. Due to some date confusion on my part, I thought I was beginning this process with a couple months of flexibility. In reality, I had a couple weeks. In e-mail discussions I was impressed with the approach that Aircraft Simulator Training took, but we just couldnt get the schedule to work. So, I looked elsewhere.

Key Takeaways:

• The author advocates for varying recurrent flight training facilities and instructors to gain diverse perspectives and broader experience, similar to rotating mechanics for aircraft maintenance.
• While insurance mandates recurrent training, pilots should define personal objectives (e.g., systems refresh, instrument proficiency, abnormal procedures) to maximize the training's value.
• The author's recent SIMCOM experience featured competitive pricing, excellent instructors, and a good facility, but the specific Cessna 421 simulator used was old, buggy, and significantly detracted from the training effectiveness.
• Simulator training is generally recommended over in-aircraft training for building proficiency due to its cost-effectiveness, ability to safely practice failures, and high repetition, suggesting a hybrid approach with some real aircraft time for optimal results.

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