Last time in this series on building a home simulator we said that Part Three would discuss adding third-party extensions to your basic sim. We’re going to keep that topic as “next time” and instead jump into a debate about how far you should, or need, to take your project. An argument is made that you don’t need to replicate any specific airplane, let alone what you fly, just to use the sim for instrument-procedure proficiency. As the argument goes, it could even be best not to since you’ll never fully reproduce your cockpit and you’ll never get the aerodynamics just right. So, why not go with something completely different so you’re not confused by subtle discrepancies?
The other side of that argument, taken to extreme, is that if I fly a Cessna 340A piston twin with EFIS and touch navigator—I do—how much real benefit would I get in a round-dial 172? Would there be any useful knowledge or skill transfer to my real flying?
