Sim Inadequacy

Frank Bowlin

Monday, November 14, 2022 at 03:35 PM ET

Verified

Image Courtesy of Garmin

Key Takeaways:

Certified flight simulators often fail to accurately mimic the panels of upgraded aircraft, diminishing their value for maintaining specific aircraft proficiency.
Training critical failures in actual aircraft is unsafe and lacks realism (e.g., low-altitude engine failures, subtle malfunctions), making simulators preferable for this aspect.
The main obstacle to having custom, realistic, and certified simulators is the FAA's "whole sim" certification process, which prevents practical, component-based upgrades common in aircraft parts.
Consequently, the current best practice is a compromise: use simulators for failure training and the actual aircraft for avionics practice and approaches.

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Often I’ve railed against the inability of approved aviation training devices (sims) to mimic the aircraft we fly. If your panel has had any upgrades, you’ll generally not find a sim that comes close. This limits the value of sim training in maintaining proficiency for your aircraft.

So, why not train in your airplane? Training for complex aircraft is inferior in the airplane. In the sim you can trigger countless failures, an engine-driven fuel pump for example, that just can’t be created in the air. So, your instructor simply covers an instrument, or announces, “Oil pressure failure on the left engine.” In reality, those are often slow, subtle failures that can go unnoticed. If the instructor announces it, much of the training value is lost.