Survey: Home Flight Sim Helps Prepare Real-World Pilots

A new survey says flight students who supplement with home flight sims are able to shave almost 20 hours off flight training hours from the FAA average.

Meg Godlewski

Friday, May 31, 2024 at 03:27 PM ET

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Pilots can get valuable practice on simulators. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

A Flight Simulation Association study found that home flight simulation significantly reduces the hours needed for pilot certification, with users requiring 5.5 fewer flight hours than non-users and almost 20 hours less than the FAA average.
Home simulators allow pilots to reinforce concepts, practice procedures (like "chair flying" and building muscle memory), prepare for cross-country flights by familiarizing themselves with routes and landmarks, and safely troubleshoot issues.
Integrating virtual Air Traffic Control (ATC) with home simulators helps learners develop crucial communication and airspace management skills in a risk-free environment, and while not mimicking real-world "feel," it enhances instrument scanning abilities.

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One of the common challenges with learning to fly is that unlike learning to play a musical instrument, more often than not you cannot practice what you learned at home. That is, unless you have a home flight simulation set up.

While the time “logged’ using X-Plane or Microsoft Flight Simulator doesn’t count toward the required time for a certificate or rating, and it won’t give you the kinesthetic feel for the aircraft, it can still help reinforce concepts learned in lessons.