Home simulation made easy

“Getting Started With Flight Simulation – a Pilot’s Guide to Building Proficiency At Home” includes a series of videos that cover all the important details and considerations that go into choosing the system that best suits each pilot’s training and proficiency needs. That includes hardware as well as software.

Simulation experts and pilots Keith Smith and Jeff Van West bring their experience to bear on making home simulation a productive exercise. They offer advice on which peripherals (yoke or joystick?) will work best, what software is best suited for home simulation and the training and proficiency goals of pilots, and how it all goes together. Smith and Van West also show, through their own simulated flights, how to maximize the benefits of desktop simulation, including how to connect to live air traffic control for realistic radio practice.

PilotWorkShops Founder Mark Robidoux noted in a press release that a company survey found 38 percent of respondents were interested in personal flight simulation, though far fewer were actively doing so.

“What's holding them back? It's been too complicated for the average, non-techie pilot to get a well-configured sim, install everything, and teach themselves to fly it," Robidoux said.

The course costs $99 and includes access to the video content from multiple devices, a resource center with downloads, suggested flights, approved vendors, and discounts on recommended hardware.