He was applying for a job with our school, and part of the interview process is a sim flight that evaluates basic skill, as well as whether the potential employee has studied our standard operating procedures. “Gotta hire that boy,” I thought to myself.

Should you shout “clear prop” each time you start a sim? I think so. After all, the job of a flight simulator is to, well, simulate flight. The manufacturers have gone to tremendous effort to make them as realistic as possible; we need to do our part, too. And yes, that includes all the callouts you’d normally make. It doesn’t matter that you are inside a building. Inside your head you need to be in the airplane. That is how you will get the most out of the simulator.

So set yourself up for a simulation flight as you would in an actual airplane. Have your kneeboard on your leg, just as you would in the actual airplane. Make your callouts in a normal tone of voice, just as you would in the actual airplane. Exercise the same cellphone discipline that you would in flight. And, yes, shout “Clear prop!” before each engine start and do it in the outdoor voice that I hope you use on the ramp, just as you would in the actual airplane. For added realism, use an ATC simulator like PilotEdge to talk with actual controllers.

Isn’t that going overboard? No. The purpose of a simulator is to help you develop good workflows, ingrain habit patterns, and give crisp automatic responses. But if you take shortcuts, skip steps, or make exceptions, it short-circuits the process and defeats this purpose. Worse, sloppy simulation may cause you to actually perform worse in the airplane because you will have practiced bad habits—which is caustic to learning and skill growth.

So take your flights in the simulator as seriously as you would any other training flight. With a proper mindset, the right attitude, and good discipline, even the humblest of flight simulators will make you a better pilot.

Clear prop, and get after it.