Pascoe

So is there an FT do in the offing any time soon?

bchandler02

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...er-2017-a.html

Unfortunately my last day in the UK is the 16th, so I won't be able to join the group and have to do it on my own.

trf0412

Great to see my thread has come back to life! For some reason I didn't get email alerts though. Anyway, it's been a hectic year and so I still haven't used the voucher I bought myself on Christmas Eve 2016! With only a couple of months left, I took a look at availability and saw they BA are no longer offering the 767 sim.

So, do I choose the 747 or the 777? I saw on this thread that someone recommended the 747, but for what reason? If someone could just list the main differences and pros/cons that would be really appreciated.

NA-Flyer

I wonder if the 787 simulator is available for hire?

speccy

X-plane for the Mac is about as good as it gets

trf0412

Thanks for the suggestion. Not sure I want to spend $60, given how much the sim is already costing me. What does the Demo version allow you to do? (i.e. is it the full version, but time-limited, or a dumbed down version?)

speccy

From memory I think it is time limited? Certainly full functionality but not world wide scenery or aircraft fleet.

KARFA

no it isn't sadly. The only ones available to the public are the 777 and 747 now.

Jagboi

I's say the 747 partly because it's going away, while the 777 will be around for quite a while longer. The 747-400 is interesting that the 747 series was designed in the non computer era and was updated, so it's something of a hybrid - it's a mechanical cockpit with electronics added, but still retains the feel of the older aircraft. You know you're flying a plane, not moving a joystick. It's also a very easy and forgiving aircraft to fly.

I have not been in the 777 sim, but my felling based on photos is that it's more computerized and less mechanical feeling. More like playing a video game and the 747 feels more like a real plane. I found the 747 sim to be very realistic and I soon forgot I wasn't in a real plane. If I had been blindfolded and dropped into the 747 sim cockpit I would I have thought I was flying a real plane.

bazza1603

Anyone know of any motion simulators in the North East or at a push the Midlands/NorthWest? Look for wide bodied if possible.

Failing that anyone any experience of the 737 at Brunswick near Newcastle Airport?

KARFA

Have sent a PM.

rumbataz

I enjoyed two hours on the 747-400 simulator a couple of years ago. I was booked for one hour but the simulator crashed well into the first hour. It scared the living daylights out of me to the point that I panicked and the instructor had to calm me down! There was a big jolt as if the aircraft got hit by something. Something must have happened to the hydraulics. I was worried for a moment that I'd have to climb down using the escape ladder, but the instructor checked that the drawbridge was okay.

What surprised me was how old and decrepit the 747-400 cockpit was! Another thing I noticed was how the instructor was being quite forceful with the yoke with lots and lots of rapid corrective inputs. I failed miserably on my first couple of landings as I was trying to be way too gentle with the yoke.

Anyway, I got a free extra hour and I'm sure they had to clean the seat of the broken simulator.

I didn't pay but I'd say it was worth it. In those days it was £399 for an hour I think. You get a certificate at the end too.

Greenpen

A simulator is fun but I do wonder how realistic it is. The view from the cockpit of the outside world is very poor so does the lack of realistic experience extend further?

I did join the FT evening to the BA simulators in 2016 and it was a very enjoyable experience but I did wonder about the reality of it? Do pilots gain proper experience from simulators or just a general feel for the aircraft and the position and possible response of controls?

florens

While you may lack a bit of the situational awareness in the sim (this is what our instructor told us during this year's outing), they are very, very realistic. They (not all, but some) are so realistic that they are referred to as zero flight time sims where you can get your type rating from only flying in them!