Author Topic: poll: Think you can fly? (Read 1358 times)

Wlfgng · « **Reply #15 on:** February 25, 2003, 03:51:30 PM »

too much information there stony

narsus · « **Reply #16 on:** February 25, 2003, 03:55:08 PM »

From experience taking off and flying around is fairly simple IMO, landing can be a bit hairy depending on crosswinds. When I was going for flight lessons in a piper cherokee, there was a 20knot crosswind and gusting to 25. The instructer and myself fought the controls to get it down safely, but man what an experience.

gofaster · « **Reply #17 on:** February 25, 2003, 04:03:29 PM »

Easy answer - No. AH doesn't model the actual ignition sequence.

AKIron · « **Reply #18 on:** February 25, 2003, 04:16:04 PM »

MS Flight Simulator will do a much better job of teaching you to fly than AH. However, nothing short of a full motion professional simulator can prepare you for the actual experience.

loser · « **Reply #19 on:** February 25, 2003, 04:21:53 PM »

I honestly think that i could fly something with a really light wing loading and low powered engine with super simple controls and avionics.

Say a DeHavilland Tiger Moth or like Rip's Dad's J-3.

I think that flying such a simple aircraft wouldnt be that hard, but there is so much more to flying than keeping the plane in the air.

If i flew anymore than 100 miles from where i live i would be lost. I think i could calculate landmarks and roadways about that far to know where in hell I was, but after that i would be screwed. Not to mention if i had to fly at night.

Then there is all the fuel mixture stuff you have to worry about. Think i could get a grasp on that with brief instruction but to just jump in i think i might have some trouble.

The only experience i have with planes are flight sims and i was HEAVY into RC when i was younger. Plus i have gone through most of my grandpa's notes from when he was in flight school.

So if i was given a simple plane, close to home, during the day, with little or no wind. Yeah, I'd say i could do it.

Replicant · « **Reply #20 on:** February 25, 2003, 04:56:45 PM »

Yes.

I had chatted to my instructor that I was 'into' Flight Sims and for some reason he had a lot of faith in me?! So when I had my first lesson in a Cessna 152 he let me take off and have complete control. He helped me land my first approach, I rolled again did another circuit and landed myself.

Second lesson was in a Piper Warrior, different instructor, wasn't so easy going! Only let me take off and fly around, shadowed me down for the land.

Hardest thing I found was the rudder pedals, I wasn't using them on my sim at the time so I found that side completely new.

CyranoAH · « **Reply #21 on:** February 25, 2003, 06:48:40 PM »

The only hard thing with flying is flaring at the right altitude. In a plane such as a Cessna, you can do it terribly wrong and the plane will forgive you and put you safely on the ground.

Just don't try it with an unstable taildragger or you will most definitely get hurt.

Daniel

crowMAW · « **Reply #22 on:** February 25, 2003, 10:41:06 PM »

Flight sims definitely help.

When I started working on my glider rating I had not flown a "real" airplane in 20 years (started power lessons but never finished). I did have hundreds (perhaps thousands

) of sim hours. My first flight, I was on the controls for launch, tow, thermaling, and landing. My instructor was extremely surprised (I didn't bother to tell him about the sim hours

). I solo'ed in half the number of flights that most of his students required.

The most natural part of the flight for me was the tow...all I had to do was stay on the tow plane's six! I'd had lots of practice doing that.

moose · « **Reply #23 on:** February 25, 2003, 10:41:17 PM »

Yes.

I did my 1st landing on my 2nd lesson.

Soloed at a little under 5 hours.

I don't think im a natural. It was just like flyin in AH or FS2002 or all the other flightsims ive done over the years.

mjolnir · « **Reply #24 on:** February 26, 2003, 02:43:58 AM »

I started the process for my ppl about a year after I started playing AH, and every instructor I rode with remarked that I seemed very comfortable with the plane and that I knew what I was doing. It was even kinda fun at the end of the day to go back and practice landing patterns in AH. I don't know if I could have done my first flight entirely on my own with nothing but AH to draw on, but it certainly wasn't a mind-boggling brown shorts kind of experience either. It just felt natural to be up in the air.

mora · « **Reply #25 on:** February 26, 2003, 03:29:45 AM »

I think you could fly a Cessna very easily after extensive sim experience. I would also think that you could somewhat handle something like a 737 in a full motion simulator.

OTOH when i took my glider course, my sim experience wasn't too helpful...I had flown with a twist rudder before and as sailplanes reguire much more precise rudder imputs than any other planes, I really had trouble keeping the ball centered. I think I made my 10th flight without any instructor input. After the course I immediately ordered SIMPED pedals because I couldnt fly with the twist anymore and it would propably have spoiled my pedalwork too..

StSanta · « **Reply #26 on:** February 26, 2003, 04:15:25 AM »

Why would you want to be able to fly?

It's too expensive to take a plane up, bail out, repeat. Much easier to have some idiots who want to be meat bomb drivers so they can log flying time.

Flying is for suckers. *Falling* is where the charm is.

X2Lee · « **Reply #27 on:** February 26, 2003, 06:18:50 AM »

You guys that think you can fly after playing a game online are too funny! Do your passengers a favor and leave them on the ground to live, they may have family.
Btw, even on the REMOTE, OUTSIDE, possibility that you could
land the damn thing, throw in a 5knot wind and all yer SIM
time is moot.

I thought I could land a plane just from reading books on flight
when I was a kid....

Naso · « **Reply #28 on:** February 26, 2003, 07:20:25 AM »

I had the licence before discovering AirSims.

In my first flight i managed the take off and the landing circuit, but instructor took controls in the finals.

Managed to land on second flight, after the lesson on the stall, was an intensive experience, indeed (worried so much!)

What was very difficult for me at the beginning was the pedals on ground.

My instructor (he flew on MC205, too

) said I was a natural talent... wasted now (no money to proceed further)

I tend to believe that he was overestimating me, since in AH I suck soo much!!

Anyway, if you look at the today's AirSims, there's almost nothing missing, except an importan thing:

Your... bellybutton (in Italian make sense, I dont know in english).

It means "the phisical sensations that your ride comunicate to you thru your body".

All the FlightSims give you only visual informations (and little more, with the forcefeedback sticks).

I guess it's possible to up a plane having only flightsims experience.... even the landing can be done, with a sensible risk.

I mean with REAL flightsim experience, not the "up, furball, die" AH common experience

CyranoAH · « **Reply #29 on:** February 26, 2003, 07:59:55 AM »

One thing that can happen to you when flying for the first time coming from a flightsim environment is that you tend to pay more attention to the instruments than to the plane attitude.

My instructor pointed it out to me a couple of times, but luckily it was not necessary to put discs in front of the instruments to check if I was flying truly visual

Here's a video I took of a flyby of a mountain nearby the field I fly from and the final and landing on RWY 31 (900yds). You have probably seen it as I posted it in another thread.

http://casal.upc.es/~danig27/molaaprox31.wmv

Daniel