by Dave McCormick, former member
updated by Jose Helu, webmaster
I was inspired by a conversation I had with George Butterfield who
recommended that I buy a yoke and pedals to improve the realism in
using a flight simulator. Before, I was using a joystick and it was a
mediocre flight experience. George said that he tries to fly at least
one approach per night to keep sharp. After buying the yoke and
peddles, I have found that this has greatly improved the experience and
utility of my flight simulator (I use Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Professional).
AvWeb posted an online article on the use of PC flight
simulators to help you maintain proficiency, especially for IFR
proficiency. (however the link is broken and the webmaster can't find
the article just yet - stay tuned!)
Recommended uses of the simulator:
Improving or maintaining scan and coordination
Testing out approaches to unfamiliar airports
Flying approaches to minimums
Systems failures
Weather (turbulence, wind shear, rain, ice, etc.)
I found that in flying the approach to an unfamiliar airport this
summer in the week before the trip allowed me to find subtle features
on the approach chart that I missed initially and to anticipate things
much better. I think it’s a very cheap way to stay proficient. And
where else are you going to be able to press “pause” when things start
going badly?
Relatively cheap yoke and pedals for PCs
Unless you are loaded and can spring for the Elite simulator and
hardware package, the next best thing has to be using a cheaper PC
flight simulator and buying a yoke and peddles. Avshop.com sells a
nice, relatively cheap set of controls from CH. The products are:
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Professional (now superseded by
MS FS 2004)
As of October 2005, you can buy MS FS 2004
individually for $30 or as a bundle with
the
yoke and pedals above for about $250. Avshop.com sells a whole
range of other
flight simulators as well.
More products of this type may have come out since the article
was written.
Note: If you go the USB route, you may need a USB hub to increase the
number of USB devices that you can plug into your PC. These run about
$40-45 at CircuitCity (there
is a powered USB hub at Avshop for $31.
For users of older PC’s without USB connectors, there are also
“gameport” (serial port) versions of the yoke and pedals that are
slightly cheaper, but you will need more than one gameport to use them
in combination.
Archer II for Flight Simulator 2002
Flight1.com has a Piper
Archer II add-on plane for Flight Simulator
2004 (which also works with MS FS 2002) for about $20.00. It is one of
the most realistic planes
(see picture below) that have been produced for Flight Sim 2002/2004,
with
many very nice additional features that make this a perfect addition
for those of us in the club who fly the Archers. For example, they have
adjustments for 0-3 passengers, and you can set the weights of the
pilot and pax, so that performance changes with different loading.
If you have any questions about the flight simulators, please feel free
to contact me.
