Flight Sim Association Studies the Age-Old Question

The Flight Simulation Association completed a survey of pilots and air traffic controllers across the country, looking to quantify the exact impact of home-based flight simulation on their resulting training.

While it's long been said that flight simming is more harm than good, cementing bad habits and inflating egos in a phase that can't handle too much of either. That's been pushed back on in younger generations, however, as flight simulation became more advanced, and physical control setups came down in price. Now, with a plethora of free (but unvetted, to the consternation of the industry at large) information available online, it's not too surprising that kids today are seeing more benefits than those of old. The Association found that for Private Pilot students, those who used the flight sim saved about 5.5 hours of training time - not too shabby when Skyhawk time seems to settle around $150 an hour across the country. Throughout their training, the survey found that active flight sim enthusiasts got their certificate almost 20 hours faster than the national average.

The study is more than just a little self serving, given its origin, but it's at least one single voice advocating for the cheaper, more accessible choice for kids today. Flight simulation is one of the few viable pipelines we can rely on to bring new blood into the piloting fold, it demystifies aeronautics and brings the hobby into reach of the common man, all the more important when official training costs about $200 an hour. (Which, it can be noted, would require about 27 hours of minimum-wage work for a kid looking to fly today, plus taxes on both sides.) Overall, 89% of the survey's respondents said that they felt flight simulation was beneficial for training, too - though sampling bias undoubtedly shows up here.

The study may actually surreptitiously highlight one of the most important aspects of flight training, beyond the use of Saitek Yokes and kneeboard setups in the living room: Passion. Those who carve out hours of their precious spare time to engage in flight simulation are most often those who truly love the craft, they practice, obsess, and perfect in theory before moving on to the real thing.

FMI: www.flightsimassociation.com