Originally Posted by
SookyAirlines
How do you feel about desktop simulators (X-plane and FSX with PMDG and propeller plains)? Will problems solved (with landings, ex. too high, too fast, lineup, flare, instrument use) there really have any effect on flight test results in the real world?
Generally no, although most will say "(expletive) no!" Those simulations do not provide the cues that are used to land an airplane. Someone that understands landings and knows how to land an airplane can usually do it in a sim or real life, but it doesn't really work the other way. What you should strive to do is learn about landings, why they work, how they work. Much of the time people try to force an airplane on the ground at too high of a speed or they somehow think the pitch increases at the same time the wheels start to touch (balloon). The timing is often different with different types of planes, but the cues are the same. Even when I was able to teach someone to land in the sim, it wouldn't translate into real life.