MS Flight Sim 2004
 

I'm thinking about buying this today, and I was wondering if this really helps out training in IFR conditions, such as flying approaches/working on the scan etc. The flight school that i'm at doesnt offer a sim, and i was wondering if this is a decent equivalent to one.

Also, from the threads i've read before, does this help you prepare well for the airline sim evaluation at all?

Thanks

It's good for basic instrument scan. Don't use the default planes though, they fly like crap. I've got a list of a few downloadable ones with glass, and a few with conventional panels that fly smooth enough to actually practice instrument stuff.

Unless you already have a good scan, it will most likely help you develop bad habits.

If you had a fast computer and a decent joystick, it does an excellent job of speeding up your scan. I bought it for my son, but ended up playing it a lot more due to the complexity of the game. Once you get used to the varying views, systems, etc., I just use the snapshot to set me up outside FAF's and fly approaches. I think there are 24000 airports in the sytem with all of the associated plates, huge program.

Thanks for your answers

Does anybody have the list of aircraft that is available in this program? Does it run slow on an ordinary laptop or do you need something really complex computer to run this?

When i bought MS flight sim i had to drastically upgrade my computer. Mainly because i didn't see the point in flying a plane that was really choppy(real planes won't do that). Alot is going to depend on the laptop you have now. I will tell you that you'll need a good vdeo card and large large processor the minimum system requirements are a joke. Let me put it this way I'm running a Asus board with and Intel dual core chip(3.2gig)nvidea graphics card and 2 gigs of ram and it's still choppy if i add to much extra scenery in. Now that being said i used it alot when i was doing my private and don't know if it helped but i do know i when i took my checkride it put my total time at 41.5 hours i would go home after every lesson and practice what i had that day. It is what it is and make sure you look at it that way. Definatly buy you the CH products control yoke and foot pedals or your wasting time as well!

My opinion is that desktop aviation sims are OK at introducing a concept or instrument maneuver - but lacking at developing proficiently at that skill. The best thing I've seen done with FS is Vectors :D

http://airlinepilotcentral.com/web_v...071011262.html

well one could go all out and become part of the virtual airline/pilot world with multiplayer aircraft and ATC. Vatsim.com is where you will find all that info. requires a few more downloads, and some training on how to get things working, but its a little more fun than the in game ATC. All free stuff BTW.

Its nice to work on holds in high winds, shoot that NDB approach without gps overlay with a nice wind. It's quite helpful, I feel.

Its a cheap and decent way to look at different panels of several types of planes and now it even has a couple that have G-1000 glass panels. On occaision I use it just to shoot an approach down to mins with really bad visibility to see if I can make it.

Now I wont say that it is a great "training aid/teaching tool" but it did come in handy for practicing some real world situations. After a 2 hour trip (real) had 1mi vis and 400ft ceilings. I shot a GPS approach down to mins - had to go missed - then flew to the alternate and shot an ILS down to mins (conditions dropped to 1/4mi vis and 200ft ceilings) - go missed - starting to get low on fuel and almost HAVE to land - shot the ILS again and finally made it.

NOW having said that I had practiced that same scenerio in a frasca simulator and the weather looked MUCH more real in MS Flight simulator X than in the frasca sim. Now of course the handling of the plane was much more real in the frasca sim, but FSX definitely had it beat on visuals.

There really isnt anything you cant practice on there, and you can set the weather to whatever you want. But just remember, nothing completely substitutes for the real thing.

I started using it after I developed my scan, but I still found it helpful for practicing approaches. Usually I would do the approaches for a lesson the night before and I found it a good way to stay prepared. When I felt like practicing without an upcoming flight lesson I would print out the plates for another part of the country and fly approaches into unfamilar airports.

Flight Simulator 2004 really helps the instrument scan if you practice it correctly ; I would use the Flight One Cessna 172 Skyhawk VATSIM is a great way to keep your radio work sharp too .

X-Plane by Austin Myers is an excellent pc/mac desktop sim also. It is more accurate in terms of flight dynamics than FS, although I think FS does better on visuals and has more airplanes. He got it FAA approved for certain PCATD applications last year and I don't think FS has ever been able to do that. I have always practiced approaches on pc based sims. It helps visualize the approach even if it is kind of cheesy compared to the real thing. As for flying around in flight sims for fun, it's not very interesting if you fly the real airplane.

I tried X-Plane and the only problem I have noticed is that with a wider screen the panel doesnt cover the entire screen... there are strips on the sides where you can see the scenery but not the panel.

Also I dont like the interface. but you are right, the "feel" of the planes is alot more realistic than FSX.

I think X-Plane is max 1280x720 pixels, so if it fills more screen than that you have to crop it somehow. It fits the normal 4:3 monitor shape. As for as interface, not sure what you mean by that but I have a CHProducts 6-throttle quadrant, joystick, and rudder pedals hooked up to it and would not want to use it without those controls due to rapid response the program has to to inputs from the pilot. It really is a more dynamic sim than FS2004.

One thing you can do with it, and I tried this, is set up a network with a second pc running a second monitor. You can divide up the visual content to allow a split of the visuals and give half of it to the slave computer. It's a mess getting it all set up, but when you do you have an expanded graphic output. I had mine split up so the aircraft panel was mostly on the bottom and the forward view out the window was on the top monitor. I eventually gave up on it because the computers weren't evenly matched and the slower one couldn't keep up. The faster one had a frame rate of 60 frames per sec. and the old one would barely manage half of that which was distracting. It was neat to see all that graphic content though. If I had the money to buy 3 matched computers I might give it another try. For practice you only need one pc and I use it for approaches and not much else. It is not accurate enough to model computational fluid response without which you're basically guessing in any flight sim.

I am a very active member with Flight Simulator.. Also on the Vatsim network.. Not to mention all of these other things stated.. With Vatsim it will even help you with your radio talk. It has definitly helped me. I recommend you to buy it.

As far as the interface I just mean the general program isnt nearly as organized or user friendly as FSX... I like the program itself and the visuals are decent... it definitely needs a newer version though. the updates just dont cut it compared to the visuals of FSX.

Also I have a widescreen monitor so thats a lot of why it cuts off the sides... Cant win em all right? haha

Agreed. X-Plane is a fussy program aimed at perfectionists. It doesn't do a lot of the things FS does so well, but has the best flight model currently available. The average user does not care how accurate the flight model is since they have never flown a real airplane.

but those of us who do on a regular basis get frustrated... but then again the best sim short of a level D sim is frustrating.. haha

I think it's an awesome way to stay proficient especially if you're not getting much hood time in. It's great for practicing hold entries, flying full approaches, flying NDB approaches, all of that stuff that doesn't get done too often.

There is a huge difference in computer requirements between FS2004 and FSX but to me its not worth buying a new computer to run FSX. FS2004 runs good on the average computer and there is alot of downloads that'll keep you busy. As for helping in training, its good for visualizing things like procedures before embarking on the real thing. FS2004 is worth the buy if your computer is a couple yrs old and FSX is great if you have a good computer bought within the last year or so. FSX minimum requirements on the box is very decietful. Im staying with FS2004 till computers go down some more in price.

it's great! it will actually save you money! (I used it to better understand how to enter holding patterns) go to flightsim.com to download planes and other things for the program. it's all free... good luck with training

I recommend MS flight sim to my instrument students but only AFTER we have covered basic things like scan and fundamentals of instrument flight. Its a great tool and can save an appreciable amount of money, just use it wisely.

I find its good for instrument stuff primarly. Im working on my currency in a sim (legal for IFR stuff) and Im finding that if I spent a little more time on 04 with approach plates, it would make it a quicker transistion to learn how to do that stuff again. I have a Dell E1705 laptop with a flight stick pro joy stick and it runs fine on that. I would get other aircraft though, becasue most of them on there suck. Anyways, PM if you have any questions.

FS is great, but make sure you don't develop any bad habits.

FS 2004 helped me tremendously when I was going through it. Another thing that alot of people overlook is the fact that you dont always have to use the vectors feature while talking with ATC. You can file your IFR flight plan on there, takeoff, in the ATC menu select a different approach and request a transition and due to entire approach and ATC will still give you altitudes and stuff, Great for procedures. I wouldnt worry to much about the computer being too slow, i turned my settings all down to bare minimum and ran fine on my normally slow computer. Also another tip, dont use clouds, just go into weather and set the vis down to your minimum required for the approach becuse with the low graphics settings you can see through the clouds lol. And later on, I bought the "Wilco" CRJ and flew it for 6 months prior to getting a job on the CRJ, helped me TREMENDOUSLY in sim training. just a thought if your going that far. Good luck