June is National Safety Month and in honor of that, we are highlighting one way to improve your skills and make yourself a better pilot. Flight simulators are a vital part of training and here at Sterling students are familiar with the Redbird FMX and Frasca RTD. All our students have access to these devices and our career programs have designated simulator time built into the curriculum. But why do we use them?
As a pilot you must be ready for anything – bad weather, air traffic control issues, aircraft failure. Training these scenarios in an actual plane however can be expensive and dangerous to the student. That’s where simulators come in, and they’ve come a long way over the years.
A sophisticated simulator can mimic an aircraft’s sounds, movement, and visuals to get you as close to flying the real thing as possible. This offers the opportunity to practice maneuverers that are just too dangerous to try in the sky.
If things don’t go as planned, the result is far better than when things don’t go as planned in an aircraft. You can take as many tries as you need in a simulated environment to improve your skills and gain confidence without worrying about the consequences.
Another way simulators can improve your flying is allowing you to experience different airports, terrains, and weather patterns. Typically, your flight training is contained to one geographic area so you may be unfamiliar with flying around mountains, water, landing shorter runways, etc. In a virtual environment you can diversify your training without breaking the bank.
The receptiveness and convenience of being able to train anytime makes you a safer pilot in the cockpit and if you practice enough, these responses to a crisis will become second nature to you should an event ever occur.
If you’re ready to improve your safety and confidence as a pilot, book time in one of our simulators today!
