Quote from Hangar45 Admin on December 18, 2017, 9:23 am

(Original thread started on 05-16-2013 by Eric Williams)

There is some truly exciting times in the very near future. With the sheer number of Lear builders on the verge of nearly fully functional sims- I have but one piece of advice- find people to join you in the cockpit.

 

Take this as you wish, but I have discovered that there is actually a very good reason we have two people on the cockpit. There is truly more than one person can do. My sim is nowhere near as functional as many others here are (or soon will be) and I have learned a few things:

 

1. Even with full FGC control from wheels up to wheels-down- there is more than one person can do.

 

2. Even a full ILS approach demands more attention than you think.

 

3. A DME ARC is not as easy as you think.

 

4. ATC will always beckon at the worst times.

 

5. If you fly online, above point will be 100X worse.

 

6. Using another online service to avoid VATSIM will not work well for your EFB assistance.

 

7. The route you planned will not be exactly what you execute.

 

8. You will dial in the wrong frequencies for NAV or com.

 

9. You will have instances of the above which cause GPWS to scream at you.

 

10. You will get lost taxiing at an unfamiliar airport.

 

11. You will make wrong turns and cause some hilarity due to above point.

 

12. Random systems/hardware will fail during flight - even if you have failures turned of.

 

13. Weather will make flights the best and worst simultaneously.

 

14.  Even with settings tweaked- the Lear is a twitchy beast at times.

 

15. The Lear is a speed demon and will cause things to happen 2X faster than you anticipate.

 

16. You will sweat!

 

17. You will curse!

 

18.  And if you don't turn off all auto-updates you will scream!

 

With all that being said- if you are fortunate enough to have someone to join you in the cockpit, you are all set. If not- you may wish to start grooming someone to join you downrange. As all the systems come online, I guarantee you will find it less enjoyable to fly a realistic flight by yourself. It's simply exhausting. At the same time... it's still a blast!

 

For those that didn't see it- this is the last video I made of my SIM. Others here are about to surpass its functionality by many times.

 

https://youtu.be/UW0bqL24Z0k

 

(Posted by Will Sasse on 05-17-13)

Just remember the old pilots adage - "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate".

Its written in that order for a purpose, it is prioritizing safety first, don't get stuck on communications. Even in reality we pilots tell ATC to standby sometimes because we are busy with flying, this is acceptable. They have bad days too and do the same to us! I have never listened to online ATC for Sims, I do image it could get harrowing as there may be a lot of people who do not understand the system, this doesn't happen in the real world. Also remember that ATC may tell you what to do, but you (the pilot) control what you end up doing. You can tell ATC that you are not going to do what they want, that in fact you are going to do something else. It is a negotiated partnership, don't let them push you to do something where you are not comfortable. I imagine that online ATC tries to operate the same as reality, so the effect should be the same.

 

As for IF flying (ILS & other approaches), yes it is tricky in the beginning, but it is a skill and the more you practice the better you get, the easier it becomes. I would suggest read some books, look for online Instrument flying courses and learn the techniques suggested. There is a lot of information about this out there.

 

If I had to give one tip, it would be "think/plan ahead". Normally we sneak up on thinking far enough ahead, pilot training starts in 120knot aircraft for a purpose, then you would proceed through a range of more capable performing aircraft before getting into a Learjet and doing 450 knots or more. Each step would give you 10s, if not 100s, of hours at that speed, and it takes that many hours sometimes to get used to thinking ahead fast enough.

 

If you are struggling with the required Learjet speed of thought, step back in FS to something more manageable - say a piston twin or complex single, and get it right there. Then move into a turbo-prop, then back into your Lear. Anybody who jumps straight into a Lear and flys it well hitting all the planning and performance parameters easily has my respect and awe! But I don't think there would be many so capable without stepping up the ladder.

 

I also will not have a co-pilot most of the time, but intend to fly doing what I can and ignoring the rest, after all if I don't like whats happening I can always hit Pause and go make a cup of tea!

 

Alan, a lot has been said about pussies and cockpits, I will say no more.

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 05-17-13)

Cannot agree more with you Eric G. Most here know that I am very fortunate to have a very dedicated Co Pilot to fly with every week. This makes for a much more immersible flight sim experience and it's not nearly as fun for me to fly my sim when he (or someone else) is not available. Of course, the sim is down right now but once it's back up, I'm sure Matthew will be flying again. Right now we're knocking orders out on Friday nights.

 

Well written Will and I agree 100%. I have logged well over 1000 hours prior to even the release of FSX in a wide variety of aircraft and many more hundreds un-logged and that has definitely contributed to my flying as a [i]virtual[/i] LJ45 Captain. If I ever have some extra dough, I might spring for a Type Rating via Flight Safety!

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 05-17-13)

I'm not sure where my skill set is compared to most, but I did start with C172 in the SIM many moons ago. I moved up to the Lear long before I found this site but I have no clue how many hours I've logged, I don't think I wanna know! I'm pretty good with most instrument procedures in the SIM and I'm actually finishing up my PSTAR rating (Canadian real world Pilot License) next month I hope!

 

That's actually why I haven't touched the SIM in a long time. Like I said, I'm not sure what all the your experiences will be, but I virtually guarantee some will find it somewhat frustrating when they try to do everything by the numbers. The sheer workload is more than one may think when all systems are functioning (this would entirely depend on what type of flying you do though).

 

I didn't want to cast any negative light on it- it is truly amazing to fly our Learjets but my advice- if you can fly with a copilot- you will enjoy it more... You have my 30 day money back guarantee!

 

(Posted by Marco Lamanna on 05-18-13)

Eric, I completely agree with you. Yesterday I made my second online flight with my "young" and "beta" (maybe Alpha) lear45 home cockpit connected to IVAO server, for their STRESS TEST EVENT.

 

It is a very complex job to fly online with real controllers...just the taxi clearance was so difficult to follow (TAXY to hold point Alpha RWY 23 via Mike Taxiway) because of I'm not so quick to read airport charts.

 

To follow the assigned SID, to set Transponder code and remember to activate it after taking off, to set the right radio frequencies, to keep speed limit under FL100 and so on...was so challenging that after an hour of flight I was very tired.

 

There was a friend of mine as co-pilot just to read the checklist during the busy phases of flight...and it helped me so much that I think I will never fly alone (at least online)...

 

Anyway...flying online is a huge experience...and it makes me feel as a "real pilot"

 

https://youtu.be/8-v_QogI2OU

 

And here is the story about flight:

http://en.mylearjet45.net/2013/05/ivao-stess-test-event-out-test-flight.html[/url

 

(Posted by Mark L. on 06-07-13)

Eric W, I believe you can view your hours logged in FSX, it's done automatically for you, browse around the Main menu and I believe you can find those stats. Of course provide all hours are on the same install of FSX or add them up if available.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 06-08-13)

Yep I used to keep track a bit, but I've re-installed FSX so many times since.- i have no idea where I'm at. I was actually very lucky for a couple years. Some time ago I had a spinal surgery that did not work out very well- During my slow recovery I found a fantastic Gentleman named Warren who was practicing ATC in B.C Canada. I flew countless hours under his gentle ATC guidance. Basically every night of the week a small group of us would meet and challenge each other to a new navigation adventure.

 

Warren, in real life, actually endured a brain tumor removal and was using the FSX ATC role to challenge his cognitive skills. In turn we received the most amazing ATC- and a true friend. I spent countless hours on wild VOR and NDB navigation "goose-chases" all plotted by Warren. I was quite lucky to have met him as it taught me more than I would have learned in years on my own.

 

Truth be told- I lost contact with him a couple years back and I fear the worst. My hope is that he is doing well guiding new pilots with the same kind words I was fortunate enough to experience.

 

One of the last flights I remember- Group of 4 172's, myself and 1 other had King Air's. We were navigating somewhere around CYYF; jumping around on a typical VOR/NDB "puzzle" he had cooked up. IFR sets in, ceiling dropped down to the ground essentially.This is definitely not the area you want this to happen when on a navigation "scavenger hunt". Warren guided us each in safely one by one, all the while, having multiple aircraft holding in a mountain valley with zero visibility. Good times!

 

Anyhow this has nothing to do with the original post, but Mark got me thinking about some fond memories flying the SIM with some good people. Picked me up during a low point in my life.

 

(Posted by Terry Collins on 06-08-13)

Eric your comments echo real world flying. When I met with Dugald recently he said the exact same thing - the workload for one pilot in the LJ45 is very high. No such thing as single pilot IFR in a Learjet!