But Imabsolutely convinced that its well worth the cost. Since then, Ive returned for regular sim training every six months. For available course dates click on the links below. The Freedom of Flight depends on the safe operation of your Piper. We received input from a number of pilots regarding their experience with upgrade training. In previous lives, Ray had owned a flight school, a charter company and flown Part 91 corporate. Simcom is located in Orlando, Florida and has two visual-motion simulators, classrooms and a team of professional flight instructors located in Orlando, Florida. We think it will save you money in the process of getting comfortable in your airplane. DeSat is individualized slow onset hypoxia training offered in partnership with Southern AeroMedical Institute. So I asked them how we were doing. Knowing how the systems work and how to troubleshoot them helps isolate problems for the A&P.. 480-377-0222, B737-200 Abbreviated Destinations outside of this boundary run an additional $1.25 per mile. So did my friend Chris Wrather, a 1,500-hour pilot andBonanza owner, who accompanied me to RTC for his first taste of sim-based training. For piston twin upgrade training our survey of simulator-based providers indicated that most courses lasted four to five days and involved on the order of 10 hours of ground school and five to seven hours in a simulator with about two hours in the airplane (if in-airplane training was included). Perhaps a third of the malfunctionsand emergencies we train for in the sim cannot be done in the aircraft, either becausetheyre impossible to duplicate (e.g., overvoltage trip, induction system icing, propelleroverspeed, left main gear wont extend) or are simply too dangerous to practice (e.g.,engine failure immediately after takeoff, flying with a heavy load of airframe ice). Or, perhaps your goal might lean more toward a systems refresher. instead of aircraft-specific systems knowledge. TO SCHEDULE YOUR TRAINING, OR FOR MORE INFORMATION. The FSI rep we spoke with said that the company has gone to all Level D simulators (the highest currently available) and it was no longer financially feasible for them to provide piston twin training. ViaMichelin will help you to determine the best route based on various options and, by default, offer two to three routes with varying costs, distances and journey times. $7,750, Open Its not clear to me that the SimCom philosophyis better or worse than the one FlightSafety uses. Simcom is located in Orlando, Florida and has two visual-motion simulators, classrooms and a team of professional flight instructors located in Orlando, Florida. 760-476-0890, Flight Safety International Belvoir Media Group, LLC. I skipped Recurrent Training Center (RTC). Are COVID Vaccines Injuring Pilots? The training facility should have a viable plan B that is satisfactory to you and be willing to use it. Cause failures you just cant (or shouldnt) duplicate in the airplane. 878 Greenview Drive accident rateduring low-viz approaches, particularly at night, is a testament to the inadequacy of ourtraining. SimComs prices are at least 25% lower than FlightSafetys. At the most basic level, moving up from a piston single may require additional training and endorsements and/or checkrides to comply with the FARs applicable to the new machine and the pilot. Other situations that we do try to practice in the aircraft can beaccomplished only in very unrealistic ways. 40 hours per week Legacy Flight Training LLC is an Authorized Training Provider for the M350, M500 and is the exclusive Authorized Training Provider for the M600. SimComis the big dog in the simulator-based flight training world. I thought I knew the systems pretty well, but the test still revealed more than a few weak areas to strengthen. Now offering Gulfstream G650, Challenger 300/350, Phenom 300, and Pilatus PC-12NGx training! $10,495, West Air Aviation If you want to stay proficient while at the sametime treating your aircraft with TLC, you should seriously consider doing your recurrenttraining in a simulatoror in someone elses aircraft! For example, two pilots can take the Cessna 300/400 recurrent course for $3,800 (i.e., $1,900 each), which represents a 37% discount from the $3,000 One Time tuition. You will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and proficiency in normal and emergency procedures. Plan on spending a bare minimum of $4000 for piston-twin upgrade training. Carlsbad, CA Finally, training in a good simulator is a helluva lot of fun. Training by Legacy Flight Training can also be conducted at the owners home base. Ive personally flown a certified AATD simulating a Cessna 414 that would accelerate on an ILS with the power off. Consequently, its a good idea to mix it up occasionally. Cost for the single-engine course starts at $889 for a "generic IFR recurrent." For airplane-specific recurrent training, prices range from $1000 for Cessna singles, through $1600 for the Cirrus series. 407-852-5300, 1555 W University Drive, Suite 108 There are pros and cons to both sides of the simulator-versus-aircraft discussion. Thats the best of both worlds. A good simulator allows you to train for these and many other real-world challenges ina highly realistic setting. The price goes up from there based on the type of aircraft involved and the amount of training you require to reach proficiencywhich may include a mentor pilot flying with you for some hours following the formal training course. (They also offer turboproptraining for the Beech King Air, Piper Cheyenne, and Pilatus PC-12.) We provide many specialty courses, and are proud to introduce world-class, integrated Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) through Aviation Performance Solutions (APS). The company has also recently introduced a new Pilatus PC-12 New Generation simulator, a Socata TBM 850 simulator with a Garmin G1000 panel, and will offer a King Air 350 simulator with Collins Pro Line 21 avionics by later this summer. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Accidentstatistics back this up: pilots who get regular sim training are far safer than those whodont. Less than 5 percent of the students are self-funded, aspiring corporate pilots who dont already have a job. I recently learned of a facility Id not previously known. A combination of more than a decade of economic growth, a soft aviation insurance market (although that appears to be changing) and relatively low selling prices for used piston twins, turboprops and light jets has resulted in a healthy number of piston single owners giving serious thought to stepping up to more capableand demandingairplanes. Calling as a student (not an editor), I reached out to another facility Id previously visited, Glass Simulator Center (now SIMPRO) in Aurora, IL, but they didnt return my call. All rights reserved. 1 & 2. SimComs trainingalso included circling approaches under low-visibility conditions. No. In an airplane, how many approaches can you fly in an hour? The size and number of SimCom facilities, however, has expanded. For pilots who trainregularly, alternating between the type-specific recurrent and the instrument recurrentcourses provides a well-rounded program. All Rights Reserved. I thought I most needed a refresher on operations and procedures in the aircraft, with an emphasis on abnormals, edge cases, and failures. Childs Associates LP, although David is still president and CEO. Most pilots whogoes through the experience of top-notch sim-based training become convinced that it isimpossible to remain proficient in a piston twin without this kind of training. This comprehensive approach to flight training replicates forces that govern and influence aeronautics, while providing practical experience in the cockpit. $9,875 the cheapest) may suggest quieter roads or avoiding . Rates for SimCom training span a fairly broad price range, since a Piper Seneca FTD costs significantly less than a Hawker 800 full-motion simulator, but daily course rates run between $620 and $2,200. Helicopter Company Orlando is the companys main headquarters and training location. My advice to prospective SIMCOM clients would be to ask about the sim youd use, ask its age and origin. Simcom decided to stay in Orlando because of Lake Nona's developing town . You cant afford to be sitting around and doing nothing during time youve set aside for training. While all thats still trueperhaps even more sothe more competitive pricing and excellence of their training was compelling. This means that much of their training is one on one. Yet, quality recurrent training isnt cheap. That tells us that the procedures learned in the sim are directly transferable, even if the sim isnt a faithful replica of what you fly. What value do you place on your life and the lives of your passengers? And when you arrive at RTC for training, they dontgive you a personalized laminated nametag or a 200-page looseleaf binder or a customizedcanvas tote bag. Now, if you think about it, the same idea applies to training. As multi-type-rated pilot Michel Litalien told us, You can do pressurization failures in a simulator all day long, but until you pressurize the airplane, take it to 14,000 feet, dump the pressurization and feel the effects, you dont have a gut-level understanding of what depressurization in the flight levels would really involve.. SimCom began with one facility in Orlando, Florida. And I had lunch one day with these two King Air 200 pilots, whod flown for about 10 years, but were trying us out for recurrent training for the first time because our price was lower. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Adjust the weather to be exactly what you want. 5000 N.W. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Gary Santos, SIMCOM's Scottsdale Training Centre Manager stated: "I'm very happy to announce that our PC-12 NGX Flight Training Device Level 6 - the highest level of realism for a fixed-wing Flight Training Device - has passed its FAA evaluation today in our Scottsdale facility. I wrote a detailed chronicle of that experience (Trainingat FlightSafety) because it was a watershed event in my flying career. When that feeling starts to fade, its time to schedule another cycle. What an eye-opener! Although the tuition was quite expensive, I rationalized that most of thecost would be offset by reduced aircraft insurance premiums and reduced wear and tear onmy airplane. At times the sim would just do its own thing, leaving nothing the pilot could do about the impending crash. Myfirst exposure to serious simulator training took place in October of 1987,about six months after Id purchased my T310R. Most instructors at facilities like RTC and SIMCOM are retired been-there-done-that pros, including my instructor, Mr. Ray Campbell. Dr. Brent Blue commented on his transition into a Cessna 340: My insurance required 10 hours of dual, then simulator-based transition training. TheChampaign training facility is housed in an off-airport storefront building that RTCshares with a travel agency, and is functional but hardly plush. True story: The elevator, rudder and trims on my aircraft are operated by cables that run under the floorboards, down the cabin, into the tail section and to the respective controlspretty normal stuff. But, I checked with them and found a somewhat different attitude. You dont have to waste time positioning for multiple approaches and you can more realistically practice emergencies in a sim without putting yourself at the level of risk you would in an airplane. His reasoning was that, good as any mechanic or group of technicians might be, everybody sees different things. He is the author of. Transition Training But figure out your personal objectives before you go so you can share those with the instructor to make sure thats what you get. So Idecided to do it. NOTE: In 1998, FlightSafety introduced a new Operational Recurrentcourse in its Cessna 300/400 program that offers a similar LOFT emphasis. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The annual cost is about 60% higher than the One Time tuition, and the minimum contract period is two years. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Hinson openly discussed what is too often a dirty little secret in upgrade trainingwhile the syllabus may be standardized, much of the quality of the training is dependent on the quality and experience of the instructor. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. If FlightSafety is the Rolls Royce of piston sim training and Simcom is theLexus, then Recurrent Training Center would have to be the Ford pickup or the Dodgeminivan. Tempe, AZ Seattle,WA FlightSafety operates a Raytheon/Beech Learning Center in Wichita, Kansas, at whichsimulator-based initial and recurrent training is available for the Beech Bonanza, Baronand Duke. The vision system is a differentmatter. Frank Bowlin is a strong believer in simulator-based flight training. Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a flight review through the FAA Wings Program. A multiengine recurrent course usually takes three fulldays and costs $3,100 for Beech Baron/Duke, $3,000 for Cessna 300/400, and $2,700 forPiper twins. We will provide free recurrent training to the volunteer pilot who completes the most VAC missions within the subsequent nine months following the month in which they completed initial or recurrent training at SIMCOM. Now, almost 45 percent of the 8,000 people who train at SimCom each year are professional corporate pilots, sent there by their employers. Until then, Id not recommend this program. You just cannot practice engine outs in the aircraft as you can in the sim. The system displays show what is going on as the pilot works through normal, abnormal and emergency operations of the various systems. We heard from piston twin owners who had trained in FlightSafety Internationals motion-based simulators before FSI stopped doing piston twin training and who told us that they have been unable to find any training provider that now gives piston twin training at the level FSI did. In one instance, I had to deal with a total electrical failure justafter a nighttime takeoff, and had to visually circle back to the airport in a totallyblacked-out cockpit. Those things havent changed, and I dont expect them to change in the future., What has changed, according to David, is the technology both the complexity of the avionics in the planes, and the technology SimCom uses to deliver its product. Any owner with the financial wherewithal to step into the world of aircraft with engines that go whoosh is smart enough to immediately talk the idea over with his or her insurance broker. This is a reasonable compromise.). Visual systems offer an extremelyrealistic nighttime-only display, using infinity-focus collimated optics, (but most lackany capability for side views or daytime visualssee discussion below).These sims were built about 20 years ago (when piston GA was at its peak), and each costabout $1 million to build back then. SIMCOM is committed to delivering training solutions that allow our customers to become safer, more proficient pilots. Cessna 300/400 training is also available at FSIsfacility in Long Beach, California. Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a Flight Review and Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC). CAE eLearning courses empower you to take learning and safety into your own hands with more than 80 courses covering General Operating and Bombardier aircraft-specific courses. (Yes, its a 421 sim, but has profiles and swappable instruments for other Twin Cessnas. Partner Pricing Program provides reduced tuition for two pilots who train together, taking the same FSI course at the same place and time. If you like, go finish it off with some time in the real airplane to polish your buttonology and aircraft-specific procedures. Senior Editor Rick Durden has written for Aviation Consumer since 1994 and specializes in aviation law. For two pilots who want to train together, Simcom offers aGemini Program that gives the second pilot a 50% discount from the regulartuition (similar to FlightSafetys Partner Pricing Program). For the three- to six-day upgrade courses for piston twins and turboprops, have read the POH and training materials at least once. $12,400, Flight Safety International Previous Experience So, being a newly minted math whiz, I compared the cost of the two leading providers of sim training-Flight Safety and SimCom-and made the decision purely on price. 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