Skip to main content
“Unwaveringly committed to efficiently shaping empowered airplane pilots so they can change their stars and expand their horizons.”

I’m a Flight and Ground Instructor.
También hablo Español
“Fielmente comprometido a formar con eficiencia a pilotos capaces, para que tomen las riendas de su destino y expandan sus horizontes.”
When asked what simulator is better, I always mention that it’s not the sim but how you use it.
It is essential to find an instructor who knows how to make your time and experience most valuable.

One-on-one sessions in person –or even via zoom!
I have a collection of top-notch simulator exercises that I often use with my students, classified specifically by the skill sets we’re trying to develop at their stage of learning.
There are two main reasons why General Aviation pilots use a Flight Simulator: for Proficiency and for logging training experience towards FAA requirements.

Proficiency

This practice is for pilots who want to stay sharp for their own satisfaction and confidence in their flight skills, rather than merely logging official flight experience time.

Home setups can work well for this, as long as they’re used correctly and the pilot understands their limitations. The main benefits of proficiency simulators are convenience and cost-effectiveness.

Equipment required: The A-SIM

I have a Proficiency Flight Simulator in my home office. I call it the A-SIM. This isn’t your typical home simulator—it’s been fine-tuned over years to closely replicate real-world flight training.

Besides for staying sharp myself, I use it provide unofficial instruction and coaching. Although this type of training cannot be logged, it saves my learners a lot of money and frustration in the form of trial and error during expensive dual flight time and helps them get the most valuable experience out of their flights.

By the time my learners move on to FAA approved simulators and/or airplanes for actual flight training, they are well-prepared to handle the demands of actual flight, with a solid foundation of knowledge and practical skills, which they first acquired in the A-SIM.

The A-SIM is not for rent. But its use can be arranged in very special cases.

Getting YOUR home simulator up and running

Getting it right requires a lot of investment and effort, especially if you’re not tech savvy.
I have experience installing proficiency simulators, managing hardware and software to make your simulator experience more representative of reality and to help you achieve your specific goals. My assistance installing flight simulators is limited to a set of standards of what the user should be getting out of it, and recommendations on how to improve such experience.

When my students’ equipment is not productive enough for their specific needs at their stage of training, I typically recommend we use my personal A-Sim set up or any of the following list of approved simulator facilities.

Logging experience

The second reason is to meet FAA experience requirements for certification or recency.
In this case, the simulator needs to be FAA-approved. The learner needs to rent the equipment to gain access to the facility and additionally bring an instructor who will log the practice and sign their logbook, endorsing the achievement of the learning outcomes.

Equipment rental fees are separate from the instructor’s on-site hourly rate.

Equipment required: an FAA Approved Sim

The learner arranges the rental of the equipment in the facility of their choice. I can recommend a facilities at KVNY, KCMA, KCCB, KEMT, KCPM.

I adapt to flying and teaching in different setups recreating different aircraft/avionics.
Standard booking:
2.5 hr sessions by the hobbs, which extend just beyond 3 hrs with pauses, pre and post-flight briefings.
Up to 2 sessions per day. The second one after a 1 hr break from the first one.

Purpose: Seeking certification

Regulations allow for certificate applicants to log a certain amount of simulator time towards the flight experience required for the certification practical test. The following are the times allowed by regulations when applying under parts 61 and 141.

Purpose: Currency

 

As for Instrument Rated pilots, at any day in which they want to be able to start a flight under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), according to 14 CFR 61.57(c)(1), they need to have performed and logged within the 6 calendar months prior the following tasks, under actual or simulated Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC):

– 6 instrument approaches
– holding procedures and tasks
– intercepting and tracking courses through the use of navigational electronic systems



According to 14 CFR 61.57(c)(2), these tasks can be performed in a Flight Simulator that is approved by the FAA, as long as it is configured to represent Instrument Weather Conditions (IMC) and the appropriate aircraft for which the pilot is rated, except gliders.