FSX

I mentioned in my last post that my son's gift of Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) was the thing that motivated me to press on with flight lessons. I thought I would tell you a little about FSX and my experience with it. Since we in Florida are still putting up with Tropical Storm Fay, meaning I can't get any yard work done without getting rained on, now is as good a time as any.

Be warned: FSX is very processor intensive. If you don't have an up to date computer, don't even bother. I have a 1.88ghz dual core intel processor with 2 GB of ram and a GeForce 8800 video card. In my opinion that's the minimum configuration. I usually get a new computer every two years, so I'm about due. The next one will be a lot stronger and should run FSX a lot smoother. Enough of the technical stuff, and that's good because that's about the depth of my knowledge on the subject.

I was not too thrilled with FSX at first because I enjoy military flight sims and have not had a civilian flight simulator in decades. So I install the program and fly a few beginners missions. Pretty cool. I start the flight school that comes with FSX and fall in love with it. I'm practicing steep turns, VOR navigation and all kinds of good stuff. Funny thing was I never moved on to the twin engine planes or the jets, just the single engine prop planes.

Yea, that's a virtual me in my virtual Cessna 182. Well, flight simming is fun, and as long as it's a military sim I don't get the urge to fly because...well I'm 47 and I don't have perfect eye sight. But a civilian sim, I wonder? A little research and an email to the Regional Flight Surgeons office tells me that I can indeed fly. The new sport pilot licenses don't even require a medical exam, but I would prefer the private pilot license. At that point, the fun with my wife begins.

This is the sad mess that I've been "flying" so far. Notice the stick and throttle controls typical of a military jet. I'll most likely get a control yoke like on a Cessna. Of course, that will depend on where I take flight lessons. One local school uses some of the new light sport airplanes that have a control stick.

One resource that I hope will help is a book I picked up. Microsoft Flight Simulator X for Pilots Real World Training. That's a mouthful. It was written by flight instructors as a companion to real flight training. I hope it helps and saves me a few bucks on plane rental. If it does not help, I won't use it. At $130 per hour I need to reinforce good habits, not learn bad ones.