The single-engine sims are less than 10 years old, and have electriccontrol loading and no motion. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. 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. I didnt find that the addition of motion added any significant training value tothat simulator. I also found them to be a bit less faithful in simulating variousaircraft systems failures. 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. Interestingly, we found that upgrade courses for single- and multi-engine turboprops (not requiring a type rating) were not much longer than those for piston twins. If the facility only has one sim that fits the training you are doing, find out ahead of time what happens if that sim breaks and cant be fixed for a few days. Simcom was founded about a decade ago to provide alower-cost alternative to FlightSafety for piston twin pilots. Or, perhaps your goal might lean more toward a systems refresher. All of the FAA-required training may be obtained from a properly rated CFI followed byin the case of a new ratinga checkride with a DPE. Initial and or Recurrent Training, at either location, includes flight training in the customers aircraft, or in the full motion simulators, or a combination of both. Tempe, AZ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); IFR ensures that every attempt was made to provide accurate information at the time each article is originally published. Knowing how the systems work and how to troubleshoot them helps isolate problems for the A&P.. Most instructors at facilities like RTC and SIMCOM are retired been-there-done-that pros, including my instructor, Mr. Ray Campbell. While thought of as primarily catering to the professional pilot world, it aggressively markets to owner pilots, especially for smaller jets such as the Cessna CJ series and the HondaJet. Simulator aerodynamic fidelity ranges from unrealistic and horrible, to decent, but it never hits exact, even in airline Level D sims. In the same time it takes to fly an instrument approach inthe aircraft and fly back to the FAF, you might do three, four or five approaches in thesimulator. ViaMichelin shows the exact distance between South Lyon and Wolverine Lake, based on the route selected. In previous lives, Ray had owned a flight school, a charter company and flown Part 91 corporate. 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. Recently, however, the company has introduced several cost-saving training options. As the new owner of a cabin-class, turbocharged twin, I was still reeling from the hourly fuel costs, which are more than double what I was used to in the Twin Comanche I used to fly. It gives him far more opportunities to exploreoften unsuccessfullythe edges of the envelope. ABARIS Training I thought I most needed a refresher on operations and procedures in the aircraft, with an emphasis on abnormals, edge cases, and failures. It was that been there, done that feeling. Many pilots seem to believe this is a big deal. 2722 Perimeter Road, Suite 107 40 hours per week SimCom is a much smaller company than its behemoth competitor, andthis seems to be reflected in a more informal corporate culture. 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. The quality of individual instructors was a constant refrain in our conversations with users as they related good and bad training experiences. Why Is Area Forecast Discussion Important for Preflight Planning? 19540 International Blvd, Suite 200 But, is that bad? Tempe, AZ As a general rule of thumb, one hour in the simulator provides the training value of atleast three hours in the aircraft. B 737 Program B week Four if you really push? However, archived articles are not reviewed for accuracy following various changes in industry procedures and practices, FAA guidance or regulations. Childs Associates LP, although David is still president and CEO. It is solely the pilots responsibility to ensure that his/her actions comply with current best practices and regulations. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. 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. Our Jet, Turboprop and Piston simulators will . Myconclusion is that if cost and distance were no object, the best possible trainingstrategy might well be to rotate among the three firms in order to obtain the best thateach one has to offer. 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. The list goes on. 206-878-7271, 9550 Parksouth Court, Suite 100 (I was early.). (Classroom and Home Study), Mile High For example, Simcom chargesabout $2,200 for a three-day Cessna 300/400 recurrent course (compared with $3,000 atFSI), and $1,450 for a two-day generic multiengine instrument refresher course (comparedwith $2,400 at FSI). (Yes, its a 421 sim, but has profiles and swappable instruments for other Twin Cessnas. Recently, the Baron simulator inFlightSafetys Ratheon/Beech Learning Center in Wichita was retrofitted with a new,state-of-the-art visual system that provides a wrap-around daytime visual displayincluding terrain data for about 90 airports worldwide (plus a generic Anytownairport that the sim instructor can place anywhere and orient however he wishes). Belvoir Media Group, LLC. Every sim session at RTC is structured as an actual IFR cross-country flight. I was then shown to the break room where I waited for the instructor. Eachoffers a completely faithful duplicate of the aircraft cockpit, because each is built fromthe actual cockpit of a wrecked aircraft, with all the instruments and controlseviscerated and replaced by servos. Carlsbad, CA $5,995, Air Excel Sure, we recognize the value of the training and would plan to go anyway, but often plans dont quite make it into schedules. So, without the insurance requirement, we might not go at all or perhaps not as often as we should. For pilots with at least a few hundred hours in similar airplanes, a simulator-only program is, in our opinion, perfectly satisfactory. So, it makes sense to train in the aircraft youll fly. Aircraft Mentoring Training 480-377-0222, B737-200 Abbreviated Although full-motion sims have a lot of sex appeal, Im convinced that having motion isnot at all essential in terms of training value. Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a Flight Review and Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC). Readers should take note of the original publish date for each article. There we quickly completed the necessary paperwork and I paid for the course. Sure, many have been plowed up for houses or 2023 Aviation Publishing Group. Stalls, slow flight, missed approaches and especially engine cuts can generatea lot of wear and tear on the equipment. But despite the shift, SimComs dedication to customization and small class size hasnt changed. Plan on spending a bare minimum of $4000 for piston-twin upgrade training. Initial Training All training organisations operate modern training centres, including classrooms equipped with state-of-the-art presentation technology. 500 Type All rights reserved. Obviously, regaining slipping proficiency is one common goal. Work on aviation training company Simcom International Corp.'s future Orlando headquarters is taking off. 702-293-7038, Community College of Southern Nevada At Simcom, for example, a new 340 pilot attends a five-day course with ground school on the systems and then 10 hours of full-motion simulator training. The annual cost is about 60% higher than the One Time tuition, and the minimum contract period is two years. I found that SimComoffers the same sort of professional-caliber sim training as FlightSafety, but with a fewsignificant differences. 3401 Quebec Street, Suite 9150 Many insurance companies require their insureds, particularly those flying more complex aircraft, to periodically attend recurrent training. Scheduling varies with each class and number of participants. Copyright 2022 SIMCOM Aviation Training. In January 1999 it was acquired by the investment firm J.W. Type Rating Our take on the matter is that a training customer is paying big money for good instruction and the training organization should be preparedand willingto smoothly change instructors if a customer runs into a problem. Once you get into the world of jet type ratings training cost can be north of $30,000. Ive concluded that they did. Yet, quality recurrent training isn't cheap. I always found their training to be excellent, but their focus seemed to be on jets and turboprops with an Oh, yeah, we also have some piston training if thats really what you want attitude that was disconcerting. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Flight training can be accomplished in aircraft or in our simulator at one of our training locations. instead of aircraft-specific systems knowledge. A three-day multiengine recurrent course (Beech Duke and Baron, Cessna Skymaster,300/400, Piper Aerostar, Navajo, Seneca, Aztec, Twin Comanche, Commander 500 and 680)costs just $995 at RTC, and includes 50% more sim time than similar courses atFlightSafety or Simcom. The dismal G.A. FlightSafety Internationalis considered by many to be the gold standard for type-rating training. Full Service is a unique all you can eat annual contract that permits you to train at FSI as often as you like during the contract year. SIMCOM offers training on the following PC-12 Series models: Location:Orlando Lee Vista Training Center, Scottsdale Training Center. Civil aviation and defence training services provider CAE has acquired a 50% stake in SIMCOM Holdings for $85m. One Time Plus is a reduced tuition for pilots who have taken the same course within the previous 12 months, and is between 15% and 25% less than the One Time price (depending on aircraft make).