Can I learn to fly a small private airplane on my computer?

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Officer in charge

you can learn all the theory but no you need practical experience as well,
all places require a set amount of actual flight hours with an instructor

michael w

I have a private pilots license and find it much harder to fly on a flight simulator on my computer. It certainly will help you with controls etc but you will still have to take flying lessons to be able to get your private pilots license. Good luck and the real thing is much more exciting.

Laissez-Faire Guy

You know what? You can, to a point. The flight simulator is so good, that yes, with a good instruction book, you could probably learn how to operate a plane using the Flight Simulator.

However, there is a lot of stuff not covered in Flight Simulator, likes the rules of the road, radio communication, etc.

My step dad used to teach people how to fly planes in the 70s, and he took me up several times and taught me basic operation of a plane. Many years later, I got a book titled something like "Learn how to fly using Flight Simulator." It was organized as flying lessons. By the end of it, I felt I could go into the plane and operate it again, but I still knew nothing about the rules or radio communication. Just how to mechanically fly the plane.

FredHH

Yes and no...

You can learn some of the basics... Possibly enough to be able to fly a small plane under good conditions, not trying anything fancy.

You won't be able to learn how to handle a plane in REAL adverse conditions. In real life, there is no reset button to get a new plane (and a new life)

bubblelator

Yes you can! It's quite common to crash in fields of cattle or off the pier of the city your are trying to land in. Landing is the tough part. Start with sea-planes first. They are easier to land!

Steven H

Simple answer is NO.
To actually learn how to fly you have to get in a real airplane with a certified instructor. Microsoft Flight Simulator is the only simulator that I would recommend someone using to learn a little bit about how to fly but only the basics. Flying on a computer and flying the real thing is very different.

â™¥FireBladeâ™¥

You might learn some things about flying a private airplane on the computer, but don't seriously think that It's all you'll need. You need proper training before you do that, and just computer knowledge Isn't enough of course.....but If you can fly already, well....that's great! :] Good luck with everything!

Joanna_615

if you find the right advanced programme im sure you could probably be able to fly a real plane, but it would have to match the type of plane you would be flying

Steven M

well you can get a test flight on your computer

Shibi

That'd have to be some incredible simulation AND you'd need more than a touchpad mouse (or eraserhead) or even optical mouse to simulate say... real plane controls.