Microsoft Flight Simulator on PS 5 for IFR training?

There will probably be people who say the exact opposite, but I found it (and other) flight simulators not very effective, but fun.

The main reason is that a big part of the workload is dealing with the navigator switchology while flying the aircraft and maintaining a mental picture of where you are and what comes next. Setting up the GPS, selecting frequencies and tuning navaids using the mouse/keyboard/whatever were immersion-breaking for me.

The one exercise I found useful was to set up the VOR and DME for the airfield, just take off and self-position for final and fly the ILS. This helps with the scan through all phases of flight, positional awareness around the airfield, and of course the ILS itself, but does nothing for procedures and avionics management.

So I enjoyed it, but I don’t think it contributed much to the my IFR training.

Cobalt wrote:

There will probably be people who say the exact opposite

I am one of those saying the exact opposite ;) but if you want to practice on a home sim, do it right:

• invest in hardware reproducing the real buttonology. For instance, a FlightSimBuilder G1000 costs around 2-3 hours of C172 G1000 rental time, to me it was a no brainer to learn the interface and practice on the ground prior to spending 5€ a minute on the real thing!
• use a real yoke, not a playstation controller
• connect your ipad with Foreflight/Garmin pilot (or whatever you are using), as you would most likely do in real life
• buy a subscription to Navigraph (around 100€/yr) for avionics database updates, and approach charts if you don’t already have them in your Foreflight/Garmin Pilot subscription
• I do not want to start an Xplane vs MSFS discussion, but the former is said to have better flight dynamics and avionics reproduction (e.g. G1000), hence might be better suited for your purpose.

Note that the above reflects the specifics of my situation (I have a mac and am therefore stuck with Xplane, and am practicing for the B-IR on a C172 G1000), but you get the general idea. Other options obviously exist.

You do not need a 5000 CHF/€ gaming PC. IFR is not too demanding on graphics performance. A mid-range PC/mac (around 1000-1500€ maybe) is probably sufficient. I use a 2021 M1 Max and it goes without a hitch, with around 60 frames per second.

I never practiced with an instructor over Teams/Zoom, but: can you do that with a Playstation?

+1 to everything @etn just posted.
I’ve got X-Plane and regularly practice various approaches in it. Run it off my MacBook Pro with a 32” external screen.

You do not need a 5000 CHF/€ gaming PC. IFR is not too demanding on graphics performance.

True. Turn it all down as low as it goes.

You barely need any visuals to train IFR. Spend your money on other hardware :)

I surfed the various do it, and don’t do it threads available regarding this subject.
So where did I end up?
I decided that long term, I would perhaps be on the border of currency at various times, and that a simulator, properly configured would be an invaluable tool.
I replicated my panel enough to be useful and set up with Xplane.
I then deliberately didn’t use it until I was well into my training, and would then only practice the exact same stuff my instructor was doing in the real aircraft, in an attempt to hone those skills and not learn unwanted habits.
I stayed quite strict with that upto the point of being due for the flight test, where I was knowledgeable enought to self practice a couple of routes. Routes at the same complexity as likely required in the test.
I also practiced the RT (which becomes a big part at that point in the learning) by setting up a cheat-sheet for the wife to act as ATC.
I’m convinced it saved me hours in the aircraft and contributed to me passing.
I now have a competent sim that I can use to brush up before a reval, or to try-out an approach to a new (possibly identified and challenging) airfield, especially if the days before, indicate the wx will be poor and may require an approach to low level.

The 2 main things that make my sim work well for me, are physical controls for flap, and gear.
Physical controls for the HSI and heading bug.
A physical Garmin navigator.
This means no keyboard or mouse use at all during flight.

For IFR training’ nothing better than Xplane + vatsim network. You have real ifr tools and control.

I use FSX + yoke to prepare for IR lessons and reval.

The basic rule in IR training is to never fly a procedure unless you have flown it on the ground in a sim.

In the air, you have much less brain power left and very little learning takes place, so you waste a lot of time and money.

So get some basic sim (visual quality not too important) and fly it on that first. When I was doing my IMCR, 2001, I used FSX (IIRC). I found X-Plane too obscure. After than the IR, 2005, was easy, with nothing really new to learn. The FAA IR was really hard but that was due to the intensity, rather than any new things to learn, and the JAA IR in 2011 was similar (just very expensive, with an exploitative and crooked FTO).

I used a £10 stick.

etn wrote:

buy a subscription to Navigraph (around 100€/yr) for avionics database updates

Navigraph is a scam. Do a bit of googling and all of this is free from various places, for any flight sim. This is free data, available from the source, but some have found it lucrative to charge for “compilation and distribution” and enough people are falling for it (or just don’t care).

I have never tried MSFS, but X-Plane is excellent for this. While at it, you could also try DCS. They just released a C-130J (normally DCS is just fighters). The C-130J is mostly INS/GPS, but the one in DCS also includes all the dozens of radios in that plane. Truly amazing and perfectly integrated with the FMS, glass, autopilots, just like the real thing. No G1000 there though so not much real help I guess. The default 172 with G1000 that comes with X-Plane for free got it all anyway, and the graphics can be turned all down. It will work on any PC.

DCS is just amazing nonetheless, and makes the best commercials by far