I should mention that I am not a 70x sim guy. I am a stick & rudder guy, and last time I logged time in a sim was 20 years ago, and it was this horrible thing that sat on a desk and didn't fly anything like a real aircraft. Not an enjoyable experience.
So, off to Cornwall (CYCC) I go, to see if you can teach an old dog new tricks.
First thing was the autopilot. I suppose you could hand-fly it all the time, but it's got a pretty good autopilot and it makes sense to use it. I think it would really help to read up ahead of time on the intricacies of the particular autopilot in this sim. Not sure if there is such a pub, but it would have really helped me.
It has a G530/430 stack, with what looks a lot like a KR87 ADF. All very familiar. Graphics were good, and my inner ear really appreciated a bit of motion. A couple years back I tried the non-moving sims at Seneca in Toronto with the full wrap-around screens, and I almost got motion sick. Graphics were good, but the complete lack of motion really screwed me up. After flying for decades, I am really used to feeling the motion of the airplane.
Anyways, I did a training session on tuesday, and the ride Friday, and it went pretty well. Most stressful thing for me was to ensure that I was doing the right thing with the autopilot. Normally I try to read up ahead of time on stuff like this, but I scraped through.
It was cheaper than flying a duchess or seminole, and the sim was fully approved for known icing conditions. Also it was neat to try some different emergencies, like static port plugging during descent.
The engine failure was a non-event. The sim instructor on Tuesday failed it on the downwind, miles from the localizer. Straightforward.
The engine failure on the ride was much more interesting - it was after GS interception. Newbie mistake is to raise the gear (for drag reduction) but an old dog knows about that scenario, and just left the gear down - I was descending on the GS, I didn't need to climb or even level off - so I just feathered the dead engine and trucked on in for a single-engine approach and landing.
One thing the sim makers could do, is when an engine fails, give you a much more audible THRUM THRUM THRUM - you know, that horrible beat frequency you get when the props aren't synched. Apart from that, actually, it was a very good sim. I will go there again in two years
In summary, a very educational, economical and positive experience. I recommend it for your next MIFR renewal!
