can you fulfil your XC time in a sim?

Why would anyone want to besides maybe cost?
 
They say there are no dumb questions. However...

Part 61:
Cross-country time means -

(i) Except as provided in paragraphs (ii) through (vi) of this definition, time acquired during flight -

(A) Conducted by a person who holds a pilot certificate;

(B) Conducted in an aircraft;
 
EdFred said:
They say there are no dumb questions. However...

Part 61:
Cross-country time means -

(i) Except as provided in paragraphs (ii) through (vi) of this definition, time acquired during flight -

(A) Conducted by a person who holds a pilot certificate;

(B) Conducted in an aircraft;
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Added highlight for another word in your quote. A simulator sitting on the ground isn't a "flight."
 
midlifeflyer said:
Added highlight for another word in your quote. A simulator sitting on the ground isn't a "flight."
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Ah, but is using a simulator that is inside a flying cargo plane (a) time acquired during flight and (b) conducted in an aircraft? We need a sacrificial guinea pig (and a sacrificial CFI to endorse the guinea pig’s logbook) to take this to a DPE and see how it goes.
 
It sounds like a dumb question but then the FAA allows you to complete most of your 'flying by instruments' time in a properly rated sim that doesn't have any feedback.

Also a good chunk of IFR time can be done in a Redbird. Just learning to flip the buttons is expensive when billed by hobbs.
 
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EdFred said:
They say there are no dumb questions. However...

Part 61:
Cross-country time means -

(i) Except as provided in paragraphs (ii) through (vi) of this definition, time acquired during flight -

(A) Conducted by a person who holds a pilot certificate;

(B) Conducted in an aircraft;
Click to expand...

I mean, I feel like Midcap may have a point here…

midcap said:
what if the sim is in the cargo compartment of a C-130?
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iamtheari said:
Ah, but is using a simulator that is inside a flying cargo plane (a) time acquired during flight and (b) conducted in an aircraft? We need a sacrificial guinea pig (and a sacrificial CFI to endorse the guinea pig’s logbook) to take this to a DPE and see how it goes.
Click to expand...


Where is the sacrificial @SixPapaCharlie with his FSDO fast pass. This is right up his alley!!!
 
pfarber said:
It sounds like a dumb question but then the FAA allows you to complete most of your 'flying by instruments' time in a properly rated sim that doesn't have any feedback.
Click to expand...
Where does the FAA call it “flying by instruments” time in a simulator/ATD?
 
pfarber said:
It sounds like a dumb question but then the FAA allows you to complete most of your 'flying by instruments' time in a properly rated sim that doesn't have any feedback.

Also a good chunk of IFR time can be done in a Redbird. Just learning to flip the buttons is expensive when billed by hobbs.
Click to expand...
Yes, but the FAR specifically says what it can be counted for. More importantly, it says so because it has been found to be very valuable for both procedural training and - I think in large part due to that lack of feedback - scan development.

I guess it may depend on which Redbird but flipping the buttons may be their weakest point.
 
If you use a sim, you lose the flavor of a real X-C. Things like getting cut off on base-to-final by some yahoo on a straight in. The FBO refusing your credit card. The darned engine won't crank. The WX turns ugly.
 
Maxnr said:
If you use a sim, you lose the flavor of a real X-C. Things like getting cut off on base-to-final by some yahoo on a straight in. The FBO refusing your credit card. The darned engine won't crank. The WX turns ugly.
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I suspect the reason devices can only be used to meet some requirements is exactly that. People talk about the hood vs actual all the time, from both a realism and psychological standpoint. How about the hood vs never leaving the ground at all?
 
MauleSkinner said:
Where does the FAA call it “flying by instruments” time in a simulator/ATD?
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I just noticed this. I'm not sure what you mean. No, the phrase "flying by instruments" does not appear in any FAA publication I am aware of. But the use of a device to for simulated instrument flight including meeting requirements for flight "solely by reference to the [flight] instruments" appears in multiple places.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Where does the FAA call it “flying by instruments” time in a simulator/ATD?
Click to expand...

6569fac306a39a4eaa39848f370c423c.gif


Is this what they mean?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You can fulfill the cross country time requirements in a simulator so long as all of your solo flying after that is also in a simulator for the rest of your flying career.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I just noticed this. I'm not sure what you mean. No, the phrase "flying by instruments" does not appear in any FAA publication I am aware of. But the use of a device to for simulated instrument flight including meeting requirements for flight "solely by reference to the [flight] instruments" appears in multiple places.
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The phrase “flying by instruments” was used exactly that way, in quotes, by @pfarber . I presumed it had to do with the thread’s premise of fulfilling “flight” requirements in a simulator, rather than being a reference to flight instruments. Very few of the instrument requirements reference “flight” time or experience.
 
MauleSkinner said:
The phrase “flying by instruments” was used exactly that way, in quotes, by @pfarber . I presumed it had to do with the thread’s premise of fulfilling “flight” requirements in a simulator, rather than being a reference to flight instruments. Very few of the instrument requirements reference “flight” time or experience.
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I'm not saying you are wrong, just that I don't follow. I think there are plenty of flight time requirements in 61.65 including the dual cross country and the 3 hours of prep. For the remainder, training credit in various devices is limited; anything else is "flight." No?

I guess I never thought of his use of the words "flying by instruments" as a regulatory reference any more that I think of your use of the term "simulator" as any more than a generic collective term to cover the regulatory terms for various devices.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I guess I never thought of his use of the words "flying by instruments" as a regulatory reference any more that I think of your use of the term "simulator" as any more than a generic collective term to cover the regulatory terms for various devices.
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I (probably wrongly) assume that people use quotation marks to actually mean something. ;)
 
Using a simulator to stay current,sounds like a good idea. But when you get in actual you can’t pause the airplane,because your confused.
 
frfly172 said:
Using a simulator to stay current,sounds like a good idea. But when you get in actual you can’t pause the airplane,because your confused.
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In that sense it's no different than flying for currency in simulated conditions. You can't pause, but you can pull the hood off when you get confused or tired of having the autopilot fly the same approach to your home airport which you know like the back of your hand over and over.

In both cases, the key is to have specific proficiency goals for your sessions. If your goal is proficiency, you can do it. Arguably you can do it even more in a sim with very little extra imagination. After all, where else can you throw a dart on a map of the US and brief and fly a full approach to an airport you never saw before? Add something like a subscription to PilotEdge that costs less for a year than an hour of flight time and you can even include real clearances and realistic ATC handling in a part of the US you've never flown in.
 
frfly172 said:
Using a simulator to stay current,sounds like a good idea. But when you get in actual you can’t pause the airplane,because your confused.
Click to expand...
But you can let go of the controls just before you impact the ground on a checkride, turn around, and say, “I want to do that again.”:mad2:
 
MauleSkinner said:
I (probably wrongly) assume that people use quotation marks to actually mean something. ;)
Click to expand...

I cut pasted from a search result.

"I plan on using random quotes forever" now.
 
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