ScottL Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 I've been considering getting my addon and was wondering can you get/use any sim time toward the 30 hour min for the private add-on or the 15 hours for the instrument add-on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorrodent Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 I've been considering getting my addon and was wondering can you get/use any sim time toward the 30 hour min for the private add-on or the 15 hours for the instrument add-on? I won't answer your question directly but will say this... If you have never flown helicopter and you are a fixed wing pilot, you will need at least 40 hours hard time in the helicopter (not as a regulation or requirement) but it will take that long to master the machine on the average. The simulator will not do much for you except as a procedural trainer. My advice is to forget the sim and learn to fly the real machine! I know it's more money but is the best approach (IMHO & pun intended) for learning to fly helicopters. You will need the actual experience, kinesthesia, etc. to learn to fly the helicopter. Unless you have access to a full motion simulator, you will gain nothing by using a sim. As for the Instrument rating, if you already have instrument fixed wing, the helicopter instrument is all the same except learning to fly the actual machine in the instrument environment. Perhaps you would be ok to use sim time for some of that. I don't have FAR's in front of me, but I recall they do allow some sim time towards your instrument ticket. If you haven't an instrument rating, then the sim will help a lot in your training without burning holes into your wallet. Cheers Rotorrodent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottL Posted August 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 With regards to the comments RE: Sims, to an extent I agree, though I'm mainly just trying to figure out what kind of options are available with regards to keeping the overall cost down while the quality of training up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldy Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 (edited) My advice is to forget the sim and learn to fly the real machine! Rodent- I think I disagree. Spending a couple flights in the sim gives the student an environment of low stress and real learning. Trying to hang onto a helicopter as it is swinging like a pendulum in a hover, with ATC calls being made and your CFI decides that now would be a good time to talk....basically as a student, you remember or understand none of it ! I think the sim is a great way to get the basics down. No more than 3 or 4 (1) HR flights, then go into the real thing with some sense of what does what, and how to fly a pattern or the basics of an auto. You might think you gain nothing from it, because you might have a few hundred or thousand or ten thousand hours...so it seems pretty basic...I understand that. I encourage any new helo pilot with no time to spend some sim $$$. Goldy Edited August 21, 2009 by Goldy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick McWilliams Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 My wife and I are new helicopter pilots. We did an add on rating. There is nothing natural about the controls of a helicopter. Some of your airplane habits are even dangerous. A couple of hours of simulator will not be wasted. I think that an hour in the cockpit of a helicopter in the hangar would be helpful. I needed about 60 hours of helicopter time before my checkride. Susie was about the same. The big danger is rotary wing addiction. It is incredibly fun to hover around, visit pinnacles, explore inaccessible places. I fly acrobatics in airplanes, it is good fun. Flying a helicopter is different, you become an essential part of the machine. It is just as exciting as acrobtics, hovering around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorrodent Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Rodent- I think I disagree. Spending a couple flights in the sim gives the student an environment of low stress and real learning. Trying to hang onto a helicopter as it is swinging like a pendulum in a hover, with ATC calls being made and your CFI decides that now would be a good time to talk....basically as a student, you remember or understand none of it ! I think the sim is a great way to get the basics down. No more than 3 or 4 (1) HR flights, then go into the real thing with some sense of what does what, and how to fly a pattern or the basics of an auto. You might think you gain nothing from it, because you might have a few hundred or thousand or ten thousand hours...so it seems pretty basic...I understand that. I encourage any new helo pilot with no time to spend some sim $$$. Goldy You might be right on this one Goldy...a few hours wouldn't hurt. I was thinking the guy wanted to do some 20 hours in the sim! hey, he is a FW pilot, They need all the real training they can get! Cheers Rotorrodent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldy Posted August 22, 2009 Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 They need all the real training they can get! Cheers Rotorrodent True- I just wished they were taught what 123.02 was for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delorean Posted August 22, 2009 Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 I've been considering getting my addon and was wondering can you get/use any sim time toward the 30 hour min for the private add-on or the 15 hours for the instrument add-on? Scott, More than likely yes, maybe no...... The new part 61 is coming out soon which is going [hopefully] clear up all the confusion about simulators vs. FTDs vs. ATDs, etc and how time on them will apply to each rating sought. For one, the 10 hrs of instrument training is reduced to 5 hrs, and it can be performed in any type of "sim". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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