SIM pricing

[RkyMtnHI]

Hey all,

 

we finally have our sims up and running like we want them to and are working on a price structure. What do most operations charge for sim time and what sims have you flown/taught in.

 

thanks much,

 

dp

[Goldy]

Hey all,

 

we finally have our sims up and running like we want them to and are working on a price structure. What do most operations charge for sim time and what sims have you flown/taught in.

 

thanks much,

 

dp

 

Most that I have seen are in the 90-100 range for a Fly-It sim. Personally, I have always thought I would charge 40-50 plus your CFI's time, and book the things solid all day long!

 

Instrument work

Instrument currency for every pilot in town

Fun stuff- YMCA, Boy Scouts, etc

Corporate events could buy a block of 3-4 hours with an instructor just for fun

 

and the list goes on,

 

Good Luck!

[RkyMtnHI]

Most that I have seen are in the 90-100 range for a Fly-It sim. Personally, I have always thought I would charge 40-50 plus your CFI's time, and book the things solid all day long!

 

Instrument work

Instrument currency for every pilot in town

Fun stuff- YMCA, Boy Scouts, etc

Corporate events could buy a block of 3-4 hours with an instructor just for fun

 

and the list goes on,

 

Good Luck!

 

 

great info.. and ideas.. thanks for the input "grandpa"!!!

 

dp

 

come on.. surely SOME of you folks out there have flown sims???

[adam32]

I think I paid $70/hr for a fly-it...

[rotormandan]

The school I trained at priced it the same as ground school (which I think was around $30-$35 in 2006). The school I worked at charged $100 They did however let people fly it whenever for free but to have logable time with and instructor they charged. Both were fly-it sims.

Edited March 28, 2010 by rotormandan

[cellocopter]

85/hr for the FTD(Frasca) plus 44/hr for the instructor. Which machine did you go for? How do you like it so far?

[copter doctor]

I haven't used a sim, but if you can keep it as low as possible and still make a profit it will be utilized more often. I agree with a two price rating system, more if you are logging the time and a lower rate if it is just for fun. My .02 worth.

[Shaun]

$300.00 an hour for a helicopter Frasca.

 

Dennis did you buy or lease your sim? How is billing recorded? Ours didn't start until the battery master was turned on. People would cheat it since it was a lease, but it was nice to stop the billing to talk to the student about something.

 

You could ask Fly-It for the typical maintenance costs and its life expectancy; then price it accordingly. Maybe they also have a suggested rate other customers use.

 

You should show us a picture of it!

[Miloe]

Former school it was $100/hr including a CFI. Also there was a flat price of either $2k or $3k(not certain as to which it was) for as much sim time as you wanted, you just had to still pay the CFI to be with you. This was for a FlyIt also.

I'd be of the mind to price it sort of cheap and keep it busy... really what's the consumables on a FlyIt beyond the projector bulb?

[RkyMtnHI]

Thank you all for your input.. we sincerely appreciate it.

 

Our sims are Frasca Tru Flight H

 

here are a few photos as requested... these are before we got them set up with the cabins attached.. we bought two of these...

 

aloha,

 

dp

[ADRidge]

I'd be of the mind to price it sort of cheap and keep it busy... really what's the consumables on a FlyIt beyond the projector bulb?

 

In the case of summit, it was gas for the generator!

[captkirkyota]

Thank you all for your input.. we sincerely appreciate it.

 

Our sims are Frasca Tru Flight H

 

here are a few photos as requested... these are before we got them set up with the cabins attached.. we bought two of these...

 

aloha,

 

dp

 

Just out of curiosity, knowing how thorough you investigate things before you decide, what was it about the Frasca that made you decide for it over the Flyit or any other? If your comfortable sharing this info of course.

Thanks.

[RkyMtnHI]

Just out of curiosity, knowing how thorough you investigate things before you decide, what was it about the Frasca that made you decide for it over the Flyit or any other? If your comfortable sharing this info of course.

Thanks.

 

 

thanks, i am and i will, but i am pressed for time.. i'll get back to this asap

 

dp

[Miloe]

In the case of summit, it was gas for the generator!

 

LOL

and the need for some type of UPS to smooth out the power from the generator so it would quit eating the computer.

 

I hadn't thought about having to start the generator to use the sim in a long time, lol.

[RkyMtnHI]

Just out of curiosity, knowing how thorough you investigate things before you decide, what was it about the Frasca that made you decide for it over the Flyit or any other? If your comfortable sharing this info of course.

Thanks.

 

 

Sorry for the delay on this folks.. just too busy..

 

this is an excerpt from an article my business partner Bentley is writing about our sim selection, it's pretty detailed so i cut and pasted.. this is also from the rough draft so please don't give me stress over it as i didn't have time to check it thoroughly..

 

Bentley was a United pilot for many years and has flown many different simulators during his 11,000 plus hours.

 

"The Frasca is, in almost every possible way, vastly superior to the other sims we looked at, but at a price:  The Truflight H costs over $200,000, is a simulator designed and built by one of the best names in the business, and performs much more like a real helicopter.  Frasca builds some of the $5,000,000 full-motion simulators used by the Military and other large operators and much of the technology is applied in the Truflight H.  The Frasca is FAA certified for 7.5 Hours towards the private, 20 hours towards the Instrument, and 20 Hours towards the Commercial.  It also has a more realistic cockpit with a real Garmin 430 which can be operated and programmed just as it is in the actual aircraft (as opposed to having to be programmed by the instructor via the computer).  This is a real benefit to the students as this is a complex NAV/COM and is often a stumbling point which wastes valuable time in the helicopter.  Finally, the flight characteristics of the Frasca are very realistic and allows the time in the Sim to be very productive preparation for performing the same tasks in the actual helicopter as opposed to being somewhat of a negative learning experience.  Apparently this is accomplished by computer modeling that actually breaks the rotor blade into small segments and then the actual airflow is modeled dynamically for each segment. This takes lots of math and computer power, but the end result is that the rotor disc really "flys" and the performance characteristics are therefore quite realistic.  

 

You definitely get what you pay for and, although the Frasca costs twice as much as the others we looked at, it is generally recognized as being a real Simulator as opposed to being a bit of a toy."

 

i'll post a link to the complete article when it comes out. My personal experience is with three different sims: The Flyit, The Merlin, and these Frascas. The Flyit and the Merlin seem to have a lag time after control inputs which was very frustrating to me (and everyone else at the previous schools). The Frasca is much better there and i love the fact that it has a real Garmin...

 

i also like the fact that u can switch from a 300 to a R44 just by plugging in the different controls..

 

hope that helps,

 

aloha,

 

dp

[BOATFIXERGUY]

Hey Dp,

 

I'm looking forward to doing some instrument currency in it. I agree with Bently on the Fly-it sim, not very realistic as a helicopter. It does the job, but its best suited for instrument procedure work.

[HeliJet]

Comparing Sims:

 

BTW, when comparing Sims like the Frasca, Flyit, and Merlin etc., it is important to get feedback from pilots who have flown and / or instructed on both or all three in order to make meaningful comparisons. I quizzed over half a dozen o our instructors and students who had flown other Sims and the Frasca, and they were universal in thinking that the other Sims had such unrealistic flight characteristics that they were best utilized as Cockpit Procedural Trainers (CPT) or Emergency Procedural Trainers (EPT), but not flight trainers for either VFR or IFR.

 

I'll have more details later, but I hope that clarifies things a bit as to why we went with the Frascas.

 

-BK

[helonorth]

That thing was 200 large? Whoa.

[RkyMtnHI]

That thing was 200 large? Whoa.

 

 

When new... we bought them used..

 

dp

[IFLY]

I have a few hours in the fly-it and about 50 hours in the Frasca...the Frasca is better by far. Wish there was one closer to me to keep my instrument rating current cheaply.

 

Jerry