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Flew a 737 flight simulator

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Believe or night, the same 737 flight simulator used to train pilots is available to the public in Burlington, MA. An instructor sits in the copilot seat and teaches use of the controls and provides assistance for flying the plane. I have no experience as a pilot but did quite well with several successful take offs and landings at BWI and Cusco, Peru (an airport at 11,000 feet with a very steep descent in the mountains required for landing). You can choose to take off and land at virtually any airport in the world in any kind of conditions. You can also pilot through emergency challenges. It was a once in a lifetime experience for me and it cost only $85 (via Groupon, but normally $300) for an hour of simulator flight time.

If you ever get to the Boston area I highly recommend giving this a try. It's an amazing experience.

Here's a shot of me landing at BWI at night.

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I was once on Moffett Field installing some gear at MAE-West there; when I stopped by the visitor center to get my pass, I was told that there was a NASA trade show in Hangar One. She asked if I wanted that to be added to my pass and I thought "why not?" It turned out to be a trade show / vendor fair for the space shuttle program. I was able to fly the space shuttle simulator they had there -- and managed to bury it in the ground. :)
 
Artsci, that's very cool. I "flew" in the 737 simulator Delta used to have here in SLC. A close family member was a trainer at the time and he'd have us in (rarely) during an unscheduled hour or two.
At one point, I was in the trainer seat behind and he and my wife were in the pilots seats. I was adding rain and changing wind speed and stuff he was mostly ignoring me when I said, "Ooo look, 'wind shear' " he spun around and said "DONT TOUCH THAT ONE!!" ...
it breaks the machine. We also hit a truck on the runway at LAX. :rolleyes: Oops
 
Very very cool. I will check out their other locations, and/or concoct a reason to be in Boston.

And, I am a pilot. Private... and down through the years, have flown some very interesting stuff, both sim and real. To keep from typing my life story, I'll just say I own two aircraft at the moment, and that every aircraft I've ever owned has/had an 'Experimental' airworthiness cert. :)
 
Thanks for the comments. This is an incredible experience.

I chose the Cusco airport because my wife and I had flown there on our way to Machu Picchu a few years ago. As a passenger it was a little nerve wracking -- mountains all around and a narrow path through them to the 11,000 foot runway (that for the thin air at that altitude). My instructor was not familiar with the airport and initially he had us taking off in the wrong direction - west (large mountain near the foot of the runway). I knew that aircraft here only take off to the east for a safer climb path through the mountains. Of course, in the simulator a "crash" is only a bruise to your ego. Our instructor told us that many simulator customers crash the plane, so I felt pretty good about my first-time experience.

I had the must difficult time lining up for the approach to the runway and steering the plane with the two foot pedals on take off and landing. On the ground I also kept using the yoke as a steering wheel, which of course is a no-no. In the air I also tended to overcompensate on the yoke, as the plane is slow to respond to right and left turns. Beginner tendencies I'm sure. But it made me very much appreciate the skill of pilots.

I like this so much I'm going to have my wife and two sons do it next time we're in the Boston area (the only site in the U.S. where FlightExperience operates).
 
does the sim move? Does it simulate movement like a level D sim?

As far as I could tell there was no movement and no G-forces felt. The banking and climbing was done on the projected screen.

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Looks just a touch more complex than MicroSoft Flight Simulator on a 80286 PC... :biggrin:

I'm envious! :smile:

I practiced on an iPad simulator before going into the real one and regrettably there really is no comparison to having the actual controls in your hand and real instruments. It's almost worth a trip to Boston just to do this.
 
Very very cool. I will check out their other locations, and/or concoct a reason to be in Boston.

And, I am a pilot. Private... and down through the years, have flown some very interesting stuff, both sim and real. To keep from typing my life story, I'll just say I own two aircraft at the moment, and that every aircraft I've ever owned has/had an 'Experimental' airworthiness cert. :)

...I trust you might be considered 'bold' in your choice of aircraft....don't know how 'old' you are....:)
 
Believe or night, the same 737 flight simulator used to train pilots is available to the public in Burlington, MA. An instructor sits in the copilot seat and teaches use of the controls and provides assistance for flying the plane. I have no experience as a pilot but did quite well with several successful take offs and landings at BWI and Cusco, Peru (an airport at 11,000 feet with a very steep descent in the mountains required for landing). You can choose to take off and land at virtually any airport in the world in any kind of conditions. You can also pilot through emergency challenges. It was a once in a lifetime experience for me and it cost only $85 (via Groupon, but normally $300) for an hour of simulator flight time.

If you ever get to the Boston area I highly recommend giving this a try. It's an amazing experience.

Here's a shot of me landing at BWI at night.

About 5 years ago I had the chance to fly commercial 757 and Embraer jet sims. These were the big commercial CAE sims mounted on large moving platforms that are used for qualification and training of pilots.

The sensation of motion in addition to the quality of cockpit and scenery projection was astounding. Even while pushing back and taxiing, you would feel the bump of the tow tug connecting and the cracks in the asphalt as you rolled over them. Pushing the throttles forward to accelerate down he runway was surreal. I had my 3 year old son with me at the time. At one point while playing around I went into a steep bank, spiraling toward the ground. My son started yelling "We're going to crash! We're going to crash!". It was that realistic.

These were not sims that you could buy time on. And if you could, I would hate to think what it would cost. I have a friend who works for a major carrier who got me in there on a slow afternoon when the sims were open.
 
I've done this twice and it's awesome. You can find these items at charity auctions. I just did it in April in Miami. You're right, the full motion is unbelievable, you even feel the expansion joints in the concrete while taxiing. Great fun. Big money though! I always buy these when I see them. I've flow the 737 and the 747, both level D full motion. Looks like the sim originally discussed here but the movement is the thing.
 
Aye, I hate flight simulators.
Probably have 500-600 hours in those things.
Ususally intense workouts followed by check rides where your job is on line.
Got time in Boeing 727 sims, 737, 747, 757, 767, DC-8 and probably some others.
if I never see another simulator again, it will be too soon. :rolleyes: