Sim gamer able to start and fly real plane?

[Benn00]

Hey all,

I searched long and hard on the google so maybe ya'll will have better luck. I'm wondering if anyone has ever heard of someone who has only played DCS a10c or another simulator and was able to successfully start up that aircraft and fly in real life with no real training. Would love to see someone start up a real a-10 after playing the game.

 

The closest I could come to was a video of a guy taking off and landing a Cessna his friend owned.

 

Thanks!

[ENO]

There was something circulating around here that one of the devs or one of the mods / testers was able to get an A-10C started and more or less mission ready but I'm not sure where that story can be found... hopefully someone can chime in.

[Flagrum]

There was something circulating around here that one of the devs or one of the mods / testers was able to get an A-10C started and more or less mission ready but I'm not sure where that story can be found... hopefully someone can chime in.

I remember that one, too. But iirc, it was also just a simulator ... albeit a "real" simulator that the real pilots use for training.

[winz]

Hey all,

Would love to see someone start up a real a-10 after playing the game.

Do you really thing that the air force is so stupid, that they would allow someone without proper training to "have-a-try" on some of their multimilion equipment? :)

 

I had a try in a small aircraft after years of siming and the experience is totally different, in both operating and actually flying the aircraft.

 

Operating: Even if we simers know the instruments and what switches to press, we usually don't follow the proper procedures. How many of us really check the switches position before startup? How many of us monitor the engine parameters during startup? How many of us do magneto tests on the p-51? IRL you check and double check everything.

 

Flying: The experience is totally different. For start, the simulator air is too sterile, constant. It isn't that IRL. And sitting in a seat that moves with the aircraft is totally diferent experience than sitting at your desk. I.e. something as basic as coordinated turns, irl I had to concentrate on even keeping the aircraft banked, because the feeling of beeing banked was just unnantural, weird and my subconsciousness tried to level the aircraft...

Sure, I had no problems keeping it in the air, and the instructor didn't have to take control, but my flying was wonky. Like when you learn to use the clutch in a car, you know what to do, you just lack the muscle memory.

Oh, and the one hour flight was enough for my arm :D

 

So, is a simmer able to start a fly a real plane? Well, start yes...flying no, no in the terms of beeing a safe aviator.

Edited April 24, 2014 by winz

[Sel94]

One could probably memorize the start-up procedure in the sim then do it in real life, but I think that's as far as it goes. I remember a few years ago when I piloted a plane for the first time. I had been playing with A-10C and FC for quite a while, so I thought I would get the hang of it quick...nope. Start-up was the easiest part, just flick a few switches, nothing too different from the sim. Once you get in the air, it's a whole new story. Just the feeling of flight, being in control of a real aircraft, your body turning with it, and the weight of the stick is incredible, and something that a sim like this can't prepare you for in my opinion. Unlike in DCS, where I'm concentrated and can maneuver the plane quite well, I was stunned and could barely think of how to fly the aircraft. So, I think people could easily memorize the switches, but once they get into the air for the first time they wouldn't know what to do.

 

Reading above, it seems winz and I had similar feeling during our first flight

Edited April 24, 2014 by Sel94

[Benn00]

 

In that video the guy was only flying a Cessna prop plane but he seemed to handle it pretty decently including a landing. I know it's nowhere near a military jet but still is pretty cool for someone that's never flown a real plane being able to takeoff, navigate and land

[cichlidfan]

There was something circulating around here that one of the devs or one of the mods / testers was able to get an A-10C started and more or less mission ready but I'm not sure where that story can be found... hopefully someone can chime in.

 

I remember that one, too. But iirc, it was also just a simulator ... albeit a "real" simulator that the real pilots use for training.

 

I did not look for the story, but IIRC it is from an old interview. The ED person in question was Matt, and it was an A-10 simulator.

[EtherealN]

There was something circulating around here that one of the devs or one of the mods / testers was able to get an A-10C started and more or less mission ready but I'm not sure where that story can be found... hopefully someone can chime in.

 

That was Matt. He coldstarted, got all systems going, and flew a complete mission. But yes, that's "just a sim" too, but it is one of those big fullscale ones.

 

It's definitely possible in real life, but it's important to understand that it is not safe. If you come in from only sim background, do NOT think you can land it. Probably have some issues with takeoff too. The reason being that your visual cues will be way off, so you are very likely to wreck the plane and possibly kill yourself. You'll also have issues with needing to "unlearn" what given control movements mean, since you'll have different arm lengths on the controls and so on. (When I started flying, I had been using a twist-stick in sims, causing me to get a deathgrip with resultant constant overcompensations.)

 

Of course, it also could actually work, too. But think of it like this:

 

If you learn your physics and aerodynamics, you could figure out how fast your car should drive to do a specific jump, and the angles and such that the jump should have to ensure proper alignment etc. And you could theoretically get it done even if you have no experience driving cars. But you really should not do it (and no-one will let you do it with their car) since you'll not be prepared for all the little small things that can totally wreck your day.

 

Like Winz said: it's theoretically possible yes, but not in terms of being a "safe aviator".

[seed]

you can easily startup the a10 in an aviation exhibition and air show.

but first remember to turn on the external battery switch.

[RIPTIDE]

I'd say you could start it... even taxi it...

 

but if you tried to take off in it, you might end up in a ball of trouble down the end of the runway.

[cichlidfan]

I'd say you could start it... even taxi it...

 

but if you tried to take off in it, you might end up in a ball of trouble down the end of the runway.

 

I can picture it, were I to try,...

 

The wheels come off of the runway...

 

"Holy crap, I'm flying"

 

The wingtip drops a bit...and a huge fireball ensues.

 

:D

[Cali]

I'd say you could start it... even taxi it...

 

but if you tried to take off in it, you might end up in a ball of trouble down the end of the runway.

 

I think a lot of simmers could start and take off in a real jet. landing might be another issue though for some, because you'll only get one chance. :D

[Yurgon]

Do you really thing that the air force is so stupid, that they would allow someone without proper training to "have-a-try" on some of their multimilion equipment? :)

 

Since the Air Force is going to retire them anyways, why not give a couple guys a go (after signing an "If I die or get injured, it's totally my own fault" paper)? :D

 

Boomer, the F-16 instructor who contributed large parts to the original Falcon 4.0 manual, talked about the game's producer Chopstick and how said producer was able to fly a real F-16 within pretty neat parameters, but that was obviously in a two-seater, at high altitude, with the IP ready to take control if things started to get out of hand. And I'm certain he didn't allow Chopstick a go at landing the jet. :smartass:

 

I agree that experienced sim pilots would probably be able to fly the A-10C more or less within certain parameters. I also think landings are the most dangerous part and lots of us would likely die or at least wreck the aircraft while trying it. But it would be incredibly fascinating to check it out in one of those full-scale simulators. :)

[Benn00]

Thanks for all the awesome responses guys. Just started learning how to play DCS A10c, waiting on my new stick and throttle to come. I bet if they had 2 seater a-10c's the airforce would have allowed one of the devs to give it a go during the development of the game. Actual pilot in back with his hand on the controls shadowing him.

[RIPTIDE]

I think a lot of simmers could start and take off in a real jet. landing might be another issue though for some, because you'll only get one chance. :D

Oh... I dunno... I think what would happen is I would over compensate on the stick, oscillation would set it... >>> Just like that little guy. :joystick: haha

[VincentLaw]

If I had to choose between a random person and a sim pilot, I would pick the sim pilot. In FSX, I let one of my (completely not plane savy) friends try to land an ultralight on a 4 km runway in good weather... he was not able to do it.

 

But then you get stories like this: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-24450534

Whatever that guy's chances were, an experienced simmer would have better.

[EtherealN]

Sure vincent, but that's a light aircraft, flying at speeds the common man is likely to be relatively used to from automobile traffic. (At landing, at least.)

 

Doing a 180 knot landing in a jet is something entirely different.

 

Doing a landing flare in a large passenger liner, where you are the equivalent of some 6-10 stories up when the maingear touches ground... also something entirely different.

 

But yes, if you compare someone with no clue at all with someone that does have a clue - albeit theoretical - then sure. That's the same as who would you rather have on your side in a firefight - someone that never got closer to combat than shouting foul words on the school playground or someone that spent 10 years playing ARMA or Call of Duty... of course you'll ask for the latter. They might not know how to shoot worth anything, but they'll at least have some sort of idea of what is going on.

 

That said in the case of the simmed UL: don't assume that landing it in sim is easier than IRL. It might actually be harder!

 

The problem isn't necessarily one of difficulty, it is of nature: IRL you have more "input", and "different" input. In-sim you learn other things. Get your sim habits (you know, all of that muscle-memory stuff with the stick, not being used to reading your butt for information, different perspectives of motion due to computer screens etc) and you just might end up doing something that is completely correct _for the sim_ but that gets you killed IRL. Could be as simple as the little difference in how you judge your flare point on landing getting off, leading you to be too late and just slam into the runway, converting yourself into a fireball.

 

But, of course, you also just might be able to do it anyway. Point is: you can't know until you do it. And that's not "safe".

 

Agreed though, if it's either the sim pilot or Johnny farmer... I'll take the sim pilot.

[dali]

before I started flying in the air force reserves, I had only 250 hours on gliders...no prop aircraft experience...and then I was flying this

[EtherealN]

250 hours on gliders prepares you for that way more than sims ever will, as far as actual aviating goes.

[Sceptre]

I have a friend who flies the Iroquois (a Huey) in the RNZAF and I told him to get DCS: Huey and he said it is incredibly accurate and handles just like the real thing, except the fact that a sim can't make you feel what turbulence and shaking is like.