Any female play DCS?

[Couchtomato]

I dreamed of becoming a pilot when I was in high school and even tried applying to an airline pilot school. I didn’t realize they only recruited boys back then, so of course, I was turned down. (don't want to recall how awkward I felt in that interview room lol). Is DCS a good platform for me to gain flight skills, and is it difficult to learn?

[Ala13_ManOWar]

Hi!! We had kind of that discussion in the "trainer for DCS" thread beneath this one, not long ago. I'm sorry to hear about your experience, it's awful how it was back then and the stupid selection criteria they used (well, stupid and plain sexists ones).

As for using DCS as a training platform, and like the thread I mention in short, well, as an entry level thing yes, DCS is a wonderful learning platform and you may learn a lot of the basics in this simulation. Will you go straight to the real aircraft and fly it at once only with this? Probably not, but it depends on your own skills, not the sim itself, and anyway it's a wonderful way to get some fears away about things one may not have been aware of about aviation and flying. Depending on the media and material you use to learn and read some of that basic stuff it'll be fully transferable to real life, or not if you only keep with the sim stuff and tutorials.

If you plan to go flying RL, from my own experience it's best to read directly the RL material you'll need for your tests, perfectly usable in the sim, while you'll encounter some things not aplicable to the sim because it's a sim, than using the sim simplified tutorials and finding later in RL those are just sim exploits hardly aplicable to RL than the other way around.

 

If you need any further info just ask. Hope it helps

Edited May 27 by Ala13_ManOWar

[Dragon1-1]

It's not difficult to learn, but if you want to learn flying, make sure to use a trainer or an older jet. Modern combat jets have fly by wire, which disconnects you from the aircraft a bit, and you will not appreciate some finer points of flying in those jets, most notably the use of trim. While modern airliners use FBW, too, it's good to know how a plane handles without that.

[Aapje]

14 hours ago, Couchtomato said:

I dreamed of becoming a pilot when I was in high school and even tried applying to an airline pilot school. I didn’t realize they only recruited boys back then, so of course, I was turned down. (don't want to recall how awkward I felt in that interview room lol). Is DCS a good platform for me to gain flight skills, and is it difficult to learn?

Airliners and combat aircraft are very different beasts. Like a bus vs a Porsche...with weapon systems.

And pilots typically learn basic flying with simple piston planes and then migrate to more complicated (and automated) planes. So given your dreams, you might want to play MSFS instead, and then go from something like a Cessna 172, to more complicated planes, including the best airliners in that game, like the iniBuilds A300/A310, PMDG 737 and Fenix A320.

[dekiplav]

 

1 hour ago, Aapje said:

Airliners and combat aircraft are very different beasts. Like a bus vs a Porsche...with weapon systems.

And pilots typically learn basic flying with simple piston planes and then migrate to more complicated (and automated) planes. So given your dreams, you might want to play MSFS instead, and then go from something like a Cessna 172, to more complicated planes, including the best airliners in that game, like the iniBuilds A300/A310, PMDG 737 and Fenix A320.

Yeah, super advice, man — chase away the possibly only girl we have on the forums.

Edited May 28 by dekiplav

[SharpeXB]

Yeah I hate to plug another game but if you want to learn real life-like flying and general aviation, MSFS is more suitable. DCS aircraft are quite realistic but they aren’t like the general aviation you’d begin flying IRL. Then DCS lacks a realistic civilian environment to fly in with nav aids, airports, weather and such, unless you plan on flying in Syria or Afghanistan

Now if you want to make stuff go boom this is the place

Edited May 28 by SharpeXB

[Aapje]

33 minutes ago, dekiplav said:

Yeah, super advice, man — chase away the possibly only girl we have on the forums.

Sorry, not going to give bad advice for that reason.

[Dragon1-1]

1 hour ago, Aapje said:

And pilots typically learn basic flying with simple piston planes and then migrate to more complicated (and automated) planes. 

A Cessna is actually slightly harder to fly than a jet trainer, though there's a little less going on. Mostly, it has to do with the fact it has a prop, and no automatic fuel management, so you have to pay attention to the fuel tanks (the baseline 172 has no roll trim, either, though spiffier versions may have an autopilot). Real pilots start out on GA props because they're cheap to operate, so it makes sense to teach the basics on the cheapest airframe to buy and run that you can get. There's nothing wrong with starting out in a low powered jet instead, as we don't have to pay for gas and repairs for our simulated aircraft. An L-39 or C-101 will teach you the flying skills just fine. The only "advanced" feature that you have to use is the retractable landing gear, which is good to get used to, anyway.

As for airliners, they're actually much easier to operate than most other aircraft. If you can master the C-101, just about any modern airliner won't be a huge leap, aside from programming the autopilot, which is mostly done on the ground, anyway. While the main draw in DCS is the fighters, it's a very solid sim with full clickable cockpits. There'll eventually be a C-130 in DCS that should be closer to how an airliner is flown (though it's still vastly more maneuverable).

[TheBiggerBass]

I started as a bloody rookie with zero aviation experience in Nov last year (with MSFS 2024 too). The Cessna 172 training lessons in MSFS 2024 are a good start, I guess. However the training lessons in Flaming Cliffs Module in DCS might be useable for that purpose too. There are also options in DCS (Gameplay - simplified flight model, immortal, ect.) for easier handling. And last but not least: search YT for DCS training videos. There are tons of it.

I hope that helps.

[Beirut]

On 5/27/2025 at 5:05 AM, Couchtomato said:

I dreamed of becoming a pilot when I was in high school and even tried applying to an airline pilot school. I didn’t realize they only recruited boys back then, so of course, I was turned down. (don't want to recall how awkward I felt in that interview room lol). Is DCS a good platform for me to gain flight skills, and is it difficult to learn?

 

DCS is an equal opportunity platform. I am convinced a woman can fly as badly as I and many of the other men here do. 

 

Try the sim for free with the P-51. Get into the free trials. Try the Yak-52, it's great. The biggest thing is to have fun and enjoy yourself and then everything else falls into place. And always always watch YouTube tutorials. 

[Hiob]

What he said! 

[Aapje]

@Dragon1-1

Jet engines have a delay, which makes it hard for newbies to learn cause and effect, and get themselves out of (or in) trouble.

[Dragon1-1]

Yes, but this depends on the size and inertia of the jet. A small turbine, such as those in trainers, can react pretty quickly within their power band (you do need to watch out for this at low power settings, though). Bigger motors, particularly older ones, lag a lot. It also depends on the amount of bypass, turbojets spool quite fast, high bypass turbofans are slow.

Also, piston engines have a delay, too. What's different in a jet is that the delay varies. A jet engine will be particularly slow to react in the lower RPM range, while a piston prop will have a consistent throttle response through the rev range. Unless, of course, you're flying the P-47 or another turbocharged prop, in which case the turbo will lag in a similar way.

[Hiob]

@Couchtomato ah, yes....
in case you haven't noticed yet. Around here we're all a bunch of enthusiastic smart a$$es, who like arguing (and sometimes complaining) almost as much as flying virtual Aircraft.
Don't get deterred though. In our heart of hearts, most of us have good intentions! 

[EricJ]

On 5/27/2025 at 5:05 AM, Couchtomato said:

I dreamed of becoming a pilot when I was in high school and even tried applying to an airline pilot school. I didn’t realize they only recruited boys back then, so of course, I was turned down. (don't want to recall how awkward I felt in that interview room lol). Is DCS a good platform for me to gain flight skills, and is it difficult to learn?

It has a steep learning curve, but once you figure out what you want to fly, it either becomes easy or not. Like for me, I'm relearning the A-10C II. I got my weapons employment stuff done, so now I'm going to figure out how to navigate since there's no tadpole to mess with. But I think unlikely_spider is a woman, and maybe AereaGloria. You may want to message them and hook up with them and see if they're able to help you, if they are women. And if you're on SimHQ you may want to see if Cat is around. I don't know her status (it's been a decade or more), but she's (if she is playing) on there. She might play DCS (I don't reliably know), but she's definitely skiiled.

Edited May 28 by EricJ

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

DCS is easy to get into, just take it step by step.

Aside from that, you should consider looking into flight training once more. My last flight review was with a woman instructor. She was fantastic, one of the best instructors I've ever been up with. Knew how to nitpick where she needed to, knew how to offer context, loved to talk about her days flying Blackhawks.

Basically, whenever I see a woman instructor show up dressed like she just escaped her kids for an hour, I know I got an instructor that's going to be very good, now.

[freehand]

Same as any other game you play but can be as complex as you like.

[Nightdare]

On 5/27/2025 at 11:05 AM, Couchtomato said:

I dreamed of becoming a pilot when I was in high school and even tried applying to an airline pilot school. I didn’t realize they only recruited boys back then, so of course, I was turned down. (don't want to recall how awkward I felt in that interview room lol). Is DCS a good platform for me to gain flight skills, and is it difficult to learn?

'Back then' is when and where?

Because over here, the first female combat pilot earned her wings in 1987

[VietGirl]

what about me , and there are more women here than you think! and we fly in DCS not play!

Edited May 30 by VietGirl

[Griefhard]

On 5/27/2025 at 11:05 AM, Couchtomato said:

I dreamed of becoming a pilot when I was in high school and even tried applying to an airline pilot school. I didn’t realize they only recruited boys back then...

How stuipid, I am sorry to hear about your bad experience!

About your question: To get into (virtual) flying I'd also recommend the MSFS (Microsoft Flight Simulator). The beginner planes are the ones you would learn to fly in a flight school as well. In MSFS 2020 they even had a Cessna 150 with all the very old flight instruments just like one I learned flying on a very long time ago. I'd also say it is pretty accurate to what it felt like and this would be more an experience of actually "learning to fly".

There is "vatsim" and different addons/communities that teach you virtual flying and communications and even have controllers at airports. Lots of things like it is in real life.

[Shrimp]

I wouldn’t bother with any other simulator.

DCS has one propeller and three jet trainers. They are very useful for beginners with an experienced friend in the backseat in multiplayer.

Even the free civilian P-51 isn’t that difficult to start with if you have the appropriate devices (stick, rudder pedals and throttle).

[Dangerzone]

Learning on flight simulators before you go for actual formal training can be a two edge sword.

if the goal is to learn some flying skills, but not as a pre-cursor to formal flight training, then DCS can be a great place to learn certain skills. 

However if your goal is to learn the skills of flying before getting formal training, there's some things to be aware of:

Flight sims are great for becoming familiar with cockpit environment (if you're flying the aircraft you'll be using), flight procedures, checklists, navigation, radio calls (VATSIM), etc.

However unsupervised, there is also risk of learning bad habits that can take longer to 'unlearn what you have learned' in a simulator, develop incorrect procedures (ignore rudder use, unrealistic weather/flight systems - DCS does not do turbulence well at all,  make it easy to skip over important procedures, etc). 

That's not to discourage the use of using a flight simulator, but rather that the benefits of having a real pilot to 'back seat' for you shouldn't be underestimated. And of course, focusing more on the skills that will transfer over to real life (such as navigation, instrument use, etc than those that don't transfer as well, or can learn bad habits. 

If there's no plans to actually do formal training though - go your hardest and do what gives you the most enjoyment. But if the plan is to gain experience before formal training - just be aware of the things it can help with vs the things not to invest as much time into in sim.

[PawlaczGMD]

Short answer: The F-5 is a good module to start with. 

[Aapje]

On 5/31/2025 at 12:36 AM, Dangerzone said:

However if your goal is to learn the skills of flying before getting formal training, there's some things to be aware of:

I didn't get the impression that the topic starter is still intending to get into real flying, but that they just want to see what it is like, in a sim.

[cfrag]

On 5/27/2025 at 11:05 AM, Couchtomato said:

I dreamed of becoming a pilot when I was in high school and even tried applying to an airline pilot school. I didn’t realize they only recruited boys back then, so of course, I was turned down. (don't want to recall how awkward I felt in that interview room lol). Is DCS a good platform for me to gain flight skills, and is it difficult to learn?

It rather depends on what you enjoy and are looking for in flying, and what your setup is. Back when I earned my wings (in 2001) I got them together with a good friend of mine, and she is the much better pilot - both in ground school and behind the stick, for which the other boys gave me no end of grief. Both of us dreamed of becoming astronauts later, none of us did - life got in the way. We both still fly, but my flying is mostly digital.

You probably already know that flying a sim (unless it has 6DOF support) is more difficult than the real thing (it's you bottom at fault here, that isn't moving behind a desk), and today most FS are good platforms to learn the basics. DCS has the fast jets, and things that go boom. If that catches your fancy, then DCS is your ride. It's really terrible at some procedures (airfield approach, RT, most radio nav etc.), and serviceable for others (e.g. start-up procedures). DCS's flight model is advanced enough for most aircraft, and many of the available planes are a delight - both visually and technically. One thing that IMHO DCS does better than the rest is VR support (especially for helicopters), and if you are fulfilling one of your life's dreams, do think about going VR in DCS (using an absurdly powerful PC - life is too short to play a flight sim on a klunker). 

Is flying difficult to learn? Not particularly, no. A few years ago I took my 5 years old godson on a joyride, and handed him the controls (of a prop plane of course). It took him less than a minute to grasp the concept. Flying is simple. Landing isn't, and you'll soon get the hang of it. Any flight game will teach you that, in DCS, having powerful jets, it's usually a lot easier (plus, if you buy the farm, it looks much better). So if it's just flying you want, any modern flight sim will scratch that itch. If you want to shoot other things than precision approaches, DCS has you covered. If you love precise procedures and approaches, skip DCS. 

All IMHO, of course.

Edited June 2 by cfrag