Which is exactly what were trying to achieve.. These cookies do not store any personal information. 520-918-7100, Lear Jet Previous Experience By eliminating 15 or 20 hours of training flights a year, its easy to saveseveral thousand dollars in operating and maintenance expenses, not to mention wear andtear. I needed to renew my instrument currency anyway, and the opportunity to flyFlightSafetys full-motion full-vision twin-Cessna simulator sounded exciting. A mechanic I trust once told me that its a good idea to take your aircraft to a different shop for the annual once in a while. It is solely the pilots responsibility to ensure that his/her actions comply with current best practices and regulations. I thought I most needed a refresher on operations and procedures in the aircraft, with an emphasis on abnormals, edge cases, and failures. Simcom Aviation Training announced in a press release on Tuesday that it has acquired a training provider for TBM aircraft to expand training opportunities available to TBM operators. Since then, Ive returned for regular sim training every six months. The customized course costs the same as the standard Captains course, but runs only eight days instead of the standard 14, saving participants time and travel expense money. 3401 Quebec Street, Suite 9150 Tempe, AZ B 737 Program B At Simcom, for example, a new 340 pilot attends a five-day course with ground school on the systems and then 10 hours of full-motion simulator training. There the pilot can work through lots of malfunctions, practice lots of approaches, and make lots of mistakes; none are fatal. Composite Structures: Limits and Advantages. Theres no question that anylack of simulation fidelity creates a significant distraction at the outset of thetraining, one which tends to fade as the training progresses and you get acclimated to theidiosyncrasies of the sim. (They also offer turboproptraining for the Beech King Air, Piper Cheyenne, and Pilatus PC-12.) Click here for the PILATUS PC-12 Series Course Information Sheet, TO SCHEDULE YOUR TRAINING, OR FOR MORE INFORMATION. The content of this website (graphics, text and any and all other elements) is Copyright 2023 by Piper Aircraft, Inc., and may not be reprinted or retransmitted in whole or part without the expressed written consent of Piper Aircraft, Inc. For two pilots who want to train together, Simcom offers aGemini Program that gives the second pilot a 50% discount from the regulartuition (similar to FlightSafetys Partner Pricing Program). If youve been to the same facility for the last few years, or worse, used the same local instructor, look elsewhere occasionally for a broader base of experience. The more the industry drags out phasing out 100LL, the more susceptible it is to looking unconcerned about public health risks. Sure, many have been plowed up for houses or 2023 Aviation Publishing Group. Certification Course SIMCOMs PC-12 transition courses are designed for the experienced PC-12 pilot to transition to a derivative model of PC-12 Series aircraft in fewer hours than an initial course. Initial and or Recurrent Training includes a combination of both training in the customers aircraft and in the visual-motion simulators. For example, Simcom chargesabout $2,200 for a three-day Cessna 300/400 recurrent course (compared with $3,000 atFSI), and $1,450 for a two-day generic multiengine instrument refresher course (comparedwith $2,400 at FSI). Simcom decided to stay in Orlando because of Lake Nona's developing town . Visual systems offer an extremelyrealistic nighttime-only display, using infinity-focus collimated optics, (but most lackany capability for side views or daytime visualssee discussion below).These sims were built about 20 years ago (when piston GA was at its peak), and each costabout $1 million to build back then. Belvoir Media Group, LLC. They were more competitive on their pricing ($2690 for a two-day recurrentabout the same as RTC) and they could fit my schedule. Orlando, Fla. - SIMCOM International, Inc. is expanding and building a new worldwide headquarters in Orlando. 2056 Palomar Airport Road A good recurrent training curriculum will cover all of these. Simcom was founded about a decade ago to provide alower-cost alternative to FlightSafety for piston twin pilots. 206-878-7271, 9550 Parksouth Court, Suite 100 Naturally, the flight nevergoes as planned, and you are confronted with various challenges: unforecast weather,aircraft failures, navaid outages, runway changes, ATC delays, etc. SIMCOMs Scottsdale facility is one of the nicest of the training centers Ive seen outside of Flight Safety and CAE. Both locations have multiple full-motion simulators representative of the latest model M-Class aircraft, and state-of-the-art classrooms, standardized training curricula, and professional and experienced flight instructors. So Idecided to do it. All Rights Reserved. Obviously, regaining slipping proficiency is one common goal. Tucson, AZ Dont believe me? $5,295, B737-3/4/500 Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a flight review through the FAA Wings Program. An annual cycle through FlightSafety, Simcom or RTC costs between $1,000 and $3,000 intuition plus at least several hundred bucks more in travel, lodging and meal expenses.Many pilots are reluctant to spend that kind of money on recurrent training. But, thats an exception. In addition, the company is beginning to offer shorter, one-on-one training courses, like its new customized Citation Jet Captains course. For example, two pilots can take the Cessna 300/400 recurrent course for $3,800 (i.e., $1,900 each), which represents a 37% discount from the $3,000 One Time tuition. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Aviation Services, Inc. I skipped Recurrent Training Center (RTC). An annual contract consisting of two semi-annual visits to RTC -a three-day recurrent course followed by a two-day refresher six months later costs$1,585. Seattle,WA The prices quoted above are FlightSafetys 1998 One Time tuitions. The annual cost is about 60% higher than the One Time tuition, and the minimum contract period is two years. instead of aircraft-specific systems knowledge. Form your own conclusion from that. Denver, CO, Higher Power Aviation Finally, the student steps into the full-motion, Level D simulator. The physical faithfulness of the sim allowed us to nicely review various procedures, which was quite valuable. Appearances aside, how does RTCs recurrent training compare with FlightSafety orSimcom? The reality is that just complying with the FARs will not be enough for your insurance companyit will require that you go through training at a program it approves, and most of those are simulator-based, something we applaud. Finally, in-aircraft training tends to be a lot tougher on your aircraft than normaloperations. 972-641-4661, Cycled Scheduling varies with each class and number of participants. Lets look at some. Now, if you think about it, the same idea applies to training. The instructors and material are first rateanother win. Letit Pbram One big reason we go to recurrent training is because of the insurance mandate. A cost of living index allows you to compare what it costs to live in one place against another, revealing how far your money will go in different areas. The certificates may be used to train multiple pilots, or one pilot multiple times. I was then shown to the break room where I waited for the instructor. Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a Flight Review and Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC). 3710 South Park Avenue, Suite 704 Boulder City No other aircraft is equipped just quite like yours is, and its unlikely that a sim comes very close at all. Ive often written about the challenges we face maintaining real instrument proficiency. If it's over 100, it's more expensive than . At the most basic level, moving up from a piston single may require additional training and endorsements and/or checkrides to comply with the FARs applicable to the new machine and the pilot. However, archived articles are not reviewed for accuracy following various changes in industry procedures and practices, FAA guidance or regulations. Of course, sim time is a significant part of the course and thats where the hiccups started. 520-670-9583, Aircraft Dispatcher Proficiency comes more quickly with that kind of repetition. Work on aviation training company Simcom International Corp.'s future Orlando headquarters is taking off. Program A The vision system is a differentmatter. For the three- to six-day upgrade courses for piston twins and turboprops, have read the POH and training materials at least once. Or, perhaps your goal might lean more toward a systems refresher. 1201 Airport Road So did my friend Chris Wrather, a 1,500-hour pilot andBonanza owner, who accompanied me to RTC for his first taste of sim-based training. (I was early.). RTCs sims are genericAST 300 twin-engine simulators that are not set up to duplicate any particular aircraft.The ground school component of RTCs courses is largely on videotape, allowing RTC to getby with a smaller instructor staff. Now, almost 45 percent of the 8,000 people who train at SimCom each year are professional corporate pilots, sent there by their employers. Long Beach, CA document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); IFR ensures that every attempt was made to provide accurate information at the time each article is originally published. The upgrade world changes a bit when a type rating is required, largely because most training courses increase in sophistication and take at least two weeks. Schedule your DeSat training in conjunction with your aircraft training program while at SIMCOM. We did not find any piston twin training centers that used motion-based simulators. I always look forward tomy recurrent training cycles with great anticipation. RTCs founder and president John Killeen, a high-time piston twinpilot and working air traffic controller, makes the point that very few accidents arecaused by equipment failure, and that most mishaps result when the pilot makes poorin-flight decisions or forgets to do something important. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. $3,500, Flight Crew Systems, Inc. Other situations that we do try to practice in the aircraft can beaccomplished only in very unrealistic ways. Another example: its one thing for an instructor to slap a No-Peekie over the attitudeindicator, and quite another for the horizon to gradually develop the leansand then subsequently start thrashing around to the point of distraction. My motivation was the usual one: insurance.Despite the fact that I had 180 hours in type, 4,000 hours total, and 23 years ofaccident-free flying behind me, I was having a heck of a time finding aircraft insuranceat reasonable rates. NOTE: In 1998, FlightSafety introduced a new Operational Recurrentcourse in its Cessna 300/400 program that offers a similar LOFT emphasis. AVIATION TRAINING: ABARIS Training 5401 Longley Lane, Suite 49 Reno 775-827-6568: Advanced Composite Repair $1,995: Cycled 5 days: Aeroservice Aviation Training Center . And again, and again, and again. At times the sim would just do its own thing, leaving nothing the pilot could do about the impending crash. 858-756-8748, CS 525/CS Initial and or Recurrent Training, at either location, includes flight training in the customers aircraft, or in the full motion simulators, or a combination of both. Back in 1989, businessman Wally David made an interesting observation: Computer graphics technology was improving so dramatically that a whole new realm of simulator training was about to become possible. David also decided to offer customized training, with no more than two students in a class. I recently learned of a facility Id not previously known. Orlando is the companys main headquarters and training location. Email info@ok-aviation.cz. Cause failures you just cant (or shouldnt) duplicate in the airplane. 2113 South 48th Street, Suite 105 407-852-5300, 1555 W University Drive, Suite 108 Hinson emphasized the importance of using simulators that were as close to replicating a customers aircraft as possible. Consequently, its a good idea to mix it up occasionally. (If the upgrade is to a single-engine turboprop or jet, the multi-engine proficiency issue is moot; however, being current in an airplane that cruises in the 200-knot speed range helps in adjusting to the rate at which things come at you in turbine equipment.). In e-mail discussions I was impressed with the approach that Aircraft Simulator Training took, but we just couldnt get the schedule to work. Being a solo student, I met with my instructor in an office. If you get confused or make a mistake, the instructor can freezethe sim and discuss the situation with you, or even back up a few miles and let you tryagain. Rick is an active CFII and holds an ATP with type ratings in the Douglas DC-3 and Cessna Citation. Helicopter Pilot While all thats still trueperhaps even more sothe more competitive pricing and excellence of their training was compelling. Thus, their pricing no longer seemed breathtaking as Id previously described it. Nevertheless, it is not a one size fits all affair. $13,200, PremAir, Inc. 303-941-8204, Private $12,400, Flight Safety International Shooting approaches under the hood is woefullyinadequate preparation for doing the same thing in actual low-visibility conditions. Yet, quality recurrent training isn't cheap. Fax +420.318 690.645 You will also review aircraft systems, performance and procedures. Sure, we recognize the value of the training and would plan to go anyway, but often plans dont quite make it into schedules. So, without the insurance requirement, we might not go at all or perhaps not as often as we should. The combination of our, high fidelity simulators, small class sizes and experienced instructors provides the ideal learning environment. So, I looked elsewhere. As you get near the end of sim training, ask the instructor for her or his scenario. Every instructor who knows his or her airplane well has one. For single-engine pilots (Beech Bonanza, Cessna 210, Mooney, Piper PA28 and PA32),RTC offers a two-day recurrent course for $785, or a two-visit annual contract for $1,335. All rights reserved. Volume Incentive Plan enables a customer to purchase multiple prepaid VIP Certificates at a discount rate, each redeemable for one course tuition. SimComs prices are at least 25% lower than FlightSafetys. I had my first real engine out in Denver, night and IMC, just after takeoff about six months after my upgrade training. As the new owner of a cabin-class, turbocharged twin, I was still reeling from the hourly fuel costs, which are more than double what I was used to in the Twin Comanche I used to fly. Aircraft Mentoring Training $7,750, Open We will provide free recurrent training to the volunteer pilot who completes the most VAC missions within the subsequent nine months following the month in which they completed initial or recurrent training at SIMCOM. The quality of individual instructors was a constant refrain in our conversations with users as they related good and bad training experiences. Incidentally, when I trained at RTC in April 1998, they were in the process ofinstalling a new-generation Phoenix simulator from AST that promised to offersignificantly better fidelity and visuals than the AST 300s. I also found them to be a bit less faithful in simulating variousaircraft systems failures. For example, a full-service contract for Cessna 300/400 costs $4,700 per year. 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