How are flight simulators used in pilot training?
Flight simulators are used in pilot training to teach cockpit procedures, instrument flying, aircraft handling, crew coordination and emergency response without exposing an aircraft or crew to unnecessary risk. Approved training devices can count towards some licensing, rating and recurrent-training requirements; home simulators mainly support familiarisation and practice.
In real-world aviation, “simulator” can mean anything from desktop software to a regulator-qualified, aircraft-specific cockpit. Our explanation of how different simulator types reproduce an aircraft covers the underlying technology; for training, the device’s approval and intended task matter more than its marketing claims.
What pilot skills are taught in a flight simulator?
Flight simulators let an instructor create repeatable exercises, observe the pilot’s decisions and reset the aircraft without consuming fuel or putting anyone at risk.
- Cockpit familiarisation: locating controls, interpreting displays and learning normal switch positions before occupying the real aircraft.
- Procedures and checklists: practising flows, start-up, taxi, departure, arrival, shutdown and standard operating procedures until the sequence becomes reliable.
- Instrument flying: maintaining headings, altitudes and airspeeds, intercepting courses, flying holds and completing instrument approaches in cloud or poor visibility.
- Aircraft systems: understanding how electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, fuel and flight-control systems interact.
- Abnormal and emergency situations: handling engine failures, system faults, rejected take-offs, unreliable indications and adverse weather that would be unsafe or impractical to reproduce repeatedly in an aircraft.
- Crew resource management: dividing duties, communicating clearly, monitoring the other pilot and making decisions under workload.
- Recurrent training: checking that professional pilots remain proficient in normal and non-normal operations.
The training device must suit the task. A desktop trainer can be excellent for learning an avionics sequence, while an aircraft-specific full-flight simulator is needed when accurate handling, system behaviour and crew interaction are central to the exercise. We explain the devices professional pilots use at different training stages separately.
Which simulator time counts towards a pilot licence?
Simulator time counts only when the aviation authority recognises the exact device, exercise, course and supervision arrangements involved.
| Training device | Typical use | Training credit |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified full-flight simulator | Type-specific handling, line scenarios, emergencies, type ratings and recurrent checks | May receive substantial credit when used within an approved programme |
| Approved fixed-base or procedural trainer | Instrument procedures, navigation, cockpit systems and selected manoeuvres | May count towards defined requirements, subject to its qualification |
| Home desktop or VR simulator | Familiarisation, chair flying, avionics practice and procedure rehearsal | Normally no loggable credit unless the complete device and its use have specific approval |
Names such as FFS, FTD, FNPT and ATD vary by regulator and do not carry identical privileges in every country. Approval applies to a complete device and configuration, not simply to the simulation software or aircraft add-on.
Before paying for credited simulator time, ask the training organisation which authority approved the device, what qualification it holds and precisely which syllabus requirement it satisfies. A logbook entry labelled “simulator” does not make unapproved practice count. The simulator component also sits within the wider structure of ground school, aircraft lessons, examinations and flight tests.
How is a simulator training session run?
A formal simulator lesson is a structured training event rather than an unsupervised flight.
- Brief the exercise: The instructor defines the objectives, procedures, expected standards and division of crew duties.
- Configure the scenario: The simulator is placed at the required airport or flight condition with suitable weather, traffic, aircraft mass and system status.
- Practise individual tasks: The instructor can pause, reposition or repeat an event so the pilot can correct a specific weakness.
- Run a realistic scenario: Once individual skills are stable, the pilot completes a flight or operational sequence without constant interruption.
- Debrief the performance: The crew reviews decisions, aircraft parameters, procedural errors and points where the situation began to deteriorate.
The debrief is often where the largest training gain occurs. Repeating an engine failure is useful, but understanding why the crew missed an early warning or allowed workload to build prevents the same chain of errors later.
Where do home flight simulators fit?
A home simulator is best used to prepare for instruction, not to replace an instructor or real aircraft experience.
It can help with checklist rehearsal, cockpit layout, radio-navigation concepts, instrument scans and avionics programming. It is much less reliable for learning control forces, peripheral visual cues, landing flare judgement, turbulence response and the physical sensations associated with acceleration or an approaching stall. Our detailed assessment of what a home simulator can and cannot teach a student pilot explains that boundary.
Set the controls up carefully before practising. Calibrate every axis, remove unintended control conflicts and use realistic weather and aircraft loading. Excessive sensitivity, a large centre dead zone or an unstable frame rate can teach over-controlling rather than good handling.
What simulator training mistakes cause bad habits?
The main risk is repeating an inaccurate procedure until it feels automatic.
- Practising without an approved checklist: Use the aircraft documentation and the procedure specified by the instructor or training organisation.
- Memorising button presses without understanding them: Know what each selection changes and how to verify the result.
- Pausing whenever workload rises: Pause while learning a sequence, then repeat it in real time to test workload management.
- Fixating on instruments during visual flying: A monitor encourages tunnel vision; consciously maintain an external scan when practising visual procedures.
- Assuming every flight model is accurate: Consumer aircraft can model systems and handling unevenly. Do not use unexplained simulator behaviour as evidence of how the real aircraft flies.
- Skipping the debrief: Record the error, its cause and the correction rather than merely restarting the exercise.
Do airline pilots train entirely in simulators?
Airline pilots complete a large share of type-specific and recurrent training in qualified full-flight simulators, but simulation does not eliminate all supervised aircraft experience.
Exact requirements depend on the regulator, operator, course approval and pilot’s previous experience. Some approved pathways allow more training and checking to be completed in a full-flight simulator than others. Real operations still provide factors a simulator cannot fully reproduce, including operational pressure, passenger considerations, live traffic, changing weather and the consequences of managing the actual aircraft.