Not sure whether it would be worthwhile for you to spend time flying a Cessna 172 flight simulator in lieu of piloting an actual Cessna 172 plane?

Here are five important characteristics that a Cessna 172 flight simulator offers:

1. The simulator offers a virtual reproduction of the complete instrument panel as mounted in a typical Cessna 172 plane.
2. The Cessna 172 flight simulator instrument panel is designed to respond to inputs which mimic the full range of flight controls available in its real-world counterpart.
3. An airplane simulator empowers you to travel through a virtual world with actual landmarks and actual airports, the locations of which are based on real latitudinal and longitude coordinates. If a flight from Detroit to Chicago takes 2 hours in real life in a Cessna, then it takes 2 hours in a simulator.
4. Flight simulator computer software is designed to simulate real-life weather conditions like wind, rain, snow, clouds, fog, and even temperature. The simulator plane is engineered to react to each of these variables in precisely the same manner that its real world counterpart would. Additionally, the weight and load distribution of the airplane also influences the simulator aircraft's performance, just as it would in reality.
5. Anything you can manipulate in an actual Cessna 172 plabne can also be manipulated in its simulator counterpart, such as flight controls, radio navigation, control tower communications, fuel management and engine output.

Considering all of the evolution in computer engineering technology that we have at our disposal these days, in the twenty-first century, one of the greatest and most essential tools that every pilot, without regard to whether he or she happens to be a novice pilot or an ace pilot, must have available to him or her, is a good flight simulation program.

A flight simulation program can help to narrow the gap during those unforeseen periods of lengthy downtime between flights.

It may even empower you to touch up on your skills, help you maintain proficiency, and may even empower you to earn some supplemental experience in those areas in which you could see some improvement.

Flight simulators can help you become a safer pilot.

They can even help you to save money, as well as time, on needless training or unnecessarily having to repeat flying the same practice maneuvers over and over again.

Fortunately, flight simulator software technology is so advanced, that flying a simulator is just about every bit as realistic as flying the real thing. The instrument panel is identical. The control inputs are the same. The "map" built into the simulator is based on real world cartographic information. The way the aircraft behaves to various internal (weight and balance, fuel, aircraft performance) as well as external (weather phenomena, air temperature) forces is designed to mimic real world scenarios.

For some people, a flight simulation program is nothing more than a really high-tech video game. And on many levels, it can be enjoyed as such. After all, you'll never have to concern yourself about crashing the airplane in a simulation!

But for many others, a flight simulation program is a serious learning tool, and for many professional pilots, it is an integral pillar of one's aviation career.

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