Flight training course

Hi.
I’m newbie to MS FS.
I’m looking for a good, step by step, understandable flight training course (better than that provided by the software) that start from basics.
Any idea?
Thanks in advance

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I have been working on a Learn To Fly series for MSFS. A video on the basics of a traffic pattern was added today. There are plenty more videos on the playlist and more will be added as it is a work in progress. Straight and Level | Climbs | Turns | Descent | Standard Rate Turns | Adverse Yaw - YouTube

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If you’re really looking to go in-depth, I know Vatsim offers training via Authorized Training Organizations (ATOs). I think it does require you to have a Vatsim account though, but it could net you a virtual PPL in the end!

There’s some info here: https://my.vatsim.net/pilots/atos/

I’m tempted to give it a try myself, so if anyone has any experiences to share, I’d love to hear it!

Hi.
I’ve not well understood what kind of training are offered via ATOs

Howard Forder has his ‘how to fly an airplane’ courses on forderlearntofly.com for sale. I haven’t watched them though. He also taught Jayne (communitiy manager here in the forums) how to fly in a free weekly stream. I think the replays are still stored somewhere.

And then there’s the official faa handbook: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/airplane_handbook

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We’ve got you covered: www.fsacademy.co.uk

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Not training courses per se, but Pgatcomb and Alpha Hotel flight training on YouTube have an outstanding knowledge base for GA flight and ground school learnings. These accounts are a great wealth of knowledge that you can pull from and make your own training situations, best practices, and standard operating procedures. It will be worth your time, these accounts have made MSFS so much more immersive for me!

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Moved to #third-party-addon-discussion:tools-utilities

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Here’s a great training series from flightsim.to. It’s from a book about using flight sim, specifically FSX, for real world training which was very good. I have the book and always wished it would be updated for use with MSFS and this is basically what they’ve done. A lot of work has gone into this addon and it’s very detailed. Starts out very basic with sport pilot training and goes through private pilot, IFR training and commercial pilot training. Has a lot of documentation and illustrations also.

Highly recommended.

MSFS RWT

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What was the guy who did the flight lessons in FSX and before?

He, (and his wife), were “as real as it gets” IMHO and he gave it to you in small, easily digested chunks like “using the throttle to maintain altitude” or “keeping the wings level” by using a virtual autopilot to mask out aspects of flying that weren’t important to the lesson at hand.

Then he’d start mixing things together.

By the time you were finished, you were golden. (I never had the time to completely finish <== lame excuse.)

I’d LOVE to see his lessons in MSFS-20/24

I believe the questions on:

  1. The flight-training lessons within MSFS-2020 are, (ahem!), “somewhat less than engaging”.
  2. What is the best flight training, (Doh!  What’s this big broom-handle doing here?), software/add-on/etc. for MSFS-2020?
  3. Where’s Ron Machado when we need him?!!

. . . . have already been beaten to death, though I can’t find the MSFS-2020 forum topics on actual flight training software anywhere even after about an hour or so of diligent searching, (aside from Flight Academy’s web site that I found confusing).

I also fondly remember Ron Machado from the earlier MSFS days, particularly FSX, and his particular step-by-step way of teaching important concepts that even a total dweeb like myself could understand.

So, instead of shelling out good money for yet ANOTHER add-on for FS-2020, (I’m saving my pennies for a new controller), I decided to drag out my copy of FSX-Deluxe, install it, and get busy learning how to fly!

Side note:
It went on-line to activate and it actually succeeded !  I honestly expected to have to find a “how to activate FSX” hack somewhere. . .

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The lessons were very good in FSX. The ones in FS2020 are pitiful by comparison. Just looking at the screenshot shows you: specific information on flying taildraggers and floatplanes, VOR navigation, you name it. I make no secret that the absence of proper tutorials and instructions in the most detailed simulator Microsoft has ever released was a ridiculous backward step. Now we have to rely on waiting around and hoping some Youtube rando will produce a decent lesson and keep our fingers crossed they will actually get it right (those of you who have encountered that gabbling guy who zips through everything at top speed and misses out key steps will feel my pain here).

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Truth!

My primary use for YouTube is entertainment.

  • Political pundits insulting each other and neither one making any sense.
  • Psudo-science.
  • So-called “self improvement” videos that are anything but. (But are hysterically funny)
  • And that old stand-by, cat videos.

My problem with YouTube training is that they take 30 minutes to explain something that could have been explained in 60 seconds because they spend so much time talking about their neighbor’s dog, and when they do get around to explaining it, it’s painfully obvious that they have no clue.

(Note that PMDG’s videos about the operation of their DC-6 are the gold standard that others should aspire to.)

I’d willingly pay for some kind of training that:

  1. Is worth a dawgonne.
  2. Is taught by someone who knows how to teach.
  3. Is explained in a way that doesn’t require either mind-reading or a Ph.D. in aeronautics and rocketry to understand.

Since Ron Machado has all that, AND I already own a copy of FSX, it was a no-brainer to me.

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