Flight Sim on Mac

[ncdmtb]

I have no experience with flight simulators (other than the redbird I used for my IFR training).

I would like to get a flight sim for my macbook (w/peripherals?) to practice instrument approaches when the weather is really bad (like today).

Main objective is to practice instrument scan and "learn approaches" before I actually go fly them. Since I am still a novice IR pilot, I have not even flown missed approaches (since my personal minimums are so high, that the need has not yet arisen), but I would like to also practice those.

Any advice/recommendations?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Jeff_S]

Your only real solution on the Mac is X-Plane, but it's a good solution, probably the best one available for a personal computer. Go to http://www.x-plane.com to learn more about it.  I used it for exactly your same purpose. All you really need is a Joystick, such as the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro.  You can get a full yoke and throttle quadrant set up for it if you want, but to me that's overkill if you're just trying to practice your scan.

 

There is also a good Mooney M20J model available for purchase from Carenado that you can use. It faithfully reproduces a J cockpit and has 3-D so you can move around in it.  It does require some horsepower under the hood, but if you've got a later-model iMac or similar you should be fine.

 

X-Plane also has a cool thing where you can synch it to your iPad running ForeFlight and actually see your flight on ForeFlight. It of course lets you add real-world weather, although it's tied just to current METARs and doesn't accurately show actual storm cells.  And it lets you program in various systems failures so you can even practice your emergency procedures.

 

Good luck with it. It's a lot of fun.

[ryoder]

I bought the Cessna branded Saitek yoke, throttle, trim, and rudder pedals when I started my training. It does cost some money but everything in aviation does.

[Marauder]

Your only real solution on the Mac is X-Plane, but it's a good solution, probably the best one available for a personal computer. Go to http://www.x-plane.com to learn more about it. I used it for exactly your same purpose. All you really need is a Joystick, such as the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. You can get a full yoke and throttle quadrant set up for it if you want, but to me that's overkill if you're just trying to practice your scan.

There is also a good Mooney M20J model available for purchase from Carenado that you can use. It faithfully reproduces a J cockpit and has 3-D so you can move around in it. It does require some horsepower under the hood, but if you've got a later-model iMac or similar you should be fine.

X-Plane also has a cool thing where you can synch it to your iPad running ForeFlight and actually see your flight on ForeFlight. It of course lets you add real-world weather, although it's tied just to current METARs and doesn't accurately show actual storm cells. And it lets you program in various systems failures so you can even practice your emergency procedures.

Good luck with it. It's a lot of fun.

Does the dough boy (Austin) still own X-plane? After his Xavion disaster, he is off my Christmas list... Naughty boys get nothing more from me!

[Jeff_S]

Yes, Austin still owns X-Plane. I would, too, if it helped me fund a Cessna TTX and a new Corvette every couple of years. I didn't buy into the Xavion thing. I've heard others say it's cool, but it seemed like too much tech in the cockpit to me. One more thing to futz with instead of looking outside and enjoying the view.