Gleim X-Plane Private Pilot course?

I don't know how much value a flightsim would have at the PPL level. In my experience, it was a slight hinderance because I was focused too much on the instrument panel. It would be good for practicing checklists I guess.
 
Investment?

Ehh, looks sort of gimmicky to me. You’re not getting anything official out of it so it’s basically just a glorified toy, as long as you understand that and have the money to burn, sure, why not?

I’d caution you though, PC based flight simulators can help you develop some bad habits.
 
inventor said:
Comes with free X-Plane 10.
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No, it doesn't. If you look at the prices you linked, you can see that the full cost of X-Plane 10 is factored into the bundle deal.
Is this a good supplement for a desktop simulator, especially at a price of $100? I have no idea. What I can tell you is that Gleim has a long history of providing flight training materials and test prep books/software. I also know that many aviation companies sometimes make products that are kinda a gimmick, and cost way more than the value they provide. This usually involves services which are outside their primary focus.

I can also tell you that once you get an understanding of X-plane, you can practice many maneuvers/procedures using real life documentation. There are also many free videos on youtube (of varying quality), and the F.A.A. offers it's official flight training handbooks for free online. How effective a flight simulator is depends on how you treat it, IMHO.
 
I played a lot of flight sim growing up and it didn't really affect my flight training in any appreciable way, positive or negative. The thing that home flight sims like that don't do for you is reinforce procedures which I would argue are just as important as understanding the basics of powered flight (I'm not a CFI, so my analysis could be way off).

Play flight sim for fun. Don't expect it to be any kind of meaningful tool for your real world training.
 
Cal Goat said:
I played a lot of flight sim growing up and it didn't really affect my flight training in any appreciable way, positive or negative. The thing that home flight sims like that don't do for you is reinforce procedures which I would argue are just as important as understanding the basics of powered flight (I'm not a CFI, so my analysis could be way off).

Play flight sim for fun. Don't expect it to be any kind of meaningful tool for your real world training.
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I think flight sim is good for when you're working on your IFR rating and beyond. I also used it to prepare for interviews that had simulator portions to get better awareness of the instrument layout. Good luck and enjoy every step of the way with your training!
 
PC based sims weren't a stumbling block when I got my ppl, it was pretty easy to recognize how poorly they were able to convey the actual experience of flying. I would fly every cross country a couple of times before I did it in real life to familiarize myself with the navigation, seemed prudent at the time since it was mostly VOR/DME/ADF at the time and it was able to simulate that with some accuracy. What a dork I was, charts all set up on a kneeboard, pencils and an E6-B at the ready, notepads and bottles of water on a friday night with my date, a 15" monitor connected to a computer my buddy put together. I actually look back fondly, life was so much simpler then.
 
Spend lots time on LiveATC.net, and try to take your written test ASAP. Talking on the radio and not getting the written test completed were always my students hardest thing to overcome.
 
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