Our flight school has one. It was purchased by an individual to have in his home (!), but later decided this wasn't going to work, so he leased it back to the flight school.
It's rarely used. Flight instructors, in general, don't seem fond of using any simulator for instrument training. Part of the reason, I'm sure, is that they'd rather get flight time. Another reason probably is that they don't know how to use the simulator effectively.
I have a laptop sim that I use extensively for instrument training. My main goals are 1) Learning how to use navigation systems, 2) Learning the basics of flying instrument approaches, 3) Learning the 5 T's 4) Cockpit procedures.
Once I get a student through the laptop phase, we will move to the full size sim. I found the Precision Flight Controls simulator to be no better and no worse than the Frasca we had at a previous flight school. The flight model isn't great, so it doesn't fly like a real airplane, but neither did the Frasca. Over time, it seems to get decalibrated, so it flies worse, or engages in strange behavior. The cockpit we had wasn't a full enclosure, unlike the Frasca.
The software is, of course, X-plane, special version. We didn't have any instructions, so I just had to figure out how to use it myself. Far more sophisticated than the outdated software on our old Frasca, but offers a bit less monitoring functions of what's going on in the cockpit. I'd really like a "rewind" feature, but haven't found one.
One thing that drove me nuts is that when you're flying an ILS that has the same frequency for two runways, the system spontaneously decides which one you're using by what the airplane heading is. What this means is that when you're flying outbound for a PT, it thinks you're using the other runway and switches localizer courses. This gives you apparently sensing on the HSI outbound. Took me a long time to realize what was going on, and I felt foolish having just explained to the student that HSI's don't get reverse sensing.
It's been a few months since I've been in the thing, so there probably are some other issues I've forgotten. I'd certainly take a look at what other vendors provide.
One issue that's a bit gray is how the FAA views the ATDs. All of their published guidance is out of date. The manufacture says it's equivalent to a Level III FTD, but a level III requires an enclosed cockpit. The FAA says that no Level III machine can be used for circling approaches, hence you can't use one for the entire IPC, but the manufacturers say nothing about this. Can it be used for any part of any checkride? No FAA word on the matter.
