Tips for SIM training

[tlove482]

I get nauseous during SIM training. Taxiing really gets to me and I spend the rest of the day trying to recover. Does anyone have any tips to avoid it?

 

[ASpilot2be]

Look down when you can. Don't look outside.

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

I would think the opposite? I think looking 'out' during taxi so your brain matches what you are doing is probably best? If you re-position, IMO look down (most instructors tell you some variation, look away, look down, etc).

How are unusual attitudes for you? It sucks they tell you to close your eyes / look down, and let your partner put the plane in a nose high/low and banked upset before you can recover. That one throws off the inner ear/balance senses.

 

[dmcaso]

Always close eyes when repositioning. Close your eyes during taxi, if possible. Tell your instructor and see what they’ll let you get away with when not flying. I’ve had similar issues. Taxi and repositioning are the worst part.

 

[ClearedForOption]

I would think the opposite? I think looking 'out' during taxi so your brain matches what you are doing is probably best? If you re-position, IMO look down (most instructors tell you some variation, look away, look down, etc).

How are unusual attitudes for you? It sucks they tell you to close your eyes / look down, and let your partner put the plane in a nose high/low and banked upset before you can recover. That one throws off the inner ear/balance senses.

I think that the problem is your inner ear/brain knows you aren't going anywhere. I used to look down/close my eyes occasionally to mitigate my brain KNOWING I'm in an aircraft version of Star Tours. Not an option now that I've been sitting on the left for these last 8 years, I just taxi nice and slow and make all the turns slow.

To me, the sim has never 'felt' like the plane. Not in feel or in motion.

 

[tlove482]

I would think the opposite? I think looking 'out' during taxi so your brain matches what you are doing is probably best? If you re-position, IMO look down (most instructors tell you some variation, look away, look down, etc).

How are unusual attitudes for you? It sucks they tell you to close your eyes / look down, and let your partner put the plane in a nose high/low and banked upset before you can recover. That one throws off the inner ear/balance senses.

Unusual attitudes are fine. I have no issues except for the taxi.

 

[ClearedForOption]

Unusual attitudes are fine. I have no issues except for the taxi.

Honestly, not much you can do. Me, I do a long shower afterwards. Blow air in my face from the eyeball vent (next to the speaker in the Bus) when I'm in the sim. Maybe an outdoor walk. Lay down for a bit, drink a soda. (I usually have a soda during the brief and after. I'll keep it on the table with the printer away from the Box.)

I don't take all day to recover, I just get a little motion sick while in the box and blah for a couple of hours afterwards. Same thing happens to me on Star Tours or any of those motion capture rides. I'd like to think that it's a feature and not a bug knowing that I'm not actually going anywhere.

 

[DropTank]

Clear bubbly liquid.

Sprite/7UP

 

[Box hauler]

Maybe take Dramamine before your sim? I know it’s supposed to be helpful with motion sickness.

 

[ppragman]

This is going to sound really stupid, but whenever I started to feel nauseous in the sim I would pretend it was real.

I know that sounds stupid but I always felt better immediately afterwards. “This is real, and I’m just nauseous.”

Both caravan and king air sims made me feel gross if I didn’t while taxiing. Also try to not look outside while you feel nauseous.

 

[ASpilot2be]

Another trick is to put a rubber band on your wrist. When you feel nauseous, snap it and might take your mind off it.

 

[Roger Roger]

I recommend a diet of street tacos and training center coffee, it won’t keep you from feeling nauseous but it’ll definitely distract you!

 

[phill1174]

Someone on here years ago recommended ginger root for getting nauseous during sim sessions and I don’t go to training with out it. I rarely look outside in the sim and during taxi I’m inside and out a lot more than usual to avoid getting sick especially during turns.

 

[BobDDuck]

Someone on here years ago recommended ginger root for getting nauseous during sim sessions and I don’t go to training with out it. I rarely look outside in the sim and during taxi I’m inside and out a lot more than usual to avoid getting sick especially during turns.

Sea bands (the old school ones... not the electric shock wristwatch) help too.

 

[alaskadrifter]

Is Dramamine allowed?

 

[GypsyPilot]

Is Dramamine allowed?

Definitely not, as it causes drowsiness.

This is a good guide for OTC medications:

https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/licenses_certificates/medical_certification/medications/OTCMedicationsforPilots.pdf

 

[tlove482]

Thanks for all the good suggestions everyone one. Gonna give a few a try today. I've got 4 more sessions so I've got plenty of chances to figure it out.

 

[thevideographer]

Definitely not, as it causes drowsiness.

This is a good guide for OTC medications:

https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/licenses_certificates/medical_certification/medications/OTCMedicationsforPilots.pdf

Definitely not but in the sim?

 

[GypsyPilot]

Definitely not but in the sim?

If anything would affect your medical status on the line, it also applies in the sim. It’s why we’re subject to random drug/alcohol testing for sim events.

More importantly, it’s not fair to your sim partner to take something that could affect your cognitive abilities. Dramamine makes most people tired.

 

[poser765]

I would think the opposite? I think looking 'out' during taxi so your brain matches what you are doing is probably best? If you re-position, IMO look down (most instructors tell you some variation, look away, look down, etc).

How are unusual attitudes for you? It sucks they tell you to close your eyes / look down, and let your partner put the plane in a nose high/low and banked upset before you can recover. That one throws off the inner ear/balance senses.

The problem the sim is good but not perfect… both the visuals and the motion. The visuals are pretty good but tend to distort a bit near the edges or not directly in front. The motion is good enough at simulating motion but not actually delivering it and I feel like there is just a smidge of latency.

those things combined are just enough to send my brain some serious mixed signals. In order to fix that I’ve got to close off one the signal sources. I can’t turn off the motion so…