No Sims or gps for PPL

The flight school im planning on attending does not use Sims or gps for the PPL portion of the program, is that a good thing? Just want to get an opinion from current Pilots…Thank you

Tremaine,

While it is important to know the basics, GPS is the wave of the future, I would want to learn about it in flight school.

I would also be concerned about not having any flight training devices available to you as they are fantastic tools to help you learn in an environment that has far less pressure and is much less expensive than being in the airplane.

Chris

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ATP doesn’t use a sim for Private Pilot training either. GPS adds
additional situational awareness, but I don’t see it as a necessity for
Private Pilot training since all of your flying will be in visual
conditions. No GPS on board will force you to get good at pilotage and dead
reckoning, which are essential skills for pilots to have at any level. I
wouldn’t worry about it. Does the school use GPS for instrument training?

Tory

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Tremaine,

Neither is required or necessary and I actually believe flying conventional gauges is a skill EVERY pilot should possess (you should see the pilots who have only flown glass in the sim when they lose their displays and have to fly using only the standby. It gets REALLY UGLY REALLY FAST!). That said GPS is no longer new technology (it’s the standard for most navigation these days) and I’d want to make certain they do have GPS equipped airplanes for the rest of your training.

Adam

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Thanks for the replies my heroes, but yes… they do have gps for every other phase of training. But no Sims at all.

Not the end of the world but keep in mind it’s ALOT cheaper to iron out procedures and or issues with maneuvers in a sim than in an airplane at $150+ an hour.

Adam

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