What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

PilotEdge

ksauce

Well Known Member
Patron
First, some background:

I'm working on an instrument rating. I've been working on basic attitude instrument flying in the sim at home (X-Plane, for me). That's been pretty useful on developing the scan, etc.. However, as anyone that's done some instrument training knows the real challenge is part of flying in THE SYSTEM.

Being a part of the national airspace system and talking with controllers all while staying ahead of the airplane is a challenge. Developing the mental muscle to do that takes practice. Lots of practice. Doing it up in the air, while the clock is ticking and you're burning money ratchets up the stress level quite a bit.

So I was quite intrigued when I found out about PilotEdge. What is it? It's a means of using your sim at home to practice being a part of the system. The amazing thing about it is you're actually talking to real people serving as controllers and they're excellent. Some are current controllers that do this part time on the side for extra money. Some are retired controllers. Some are just sim enthusiasts that know enough to serve as controllers but they really do handle traffic just like real controllers. Phraseology is correct and they follow the rules (and expect the pilots to as well).

You file flight plans just like you would in the real world. You tune your radios in the sim and call them up. Pick up clearances, talk to various controllers, etc.. They will vector you, sequence you, clear you, and, when appropriate, scold you!

And it's not just you in isolation. Other pilots are on the network and you all share the same virtual world. This world is, however, limited to Southern California, Vegas, Phoenix. It's a big enough universe for you to fly around in and work yourself in a busy section of airspace.

The nice thing about it though is that because lives aren't actually at stake, they are extremely accommodating of newbie, dumb dumb mistakes. They do, however, make an effort to keep sim pilots that aren't ready to work as part of the system out of the system. This is nice as it prevents things like very young children from playing and gumming up the works.

They offer a free two week trial that I'm currently taking advantage of but I will be continuing my subscription. It's pretty great to be able to really work the system at home without burning 100LL.

Technically, PilotEdge is a plugin that interfaces to your flight sim of choice (X-Plane, Microsoft Flight Simulator X, or Prepar3D). Once installed and you connect to the network, you use your headset just like you normally would. Another great feature (with x-plane at least) is that X-Plane can send position and ahrs data to ForeFlight to simulate your position and attitude info as if you were using a Stratus or similar. PilotEdge takes this a step farther and sends the traffic data to ForeFlight so you see the other pilots in the network. It's a pretty slick way to practice with your real world toolchain.

Overall, I'm really impressed. I never thought I'd say this, but flying the sim this way at home is actually fun. It's not just for instrument students or pilots. Lots of VFR folks work the system, too. If you want to practice being a part of the system, I'd strongly recommend you take a look at PilotEdge.

http://www.pilotedge.net/
 
First, some background:

I'm working on an instrument rating. I've been working on basic attitude instrument flying in the sim at home (X-Plane, for me). That's been pretty useful on developing the scan, etc.. However, as anyone that's done some instrument training knows the real challenge is part of flying in THE SYSTEM.

Being a part of the national airspace system and talking with controllers all while staying ahead of the airplane is a challenge. Developing the mental muscle to do that takes practice. Lots of practice. Doing it up in the air, while the clock is ticking and you're burning money ratchets up the stress level quite a bit.

So I was quite intrigued when I found out about PilotEdge. What is it? It's a means of using your sim at home to practice being a part of the system. The amazing thing about it is you're actually talking to real people serving as controllers and they're excellent. Some are current controllers that do this part time on the side for extra money. Some are retired controllers. Some are just sim enthusiasts that know enough to serve as controllers but they really do handle traffic just like real controllers. Phraseology is correct and they follow the rules (and expect the pilots to as well).

You file flight plans just like you would in the real world. You tune your radios in the sim and call them up. Pick up clearances, talk to various controllers, etc.. They will vector you, sequence you, clear you, and, when appropriate, scold you!

And it's not just you in isolation. Other pilots are on the network and you all share the same virtual world. This world is, however, limited to Southern California, Vegas, Phoenix. It's a big enough universe for you to fly around in and work yourself in a busy section of airspace.

The nice thing about it though is that because lives aren't actually at stake, they are extremely accommodating of newbie, dumb dumb mistakes. They do, however, make an effort to keep sim pilots that aren't ready to work as part of the system out of the system. This is nice as it prevents things like very young children from playing and gumming up the works.

They offer a free two week trial that I'm currently taking advantage of but I will be continuing my subscription. It's pretty great to be able to really work the system at home without burning 100LL.

Technically, PilotEdge is a plugin that interfaces to your flight sim of choice (X-Plane, Microsoft Flight Simulator X, or Prepar3D). Once installed and you connect to the network, you use your headset just like you normally would. Another great feature (with x-plane at least) is that X-Plane can send position and ahrs data to ForeFlight to simulate your position and attitude info as if you were using a Stratus or similar. PilotEdge takes this a step farther and sends the traffic data to ForeFlight so you see the other pilots in the network. It's a pretty slick way to practice with your real world toolchain.

Overall, I'm really impressed. I never thought I'd say this, but flying the sim this way at home is actually fun. It's not just for instrument students or pilots. Lots of VFR folks work the system, too. If you want to practice being a part of the system, I'd strongly recommend you take a look at PilotEdge.

http://www.pilotedge.net/

I have to agree! I did a 14 day trial of Pilot Edge just after earning my instrument ticket. I was only able to fly "in the[ir] system" once or twice but I was impressed with the realism and the professionalism of the controllers.

I think Pilot Edge has the potential to become a good tool for maintaining proficiency.
 
simms are totally awesome....except.....

..when they just don't work.

I think everyone should setup a sim and fly all winter, so we're proficient in the spring, muscle memory and all that. VFR even.
We'd all survive emergencies a lot better if we practiced them, without risk, a hundred times a year.

but how the heck do you guys actually get this junk to WORK!!!!!!! ????????

I have been simming, on and off, since the 80's. The old DOS based FLight simulator, and then Sturmovik, and some other fun fighter games COULD work with a lot of tinkering.
Now, Without a house full of computer techs, I can never get MS flight sim to work for more than a few sessions, before windows changes something, and it all goes to pot.
I've probably spend 500 hours trying to get it to work, and 50 hours actual sim time, in the last 25 years.

what's the secret?
 
..when they just don't work.

I think everyone should setup a sim and fly all winter, so we're proficient in the spring, muscle memory and all that. VFR even.
We'd all survive emergencies a lot better if we practiced them, without risk, a hundred times a year.

but how the heck do you guys actually get this junk to WORK!!!!!!! ????????

I have been simming, on and off, since the 80's. The old DOS based FLight simulator, and then Sturmovik, and some other fun fighter games COULD work with a lot of tinkering.
Now, Without a house full of computer techs, I can never get MS flight sim to work for more than a few sessions, before windows changes something, and it all goes to pot.
I've probably spend 500 hours trying to get it to work, and 50 hours actual sim time, in the last 25 years.

what's the secret?

1. Use X-Plane instead of MS FSX ( have nothing against FSX, but I think MS no longer supports it)
2. Get a good plane model (the Carenado brand available at the X-Plane.org store has some great true-to-life models)
3. Get a decent yoke/pedal/quadrant set like the Saitek Cessna Pro Flight. A good joystick is probably useful for RV simming

The equipment will set you back a bit at first, but it doesn't cost much more than a couple-four tanks of 100LL in the end.

I'd be really interested to hear if anyone has found an accurate representation of RV aircraft in sims. So far, I have had to stick with the Carenado versions of the Archer, M20J, and Bonanza, which seem to be the most accurate flight model (as well as great 3D representations of actual aircraft)
 
I agree that X-Plane has been trouble free for me. I'm using it through Steam but the DVDs work, too. I installed it and it's been great.

I will also add that getting a plane with good modeling is great. I'm currently flying a Grumman Tiger in the real world and I bought a model of the plane for the sim. It's incredible how accurate it is. I use the same numbers in both and get the same performance. The panel is very close to the real thing as well which makes checklists and flows transfer.

I have no experience with FSX. I think Microsoft has essentially abandoned it. Lockheed Martin bought rights to the code and turned it into Prepar3d.
 
I have been watching the PilotEdge workshops on UTube for a few weeks and I'm considering trying out the trial ATC with my FSX on my laptop. I am just trying to get my VFR ATC radio game up to snuff! I'm planning a trip to San Diego in April and I want to feel comfortable on the radio.......Can you just converse with them on the computer mike or do you need special equipment and a headset?
 
I have been watching the PilotEdge workshops on UTube for a few weeks and I'm considering trying out the trial ATC with my FSX on my laptop. I am just trying to get my VFR ATC radio game up to snuff! I'm planning a trip to San Diego in April and I want to feel comfortable on the radio.......Can you just converse with them on the computer mike or do you need special equipment and a headset?

You should be able to use any audio source on your computer; doesn't have to be a headset. You configure a button on your joystick or keyboard to be the PTT, so it will only transmit when you want it to.

Make sure when you set up your trial account that you're ready to use it. The trial starts (IIRC) when you set up your account, not when you first connect. You'll get the most out of it if you make sure you have a few free evenings or days during the trial to actually connect. I ended up having to travel during my trial and so I didn't get the full benefit.
 
RV-7/7a model from baytower

1. Use X-Plane instead of MS FSX ( have nothing against FSX, but I think MS no longer supports it)

I'd be really interested to hear if anyone has found an accurate representation of RV aircraft in sims. So far, I have had to stick with the Carenado versions of the Archer, M20J, and Bonanza, which seem to be the most accurate flight model (as well as great 3D representations of actual aircraft)

thanks for the advice Dave,
check out Dan Maher's model at baytower.ca
also an rv-8 at http://www.vertigostudios.co.uk/ if that's still an active site.
 
Back
Top