If you are asking if it can be used as a training tool in CONJUNCTION with an instructor, then  I will answer that it is a fantastic tool for that. It will allow the student to go home and practice what he has learned at the field each session. It will allow him to build up muscle memory quickly and usually reduce the overall training time needed to solo.

But if you are asking if it can be used INSTEAD of an instructor. NO. <font size="2">

While the simulator is a good tool to use for training, it should in no way be considered an instructor tool. I have seen many people use the simulator before ever contacting an instructor and often they will pick up and develop bad habits from the simulator. Often times these bad habits will have to be "un-learned" when an instructor is contacted. Don't get me wrong, I think that they simulator is a great tool to help decrease the training time needed when learning to fly. But this must be done properly It should be used to PRACTICE skills that are taught each training session. When done in this manner it is indeed a cheap and safe way to practice these new skills. </p>

There are some things that most simulators aren't as accurate on as in real life, and these differences can often times give new pilots a false sense of security as to what they are capable of. A simulator is nothing more than a teaching tool, just like a buddy box is. It has a specific set of circumstances where it's use is applicable and it needs to be used properly like any other tool.</p>

Here's a list of some of the "bad" habits one can develop:
1) Failing to keep the plane straight during takeoff run.
2) Climbing out too steep.
3) Not maintaining a constant altitude while turning.
4) Turns that aren't smooth, too sharp, etc.
5) Forgetting that there is a left stick.
6) Not lining up with the runway during landing approach.
7) Using ailerons instead of rudder to make course corrections when landing.
8) Using the elevator to extend the landing when you realize you're short.
9) Failure to learn the signs that a plane is about to stall, and what to do to avoid it, or recover from it. </p>

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The sim is NOT</p><ul>[*]Going to teach you how to tune your engine[*]Going to teach you how to correct fuel system problems[*]Going to teach you how to set up your linkages[*]Going to show you about lateral inbalance and surface warp[*]Going to locate errors in assembly[*]Going to teach you how to maiden a plane[*]Going to trim out your plane[*]Going to simulate other flyers at the field[*]Going to blow a hard gust of air at your plane at just the wrong time[*]Going to simulate that hard sink thermal just off the runway threshold, though doable in G4[*]Going to have a bird come out and attack your plane in the air[*]Going to give you the weak knees you'll get the first time you fly[*]Going to throw a bug in your face and the sun glare in your eyes at the wrong time[/list]
Ken

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