I was involved with using Flight Simulator back in about 1994 in the context of an SBIR for which a Navy Commander (?) was the Principal Investigator. That was done at the University of Central Florida.
Several users for the main scenario being tested were actual, carrier-based CH-52 helicopter pilots. About a year or two after the SBIR was completed, one of of the Navy pilots encountered a real-life scenario that was nearly identical to the constructed scenario that he’d experienced in that FSim SBIR. He credited the FSim SBIR scenario and the Navy Commander’s design of it as helping him save the CH-52 in the dicey real-life mission off a carrier where he was the pilot.
The SBIR was determined to be a raving success, even with a much earlier version of FSim than FSim 2020 or -2024.
(FWIW, I was the designer of the first version of FSim’s Flight Lessons. I’ve been a flight instructor for 35 years.)
I have always found the lessons included to be very valuable. I thank you for your contributions to this software realm.
My brother is an airline captain. Before he moved on to the major airlines, he was a check airman for his regional. The airline leased large hydraulic enabled reproduction simulators of the Metroliners that they operated. I assume it could simulate other aircraft as well, but this was many years ago so I actually do not know.
One time when he had no students scheduled, he invited my dad and I up to try it out. It was an incredible machine. My dad got airsick before the hydraulics were even turned on.
I can certainly believe that- I did online auto racing- and the tracks were so close to real, with bumps, curbs, etc all factored in, that sim racers have been able to transfer to actual road racing because they get to know the tracks so well, and all of the little nuances like bumps on a corner that woudl make a person spin out of control if they didn/’t know that they were there before driving the coarse-
I’ve seen a few sim racers who got invited to drive real courses, and they did really well-