Pathfinders III: The Plane in your Living Room

Can you actually learn to fly from your living room? Flight simulators are everywhere, hardware is cheaper than ever, and most private pilots start on a home sim. But there's a real gap between the sim world and an actual license. In this episode I sit down with three people who live in this space to figure out what sims can and can't do. Host: Tim Delhaes Guests: Michael Phillips, certificated flight instructor since 1974, running a Redbird-based training environment at Camarillo Airport Kevin, twenty years in flight simulation, involved with Pilot Edge and hands-on sim consulting Jason Archer, flight instructor, remote-training specialist, and planetarium operator What we cover: What you can and can't master in a sim (stick-and-rudder is the hard part, avionics and ATC comms are where sims shine) The three ways to train: instructor beside you, remote, and solo The real risk of building bad habits when no one is watching How to spend your money sensibly, from a few hundred dollars up Where mixed reality and AI are taking home flight training Chapters: 00:00 Intro: the sim-to-license gap 04:00 Meet the guests 12:00 What you can and can't train in a sim 23:00 Three training modes: instructor, remote, solo 31:00 Avoiding bad habits and staying accountable 42:00 Building a home setup: what to actually buy 50:00 Mixed reality, AI, and what's next 58:00 Should flight schools invest in sims?