Can Flight Simulators Really Help You Learn to Fly?

Date Sun, June 29
Time 1:00pm - 1:45pm
Room Community Stage
Category New Simmers

Description

The long-standing debate over whether home flight simulators aid or hinder student pilot training continues to spark discussion. This panel brings together experts and simulation enthusiasts to examine how home flight simulators can enhance pilot training. 

Panelists will discuss how simulator practice can refine in-flight skills while also addressing common pitfalls that may lead to bad habits. The conversation will cover different simulator setups suited to various budgets, their training value, and which flying skills translate effectively to real-world piloting. 

Through demonstrations of actual maneuvers, attendees will gain insight into creating targeted practice scenarios that align with flight lessons and may even help reduce training costs. Whether aspiring to earn a pilot’s license or already engaged in training, this presentation offers a practical guide to integrating flight simulation as a valuable training tool. 

Panelists include Randall Huck, Mike Catalfamo (Flight Sim Coach), Fabian Lim (FliteSim.com), and Rick Miller (FlyInside Simulations).

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Mike Catalfamo

Founder

Mike Catalfamo

Flight Sim Coach

Bio

My aviation journey began at age 9 with my first simulator, sparking a passion that would shape my entire career. I spent years obsessed with flight simulation and online ATC before starting flying lessons at age 14, leading to my private pilot certificate and instrument rating while still in high school. After college, I worked at Boeing designing flight deck safety technologies while flying instructing part-time, before flying as a First Officer on the Embraer 175. 

Combining my passion for simulation and teaching, I founded Flight Sim Coach in 2021 to help bridge the gap between desktop simulation and real-world flying. My approach focuses on getting the most training value out of home simulators, while recognizing their limitations. I believe that effective use of simulation can make actual flight training more efficient and affordable, allowing pilots to focus valuable in-aircraft time on critical hands-on skills, while mastering many basic concepts at home. 
Fabian Lim

Founder

Fabian Lim

FliteSim.com

Bio

Fabian Lim is the founder and CEO of FliteSim.com, a Singapore technology company dedicated to making professional-grade flight simulation hardware both high-fidelity and affordable. Backed by more than 30 years of flight-sim experience and 15 years of real-world flying, Fabian combines deep technical insight with hands-on aviation know-how. He has flown his own Columbia 350 and Eclipse 500 light jet on journeys around the globe, and he holds a Private Pilot License with instrument, multi-engine and single-pilot jet ratings. This blend of simulator mastery, real cockpit time and entrepreneurial drive fuels Fabian’s mission to bring authentic, force-feedback realism within reach of flight-training organizations, licensed pilots and serious enthusiasts worldwide.