WOULD YOU LIKE THAT FLIGHT IN IMC OR VMC?
By John M. Dahlen
As we progress through the dead of another winter and eagerly anticipate the coming spring and summer, many of our flying skills and techniques can get a little rusty from inactivity. Some of us continue flying through the winter season when it’s safe to do so. But most GA pilots don’t fly nearly as much in the winter months as they do during prime time. Many spend the winter months thinking about what upgrades they want for their bird, or which new rating they’re going to spend their hard-earned money on in the coming year. And still others are thinking about new destinations, both near and far, they would like to fly to this summer.
There’s a quiet little gem of a business at Lake Hood that can help you get a jumpstart on your plans, and usually save you some money in the process. Lake Hood SimCenter is just the ticket to brush the winter rust off of your piloting skills, or to maintain your instrument proficiency in preparation for a safe and enjoyable flying season. And they have FAA approved flight simulators that are suitable for logging either fixed wing or rotorwing hours in. If you’re like me and have done most of your flying at uncontrolled fields, Lake Hood SimCenter offers an excellent opportunity to develop competence and confidence flying into and out of large, busy airports and airspace, including ATC communications. And it’s a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with even smaller airports you’ve never flown to before. Doing approaches on a simulator beforehand gives you much better expectations and easier orientation to an otherwise unknown field when you actually arrive for the first time. These are just a few of the many ways you can benefit from spending time at the Lake Hood SimCenter.
When the general public talks about flight simulators, most think of a portable desktop set-up, with a yoke or stick, and maybe a panel and pedals, that you can plug into your home computer and play with. Students, pilots, and true aviation enthusiasts will enter an entirely different realm when you fly the simulators at Lake Hood SimCenter. For example, they have a Redbird FMX 1000 full motion simulator with wraparound visuals. This is just one of several simulators for both fixed wing and rotorwing training. Others include a PFC DCX Max, Flyit PHS-5 helicopter, a virtual reality R-22 helicopter, a Supercub PA-18, and a Real G1000 Glass trainer. The facility has the capability to configure one or more of the simulators for many piston, single, twin, turboprop, and jet aircraft, and rotorcraft including Robinsons, Bells, AS 350, MD 500, and more.
The facility is open to aviation enthusiasts, student pilots working with an instructor, and licensed pilots looking to refine or expand their skills. Hourly rates for the FAA approved AATDs (Redbird, PFC, and Flyit) are considerably more affordable than going out and flying. At the time of this writing, rates range from $50 to $80/hour. As with everything else in real life, these rates are subject to change. There are also membership packages available. A QR code is included for thos interested in exploring this option. LakeHood SimCenter is located at 3610 Aircraft Drive at Lake Hood. It is the other end of the hangar where ACME Cub Training, Inc. is.
John Dahlen is a Life Member and former Vice President of the Alaska Airmen’s Association, as well as a regular aviation writer for The Transponder. If you have suggestions for a story you would like to see, he can be reached at OneAlaskanGuy@hotmail.com.
